Rat strengths in tradition
- Quick-witted and alert
- Resourceful with what is at hand
- Adapts easily to change
- Sociable and charming
2008 Chinese zodiac: Year of the Earth Rat
The 2008 Chinese year ran from Thursday 7 February 2008 to Sunday 25 January 2009.
Its sign is the Yang Earth Rat: 戊子 (Wù-zǐ) in the 60-year cycle.
Born 1 January – 6 February 2008? Then you belong to the previous Chinese year: the Fire Pig of 2007.
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:
- 4 February 2008 (Lichun day): by Lichun, Fire Pig before 19:00 China time and Earth Rat from then on; by Chinese New Year, Fire Pig.
- 5–6 February 2008: Fire Pig by Chinese New Year, Earth Rat by Lichun.
Dates and times in China time. The Chinese zodiac calculator converts them for your birthplace and shows both counts.
The Earth Rat in Chinese astrology
An Earth Rat is described as steadier and more practical, careful with plans and loyal to familiar people and places.
The Rat is the first of the 12 Chinese zodiac animals, associated in tradition with quick wits, resourcefulness and an eye for opportunity. Earth is the element of stability and balance, linked in Chinese tradition with the turning points between the seasons.
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
Other Rat years
The Earth Rat every 60 years
Questions and answers
What Chinese zodiac is 2008?
2008 is the Year of the Earth Rat (yang Earth, 戊子 Wù-zǐ), from 7 February 2008 to 25 January 2009. Anyone born 1 January – 6 February 2008 belongs to the previous Chinese year, the Fire Pig.
What element is 2008 in the Chinese zodiac?
Earth, in its yang form: the year’s Heavenly Stem is 戊 (Wù). Earth years are years ending in 8 or 9 – counted by the Chinese year, which begins in late January or February.
I was born in January or early February 2008 — which animal am I?
If you were born before 7 February 2008, the date of Chinese New Year, your sign is the Fire Pig of the 2007 Chinese year; from 7 February 2008 on, it is the Earth Rat. Four Pillars (BaZi) astrology counts from Lichun instead (4 February 2008, 19:00 China time).
When was Chinese New Year 2008?
It was on Thursday 7 February 2008 (China time). The next one, on Monday 26 January 2009, began the Year of the Earth Ox.