Cathay Ink › Chinese zodiac › Year of the Ox › 1961
Year of the Ox 1961
The Metal Ox, 辛丑: from Chinese New Year on 15 February 1961 to 4 February 1962.
Steady, patient and dependable. The Ox finishes what it starts and is trusted with what matters; in farming China it was the family's most valuable companion. Metal years favour decisiveness and finishing: clean cuts, clear words, things brought to a conclusion.
The Metal Ox
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 Ox came last in 1901 and returns in 2021. The year's 纳音 (the "sound" of its stem and branch in the old almanacs) is 壁上土.
Company
The Ox shares a trine with the Snake and the Rooster; its secret friend is the Rat. Those signs are said to find a Ox year easiest. The Ox would have won the river race, but carried the Rat across and came second without complaint.
Years of the Ox
Each starts at Chinese New Year.
- 1925Wood Ox, from 24 January 1925
- 1937Fire Ox, from 11 February 1937
- 1949Earth Ox, from 29 January 1949
- 1961Metal Ox, from 15 February 1961
- 1973Water Ox, from 3 February 1973
- 1985Wood Ox, from 20 February 1985
- 1997Fire Ox, from 7 February 1997
- 2009Earth Ox, from 26 January 2009
- 2021Metal Ox, from 12 February 2021
- 2033Water Ox, from 31 January 2033
Questions
When does the Year of the Ox 1961 start and end?
It starts at Chinese New Year, 15 February 1961, and ends on 4 February 1962, the day before the next new year.
What element is the Ox in 1961?
Metal (金), from the heavenly stem 辛. Metal years are associated with resolve and clarity: the edge of a blade, the ring of a bell.
Is a baby born in January 1961 a Ox?
No. A baby born before 15 February 1961 belongs to the previous animal, the Rat. The zodiac year follows the lunar calendar, not 1 January.
Which other years were Metal Ox years?
2021. The same stem and branch return every sixty years.
Your Ox in ink
The Ox painted in ink wash above your name and lunar birthday.
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Start with my birthdayMore about the animal: Year of the Ox. All twelve: the zodiac.