What it is
The 2nd sign. Its gift is reading body language: an Ox studies you.
Ox years add up to 11, 5 or 8.
Its hours each day: 1 am to 3 am.
As a person
Steady, dependable and extremely loyal.
Slow to anger. Once angry, watch out. Leave an angry Ox alone to cool off.
Slow to decide, then immovable. A strong arm, not a negotiator.
Power can go to its head: give an Ox an inch and it takes a mile.
As a year
You are an Ox if you were born in one of these spans:
- 24 Jan 1925 to 12 Feb 1926
- 11 Feb 1937 to 30 Jan 1938
- 29 Jan 1949 to 16 Feb 1950
- 15 Feb 1961 to 4 Feb 1962
- 3 Feb 1973 to 22 Jan 1974
- 20 Feb 1985 to 8 Feb 1986
- 7 Feb 1997 to 27 Jan 1998
- 26 Jan 2009 to 13 Feb 2010
- 12 Feb 2021 to 31 Jan 2022
Each span runs from one Chinese New Year to the day before the next. New Year falls between 21 January and 20 February, so a birth date before 21 February can belong to the sign before.
Good for Oxen, Snakes and Roosters.
The enemy year of every Goat.
Next Ox years: 31 Jan 2033 to 18 Feb 2034; 17 Feb 2045 to 5 Feb 2046; 4 Feb 2057 to 23 Jan 2058.
As a month
The Ox month runs 7 Jan to 6 Feb each year. Anyone born in it carries a smaller dose of the Ox. It is the enemy month for everyone born in the Goat month.
Friends, enemy and soulmate
Friends: Snake and Rooster, the other two corners of its triangle. Inside this triangle the Snake and the Rooster get on better with each other than with the Ox.
Enemy: Goat, straight across the wheel. For an Ox, Goat years are for holding back. The Goat month is a lesser caution, unless the Ox was born in a Goat, Pig or Cat month (Rabbit in most calendars). For an Ox born in the Ox month it is the full enemy month: hold big starts in it.
Soulmate: Rat. Rat and Ox are the only soulmate pair. Their bond has rough patches, yet they keep finding their way back.
Friends
Enemy
Soulmate