Cathay Ink › Chinese zodiac › Year of the Horse › 2002
Year of the Horse 2002
The Water Horse, 壬午: from Chinese New Year on 12 February 2002 to 31 January 2003.
Energetic, independent and straightforward. The Horse loves open space and company in equal measure, and is happiest in motion. Water years favour adaptability: plans that bend, conversations that flow, patience with the long way round.
The Water Horse
Element
Water years are associated with adaptability and depth: rivers finding their way. In the sixty-year cycle each animal meets each element once, so the Water Horse came last in 1942 and returns in 2062. The year's 纳音 (the "sound" of its stem and branch in the old almanacs) is 杨柳木.
Company
The Horse shares a trine with the Tiger and the Dog; its secret friend is the Goat. Those signs are said to find a Horse year easiest. 马到成功, "success as soon as the horse arrives", is the wish written on Horse-year greetings.
Years of the Horse
Each starts at Chinese New Year.
- 1930Metal Horse, from 30 January 1930
- 1942Water Horse, from 15 February 1942
- 1954Wood Horse, from 3 February 1954
- 1966Fire Horse, from 21 January 1966
- 1978Earth Horse, from 7 February 1978
- 1990Metal Horse, from 27 January 1990
- 2002Water Horse, from 12 February 2002
- 2014Wood Horse, from 31 January 2014
- 2026Fire Horse, from 17 February 2026
- 2038Earth Horse, from 4 February 2038
Questions
When does the Year of the Horse 2002 start and end?
It starts at Chinese New Year, 12 February 2002, and ends on 31 January 2003, the day before the next new year.
What element is the Horse in 2002?
Water (水), from the heavenly stem 壬. Water years are associated with adaptability and depth: rivers finding their way.
Is a baby born in January 2002 a Horse?
No. A baby born before 12 February 2002 belongs to the previous animal, the Snake. The zodiac year follows the lunar calendar, not 1 January.
Which other years were Water Horse years?
1942. The same stem and branch return every sixty years.
Your Horse in ink
The Horse 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 Horse. All twelve: the zodiac.