Mongolian Zodiac

Twelve animals from the great Mongolian steppe

Signs: 12 Origin: ~13th c. AD Region: East Asian

The Signs

Years: 2020, 2008, 1996, 1984, 1972, 1960 (every 12 years). The Mongolian zodiac follows the lunar calendar — the new year begins at Tsagaan Sar (White Month), falling in late January or early February. Those born in January or early February should verify the exact Tsagaan Sar date for their birth year.

丑

Ükhér (Ox)

Years: 2021, 2009, 1997, 1985, 1973, 1961 (every 12 years). The Mongolian zodiac follows the lunar calendar — the new year begins at Tsagaan Sar (White Month), falling in late January or early February. Those born in January or early February should verify the exact Tsagaan Sar date for their birth year.

寅

Bar (Tiger)

Years: 2022, 2010, 1998, 1986, 1974, 1962 (every 12 years). The Mongolian zodiac follows the lunar calendar — the new year begins at Tsagaan Sar (White Month), falling in late January or early February. Those born in January or early February should verify the exact Tsagaan Sar date for their birth year.

卯

Tuulay (Hare)

Years: 2023, 2011, 1999, 1987, 1975, 1963 (every 12 years). The Mongolian zodiac follows the lunar calendar — the new year begins at Tsagaan Sar (White Month), falling in late January or early February. Those born in January or early February should verify the exact Tsagaan Sar date for their birth year.

辰

Luu (Dragon)

Years: 2024, 2012, 2000, 1988, 1976, 1964 (every 12 years). The Mongolian zodiac follows the lunar calendar — the new year begins at Tsagaan Sar (White Month), falling in late January or early February. Those born in January or early February should verify the exact Tsagaan Sar date for their birth year.

巳

Mogoy (Snake)

Years: 2025, 2013, 2001, 1989, 1977, 1965 (every 12 years). The Mongolian zodiac follows the lunar calendar — the new year begins at Tsagaan Sar (White Month), falling in late January or early February. Those born in January or early February should verify the exact Tsagaan Sar date for their birth year.

午

Mor (Horse)

Years: 2026, 2014, 2002, 1990, 1978, 1966 (every 12 years). The Mongolian zodiac follows the lunar calendar — the new year begins at Tsagaan Sar (White Month), falling in late January or early February. Those born in January or early February should verify the exact Tsagaan Sar date for their birth year.

未

Khon (Sheep)

Years: 2027, 2015, 2003, 1991, 1979, 1967 (every 12 years). The Mongolian zodiac follows the lunar calendar — the new year begins at Tsagaan Sar (White Month), falling in late January or early February. Those born in January or early February should verify the exact Tsagaan Sar date for their birth year.

申

Bich (Monkey)

Years: 2028, 2016, 2004, 1992, 1980, 1968 (every 12 years). The Mongolian zodiac follows the lunar calendar — the new year begins at Tsagaan Sar (White Month), falling in late January or early February. Those born in January or early February should verify the exact Tsagaan Sar date for their birth year.

酉

Takhia (Rooster)

Years: 2029, 2017, 2005, 1993, 1981, 1969 (every 12 years). The Mongolian zodiac follows the lunar calendar — the new year begins at Tsagaan Sar (White Month), falling in late January or early February. Those born in January or early February should verify the exact Tsagaan Sar date for their birth year.

戌

Nokhoy (Dog)

Years: 2030, 2018, 2006, 1994, 1982, 1970 (every 12 years). The Mongolian zodiac follows the lunar calendar — the new year begins at Tsagaan Sar (White Month), falling in late January or early February. Those born in January or early February should verify the exact Tsagaan Sar date for their birth year.

亥

Gakhay (Pig)

Years: 1923, 1935, 1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007, 2019, 2031 (every 12 years). The Mongolian zodiac follows the lunar calendar; the year begins at Tsagaan Sar (White Month), usually in late January or February.

History & Origins

The twelve animals of the Mongolian zodiac — Mouse, Ox, Tiger, Hare, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Hen, Dog, Pig — are not a Mongolian invention. They are the same twelve-year animal cycle shared across much of Asia, from China and Tibet to Vietnam and beyond. Mongolia received it, kept the familiar order, and wove it into steppe life: the animals even mark the compass, with the Mouse in the north, the Hare in the east, the Horse in the south and the Hen in the west.

Where Mongolia's version came from is well documented, and it is not a homegrown steppe astrology. Mongolian astrology (zurkhai) is a branch of Tibetan Buddhist astrology, which itself rests on the Kalachakra Tantra — an Indian text that reached Tibet in 1024. Astronomical charts from the imperial period of the 13th and 14th centuries already follow Tibetan models. To the animals were joined the five elements — wood, fire, earth, metal, water — each with its colour, turning the twelve-year cycle into a sixty-year one.

What is genuinely Mongolian is the scholarship built on this borrowed frame. The lunisolar calendar Mongolia uses today, the Tegüs Buyantu system, was worked out in 1747 by the monk Ishbaljir, and the Khalkha follow a lineage refined in 1786 by Sumpa Kenpo, a Mongol master of both astrology and medicine. For centuries these calculations governed monastery, herd and household alike — the auspicious day to move camp, to marry, to begin a journey.

So the honest picture is a living, centuries-old tradition that is nonetheless adopted rather than invented: the animals are the shared Asian cycle, the astrological machinery is Tibetan and ultimately Indian, the elements are Chinese. What Mongolia added was the synthesis and the setting — the nomadic world, the Buddhist monastery-astrologers, and the great turning of the year, Tsagaan Sar, the "White Moon," when the new animal takes over in late winter and families still reckon which sign will govern the months to come.

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