Chinese zodiac · 未 Wei
Year of the Goat in the Chinese zodiac
The Goat (未, Wei) is one of the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac — the Earthly Branch of the year pillar. The Year of the Goat returns every twelve years: here are all its years from 1924 to 2031 with the exact start of each, its five elements, its traditional image and how the 2027 year meets it. In English it is also called the Sheep or the Ram.
The branch 未 at a glance
- Earthly Branch
- 未 · Wei
- Phase
- Earth · 土
- Polarity
- Yin
- Two-hour period
- 13:00–15:00
- Solar month
- from Xiao Shu (Minor Heat)
- Hidden stems
- 己 Yin Earth, 丁 Yin Fire, 乙 Yin Wood
The traditional image of the Goat
The tradition pictures the Goat as gentle, artistic and caring, an animal of the herd and of peaceful pastures. The Chinese character 羊 covers goats and sheep alike. Its branch closes summer and stores Fire and Wood within Earth.
How the tradition pictures the animal — a symbol, not a description of every person born in its years.
2027 and the Goat
2027 is the year of 丁未 Ding Wei — Yin Fire over the branch 未, so it is the Goat’s own year. This is how tradition reads the return of an animal’s own branch.
- the year of its own animal
The year of one’s own animal: 2027 has the branch 未 itself. The tradition calls it ben ming nian and gives it special attention; in BaZi it is still read together with the whole chart, never on its own.
This is how a traditional symbolic system describes two branches, not a forecast. In BaZi a year is read against all four pillars of a chart, not against the animal alone.
Chinese zodiac 2027: the year of the Goat →
Chinese zodiac compatibility chart: the twelve animals pair by pair →
Years of the Goat
A BaZi year runs from Li Chun to Li Chun, a lunar-calendar year from Chinese New Year to the eve of the next one. Times are China Standard Time (UTC+8); born close to Li Chun, check your exact birth moment in the calculator.
| Year | Stem | BaZi year (Li Chun to Li Chun) | Lunar year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1931 | Yin Metal 辛未 | 5 February 1931, 02:40 – 5 February 1932, 08:29 | 17 February 1931 – 5 February 1932 |
| 1943 | Yin Water 癸未 | 5 February 1943, 00:40 – 5 February 1944, 06:22 | 5 February 1943 – 24 January 1944 |
| 1955 | Yin Wood 乙未 | 4 February 1955, 22:17 – 5 February 1956, 04:11 | 24 January 1955 – 11 February 1956 |
| 1967 | Yin Fire 丁未 | 4 February 1967, 20:30 – 5 February 1968, 02:07 | 9 February 1967 – 29 January 1968 |
| 1979 | Yin Earth 己未 | 4 February 1979, 18:12 – 5 February 1980, 00:09 | 28 January 1979 – 15 February 1980 |
| 1991 | Yin Metal 辛未 | 4 February 1991, 16:08 – 4 February 1992, 21:48 | 15 February 1991 – 3 February 1992 |
| 2003 | Yin Water 癸未 | 4 February 2003, 14:05 – 4 February 2004, 19:56 | 1 February 2003 – 21 January 2004 |
| 2015 | Yin Wood 乙未 | 4 February 2015, 11:58 – 4 February 2016, 17:46 | 19 February 2015 – 7 February 2016 |
| 2027 | Yin Fire 丁未 | 4 February 2027, 09:46 – 4 February 2028, 15:31 | 6 February 2027 – 25 January 2028 |
The five Goat years
Every Goat year pairs the branch 未 with one of five Heavenly Stems of the same polarity, so each pairing of the Goat with an element returns every sixty years.
- MetalYin Metal · 辛未 Xin Wei1931, 1991
- WaterYin Water · 癸未 Gui Wei1943, 2003
- WoodYin Wood · 乙未 Yi Wei1955, 2015
- FireYin Fire · 丁未 Ding Wei1967, 2027
- EarthYin Earth · 己未 Ji Wei1979
The animal is one sign of eight
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Calculate my BaZi chartBaZi and the Chinese zodiac are a traditional symbolic system. These pages describe how the tradition reads a sign; they do not predict events and do not replace medical, psychological, legal or financial advice.