Lunar Zodiac · The Moon's Cycle
Goat
“Got there on a raft, with two others, and cleared the way.”
Polarity: yin · Direction: south · Element: earth
The Goat is artistry, gentleness and an emotional register that runs deeper than the conversation suggests. It cares about how things look and feel, needs a space that belongs to it, and is far more comfortable creating something than competing for something. Underneath the softness there is a stubborn and very particular set of standards. Its crossing is the only cooperative one in the story. The Goat, the Monkey and the Rooster reached the river separately and got nowhere alone, so they worked it out together: the Rooster spotted a raft, the Monkey and the Goat cleared the weeds and poled it across, and all three arrived in a group. They took eighth, ninth and tenth. Three animals who could not have finished at all individually placed in the middle of the field by pooling what each of them had, and the Goat, characteristically, ended up first among them. Goat people are creative, kind and much better in company they have chosen than in any kind of contest. They are generous with attention, sensitive to atmosphere, and quietly immovable about their own taste. The cost is the raft: a real dependence on the right people being there, and a tendency to drift when they are not, waiting for conditions to become bearable rather than making them so.
Years of the Goat
A Goat year opens at Chinese New Year, which falls between late January and the middle of February, so it does not line up with the calendar year. Anyone born in the weeks before it belongs to the animal before.
- 1919February 1, 1919 to February 19, 1920
- 1931February 17, 1931 to February 5, 1932
- 1943February 5, 1943 to January 24, 1944
- 1955January 24, 1955 to February 11, 1956
- 1967February 9, 1967 to January 29, 1968
- 1979January 28, 1979 to February 15, 1980
- 1991February 15, 1991 to February 3, 1992
- 2003February 1, 2003 to January 21, 2004
- 2015February 19, 2015 to February 7, 2016
- 2027February 7, 2027 to January 25, 2028
- 2039January 24, 2039 to February 11, 2040
Goat Ancient Zodiacs
Every sign someone born in the Year of the Goat can be, one for each Western sun sign.
- Hare: Aries Goat, “Quick starter with a soft heart and a straight line to run.”
- Ibex: Taurus Goat, “Stands where nothing should stand, and is calm about it.”
- Mandrill: Gemini Goat, “Two faces, both honest, both works of art.”
- Frog: Cancer Goat, “Feels the weather in the room before anyone speaks.”
- Cat: Leo Goat, “Accepts the comfort, keeps every claw.”
- Heron: Virgo Goat, “Stands still for an hour to move once, perfectly.”
- Ladybug: Libra Goat, “Charming, decorative, and a devastating predator.”
- Llama: Scorpio Goat, “Carries the load, sets the limit, and will not be argued with.”
- Leopard: Sagittarius Goat, “At home anywhere, and belonging to nowhere in particular.”
- Deer: Capricorn Goat, “Rebuilds the crown every year and wears it quietly.”
- Mole: Aquarius Goat, “Quietly building an entire world you cannot see.”
- Seal: Pisces Goat, “Awkward on land, and a different animal in the water.”