Ox in 2026
2026 is a Horse year. Ox and Horse occupy branches 丑 and 午.
This pair has no shared harmony, trine, seasonal meeting or Six Clash in the four groups shown here.
Read Ox with Horse →Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water Ox
Wood Ox
Years: 1925, 1985, 2045.
Wood controls the Ox's Earth, introducing growth and adjustment into a traditional character built around consistency and a trusted method. The Wood Ox reading emphasizes patient improvement through shared effort, with the tension between taking other people's suggestions seriously and protecting a routine that has already earned its place.
Wood Ox birth dates and next year →Fire Ox
Years: 1937, 1997.
Fire feeds the Ox's Earth, giving its traditional persistence a more expressive purpose and a stronger urge to make an effort count. In this reading, the Fire Ox works with visible conviction, takes a commitment personally and can find it difficult to slow down when others need further discussion.
Fire Ox birth dates and next year →Earth Ox
Years: 1949, 2009.
Earth repeats the Ox's own element, concentrating the traditional qualities of steadiness, endurance and responsibility for the task in hand. The Earth Ox reading centres on a reliable routine and careful completion, with a reluctance to change course until the reason is as concrete as the work already done.
Earth Ox birth dates and next year →Metal Ox
Years: 1961, 2021.
The Ox's Earth generates Metal, connecting steady effort with the year element's association with precision, structure and a clear standard. This reading gives the Metal Ox a strong concern for doing something correctly and seeing it through, with inflexibility when an easier compromise appears to weaken the result.
Metal Ox birth dates and next year →Water Ox
Years: 1913, 1973, 2033.
The Ox's Earth controls Water, bringing its preference for stable ground into contact with an element associated with responsiveness and movement. The Water Ox reading combines persistence with quiet observation, describing a willingness to adapt a method after careful consideration while keeping the underlying commitment firmly in place.
Water Ox birth dates and next year →Ox personality traits
The Ox's traditional character values steady effort, dependable conduct and time enough to do a task properly. It earns confidence by returning to what needs doing, even when the work attracts little attention. Once a method has proved itself, changing it can feel unnecessary or disruptive. The same persistence that carries a long undertaking can therefore become stubbornness, especially when a new suggestion arrives before its reasons are understood.
Ox: best and difficult matches
Rat: Ox (丑) and Rat (子) form one of the six fixed harmony pairs, traditionally read as a complementary connection.
Snake: Ox and Snake share the Metal trine; Rooster completes their three-animal group.
Goat: Ox (丑) stands six positions opposite Goat (未), the contrast called a Six Clash in the traditional pairing.
Rooster: Ox and Rooster share the Metal trine; Snake completes their three-animal group.
All twelve Ox compatibility pairings →Five forms · one twelve-day rhythm
The next Ox days
The branch repeats every twelve days. Its stem advances too, so these five occurrences have five different stem elements before the complete name repeats after sixty days. The Ox branch itself keeps Earth.
Yin Earth
12 September 2026
Yin Earth Ox · 己丑
Na Yin: Thunderbolt Fire · 霹雳火
Open this date’s planning window →Yin Metal
24 September 2026
Yin Metal Ox · 辛丑
Na Yin: Wall Earth · 壁上土
Open this date’s planning window →Yin Water
6 October 2026
Yin Water Ox · 癸丑
Na Yin: Mulberry Wood · 桑柘木
Open this date’s planning window →Yin Wood
18 October 2026
Yin Wood Ox · 乙丑
Na Yin: Sea Metal · 海中金
Open this date’s planning window →Yin Fire
30 October 2026
Yin Fire Ox · 丁丑
Na Yin: Ravine Water · 涧下水
Open this date’s planning window →
The Na Yin name belongs to the complete pillar. It is a separate pairing from the stem’s element and the branch’s fixed element.
Chinese New Year to the final lunar day
Ox years and their exact boundaries
Use the interval, not just the Gregorian year number, for a birthday near January or February. A full Ox element-name returns sixty years later; the animal alone returns after twelve.
癸丑 · Yin Water Ox
1913 Ox year
6 February 1913 through 25 January 1914
乙丑 · Yin Wood Ox
1925 Ox year
24 January 1925 through 12 February 1926
丁丑 · Yin Fire Ox
1937 Ox year
11 February 1937 through 30 January 1938
己丑 · Yin Earth Ox
1949 Ox year
29 January 1949 through 16 February 1950
辛丑 · Yin Metal Ox
1961 Ox year
15 February 1961 through 4 February 1962
癸丑 · Yin Water Ox
1973 Ox year
3 February 1973 through 22 January 1974
乙丑 · Yin Wood Ox
1985 Ox year
20 February 1985 through 8 February 1986
丁丑 · Yin Fire Ox
1997 Ox year
7 February 1997 through 27 January 1998
己丑 · Yin Earth Ox
2009 Ox year
26 January 2009 through 13 February 2010
辛丑 · Yin Metal Ox
2021 Ox year
12 February 2021 through 31 January 2022
癸丑 · Yin Water Ox
2033 Ox year
31 January 2033 through 18 February 2034
乙丑 · Yin Wood Ox
2045 Ox year
17 February 2045 through 5 February 2046
Solar month · clock period
The Ox month and double-hour
Winter branch month
Minor Cold opens the Ox month at 5 January 2027, 22:09:58 UTC+8. It runs until Beginning of Spring at 4 February 2027, 09:46:18 UTC+8.
These are solar-term instants, not the first days of numbered lunar months.
Follow the whole winter season →01:00–02:59
The Ox double-hour occupies position 2 in the twelve-branch clock. It follows Rat and precedes Tiger. A double-hour label describes a time of day; it does not determine the year or day animal.
The sets containing Ox
Harmony, season, trine and clash
Six Harmonies
Paired branches
This is a fixed two-branch pairing.
Three Harmonies · trines
Metal
These three animals form the full set; two animals show shared membership.
Three Meetings · seasons
Winter · Water
These three animals form the full set; two animals show shared membership.
Six Clashes
Opposite branches
This is a fixed two-branch pairing.
The stems held inside Ox
Hidden stems are attached to the branch. The visible stem on a particular Ox day is the first character of that day’s two-character name.