Birth year lookup
1985: what element and Vietnamese zodiac sign?
People born in 1985 have the element Metal (nạp âm Hải Trung Kim (Gold in the Sea)) and are Ất Sửu, Year of the Ox. The Ất Sửu year runs from Tết on 21 January 1985 to 8 February 1986. Born from 1 January 1985 to 20 January 1985? That is Giáp Tý, not Ất Sửu.
| Stem-branch | Ất Sửu |
|---|---|
| Animal sign | Ox (Sửu) |
| Nạp âm element | Hải Trung Kim (Gold in the Sea), element Metal |
| Colours (Five Elements belief) | white, silver grey, metallic; yellow, earth brown (Earth colours) |
| Lunar year in solar dates | 21 January 1985 to 8 February 1986 |
| Kua, male | Càn (Qian), West group |
| Kua, female | Ly (Li), East group |
| Age in 2026 | 41, East Asian age 42 |
What if you were born in January or February 1985?
The sign follows the lunar year, which turns at Tết, not on 1 January. Anyone born from 1 January 1985 to 20 January 1985 still belongs to the Giáp Tý year (1984); anyone born from 1 January 1986 to 8 February 1986 still belongs to Ất Sửu. Convert a birth date to the lunar calendar.
How old is someone born in 1985 in 2026?
Someone born in the solar year 1985 turns 41 on their birthday in 2026. The East Asian (tuổi mụ) age of Ất Sửu in 2026 is 42: it counts one year at birth and adds one at every Tết.
What is the Kua of someone born in 1985?
Under the Eight Mansions (Bát Trạch) school, a man born in Ất Sửu has the Kua Càn (Qian), West group; a woman Ly (Li), East group. The Kua is worked out from the lunar year and sex, and is used to choose a house facing. See the eight directions for a Kua.
Which colours, directions and trades go with 1985 in folk belief?
In the Five Elements convention common in Vietnam, Hải Trung Kim (Gold in the Sea) belongs to Metal, so it is said to suit white, silver grey, metallic, and the colours of Earth, the element that generates Metal: yellow, earth brown. The directions of Metal are West, Northwest; trades usually assigned to it are metalwork and machinery, finance and banking, jewellery, cars and motorbikes. This is convention, not calculation: the books differ on colours and trades, and no study has shown that choosing by element changes outcomes. A house facing under Bát Trạch is worked out from the Kua above, not from the element. Kua and directions by birth year.
Which signs match Ất Sửu 1985, and which to avoid?
In the Vietnamese folk table, Sửu is in Three Harmony with Tỵ, Dậu and Six Harmony with Tý; it clashes with Mùi and is harmed by Ngọ.
| Relation | Match or avoid | Sign | Birth years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Three Harmony | Match | Tỵ (Snake) | 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013, 2025 |
| Three Harmony | Match | Dậu (Rooster) | 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005, 2017 |
| Six Harmony | Match | Tý (Rat) | 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008, 2020 |
| Four Clash | Avoid | Thìn (Dragon) | 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2012, 2024 |
| Four Clash | Avoid | Tuất (Dog) | 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006, 2018 |
| Four Clash (direct clash) | Avoid | Mùi (Goat) | 1943, 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003, 2015 |
| Six Harms | Avoid | Ngọ (Horse) | 1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002, 2014, 2026 |
The Three Harmonies, Six Combinations, Four Clashes and Six Harms table is a common folk convention, not the only reckoning. The Four Clashes in groups of four is a Vietnamese folk way of matching ages; the old texts call only the six opposite pairs a clash. Some schools also weigh the Heavenly Stems and the Na Yin element before calling a pair harmonious or clashing.