1968 Chinese Zodiac: Year of the Earth Monkey

When did the 1968 Year of the Monkey start and end?

The Chinese zodiac does not change on January 1. It follows the lunisolar calendar, so each animal year starts at Lunar New Year, the second new moon after the winter solstice, which always lands between January 21 and February 20. For 1968 that date was January 30, 1968.

Because Lunar New Year (Jan 30) came before Ipchun (Feb 5) in 1968, babies born from Jan 30 to Feb 4 are Monkeys by the popular zodiac but still have a 丁未 (Fire Goat) year pillar in a Korean Saju or Chinese Bazi chart.

Earth Monkey meaning: element, yin-yang and nayin

Every year in the 60-year cycle pairs one of ten heavenly stems with one of twelve earthly branches. 1968 is stem 戊 (Mu / Wù, Yang Earth) on branch 申 (Sin, the Monkey), number 45 of 60 in the cycle. The stem gives the year its element, which is why people say “Earth Monkey” rather than just “Monkey”.

Reading the element. Earth is the element of the centre and of harvest. Earth years are read as patient, realistic and dependable, with a talent for mediating and keeping a group together. Tradition notes a tendency to worry, to resist change and to keep feelings to oneself for too long. For a Earth year the keywords are stability, practicality and trust. The Monkey itself carries Metal as its fixed element, so this year blends earth energy with metal qualities.

The nayin image. The 60 pairs also have 30 poetic “nayin” names, shared by two neighbouring years. 1968 and 1969 are Highway Earth (大驛土), pictured as the earth of a great post road: connections, travel and the ability to link people and places.

The same 戊申 pair is also a Saju day pillar; see the Mu-Sin day-pillar article for how the combination is read when it appears on the day of birth.

1968 in Korean, Japanese and Vietnamese zodiac

Koreans often name the year with a colour taken from the stem element: Wood years are blue-green (청), Fire red (적), Earth yellow or golden (황), Metal white (백) and Water black (흑). That is why 1968 is called the year of the 황금 원숭이띠 (yellow (gold) monkey). Japan has counted eto by the Gregorian year since 1873, so in Japan everyone born in 1968 counts as saru (申, Monkey) regardless of the lunar date. Vietnam uses the same animal for this year.

1968 Earth Monkey personality traits (traditional)

Keywords: clever, curious, playful, inventive + stability, practicality and trust

Monkey years are associated with wit, curiosity and versatility. Monkeys are said to learn fast, solve problems creatively and keep any group entertained.

The Monkey King, Sun Wukong of Journey to the West, gave the sign its reputation for brilliance, mischief and endless tricks. Japan’s three wise monkeys (see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil) are another monkey motif.

Where the Earth element shows. Tradition says the stem colours the animal: a Earth Monkey is reliable, patient, grounded. Compared with the Fire Monkey of 1956 and the Metal Monkey of 1980, the 1968 version is read as the steadiest and most practical Monkey.

In love: Fun and lively, needing mental stimulation; Monkeys look for a partner who can keep up with their humour and ideas. At work: Strong in technology, engineering, trading, marketing, entertainment, journalism and problem-solving roles.

Zodiac personality descriptions are folklore. Real personality is shaped by upbringing, culture and choices, and people born in the same year differ enormously.

1968 Monkey compatibility: best and worst matches

Classical compatibility looks at how the two birth-year branches relate on the zodiac wheel. Signs four places apart form a Three Harmony trine, specific pairs form a Six Harmony, and signs directly opposite each other clash. For a Monkey born in 1968, the nearest-age examples are:

Korean folk matchmaking (gunghap, 궁합) also watches for wonjin (원진) pairs, said to breed resentment; for the Monkey that partner is the Rabbit. See the full 12×12 compatibility chart or the Year of the Monkey guide. A real compatibility reading in Saju compares all eight characters of both charts, not just the year animal.

Lucky numbers and colours for the 1968 Monkey

Two different ideas get mixed together online. The “lucky numbers and colours” lists are a modern popular folklore that varies from one website to another. The five-element colours are older: they come from the correspondence of Wood–green, Fire–red, Earth–yellow, Metal–white and Water–black, which is also behind Korean names such as 황금 원숭이띠. Treat both as fun cultural trivia.

2027 Year of the Fire Goat: outlook for people born in 1968

2027 is Jeongmi (丁未), the Yin Fire Goat — called the “red sheep” year (붉은 양띠) in Korea. In the Chinese calendar it begins on Feb 6, 2027 and ends on Jan 25, 2028; Korea celebrates Seollal on Feb 7, 2027 because the new moon falls just after midnight Korea time. For Saju, the year pillar changes at Ipchun on Feb 4, 2027 at about 10:46 KST. Tradition reads 2027 as a neutral year for the Earth Monkey:

Your sign has no classical harmony or clash with the Goat, so 2027 is read as a "neutral" year in which results depend on your own effort and on the rest of your chart rather than on the year sign.

Fire generates Earth, so for an Earth-year sign the Fire Goat year is traditionally supportive: help from mentors, study, documents and recognition. The Goat itself is also an Earth branch, a double dose of the familiar.

Practical, non-mystical ways to use the 2027 reading

• Set two or three concrete goals for 2027; a neutral year rewards plans more than luck.
• At 59, review savings, insurance and career goals with real numbers.
• Use the Saju calculator to see whether 2027 strengthens or drains your day master rather than relying on the year animal alone.

For a personalised version that uses your birth month, day and hour, see the 2027 Korean horoscope and the 2027 Year of the Goat guide.

How old is someone born in 1968? (2026 and 2027)

The 60-year cycle gives East Asian birthdays their biggest milestone: when the same stem-and-branch pair (戊申) returns, a person has completed one full cycle. In Korea this is hwangap (환갑) and in Japan kanreki; for people born in 1968 it falls in 2028. Chilsun (70th) follows in 2038 and palsun (80th) in 2048.

All Monkey years and the years around 1968

The Monkey returns every 12 years, but the element changes each time, so the same Earth Monkey element comes back only every 60 years.

Neighbouring birth years

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