Chinese Zodiac
The Chinese calendar is a lunisolar calendar; thus, new year day is usually in late January or early February and it is on a day with a new moon (no moon). For 2013, Chinese New Year is on February 10th.
No one knows when the Chinese calendar officially began, but it is generally accepted that Year One corresponds to the time when Emperor Huang Di began ruling China (equivalent to 2697 BC). Thus, 2012 (after Jan 23) corresponds to the Chinese year 4710.
February 10, 2013 also begins the year of the Snake. In Chinese astrology, the zodiac is represented by a 12-year cycle of 12 animals (see below for list of animals).
Of all the animals in the world, why were these 12 chosen? There are many stories explaining this and they all share a similar theme: there was a race and the first 12 animals who arrived at the finish line were chosen.
Rat is small but he is clever. He convinces Ox to give him a ride, but just as Ox approaches the finish line, Rat jumps ahead of Ox making Rat 1st on the list and Ox 2nd.
One story says that Snake was curled around Horse's leg, as Horse approached the finish line, Snake quickly sprang forward and arrived before Horse. That is why Snake is 6th on the list and Horse is 7th. See more about Chinese zodiac from wikipedia.com's Chinese astrology.
Chinese astrology is a 60-year cycle because it involves 12 zodiac animals and 5 Earthly elements (5 x 12 = 60). In fact, your horoscope is determined by many aspects related to when you were born:
- odd-numbered years are "Yin" while even-numbered years are "Yang"
- 5 elements (metal, water, wood, fire, earth)
- 12 animals represent the year you were born
- the same 12 animals represent the month you were born
- and the same 12 animals represent the hour you were born
(2 hours per animal: 2 x 12 = 24 hours).
Thus, two people born in the same year do not share the same fate because their fortune is also determined by the month and hour in which they were born.
Origami Diagrams:
Snake
Cobra pg 4 (J Adams)
Cobra pg 9 (J Koppel)
Snake (L Stringer)
Snake (A Anselmo)
Snake (origami-club.com)
Snake/Ular (H Tahir)
Origami Snake (Origami-Instructions.com)
Spiral Snake (KA Lundberg)
Streaked Snake (R Foelker)
$Serpent (C Randall)
Years of the Snake
...1905, 1917, 1929, 1941,
1953, 1965, 1977, 1989,
2001, 2013, 2025,...
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Horse
Horse (S O'Hanlon)
Horse (CY Hung)
Horse (D Dimitris)
Horse (D Petty)
Horse (D Brill)
Horse (TP Kong)
Horse (N Miyajima)
Caballo/Horse (JA Voyer)
Caballo/Horse (M Maya)
Caballo/Horse (R Diaz)
Horse (D Dimitris)
Horse (M Noboru)
Horse Heads/Cavalli (P D'Auria)
Mustang Horse pg 4 (JJ Campos)
[password & username = neorigami]
Pony/Horse with Cut (A Walden)
2 Piece Horse (Z Huixin)
Years of the Horse
...1906, 1918, 1930, 1942,
1954, 1966, 1978, 1990,
2002, 2014, 2026,...
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Sheep
Sheep (S O'Hanlon)
Sheep (A Carpenter)
Sheep (origami-club.com)
Goat (CY Hung)
Goat Head (?)
Ram 1 (chine-culture.com)
Ram 2 (chine-culture.com)
Business Card Ram's Head:
page 1, 2 (Macgyver)
Years of the Sheep
...1907, 1919, 1931, 1943,
1955, 1967, 1979, 1991,
2003, 2015, 2027,...
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Monkey
Monkey (R Glynn)
Monkey (CY Hung)
Monkey 2 (CY Hung)
Monkey Head (R Glynn)
Origami Monkey (OrigamiWay.com)
Chimpanzee Head (Q Trollip)
Simple Monkey (Tavin)
Years of the Monkey
...1908, 1920, 1932, 1944,
1956, 1968, 1980, 1992,
2004, 2016, 2028,...
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Rooster
Rooster (TP Kong)
Rooster (E Binzinger)
Easy Rooster (RHC Bristle)
Gallo/Rooster (P Gallo)
Good Morning Rooster (L Stringer)
Le Coq/Rooster (C Boudias)
Cock of Dresden (von KD Ennen)
Chicken (origami-club.com)
Years of the Rooster
...1909, 1921, 1933, 1945,
1957, 1969, 1981, 1993,
2005, 2017, 2029,...
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Dog
Boxer (P Forcher)
Dog (CY Hung)
Dog (J Casoblanco)
Basset Dog (FH Rojas)
Begging Dog (E Corrie)
German Shepherd (P Forcher)
Little Dog (OrigamiColombia)
Little Terrier Dog (FJ Caboblanco)
Origami Dog Head (activityVillage)
Nodding Dog (P Jackson)
Scottish Terrier (P Forcher)
Sitting Dog (J Villemaire)
Husky (M Jackson)
Puppy (M Case)
Puppy Dog (E Corrie)
Puppy/Cachorro (jj.supaman09)
Business Card Puppy (L Stevens)
Postcard Pup (A Barbour)
Years of the Dog
...1910, 1922, 1934, 1946,
1958, 1970, 1982, 1994,
2006, 2018, 2030,...
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Pig
Pig (D Petty)
Pig (S O'Hanlon)
Pig (TP Kong)
Pig/Schwein (S Weber)
Pig (CY Hung)
Pig (JL Figueroa)
Pig (?)
Pig (Q Trollip)
Pig:
pg 1, 2, 3 (NG Cuong)
Pig:
pg 1,
2,
3, (HM Tai)
Business Card Pig (Macgyver)
Origami Pig (M Case)
Little Piggy... (R Katz)
Spotted Pig (H Birkeland)
World's Largest Origami Pig (Zmolek-Smith)
Years of the Pig
...1911, 1923, 1935, 1947,
1959,1971, 1983, 1995,
2007, 2019, 2031,...
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Rat
Maus 96/Mouse (P Forcher)
Maus 98/Mouse (P Forcher)
Mouse; pg 7 (J Koppel)
Mouse (CY Hung)
Mouse (the art of japan)
Mouse pg 8 (J Koppel)
Mouse (H Tahir)
Mouse:
pg 1,
2 (SW Seon)
Mouse: pg 1, 2 (T Gotani)
Big-Eared Mouse pg 9 (S Spinolo)
Little Mouse (F Scalambra)
Loitering Mouse (F Shingu)
La Petit Souris (R Donachie)
Rat (L-MAN)
Rat (E Kofman)
Rata (FM Salinas)
Rata/Rat (E Joisel)
Raton/Rat (JA Iranzo)
Years of the Rat
...
1912, 1924, 1936, 1948,
1960, 1972, 1984, 1996,
2008, 2020, 2032,...
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Ox
Cow (S O'Hanlon)
Cow (marcels-kid-crafts.com)
Cattle (origami-club.com)
Bull (J Zsebe)
Bull (AF Petlewski)
Bull (D Boursin)
Bull 1 (chine-culture.com)
Bull 2 (chine-culture.com)
Bull 3 (chine-culture.com)
Bull/Toro (AO Avila)
Bull/Toro (G Rohads)
with short or long horns
Bull Skull (J Cole)
$Bull (A Anselmo)
$Bull: 1,
2 (P Bailey)
Buffalo (PD Huy) photo
Buffalo (F Castellanos)
[password & username = neorigami]
Toro (cobos)
Years of the Ox
...1901, 1913, 1925, 1937,
1949, 1961, 1973, 1985,
1997, 2009, 2021,...
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Tiger
Tiger (Origami-Instructions.com)
Tiger (TP Kong)
Winged Tiger/Tigre alado (JA Voyer)
Years of the Tiger
...1902, 1914, 1926, 1938,
1950, 1962, 1974, 1986,
1998, 2010, 2022,...
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Rabbit
Bunny (T Stamm)
Bunny (TP Kong)
Ballon Bunny (F Shingu)
Blow-Up Bunny (traditional)
Blow-Up Bunny (traditional)
Business Card Hopping Bunny (GM Gross)
Hare (S O'Hanlon)
Hare/Liebre (L Montoya) and here
Shy Little Hare (H Dybkjær)
Rabbit (K Kasahara)
Rabbit (HT Quyet)
Rabbit (HT Quyet)
Rabbit (CY Hung)
Rabbit (the art of japan)
Rabbit (J Langeveld)
Rabbit (X Arena)
Rabbit (J Zsebe)
Rabbit (J Casoblanco)
Rabbit/Conejo pg 4 (L Pulido)
[password & username = neorigami]
Rabbit/Kelinci (H Tahir)
Rabbit; pg 1 , pg 2 (J Maekawa)
Easy Origami Rabbit (Orc)
Origami Rabbit (A Leong/S O'Hanlon)
with template
Tea-bag Rabbit (B
Dunkan)
Traditional Rabbit (R Foelker)
Running Rabbit (A Barbour): pg 1,
pg 2
Happy Easter (Sanja)
$ Bunny (C Tessier)
$Bunny Bill (R Neale)
Bunny Money (C Esseltine)
$Rabbit (P Bailey)
Years of the Rabbit
...1903, 1915, 1927, 1939,
1951, 1963, 1975,
1987, 1999, 2011, 2023,...
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Dragon
Dragon (D Abbey)
Dragon (S O'Hanlon)
Dragon (H Pereira)
Dragon (J Niemeyer)
Dragon (J Zsebe)
Dragon (M Jackson)
Dragon (TP Kong)
Dragon (J Caboblanco)
Dragon (D Brill)
Dragon pg 10 (J Koppel)
Dragon 2 (E Corrie)
Drake (M Case)
Business Card Dragon:
page 1, 2, 3 (Macgyver)
Compact Dragon (P Bailey)
Eastern Dragon (J Wu)
Dragon (FG Gomez)
Flapping Dragon (E Tan)
Flying Dragon/Dragon Volador (MC Soto)
Flying Dragon pg 9 (J Adams)
Ian's Dragon 1 (I Mitchell)
Modular Dragon (FR Navarro)
Old Dragon (S O'Hanlon)
Origami Dragon (E Ha)
Origami Dragon (D Quick)
Orme Dragon (M Orme)
Proud Dragon (AF Barbour): pg 1,
pg 2
Rearing Dragon (J Allison)
Simple Dragon for Natasha (JC Nolan)
$Fan Tailed Dragon (P Bailey)
$Flying Dragon (J Adams)
Years of the Dragon
...1904, 1916, 1928, 1940,
1952, 1964, 1976, 1988,
2000, 2012, 2024,...
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Books about Chinese Astrology
- Chinese Astrology Kit: Discover Your Personality, Compatibility and Destiny by Walters & Jones
- Chinese Horoscopes: an Easy Guide by D Burns
- The Complete Guide to Chinese Astrology by Walters
- Chinese Astrology by S Wu
- See these books in: USA
 , Canada , UK , Germany , France
Books about Chinese Zodiac Origami
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These Chinese zodiac animal diagrams are freely available on the internet. If you have a model that you would like to share, or if you see your model here and would like it removed, please Contact Us. Diagrams are intended for personal use. Copyright of the models lie with the origami creators and designers. Please contact the designer and/or creator directly for non-private usage of a model and/or artwork.
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