2014 Chinese Zodiac: The Year of the Wood Horse

Detail	2014
Animal	Horse (马)
Element	Wood, yang
Stem and branch	Jia Wu (甲午)
Year starts	January 31, 2014
Year ends	February 18, 2015
Year before	2013, Water Snake
Year after	2015, Wood Goat

Born in January or February 2014?

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 2014 it fell on January 31 (China time), so the Horse starts with births on that day and everyone born before it in 2014 is still a Water Snake. If your birthday sits close to the line, the Chinese zodiac calculator checks the exact date for you.

The Horse in Chinese astrology

Lively, sociable and happiest in motion, the Horse is the free spirit of Chinese astrology. Horse people are described as independent, quick-witted and warm, with a talent for conversation and an appetite for travel, new places and new projects. They are read as honest to a fault and generous with their time when they feel respected. Others experience a Horse as good company, cheerful and spontaneous, and hard to confine.

The blind spots are the mirror image of the freedom. A Horse may start more than it finishes, speak before thinking, and chafe at routine or at anyone who tries to set the pace. Impatience can read as a lack of commitment, even when the Horse's feelings are sincere. If you are a Horse, the tradition would encourage you to choose a few commitments and honor them, so that your energy builds something durable. Friends and partners tend to value a Horse most when they are given room, and when the Horse remembers to check in without being asked.

The Wood Horse

Wood stands for growth, generosity and cooperation. Tradition links it to spring, to trees and new shoots, and reads a Wood year as adding vitality, imagination and a wish to help others flourish. Wood people are described as idealistic, creative and good at building networks. The classical shadow is overextension: taking on more than there is time for, and bending to others' wishes until the original direction is lost. Wood gives the animal room to expand and a sense of shared purpose.

Team spirit sets the Wood Horse apart. Wood adds cooperation and generosity to a sign that prizes freedom, so tradition describes a warm, inventive person who likes to run with others. It is easier to live and work with than most Horses, and its enthusiasm for ideas is high, as is its taste for learning. Spreading too thin, with many interests and little rest, is the usual caution. Anchoring its energy in a few reliable habits and a few lasting relationships helps. Companions say a trip goes better with this Horse, mainly because it remembers to ask what everyone else wants to see.

The same pairing of element and animal returns every sixty years, so 1954 is Wood Horse years as well. The other wood year next to 2014 is 2015, a Wood Goat, because each element lasts two years, one yang and one yin.

Horse compatibility

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

Ardent, honest and sometimes restless, the Horse falls in love quickly and wants a bond with room in it. Horses are playful, affectionate and happiest when they can share adventures. They dislike being questioned or monitored, and may leave a situation rather than argue. A Horse does best with a partner who is secure, curious and willing to travel along, and who lets the Horse's independence stand without taking it personally.

The Horse at work

Energetic, persuasive and quick to adapt, the Horse is happiest in roles with variety, travel or direct contact with people. With money, Horses are read as generous and sometimes careless, earning well and spending freely. Follow-through is the old weak point: tasks that lose their novelty can be left unfinished, and routine paperwork may be quietly avoided.

Other Horse years

The Horse comes back every twelve years, each time with the next element: 1930 Metal Horse, 1942 Water Horse, 1954 Wood Horse, 1966 Fire Horse, 1978 Earth Horse, 1990 Metal Horse, 2002 Water Horse, 2014 Wood Horse (this page), 2026 Fire Horse.

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 2014 share the Horse 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.