Rat (Chinese astrology)

The Rat is the first of the twelve animals of Chinese astrology. Its recent years are 1984, 1996, 2008 and 2020, counting from Chinese New Year. A yang animal associated with the fixed element Water, it opens the cycle, according to the legend in which it arrives first, riding on the Ox's back. Tradition credits it with intelligence, quick wit, charm, a sense of opportunity and thrift, with anxiety and a certain calculation as the flip side.