Wood Element in Chinese Zodiac: Traits and Matches

Here is a straight, useful guide to the Wood element in the Chinese zodiac. You will get the real traits, how it plays at work and in love, and which signs pair well. The element attached to your birth year flips at Lunar New Year, not on 1 January. If your birthday sits near that switch, confirm once with the Chinese Zodiac Sign Tool on the homepage so you map to the correct year and sign before using any advice.

Wood element at a glance

Label	Value
Core vibe	Growth, cooperation, steady expansion
Strengths	Team builder, patient planner, principled, generous with time
Common traps	Saying yes too often, slow decisions, soft boundaries
Best fuels	Clear goals, stable routines, visible progress
Element friends	Water feeds Wood, Wood feeds Fire
Element friction	Metal cuts Wood, Wood overworks Earth if left unchecked

How to check your element fast

Your element is tied to the exact Lunar New Year window of your birth year. Do not guess off the Western calendar. Check it once with the site tool, then read the right page for your sign. Start with your animal profile here:
Rat
Ox
Tiger
Rabbit
Dragon
Snake
Horse
Goat
Monkey
Rooster
Dog
Pig

The Wood playbook

Work style

Wood brings builder energy. It scales teams, sets standards, and prefers repeatable systems over loud stunts. It is patient with process and proud of quality. Give Wood a long runway and it will stack quiet wins until the graph bends up.

Use it

Keep a short list of live projects with one visible step each
Publish definitions so handoffs do not drift
Protect two deep work blocks per week and make people justify any meeting that touches them

Watch out

Saying yes to weak scope to keep the peace
Holding a plan past its prime
Turning empathy into unpaid labor

Money and decisions

Wood does best with strict rules and boring automation. Set a fixed save rate and move it on payday. Keep three buckets with target weights called safe, core, and bets. Review once per quarter with one page of rules. If a holding breaks a rule, close it the same day. Big buys must pass three tests in writing, usefulness, cost of waiting, and total cost of ownership.

Love and relationships

Warm, loyal, and dependable. Wood shows care through consistency and practical help. Singles should choose rooms that reward steady attendance like classes, clubs, and volunteer work. First meets should be simple and short. In long term pairs, run one weekly logistics slot and one separate connection slot so romance does not drown under chores.

Best matchups for Wood

Partner	Why it works	What to watch
Water element people	They feed your growth with ideas and timing	Do not let analysis stall decisions
Fire element people	You supply fuel and they bring visible drive	Scope swell when excitement runs high
Rabbit	Taste, care, and fairness match your style	Decide faster so choices do not stack up
Goat	Standards and calm execution	Say needs out loud so kindness does not hide truth
Dog	Duty and delivery with clean rules	Avoid turning plans into rigid walls

More friction

Metal heavy partners will push sharp standards. Useful in doses, painful if constant
Earth heavy partners love stability. Great for budgets, risky if it freezes change
With strong Dragon or Tiger energy, set pace rules early so focus beats noise

Wood inside each animal

Short reads so you can jump to the right page.

Wood Rat, connector and optimizer with a warmer touch. See the year page for 1984 Wood Rat.
Wood Ox, patient operator with people skills. See 1985 Wood Ox.
Wood Tiger, bold but more collaborative than other Tigers. Read the base sign first, then pace plans on the Tiger page.
Wood Rabbit, classic host and systems builder. Start at the Rabbit hub.
Wood Dragon, public voice with builder patience. Read the Dragon guide for base traits.
Wood Snake, strategist with a cooperative tone. Check the Snake overview.
Wood Horse, energetic yet team first. See 2014 Wood Horse.
Wood Goat, serene operator who sets taste and cadence. See 2015 Wood Goat.
Wood Monkey, inventive, social, ships fast with allies. See 2004 Wood Monkey.
Wood Rooster, standards plus mentoring. See 2005 Wood Rooster.
Wood Dog, loyal builder with clean process. See 1994 Wood Dog.
Wood Pig, generous anchor with strong follow through. See 1995 Wood Pig.

Year links inside 1980 to 2015

If your birthday is near the edge of any window, confirm with the tool, then use the page below.

Western birth date range	Animal	Element	Jump to page
2 February 1984 to 19 February 1985	Rat	Wood	1984 Chinese Zodiac, Wood Rat
20 February 1985 to 8 February 1986	Ox	Wood	1985 Chinese Zodiac, Wood Ox
22 January 1994 to 9 February 1995	Dog	Wood	1994 Chinese Zodiac, Wood Dog
31 January 1995 to 18 February 1996	Pig	Wood	1995 Chinese Zodiac, Wood Pig
22 January 2004 to 8 February 2005	Monkey	Wood	2004 Chinese Zodiac, Wood Monkey
9 February 2005 to 28 January 2006	Rooster	Wood	2005 Chinese Zodiac, Wood Rooster
31 January 2014 to 18 February 2015	Horse	Wood	2014 Chinese Zodiac, Wood Horse
19 February 2015 to 7 February 2016	Goat	Wood	2015 Chinese Zodiac, Wood Goat

Strengths and traps by life stage

Stage	What works	What breaks
Early career	Shipping small wins with strong mentors	Taking every ask and losing focus
Mid career	Program ownership and coaching others	Staying in stale systems long past their use
Later career	Standards that outlive you and talent trees	Rule worship that blocks smart change

One year action plan for Wood types

Write one page with your top three outputs and the weekly rituals that keep them moving
Cap live projects and add clear stop rules in writing
Keep a brag file with shipped proof so pay talks stay short and factual
Run one improvement loop tied to a metric you control. Test, ship, review, repeat
Protect two shared rituals in your relationship. Logistics in one slot, connection in another