1986 Chinese Zodiac: The Year of the Fire Tiger

Detail	1986
Animal	Tiger (虎)
Element	Fire, yang
Stem and branch	Bing Yin (丙寅)
Year starts	February 9, 1986
Year ends	January 28, 1987
Year before	1985, Wood Ox
Year after	1987, Fire Rabbit

Born in January or February 1986?

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 1986 it fell on February 9 (China time), so the Tiger starts with births on that day and everyone born before it in 1986 is still a Wood 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 Fire Tiger

Fire is the element of passion, drive and visibility in Chinese astrology. Tradition links it to summer, to heat and light, and reads a Fire year as adding enthusiasm, courage and a taste for leadership to the animal it colors. Fire people are described as expressive, warm and quick to act. The classical shadow is impatience and a short temper, along with a habit of burning through energy faster than it returns. Fire turns up the volume on whatever the animal already is.

Full blaze describes the Fire Tiger. Fire and Tiger are both read as bold and expressive, so tradition pictures a magnetic, adventurous person with a big personality and a strong need to be moving. It acts first and persuades later. Courage and generosity come on a dramatic scale. Volatility is the classical caution: quick anger, impulsive decisions, a pace that wears out the people trying to keep up. Unhurried routines, a creative or athletic outlet, and one person who may say it is time to slow down all help. In the old picture the Fire Tiger is hard to ignore and harder to dislike.

The same pairing of element and animal returns every sixty years, so 1926 and 2046 are Fire Tiger years as well. The other fire year next to 1986 is 1987, a Fire 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, 1962 Water Tiger, 1974 Wood Tiger, 1986 Fire Tiger (this page), 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 1986 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.