On February 19th, or Chinese New Year, we ponystepped out of the year of the Horse and into the year of the Goat. The Shengxiao, or Chinese Zodiac, assigns an animal and an element to each passing year in a 12-year mathematical cycle; to find out your animal, just type your birthday into chinesezodiac.com. i-D, for instance, was born in the year of the Pig: hard-working, passionate, peace-loving and sociable, if occasionally self-indulgent. And that’s not all, as animal signs are also assigned by month (inner animals), day (true animals) and hour (secret animals), allowing for 103,680 possible combinations for each person. You could appear in the year of the Pig and live as a Tiger internally, a Rooster truly, and a Monkey secretly. So, to celebrate the start of an exciting year of the Goat, this is our Chinese Zodiac. Happy New Year!
Goat / Yin, fixed element Fire
Goats are artistic, mild-mannered, mothering, peaceful and shy – but sometimes complaining, indecisive, passive, pessismistic and worried.
Famous Goat: Tyler the Creator
Monkey / Yang, fixed element Metal
Monkeys are dignified, flexible, intellectual, inventive and self-assured – however they’re also cunning, jealous, manipulative, selfish and vain.
Famous Monkey: Kim Kardashian
Rooster / Yin, fixed element Metal
Roosters are alert, conservative, meticulous, neat and perfectionist – but sometimes abrasive, critical, opinionated, proud and puritanical.
Famous Rooster: Karl Lagerfeld
Dog / Yang, fixed element Metal
Dogs are affectionate, attractive, honest, loyal and moralistic – but can be cynical, lazy, quarrelsome, stubborn and worrisome.
Famous Dog: Justin Bieber
Pig / Yin, fixed element Water
Pigs are calm, intelligent, scrupulous, thoughtful and understanding – although also fatalistic, gullible, naïve, over-reliant and self-indulgent.
Famous Pig: Larry David
Rat / Yang, fixed element Water
Rats are artistic, charming, charismatic, eloquent and intense – but can be intolerant, ruthless, scheming, self-destructive and vindictive.
Famous Rat: John Galliano
Ox / Yin, fixed element Water
Oxen are ambitious, conventional, logical, modest and resolute – and demanding, dogmatic, hot-tempered, materialistic and stubborn.
Famous Ox: LiLo
Tiger / Yang, fixed element Wood
Tigers are colorful, daring, impulsive, rebellious and vigorous – but can also be aggressive, impatient, reckless, restless and quick-tempered.
famous Tiger: Usain Bolt
Rabbit / Yin, fixed element Wood
Rabbits are amiable, cautious, kind, lucky and tender – on a bad day they are detached, moody, opportunistic, self-indulgent and superficial.
Famous Rabbit: Blue Ivy Carter c/o Beyonce
Dragon / Yang, fixed element Wood
Dragons are artistic, fiery, passionate, pioneering and self-assured – but beware, as they can also be arrogant, brash, demanding, tactless and tyrannical.
Famous Dragon: RiRi
Snake / Yin, fixed element Fire
Snakes are deep thinking, elegant, mystic, sensual and wise – but can be bad at communicating, cold, distrustful, lonely and self-doubting.
Famous Snake: Yeezy
Horse / Yang, fixed element Fire
Horses are agile, cheerful, open-minded, popular and talkative – however, on occasions, they can act arrogant, childish, fickle, rude and stubborn.
Famous Horse: Mario Balotelli
Roll in the new lunar year with a flick back through Chen Man’s colorful i-D archive here.
Credits
Photography Chen Man
Styling Lucia Liu
Make-up Terry Barber
[The Whatever The Weather Issue, no. 317, Pre-Spring 2012]