1950 Chinese Zodiac: The Year of the Metal Tiger

Detail	1950
Animal	Tiger (虎)
Element	Metal, yang
Stem and branch	Geng Yin (庚寅)
Year starts	February 17, 1950
Year ends	February 5, 1951
Year before	1949, Earth Ox
Year after	1951, Metal Rabbit

Born in January or February 1950?

The Chinese year does not start on January 1. It starts at Chinese New Year, which follows the Moon and usually falls on the second new moon after the winter solstice, somewhere between January 21 and February 20. In 1950 it fell on February 17 (China time), so the Tiger starts with births on that day and everyone born before it in 1950 is still an Earth Ox. If your birthday sits close to the line, the Chinese zodiac calculator checks the exact date for you.

The Tiger in Chinese astrology

Courage, magnetism and a streak of unpredictability define the Tiger in the tradition. Tiger people are described as natural leaders who act on conviction, enjoy a challenge and stand up for others without being asked. Energy and generosity are the usual strengths, along with a refusal to be bored. Others tend to experience a Tiger as the person who makes the plan happen, often with a good deal of warmth and a flair for the grand gesture.

The shadow side in the classical reading is restlessness and a quick temper. A Tiger may charge ahead before checking the ground, resist taking direction, and feel any criticism as a challenge to be answered. Moods can swing between big enthusiasm and a sudden withdrawal. If you are a Tiger, the tradition suggests your courage works best when paired with patience for the details, and with the occasional willingness to let someone else lead. People close to a Tiger are often described as forgiving the temper quickly, because the warmth underneath is plain.

The Metal Tiger

In Chinese astrology Metal is the element of clarity, discipline and resolve. Tradition links it to autumn, to the blade and the bell, and reads a Metal year as adding firmness and a taste for precision to the animal it touches. Metal people are described as determined, principled and economical with words. The classical shadow is rigidity: a tendency to hold a position after the situation has changed, and to keep feelings polished and out of view. Metal asks the animal to be exact.

A Tiger whose courage has been given a mission: that is the Metal Tiger in the tradition. Expect a will close to iron, a commanding presence and standards that it sets and then means. It wastes less energy than any other Tiger, charging at the one target that matters and ignoring the rest. Principle can outrank convenience, which makes it admirable and occasionally immovable. Others respect the Metal Tiger quickly and warm to it more slowly. The reading advises letting the warmth show as plainly as the resolve, since a sharp verdict delivered early can end a conversation that a patient question would have kept open.

The same pairing of element and animal returns every sixty years, so 2010 is Metal Tiger years as well. The other metal year next to 1950 is 1951, a Metal Rabbit, because each element lasts two years, one yang and one yin.

Tiger compatibility

Tradition groups the twelve animals into four trines of three. The Tiger shares its trine with the Horse and the Dog, the pairings read as the easiest. Its secret friend, a second close match, is the Pig, while the Monkey, six places away on the wheel, is read as its clash. These are tendencies of the tradition, not verdicts on any couple.

Passionate, protective and openly affectionate, the Tiger is the partner who plans the adventure and defends the people closest to them. A Tiger brings intensity to a bond and needs a partner who can hold their own opinions. Jealousy and a short fuse are the classic trouble spots. Among friends the Tiger is generous and entertaining. Room to roam and an honest talk after the storm passes suit this sign well.

The Tiger at work

Tigers are read as bold professionals, comfortable with leadership, competition and starting things from nothing. They are credited with confidence under pressure and a willingness to take calculated risks. With money the sign can be generous to a fault, spending on ventures or on people with equal enthusiasm. Impulsiveness is the snag: a promising plan can suffer from impatience with detail, or from a clash with someone in authority.

Other Tiger years

The Tiger comes back every twelve years, each time with the next element: 1938 Earth Tiger, 1950 Metal Tiger (this page), 1962 Water Tiger, 1974 Wood Tiger, 1986 Fire Tiger, 1998 Earth Tiger, 2010 Metal Tiger, 2022 Water Tiger.

Your Western sign

Your Chinese sign comes from your birth year. Western astrology works from the sky on the day you were born instead: your Sun sign follows the date, and your Moon sign and rising sign also need the time and place. Two people born in 1950 share the Tiger and can still have any of the twelve Western Sun signs. Draw your free birth chart to see your Sun, Moon and rising sign together, or look up your Sun sign by date with the zodiac sign dates calculator.

All twelve animals, the five elements and every year from 1930 to 2030 are listed in Chinese zodiac years.