Why doesn't the year change on January 1st?

Because the real Chinese zodiac year begins on the Lunar New Year, a date that shifts each year.

Are the element pairings real?

Yes — the traditional 5-element, 12-animal, 60-year cycle used in the Chinese calendar.

No. Everything is computed locally in your browser.

Yes — free, no download, in your browser.

Which animals are on the wheel?

The twelve are rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog and pig, in that fixed order. Other countries swap some, for example a cat for the rabbit in Vietnam and a sheep for the goat in Korea and Japan.

What is the origin of the animal order?

A folktale called the Great Race says the animals were ranked by their order of arrival at a river crossing, but the tale’s origin is not well documented. Historical research suggests the animals were assigned to the earthly branches after the sexagenary cycle was established.

How often does the same animal and element come back?

Every sixty years. The animal repeats every twelve, but the element changes in a pattern that only realigns after five twelve-year steps.

Chinese Zodiac Year Wheel Screensaver

The Chinese Zodiac Year Wheel screensaver highlights today's real animal year on a 12-animal wheel. It is free, runs in your browser, and ESC exits.

How the Chinese Zodiac Year Wheel screensaver works

The saver holds a real table of Lunar New Year transition dates.

Today's real date is checked against that table to find the current year.

The wheel highlights that year's real animal and element pairing.

Everything is computed locally — no network, no key.

The sexagenary cycle behind the zodiac wheel

The twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac are only half of a traditional calendar system. Each year also carries one of ten heavenly stems, which pair with the twelve earthly branches to give the sixty-term sexagenary cycle. Each stem is tied to one of the five elements (wood, fire, earth, metal and water) in a yang or yin form, and each branch is tied to an animal, which is why the same animal returns with a different element every twelve years.

Because ten and twelve have a least common multiple of 60, the pairings cycle through sixty combinations. That leaves half of all possible pairings unused, usually explained by stems and branches having to share the same yin or yang property. The cycle is used well beyond China: Japan, Korea and Vietnam all have versions, and some of them swap animals, such as a cat for the rabbit in Vietnam or a sheep for the goat in Korea and Japan.

The year boundary is set by the lunisolar calendar, so it moves around the Gregorian year in late January or February. Some astrological sources instead start the year at Lichun, the start of spring, around 4 February, so a birthday close to the boundary can be assigned differently depending on the convention.

A worked example

Just after a real Lunar New Year date passes, the wheel's highlighted animal and element both real-ly advance.

Settings & tips

The Chinese calendar pairs 12 animals with 5 elements over 60 real years.
Accent recolours the wheel and highlighted year.
The year turns over on the real Lunar New Year, not January 1st.

Frequently asked questions

Why doesn't the year change on January 1st?: Because the real Chinese zodiac year begins on the Lunar New Year, a date that shifts each year.
Are the element pairings real?: Yes — the traditional 5-element, 12-animal, 60-year cycle used in the Chinese calendar.
Is a key needed?: No. Everything is computed locally in your browser.
Is it free?: Yes — free, no download, in your browser.
Which animals are on the wheel?: The twelve are rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog and pig, in that fixed order. Other countries swap some, for example a cat for the rabbit in Vietnam and a sheep for the goat in Korea and Japan.
What is the origin of the animal order?: A folktale called the Great Race says the animals were ranked by their order of arrival at a river crossing, but the tale’s origin is not well documented. Historical research suggests the animals were assigned to the earthly branches after the sexagenary cycle was established.
How often does the same animal and element come back?: Every sixty years. The animal repeats every twelve, but the element changes in a pattern that only realigns after five twelve-year steps.

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