TL;DR: For Tết Đinh Mùi 2027, the ages considered suitable as first-footer for a householder born in the year of the Goat are the Horse, the Pig and the Rabbit; the Ox is seen as directly clashing with the year. Other ages are chosen by tam hợp (three-combination group) and lục hợp (six-combination pair) with the householder's age, while avoiding clashing, harming and breaking ages. This is folk belief, not a binding rule, and each ritual master may use a different method.
What is xông đất and why is Tết Đinh Mùi 2027 asked about so much?
Xông đất, also called xông nhà, is the Vietnamese folk custom of choosing the first person to enter the home in the new year. That first-footer is expected to bring luck and favourable conditions to the household for the whole year. At Tết, many families choose a first-footer whose age suits the householder's age and avoid ages that clash with the year.
Why does the year Đinh Mùi 2027 have its own clashing ages?
By the can chi reckoning, a person born in 1967 is of the Đinh Mùi year. The heavenly stem Đinh belongs to Fire, the earthly branch Mùi belongs to Earth. In this system of belief, each year has certain ages seen as directly clashing with it, called phạm Thái tuế or xung Thái tuế. For a Mùi year, the Ox is seen as directly clashing because Ox and Goat form a principal clash pair among the twelve earthly branches.
Some methods also exclude people whose heavenly stem clashes with the year's stem. The year Đinh has the stem Đinh, so people born in a year with the stem Quý are often seen as unsuitable. This stem-based exclusion is not used by every school, and here ritual masters may give different lists.
How are first-footer ages for Tết Đinh Mùi 2027 chosen by tam hợp and lục hợp?
The most common method is to choose someone whose age is in tam hợp or lục hợp with the householder's age. Tam hợp is a group of three zodiac animals of the same element; lục hợp is a harmonious pair. Below is a lookup table by the branch of the householder's birth year, based on traditional tam hợp and lục hợp relations.
| Householder's age (branch) | Tam hợp ages to choose | Lục hợp age to choose | Ages to avoid (clash, harm, break) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tý (Rat) | Thân (Monkey), Thìn (Dragon) | Sửu (Ox) | Ngọ (Horse, clash), Mùi (Goat, harm), Dậu (Rooster, break) |
| Sửu (Ox) | Tỵ (Snake), Dậu (Rooster) | Tý (Rat) | Mùi (Goat, clash), Ngọ (Horse, harm), Thìn (Dragon, break) |
| Dần (Tiger) | Ngọ (Horse), Tuất (Dog) | Hợi (Pig) | Thân (Monkey, clash), Tỵ (Snake, harm), Hợi (Pig, break) |
| Mão (Rabbit) | Mùi (Goat), Hợi (Pig) | Tuất (Dog) | Dậu (Rooster, clash), Thìn (Dragon, harm), Ngọ (Horse, break) |
| Thìn (Dragon) | Thân (Monkey), Tý (Rat) | Dậu (Rooster) | Tuất (Dog, clash), Mão (Rabbit, harm), Sửu (Ox, break) |
| Tỵ (Snake) | Dậu (Rooster), Sửu (Ox) | Thân (Monkey) | Hợi (Pig, clash), Dần (Tiger, harm), Thân (Monkey, break) |
| Ngọ (Horse) | Dần (Tiger), Tuất (Dog) | Mùi (Goat) | Tý (Rat, clash), Sửu (Ox, harm), Mão (Rabbit, break) |
| Mùi (Goat) | Hợi (Pig), Mão (Rabbit) | Ngọ (Horse) | Sửu (Ox, clash), Tý (Rat, harm), Tuất (Dog, break) |
| Thân (Monkey) | Tý (Rat), Thìn (Dragon) | Tỵ (Snake) | Dần (Tiger, clash), Hợi (Pig, harm), Tỵ (Snake, break) |
| Dậu (Rooster) | Tỵ (Snake), Sửu (Ox) | Thìn (Dragon) | Mão (Rabbit, clash), Tuất (Dog, harm), Tý (Rat, break) |
| Tuất (Dog) | Dần (Tiger), Ngọ (Horse) | Mão (Rabbit) | Thìn (Dragon, clash), Dậu (Rooster, harm), Mùi (Goat, break) |
| Hợi (Pig) | Mão (Rabbit), Mùi (Goat) | Dần (Tiger) | Tỵ (Snake, clash), Thân (Monkey, harm), Dần (Tiger, break) |
This table is a lookup by branch relations only; it does not consider heavenly stems or element destiny. When applied to the year Đinh Mùi, many also exclude the Ox because Ox clashes with the year's Goat, even though Ox may be the lục hợp for a householder born in the year of the Rat. This is where the two methods need weighing.
First-footer ages for householders born from 1970 to 1995 in Tết Đinh Mùi 2027
Below is a suggested table by solar birth year, assuming the person was born after that year's Tết Nguyên đán. If born before Tết, the lunar age goes back one year.
| Solar birth year | Lunar age (branch) | Ages to choose as first-footer | Ages to avoid |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | Canh Tuất (Dog) | Dần, Ngọ, Mão | Thìn, Dậu, Mùi |
| 1971 | Tân Hợi (Pig) | Mão, Mùi, Dần | Tỵ, Thân |
| 1972 | Nhâm Tý (Rat) | Thân, Thìn, Sửu | Ngọ, Mùi, Dậu |
| 1973 | Quý Sửu (Ox) | Tỵ, Dậu, Tý | Mùi, Ngọ, Thìn |
| 1974 | Giáp Dần (Tiger) | Ngọ, Tuất, Hợi | Thân, Tỵ |
| 1975 | Ất Mão (Rabbit) | Mùi, Hợi, Tuất | Dậu, Thìn, Ngọ |
| 1976 | Bính Thìn (Dragon) | Thân, Tý, Dậu | Tuất, Mão, Sửu |
| 1977 | Đinh Tỵ (Snake) | Dậu, Sửu, Thân | Hợi, Dần |
| 1978 | Mậu Ngọ (Horse) | Dần, Tuất, Mùi | Tý, Sửu, Mão |
| 1979 | Kỷ Mùi (Goat) | Hợi, Mão, Ngọ | Sửu, Tý, Tuất |
| 1980 | Canh Thân (Monkey) | Tý, Thìn, Tỵ | Dần, Hợi |
| 1981 | Tân Dậu (Rooster) | Tỵ, Sửu, Thìn | Mão, Tuất, Tý |
| 1982 | Nhâm Tuất (Dog) | Dần, Ngọ, Mão | Thìn, Dậu, Mùi |
| 1983 | Quý Hợi (Pig) | Mão, Mùi, Dần | Tỵ, Thân |
| 1984 | Giáp Tý (Rat) | Thân, Thìn, Sửu | Ngọ, Mùi, Dậu |
| 1985 | Ất Sửu (Ox) | Tỵ, Dậu, Tý | Mùi, Ngọ, Thìn |
| 1986 | Bính Dần (Tiger) | Ngọ, Tuất, Hợi | Thân, Tỵ |
| 1987 | Đinh Mão (Rabbit) | Mùi, Hợi, Tuất | Dậu, Thìn, Ngọ |
| 1988 | Mậu Thìn (Dragon) | Thân, Tý, Dậu | Tuất, Mão, Sửu |
| 1989 | Kỷ Tỵ (Snake) | Dậu, Sửu, Thân | Hợi, Dần |
| 1990 | Canh Ngọ (Horse) | Dần, Tuất, Mùi | Tý, Sửu, Mão |
| 1991 | Tân Mùi (Goat) | Hợi, Mão, Ngọ | Sửu, Tý, Tuất |
| 1992 | Nhâm Thân (Monkey) | Tý, Thìn, Tỵ | Dần, Hợi |
| 1993 | Quý Dậu (Rooster) | Tỵ, Sửu, Thìn | Mão, Tuất, Tý |
| 1994 | Giáp Tuất (Dog) | Dần, Ngọ, Mão | Thìn, Dậu, Mùi |
| 1995 | Ất Hợi (Pig) | Mão, Mùi, Dần | Tỵ, Thân |
This table relies only on the branch relation between the householder's age and the first-footer's age. When choosing a specific person, many families also consider that person's element destiny against the householder's, and the first-footer's age against the year Đinh Mùi.
What different ways are there to choose first-footer ages?
At least three common methods exist, and they can give different results. The first is choosing by tam hợp and lục hợp with the householder's age, avoiding tứ hành xung. The second is choosing by mutual generation of element destiny between the first-footer and the householder. The third is excluding people whose heavenly stem clashes with the year's stem, and excluding those who phạm Thái tuế of the year.
For the year Đinh Mùi, the third method excludes the Ox because Ox clashes with Goat, and may exclude people with the stem Quý because Quý clashes with Đinh. Meanwhile, the first method may still choose an Ox for a householder born in the year of the Rat, because Rat and Ox are lục hợp. This is a common contradiction, and no method is considered absolutely standard.
Some also choose the first-footer by age compatible with the year, without considering the householder's age. By this method, in a Goat year the Horse, Pig and Rabbit are seen as suitable, while the Ox is avoided. This is simpler but ignores the householder's own age.
What to keep in mind when using the first-footer age table for Tết Đinh Mùi 2027
First, determine the householder's lunar age correctly. People born in January or early February of the solar calendar may belong to the previous year's lunar age if born before Tết Nguyên đán. A wrong lunar age leads to looking up the whole table wrongly.
Second, the table above does not consider birth hour and birth day. In deeper systems such as tử bình (Four Pillars), birth hour and birth day can change the assessment of clash and compatibility. However, for the xông đất custom, the birth-year method is the most common and simplest.
Third, many families in practice choose the first-footer based on close relationship, that person's luck in the past year, or simply whoever arrives first. These factors are not in the table but strongly influence the decision.
