1996 Chinese Zodiac: The Year of the Fire Rat

Detail	1996
Animal	Rat (鼠)
Element	Fire, yang
Stem and branch	Bing Zi (丙子)
Year starts	February 19, 1996
Year ends	February 6, 1997
Year before	1995, Wood Pig
Year after	1997, Fire Ox

Born in January or February 1996?

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 1996 it fell on February 19 (China time), so the Rat starts with births on that day and everyone born before it in 1996 is still a Wood Pig. If your birthday sits close to the line, the Chinese zodiac calculator checks the exact date for you.

The Rat in Chinese astrology

The Rat opens the twelve-year cycle, and the tradition gives it the quickest mind of the group. Rats are described as observant, resourceful and at ease with people, the sort who notices what a room needs before anyone says it. Charm is the usual first impression, followed by a knack for finding the opening in a tight spot and a talent for collecting useful information and useful friends. Rats are said to think best in company, trading news and favors.

The same alertness has a shadow in the old reading. A Rat may worry in advance, hold on to things (objects, favors, grudges) a little too long, and let curiosity slide into calculation. Others can find a Rat friendly but hard to know fully, since there is usually a plan held in reserve. If you are a Rat, the tradition suggests that your thrift and foresight land best when you share the reasoning behind them. People then see care in what might otherwise look like caution.

The Fire Rat

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.

Fire sets the Rat in motion. Tradition reads the boldest of the Rats: still observant, but willing to act on what it sees, and more openly ambitious than its thrifty relatives. Charm becomes charisma and shrewdness becomes leadership. It meets the world as an energetic, outspoken person who enjoys an audience. A quick temper and a taste for risks that the sign's usual caution would decline are the shadows. One trusted advisor, and a night's sleep before the sharp message goes out, serve it well. When the drive goes into a venture instead of an argument, the old texts credit it with remarkable momentum.

The same pairing of element and animal returns every sixty years, so 1936 is Fire Rat years as well. The other fire year next to 1996 is 1997, a Fire Ox, because each element lasts two years, one yang and one yin.

Rat compatibility

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

In relationships the Rat is read as attentive and affectionate, a partner who remembers details and likes to plan small surprises. Rats give generously to the few they trust, but they take time to open up and may keep a private corner. In friendship they are lively and well connected, the one who introduces people to each other. Their challenge is to say worries aloud early, so that a quiet doubt does not turn into distance.

The Rat at work

A quick study and a natural networker, the Rat is good at spotting a gap in the market or a shortcut in a process. Thrift is part of the picture: Rats save, compare prices and keep a reserve, and they take risks only after careful research. The old weak point is hoarding and overplanning, so that a good opportunity waits while the numbers are checked once more.

Other Rat years

The Rat comes back every twelve years, each time with the next element: 1936 Fire Rat, 1948 Earth Rat, 1960 Metal Rat, 1972 Water Rat, 1984 Wood Rat, 1996 Fire Rat (this page), 2008 Earth Rat, 2020 Metal Rat.

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 1996 share the Rat 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.