What Is the Chinese Zodiac?
The Chinese zodiac is a repeating twelve-animal cycle associated primarily with birth year. In Tibetan calendrical traditions, a related animal cycle is combined with five elements to form a sixty-year cycle.
Explore the cultural context
The traditional sequence is Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig. Goat is also translated as Sheep or Ram in different English-language traditions.
For a Chinese zodiac sign, the year changes at Chinese New Year rather than January 1. If you were born in January or February, check that year's boundary. Tibetan Losar follows the Tibetan calendar and does not always fall on the same date.
Across Tibetan calendrical and astrological traditions, the twelve animals are combined with wood, fire, earth, metal and water to form a sixty-year cycle. Kailora draws from this shared calendrical imagery as a source of reflection and design—not as a claim that each animal has one required deity, gemstone or guaranteed spiritual effect.
These associations are a cultural language for reflection, not a fixed diagnosis of personality or destiny.