Chinese astrology
A Chinese birth chart: what it is, and what it is not
Two charts are cast from the same birth record in Chinese astrology, and neither of them is the year animal on its own. This page sets out what a birth chart contains — and one thing this site does not do with it.
A Chinese birth chart is cast from the date, hour and place of birth and read in one of two systems — a twelve-palace chart or four pillars. Rimo casts both free in the browser, and does not predict the sex of a child.
What a birth chart contains
One birth record, computed twice. The twelve-palace chart places the stars of the method into twelve domains and reads where each falls; the four pillars write the birth moment as four pairs of characters and read the elements, the Day Master and the luck pillars. Both need the hour, and both are fixed at birth — what changes over a life is the time laid over the chart, not the chart.
The year animal is the smallest part
The zodiac animal is read from one pillar, the year — and the year turns at 立春, the solar-term boundary, not at 1 January. Most people arrive at “Chinese birth chart” looking for the animal alone; it is the entry point, not the chart.
The one thing this page will not do
Searches for a Chinese birth chart often mean a chart that predicts the sex of a child. This site does not do that: the method is not a prenatal test, the old tables sold for it are not part of the classical reading, and a guess dressed as a calculation helps no one. The calculators here cast the chart; they say nothing about a pregnancy.
How to get yours
Enter the birth date, hour and city. If you only want the animal and the element of the year, the zodiac calculator is one field long; for the full chart, use one of the two calculators.
Questions
Is a Chinese birth chart the same as the Chinese zodiac sign?
No. The zodiac animal is one of the four pillars — the year — and the smaller half of the reading. A birth chart uses the full birth moment.
Does a Chinese birth chart predict the sex of a baby?
Not here. That is a separate folk practice rather than a reading of the chart, and this site does not offer it.
What if I do not know my birth hour?
Cast it anyway and treat the result as provisional. Both systems use the hour, so add it when you can find it — a birth certificate, a family record, or a hospital note.
Cast the four pillars Cast the twelve-palace chart Just the zodiac animal Birth chart vs Chinese birth chart FAQ