Rat strengths in tradition
- Quick-witted and alert
- Resourceful with what is at hand
- Adapts easily to change
- Sociable and charming
1984 Chinese zodiac: Year of the Wood Rat
The 1984 Chinese year ran from Thursday 2 February 1984 to Tuesday 19 February 1985.
Its sign is the Yang Wood Rat: 甲子 (Jiǎ-zǐ) in the 60-year cycle.
Born 1 January – 1 February 1984? Then you belong to the previous Chinese year: the Water Pig of 1983.
Chinese New Year or Lichun?
Most calendars change the animal at Chinese New Year. Four Pillars (BaZi) astrology starts the year at Lichun, the Start of Spring, instead. For births around the turn of the year the two counts differ:
- 2–3 February 1984: Wood Rat by Chinese New Year, Water Pig by Lichun.
- 4 February 1984 (Lichun day): by Lichun, Water Pig before 23:18 China time and Wood Rat from then on; by Chinese New Year, Wood Rat.
- 4 February 1985 (Lichun day): by Lichun, Wood Rat before 05:12 China time and Wood Ox from then on; by Chinese New Year, Wood Rat.
- 5–19 February 1985: Wood Rat by Chinese New Year, Wood Ox by Lichun.
Dates and times in China time. The Chinese zodiac calculator converts them for your birthplace and shows both counts.
The Wood Rat in Chinese astrology
A Wood Rat is said to be more cooperative and idea-driven, pairing the Rat's cleverness with a wish to grow and share.
The Rat is the first of the 12 Chinese zodiac animals, associated in tradition with quick wits, resourcefulness and an eye for opportunity. Wood is the element of growth and new beginnings, linked in Chinese tradition with spring, generosity and steady expansion.
Rat challenges in tradition
- Restless when things slow down
- Holds on tightly to resources
- Tends to overthink risks
- May put cleverness before candour
Traditions, not predictions. The Rat in love and at work · The five elements
Questions and answers
What Chinese zodiac is 1984?
1984 is the Year of the Wood Rat (yang Wood, 甲子 Jiǎ-zǐ), from 2 February 1984 to 19 February 1985. Anyone born 1 January – 1 February 1984 belongs to the previous Chinese year, the Water Pig.
What element is 1984 in the Chinese zodiac?
Wood, in its yang form: the year’s Heavenly Stem is 甲 (Jiǎ). Wood years are years ending in 4 or 5 – counted by the Chinese year, which begins in late January or February.
I was born in January or early February 1984 — which animal am I?
If you were born before 2 February 1984, the date of Chinese New Year, your sign is the Water Pig of the 1983 Chinese year; from 2 February 1984 on, it is the Wood Rat. Four Pillars (BaZi) astrology counts from Lichun instead (4 February 1984, 23:18 China time).
When was Chinese New Year 1984?
It was on Thursday 2 February 1984 (China time). The next one, on Wednesday 20 February 1985, began the Year of the Wood Ox.