Cathay Ink › Chinese zodiac › Year of the Dog › 1970
Year of the Dog 1970
The Metal Dog, 庚戌: from Chinese New Year on 6 February 1970 to 26 January 1971.
Loyal, fair and protective. The Dog keeps its word and its friends, and has a strong sense of what is right. Metal years favour decisiveness and finishing: clean cuts, clear words, things brought to a conclusion.
The Metal Dog
Element
Metal years are associated with resolve and clarity: the edge of a blade, the ring of a bell. In the sixty-year cycle each animal meets each element once, so the Metal Dog came last in 1910 and returns in 2030. The year's 纳音 (the "sound" of its stem and branch in the old almanacs) is 钗钏金.
Company
The Dog shares a trine with the Tiger and the Horse; its secret friend is the Rabbit. Those signs are said to find a Dog year easiest. Dogs guard the home in both the real and the spirit world; stone and paper dogs stand at old gates.
Years of the Dog
Each starts at Chinese New Year.
- 1934Wood Dog, from 14 February 1934
- 1946Fire Dog, from 2 February 1946
- 1958Earth Dog, from 18 February 1958
- 1970Metal Dog, from 6 February 1970
- 1982Water Dog, from 25 January 1982
- 1994Wood Dog, from 10 February 1994
- 2006Fire Dog, from 29 January 2006
- 2018Earth Dog, from 16 February 2018
- 2030Metal Dog, from 3 February 2030
- 2042Water Dog, from 22 January 2042
Questions
When does the Year of the Dog 1970 start and end?
It starts at Chinese New Year, 6 February 1970, and ends on 26 January 1971, the day before the next new year.
What element is the Dog in 1970?
Metal (金), from the heavenly stem 庚. Metal years are associated with resolve and clarity: the edge of a blade, the ring of a bell.
Is a baby born in January 1970 a Dog?
No. A baby born before 6 February 1970 belongs to the previous animal, the Rooster. The zodiac year follows the lunar calendar, not 1 January.
Which other years were Metal Dog years?
2030. The same stem and branch return every sixty years.
Your Dog in ink
The Dog painted in ink wash above your name and lunar birthday.
Make the poster
Enter your birthday; we set the animal, the element, the lunar date and your name, and add a Chinese name as a seal if you have one.
Start with my birthdayMore about the animal: Year of the Dog. All twelve: the zodiac.