The Fire Goat year does not begin on January 1, and it does not begin on Lunar New Year either. In BaZi, the year turns at Lichun, the moment the Sun reaches 315° of ecliptic longitude. In 2027 that moment falls on the evening of February 3 across North America and in the early hours of February 4 in the UK and Ireland.
When the Fire Goat year starts, by time zone
It is one moment everywhere. The clock reading changes with the place.
United States and Canada
| Time zone | Local time of Lichun |
|---|---|
| Newfoundland (NST) | February 3, 2027, 10:16 pm |
| Atlantic (AST) | February 3, 2027, 9:46 pm |
| Eastern (EST): New York, Toronto | February 3, 2027, 8:46 pm |
| Central (CST): Chicago | February 3, 2027, 7:46 pm |
| Mountain (MST): Denver, Phoenix | February 3, 2027, 6:46 pm |
| Pacific (PST): Los Angeles, Vancouver | February 3, 2027, 5:46 pm |
| Alaska (AKST) | February 3, 2027, 4:46 pm |
| Hawaii (HST) | February 3, 2027, 3:46 pm |
UK and Ireland
| Place | Local time of Lichun |
|---|---|
| London, Edinburgh, Belfast, Dublin (GMT) | February 4, 2027, 1:46 am |
A birth in New York at 8:40 pm on February 3, 2027 has the year pillar 丙午, the Fire Horse. A birth at 8:50 pm the same evening has 丁未, the Fire Goat. In London the same line falls between 1:40 am and 1:50 am on February 4.
The Fire Goat year runs until the next Lichun. That is February 4, 2028 at 2:31 am in New York and 7:31 am in London. On the Pacific coast it is still February 3, 2028, at 11:31 pm.
Born close to the line
The year line is a single instant, so the calculator compares instants, not dates. A birth in Los Angeles at 5:40 pm on the evening of February 3, 2027 is still the Fire Horse. Six minutes later it is the Fire Goat, while the calendar shows the same date.
One correction does not move this line here. True solar time shifts the clock reading to where the Sun actually stood over your birthplace, and that can change the hour pillar. This calculator compares the birth instant itself with Lichun, so the correction does not change which side of the line a birth falls on.
This is also why a birth time matters on this one evening. Without a time, a February 3, 2027 birth in North America could sit on either side of the line. The calculator then reads the day at midday, which in North America falls before the line, so enter the time if you have it.
Lichun and Lunar New Year are two different days in 2027
Lunar New Year 2027 falls on February 6. Lichun comes first, on February 3 or 4 depending on where you are. Someone born in New York on February 4 or 5, 2027 has the Fire Goat year pillar in BaZi, even though the lunar calendar has not yet turned. The BaZi year follows the Sun. The lunar year follows the Moon. They are counted on two different clocks.
Why the BaZi year starts at Lichun →
What 丁未 is made of
Every year in BaZi is one of sixty pairs, a heavenly stem over an earthly branch. 丁未 is the 44th of the sixty.
The stem 丁 and the branch 未
The stem 丁 is yin Fire. The branch 未 is the Goat, and its main element is Earth. So the year reads as yin Fire sitting on Earth.
What sits inside 未: the hidden stems
A branch carries more than one stem inside it. 未 holds three: 己 (yin Earth) as its main stem, with 丁 (yin Fire) and 乙 (yin Wood) alongside it. This is why the Goat year carries some Wood and a second share of Fire under its Earth.
The last Fire Goat year was 1967. It began at Lichun on February 4, 1967, at 7:30 am in New York and 12:30 pm in London.
The twelve months of the Fire Goat year
BaZi months also start at solar terms, not on the first of the month. Each month has its own stem and branch. The table gives the moment each month begins.
| Month pillar | Begins (New York) | Begins (London) |
|---|---|---|
| 壬寅 | Feb 3, 2027, 8:46 pm EST | Feb 4, 2027, 1:46 am GMT |
| 癸卯 | Mar 5, 2027, 2:39 pm EST | Mar 5, 2027, 7:39 pm GMT |
| 甲辰 | Apr 4, 2027, 8:17 pm EDT | Apr 5, 2027, 1:17 am BST |
| 乙巳 | May 5, 2027, 1:24 pm EDT | May 5, 2027, 6:24 pm BST |
| 丙午 | Jun 5, 2027, 5:25 pm EDT | Jun 5, 2027, 10:25 pm BST |
| 丁未 | Jul 7, 2027, 3:36 am EDT | Jul 7, 2027, 8:36 am BST |
| 戊申 | Aug 7, 2027, 1:26 pm EDT | Aug 7, 2027, 6:26 pm BST |
| 己酉 | Sep 7, 2027, 4:28 pm EDT | Sep 7, 2027, 9:28 pm BST |
| 庚戌 | Oct 8, 2027, 8:16 am EDT | Oct 8, 2027, 1:16 pm BST |
| 辛亥 | Nov 7, 2027, 10:38 am EST | Nov 7, 2027, 3:38 pm GMT |
| 壬子 | Dec 7, 2027, 3:37 am EST | Dec 7, 2027, 8:37 am GMT |
| 癸丑 | Jan 5, 2028, 2:54 pm EST | Jan 5, 2028, 7:54 pm GMT |
One month in this year carries the same pair as the year itself. From July 7 to August 7, 2027, both the year and the month are 丁未.
How 丁未 meets each Day Master
Your Day Master is the stem of the day you were born. BaZi names the relationship between your Day Master and any other stem with one of ten terms. The table shows what the year's stem 丁 and the main stem of 未 (己) are called for each Day Master.
| Day Master | 丁 (year stem) | 未 (year branch) |
|---|---|---|
| 甲 Yang Wood | Expression | Direct Wealth |
| 乙 Yin Wood | Output | Indirect Wealth |
| 丙 Yang Fire | Rival | Expression |
| 丁 Yin Fire | Companion | Output |
| 戊 Yang Earth | Direct Resource | Rival |
| 己 Yin Earth | Indirect Resource | Companion |
| 庚 Yang Metal | Direct Officer | Direct Resource |
| 辛 Yin Metal | Seven Killings | Indirect Resource |
| 壬 Yang Water | Direct Wealth | Direct Officer |
| 癸 Yin Water | Indirect Wealth | Seven Killings |
These are names for a relationship between elements, not verdicts on a year. What each name means in structure:
- Companion: the same element and polarity as the Day Master.
- Rival: the same element as the Day Master, with the opposite polarity.
- Output and Expression: the element the Day Master produces, with the same and the opposite polarity.
- Indirect Wealth and Direct Wealth: the element the Day Master controls, with the same and the opposite polarity.
- Seven Killings and Direct Officer: the element that controls the Day Master, with the same and the opposite polarity.
- Indirect Resource and Direct Resource: the element that produces the Day Master, with the same and the opposite polarity.
The five branches that meet 未
Earthly branches form fixed relationships with each other. In the year of 未, five of the twelve animal branches have a named relationship with the year branch. The other seven have none.
| Your year branch | Relationship with 未 |
|---|---|
| Horse 午 | six combination, toward Fire |
| Rabbit 卯 | half of a three-branch combination, toward Wood |
| Ox 丑 | clash |
| Rat 子 | harm |
| Dog 戌 | break |
A relationship is a structural fact of the chart. The full reading looks at where in your own chart a branch like this sits, because the same relationship touches a year pillar and a day pillar differently.
Find your own pillars
Your year pillar is only one of four. The calculator places your birth on the same solar-term boundaries used on this page, corrected to true solar time for your birthplace.