In the Chinese zodiac, 1986 is the Year of the Tiger, and its element is Fire. The Fire Tiger year began on Sunday, February 9, 1986 and ended on Wednesday, January 28, 1987. People born between those dates are Fire Tigers. Those born from January 1 to February 8, 1986 belong to the year before and are Wood Oxen.
Which birthdays fall in the 1986 Tiger year?
| Birthday | Sign |
|---|---|
| January 1 to February 8, 1986 | Wood Ox |
| February 9, 1986 to January 28, 1987 | Fire Tiger |
| January 29, 1987 and later | Fire Rabbit |
The Tiger year was a compact one: 12 lunar months, 354 days, eleven days shorter than the calendar year. It missed the first 39 days of 1986 and ran 28 days into 1987.
What is a Fire Tiger?
The name puts together the two labels that every traditional year carries.
The first is the animal. The Tiger is traditionally said to be brave, competitive and confident. National Museums Liverpool describes the sign as a mix of courage, candor and sensitivity and calls the tiger a Chinese symbol of power; the Victoria and Albert Museum adds that it was seen as a guardian that keeps evil spirits away.
The second is the element. Fire is linked with passion, energy and leadership.
A Fire Tiger, in the tradition, is simply the two together: a bold sign under an energetic element. It is a folk portrait, to be enjoyed and not applied to anyone as a verdict.
In the old system of year names, 1986 is bing-yin: bing is the third of the ten "heavenly stems" and yin the "earthly branch" of the Tiger. How stems and branches make a 60-year cycle is covered on our page about Chinese New Year animals. The sign itself, with all its years, is in the Tiger in the Chinese zodiac.
Were you born in January or February?
Two different Januaries are involved, and they work in opposite directions.
- Born on January 15, 1986? You are an Ox. The Ox year that began in 1985 was still running; see 1985 in the Chinese zodiac.
- Born on February 8, 1986? An Ox, on the last day of its year.
- Born on February 9, 1986? You are a Tiger, born on Lunar New Year's Day.
- Born on January 15, 1987? A Tiger. The Rabbit year started two weeks later.
The tool below checks any birthday and gives both animal and element. It lives on the Birthday Profile page too.
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When was the last Fire Tiger year, and when is the next?
| Fire Tiger year | First day | Last day |
|---|---|---|
| 1926 | February 13, 1926 | February 1, 1927 |
| 1986 | February 9, 1986 | January 28, 1987 |
| 2046 | February 6, 2046 | January 25, 2047 |
The three are 60 years apart, the time it takes for the same animal and the same element to meet again. Tiger years in between have other elements: 1998 was an Earth Tiger year, 2010 a Metal Tiger year and 2022 a Water Tiger year.
How old are people born in 1986, and when is their next Tiger year?
People born in 1986 turn 41 in 2027. The Tiger has come back three times in their lives so far, at ages 12, 24 and 36. The fourth return begins on February 19, 2034 and ends on February 7, 2035.
A person's own zodiac year is called the ben ming nian. Folk belief sees it as a hurdle and not as a lucky year, and the custom tied to it is wearing red.
The years on either side
- 1985 was a Wood Ox year: February 20, 1985 to February 8, 1986.
- 1987 was a Fire Rabbit year: January 29, 1987 to February 16, 1988. See 1987 in the Chinese zodiac.
The element stays the same across that second boundary. Each element covers two years in a row, so the Tiger of 1986 and the Rabbit of 1987 are both Fire signs.