Chinese zodiac
Pig — Chinese zodiac sign
The pig closes the cycle: last of the twelve, in 亥时 (21:00 to 23:00), the quiet end of the day. Pig years are read as generous, straightforward and sociable — and underestimated because of it.
Where it sits in the twelve
- Position in the cycle: 12 / 12
- Branch, and its two hours: 亥 (Hai) · 21:00–23:00
- Fixed element: Water
- What 2026 asks of this sign: an unmarked year
In the river race the pig finished last: in the common telling it stopped to eat and to sleep on the way. 亥 is the hour the day's business is over and the animals are bedded down. Its branch is 亥 (hai), its fixed element water — the last gate of the cycle before it turns back to 子.
Years of the Pig
| Years | Animal | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 己亥 | Earth |
| 2007 | 丁亥 | Fire |
| 1995 | 乙亥 | Wood |
| 1983 | 癸亥 | Water |
| 1971 | 辛亥 | Metal |
| 1959 | 己亥 | Earth |
The animal returns every twelve years; the stem in front of it changes, so the element moves with it. The next one is 2038.
Character
Straightforward in a way that reads as naivety and is not. The pig says what is true and mostly assumes the same of other people.
Generous with things and with time, and openly fond of comfort — food, company, a good room. This is the sign the tables record as enjoying itself.
Sociable and slow to suspect: a pig-year person extends trust first and feels the betrayal later, which is the shape of both its best and its worst stories.
Strengths
- Genuine — what you see is what is there
- Generous, in things and in attention
- Peaceable: defuses rather than escalates
- Tolerant of other people's oddities
Weak points
- Trusts first and checks later
- Comfort can quietly become the plan
- Avoids conflict until it can no longer be avoided
- Naive about money, and about flattery
Six harmony, three harmony, and the ones it stands off with
Six harmony (六合) is the closest pairing; three harmony (三合) is the working alliance. The rest are the classical frictions: clash (冲), punishment (刑), harm (害), break (破).
Six harmony (六合): the tiger (寅亥). Three harmony (三合): the rabbit and the goat (亥卯未, the wood frame). Standing off: the snake clashes (巳亥冲), the monkey harms (申亥害), and the tiger both combines and breaks with the pig (寅亥合, 寅亥破).
What 2026 asks of this sign
an unmarked year
2026 is 丙午 (fire horse) and the tables connect 亥 to 午 in no way: an unmarked year. For the pig that is a year without external noise, which is unusual for the sign and useful: nothing compels a response, so long-deferred things — a health check, an old account, a conversation with a relative — belong in a year like this one. The caution is the pig's own: an unmarked year is easy to spend.
Questions
Which years are pig years?
Twelve years apart: 2019, 2007, 1995, 1983, 1971, and 2031 next.
Are pig and tiger compatible?
Both — 寅亥 is six harmony and also a break: a generous pairing with a sharp edge, recorded as such in the tables.
Is the pig the luckiest sign?
Popular phrasing. The tables give the pig 亥 and water and read it as generous, sociable and slow to suspect. Last place is in the story, not in the tables.