Year of the Ox
The Ox in the Chinese zodiac — personality, compatibility, career, and lucky traits.
Ox
| Animal | 丑 Ox |
|---|---|
| Order | 2 of 12 |
| Earthly branch | Chou |
| Fixed element | Earth |
| Best matches | Snake, Rooster |
| Clash (avoid) | Goat |
| Lucky | Lucky numbers 1 and 4; lucky colours white, yellow, and green; lucky flowers tulip and peach blossom. |
What is the Year of the Ox?
The Ox (丑, branch Chou) is sign 2 of the twelve Chinese zodiac animals, with the fixed element Earth. The Ox is the second sign of the Chinese zodiac — steady, dependable, and immensely hard-working. Ox people are the quiet pillars others lean on: patient, methodical, and honest, they achieve through sheer persistence rather than flash. They value tradition, security, and duty, and once they set a course they see it through with unshakeable determination. Ruled by the fixed element Earth, the Ox embodies grounded strength and the enduring reward of diligence over time.
Ox strengths
Reliable, patient, and disciplined, Oxen are the hardest workers of the zodiac. They are honest, loyal, and responsible, with a calm strength and remarkable perseverance that carries them through obstacles others abandon. Practical and grounded, they build lasting security and inspire deep trust through their steadfast integrity.
Ox weaknesses
The Ox can be stubborn, inflexible, and slow to change or forgive. Their seriousness may read as coldness, and their fixed opinions make them poor at compromise. They can overwork to the point of rigidity, resist new ideas, and bottle up feelings until resentment builds beneath the calm surface.
Ox love and compatibility
In love the Ox is loyal, sincere, and steadfast, showing devotion through reliability rather than romance. They match best with the Snake and Rooster of their trine, and find comfort with the Rat. Their clash is the Goat, whose emotional, free-spirited nature strains the Ox's need for order and constancy.
Ox career and work
Oxen excel in fields demanding diligence, precision, and endurance: agriculture, engineering, medicine, law, finance, and skilled crafts. They are dependable employees and steady leaders who earn advancement through consistency and integrity. They prefer clear structure and long-term goals over chaos, and their patience makes them masters of any craft they commit to.
What years are the Year of the Ox?
Recent and upcoming Years of the Ox:
- 1949
- 1961
- 1973
- 1985
- 1997
- 2009
- 2021
- 2033
Note: the Chinese zodiac year begins at Lunar New Year (late January to mid-February), not January 1. If you were born in that window, your sign may be the previous year’s animal — your BaZi chart settles it precisely.
Your animal is only one pillar
Your birth year gives your zodiac animal — but your full BaZi (Four Pillars) chart maps the year, month, day, and hour, revealing your elements, Day Master, and destiny.
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