The Dragon in the Chinese zodiac
The Dragon, the fifth animal in the Chinese zodiac, has the element Yang Earth. Dragon years include 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2012 and 2024. In my method, each year of the Dragon begins at the winter solstice in the previous December. The Dragon is the “king of the skies”. It is the Chinese symbol of good fortune and heavenly support, and a sign of wealth and power.
The Dragon personality: what are its traits?
- Visible element (Heavenly Stem)
- Yang Earth
- Hidden elements (Heavenly Stems)
- Yin Wood
- Yin Water
- Yang Earth
- Opposite
- DogYang Earth
Because it represents the emperor, many Chinese parents wish for a child born in the year of the Dragon. The Dragon, after all, is said always to have a touch of luck in life. People born in Dragon years pursue their goals. They are energetic and have plenty of drive. With considerable charisma, they have a regal and authoritative presence.
They want to take the lead and accept the challenges along their path. They are confident and resolute, and say what they think. Dragons think big. They are ambitious, brave and love splendour. They need it for the sake of prestige. They are dynamic, creative and original, with an undeniable charm.
Yet they can be impetuous and provoke problems by acting too hastily. Their honesty can turn into disrespect, arrogance and even tyrannical behaviour, especially when they cling too stubbornly to their opinions. The Dragon often sees its own opinion as the only truth. Compromise is not its thing. This makes it inflexible.
In its single-mindedness, the Dragon can become greedy. It should not focus solely on its professional goals.
Which years are Dragon years? Birth years and elements
Every twelfth year is a Dragon year, and because the year’s element is different each time, the same Dragon returns only after 60 years. The Wood Dragon of 2024 takes its Wood from the year (Heavenly Stem); as an animal (Earthly Branch), the Dragon remains Yang Earth. Whether a Dragon born in January really is one depends on when the year begins. I count from the winter solstice, others from 4 February. The table of all birth years settles this.
Below the years, I describe what the year’s element brings to the Dragon. These are broad traits. Only a person’s complete Bazi shows what they are really like.
- 1928Earth Dragon
- 1940Metal Dragon
- 1952Water Dragon
- 1964Wood Dragon
- 1976Fire Dragon
- 1988Earth Dragon
- 2000Metal Dragon
- 2012Water Dragon
- 2024Wood Dragon
- 2036Fire Dragon
Wood Dragon: 1964 and 2024
Wood controls the Dragon’s Earth, and Yin Wood lies within it. The Wood Dragon is even more energetic and thinks even bigger, brave and full of pioneering spirit. This gives its hasty actions an extra tailwind.
Fire Dragon: 1976 and 2036
Fire nourishes the Dragon’s Earth. The Fire Dragon has even more charisma and loves grand gestures and the stage. It needs to take care that splendour does not become more appearance than substance.
Earth Dragon: 1928 and 1988
Here the Dragon is Earth through and through: in the year (Heavenly Stem), in the animal (Earthly Branch) and with Yang Earth within itself. The Earth Dragon is more grounded and persistent, and acts less impetuously. Compromise, though, is even less its thing.
Metal Dragon: 1940 and 2000
The Dragon’s Earth nourishes the year’s Metal, and with the Rooster it forms the pair combination (2er-Kombi) that produces Metal. The Metal Dragon is clearer, more precise and more methodical. Metal makes its directness even more pronounced, or, at its worst, harsh.
Water Dragon: 1952 and 2012
The Dragon’s Earth keeps the year’s Water in check. It contains Yin Water, and with the Monkey and Rat it forms the Water three-harmony combination. The Water Dragon is more reflective, communicates a great deal and builds networks without giving up the lead.
Dragon women and Dragon men
The Dragon’s traits apply equally to women and men. Gender matters elsewhere: together with place, year, month, day and hour, it forms part of Bazi, and it changes the Kua number. A man born in the Dragon year 1976 has Kua number 6; a woman has 9.
Which signs suit the Dragon? Friends in pairs, three-harmony and directional combinations
Even someone as keen to lead as the Dragon has friends. None of its three connections, however, produces its own element, Earth.
- Pair combination: Dragon and Rooster = Metal
- Three-harmony combination: Monkey, Rat and Dragon = Water
- Directional combination: Tiger, Rabbit and Dragon = Wood
- Opposite (clash): Dog
Opposite (clash): Dog
Opposite the Dragon stands the Dog, both Yang Earth and 180° apart in the zodiac. When one is Tai Sui, the other stands in its shadow as Por Sui, and this can be difficult.
What does the Dragon symbolise?
According to my Feng Shui Grand Masters, the Dragon is a mixture of Snake (movement, up and down), Horse (body), deer (antlers) and eagle (wings and claws), while its tail is attributed to the Red Bird or Phoenix. The antlers are associated with Wood, the breath with Fire, the body with Earth, the armour of scales with Metal and the wings with Water.
Dragons with 5 claws were “Imperial Dragons”, dragons of the emperor for the “Sons of Heaven”; dragons with 3 claws were intended for “ordinary” people. The Imperial Feng Shui in which I trained was taught only at the Chinese imperial court until 1911. I saw enormous dragon figures at a city festival in Bern.
What does 2027 bring for the Dragon?
The Goat, the animal of 2027, is neither a friend nor the opposite of the Dragon. Even a Dragon with its touch of luck cannot learn from the birth-year animal alone how its year will be. Only all eight characters in the Bazi show that. Tai Sui, Por Sui and the Three Killings in 2027 are explained in the Chinese horoscope for 2027.
Famous people born in the year of the Dragon
Douglas Adams, Sandra Bullock, Nicolas Cage, Barbara Hendricks, Wolfgang Kubicki, Henry Maske, Linda de Mol and Steven Seagal.
Making an impression in the office
A Dragon wants to make an impression in its own office too. Its complete Bazi shows how much space it needs. For this, I come to you for a Feng Shui consultation in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.