3 of 12 · branch Yin (寅) · element Wood · last Tiger year 2022
寅 is the first month of spring in the Chinese calendar, so the Tiger is read as the animal that breaks the winter open. It governs the 03:00–05:00 window, the hour when the forest is loudest. In folk usage the Tiger is invoked against misfortune, which is why children’s caps and shoes are made in its shape.
The branch repeats every twelve years, but the stem in front of it moves by two each time, so the element cycles through all five. That is why two Tiger years can feel quite different.
The table above treats a whole Gregorian year as one animal, which is true for most of it. January and early February are the exception: the zodiac turns at the Start of Spring (around 4 February, exact to the minute) in divination, and at the lunar new year in festival usage. Between those two dates the animal is still the previous one.
Pick the exact date in the zodiac lookup, or open this year’s New Year date to see where the line falls.