Chinese Zodiac Compatibility Calculator

How is the 1 to 5 rating decided?

The tool checks four things in a fixed order and stops at the first match. Animals in the same trine score 5; animals in a directly opposing pair score 1; elements where one generates the other score 4; two people with the same element also score 4. Anything else scores 3. Because of that order, the elements only matter when the animals are neither in one trine nor opposed.

Why does a person with the same animal as me get 5 stars?

The trine test counts an animal as part of its own trine, so two Rats, two Horses and so on always land on 5. With 1984 and 1996, a Wood Rat and a Fire Rat, the tool returns 5 out of 5 and the text about being too similar. Other traditions treat same-animal pairings differently, and this tool does not.

Which animals does the tool treat as opposing?

Six pairs: Rat and Horse, Ox and Goat, Tiger and Monkey, Rabbit and Rooster, Dragon and Dog, Snake and Pig. These are animals six positions apart in the 12-year cycle. A Wood Rat (1984) with a Metal Horse (1990) returns 1 out of 5.

Which element relationships are scored?

Only the generating cycle, Wood to Fire to Earth to Metal to Water and back to Wood, in either direction, plus identical elements. The controlling cycle (Wood over Earth, Earth over Water, Water over Fire, Fire over Metal, Metal over Wood) is not scored, so a Wood and Earth pair is treated as neutral and gets 3, as 1985 with 1988 does.

Does it use the Lunar New Year date?

No. It takes only a birth year, and the animal and element come from the calendar year. For someone born in January or early February before Lunar New Year, the traditional animal belongs to the previous year. In 2000 that holiday fell on 5 February, so a person born on 20 January 2000 should enter 1999 to get the traditional animal.

What years are accepted?

Anything from 1900 to 2100. Values outside that range are clamped to the nearest limit, so 1850 is treated as 1900. A first year of 0, which is also what an emptied box becomes, is read as 1990, and a second year of 0 is read as 1988.

What traditional pairings are not part of the score?

The tool ignores the other traditional relationships between animals, such as the six “secret friend” pairs (Rat and Ox, Tiger and Pig, Rabbit and Dog, Dragon and Rooster, Snake and Monkey, Horse and Goat) and the harm and penalty pairs. A Rat and an Ox therefore just get an element-based score; for 1984 and 1985 that is 4. Month, day and hour pillars from Ba Zi are also left out.

Does a high rating say anything about my relationship?

No. The rating is a lookup in traditional associations, and the strengths and challenges lines are fixed text for each outcome. Astrology is a belief-based practice that has not been scientifically validated, and these outputs say nothing reliable about how two real people will get on.