Year of the Dragon

Dragon personality

The Dragon is the only mythical animal in the cycle and the most auspicious. Dragons are ambitious, charismatic, energetic and confident — natural centre-of-attention types who aim high and inspire those around them. That drive comes with pride and impatience: Dragons can be unwilling to compromise and quick to chafe at limits.

The Dragon and the five elements

Each Year of the Dragon carries a different heavenly-stem element, so no two Dragons are quite alike. The current cycle’s 2036 is the Fire Dragon.

• Wood Dragongrowth-minded, generous and cooperative, taking the long view
• Fire Dragondynamic, passionate and bold, quick to lead
• Earth Dragongrounded, patient and dependable, building to last
• Metal Dragondisciplined, determined and principled, holding a firm line
• Water Dragonintuitive, adaptable and persuasive, reading people well

Dragon birth years and ages

Each zodiac year recurs every 12 years, with a different heavenly-stem element each time. Ages are the age reached during the year.

Dragon compatibility

Traditional matches follow the trine (San He), the secret-friend pair (Liu He) and the clash (Liu Chong), all set by the Dragon’s place in the twelve-year cycle.

Trine — natural allies

Monkey and Rat. Signs four places apart share the Dragon’s pace and outlook, and tend to understand each other quickly.

Secret friend

Rooster. The single strongest one-to-one bond — supportive even when the two are not in the same trine.

Clash — most tension

Dog. The opposite sign, six places away — not doomed, but the pairing that asks for the most communication and patience.

The Dragon in Singapore

The Dragon is the most sought-after year in Singapore: many Chinese couples deliberately time a "dragon baby", and maternity wards — and later preschool and Primary 1 cohorts — noticeably swell in Dragon years. Dragon dances and the Chinatown light-up go all out.