The Year of the Rabbit traits are characteristics that are common for those born under the sign of the Rabbit in the Chinese zodiac calendar.
Are you gentle, elegant and skillful? If so, you may have Rabbit zodiac traits!
The Year of the Rabbit happens once every 12 years. It plays a part in the Chinese New Year celebrations of 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011, and 2023. Every 12 years after the current Rabbit zodiac year, the cycle repeats and it will become the next Year of Rabbit.
You may have heard of the 12 Chinese zodiac signs of animals. Each of the animals – Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig all take turns with their birth year in a 12-year cycle.
If you believe in Chinese astrology, you will know that understanding the traits and characteristics of the animals can help you to better understand yourself.
Keep reading to learn more about the Chinese zodiac Rabbit meaning.
Knowing the zodiac traits of each of the animals can also aid us in making good choices for our lives based on those traits.
In addition to characteristics, each animal also has corresponding natural elements that give us even more information about the year and about ourselves.
Why is it called the Year of the Rabbit?
The Rabbit is the fourth animal of the Chinese zodiac. According to astrologers, each of different 12 animals are associated with a year in a repeating 12-year cycle.
These astrologers believe that the Chinese sign Rabbit signifies the patience, playfulness, responsibility, and alertness that will be manifested in those of us born under its sign in the next 12 months.
Throughout Chinese history, the Rabbit has been thought to be one of the luckiest of the 12 zodiac animals. The Rabbit has a deep connection to China’s cultural heritage and has a unique place in its customs.
In addition to being lucky, it is also believed that the Rabbit is quiet, quick, kind and always faithful to those around them.
Because they mate freely, the Rabbit is thought to symbolize fertility in Chinese culture. If you are born in the Year of the Rabbit, perhaps this year is a good one to have a baby!
In astrology, Year of Rabbit predictions are used to guide a person through the following year.
Legend and folklore
In Chinese culture, the Rabbit is often called the Jade Rabbit, or Moon Rabbit. It is a companion to the Moon Goddess who never grows old.
Rabbits with white hair are often thought of as a symbol of longevity in traditional Chinese culture.
The Chinese have many myths and legends about Rabbits or Rabbit-like beings, both earthly and celestial.
One popular legend describes a race in which the Rabbit appeared with a loud, thumping sound. It jumped happily from one stone to another, but unfortunately slipped.
As luck would have it, a log came floating by and the Rabbit grabbed that log. The Rabbit floated to the finish line, earning the lucky fourth place. He was beaten by the Rat, Ox and Tiger, the first three animals.
It also explains why the Rat is the first zodiac animal sign, since he won the race!
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Have you enjoyed learning about the Year of the Rabbit meaning? Be sure to share the post with your friends on social media. Here is a tweet to get you started.
Celebrate the Year of the Rabbit. Find out about this elegant, beautiful and quick animal and see how it figures in the Chinese zodiac. #yearoftherabbit #chinesezodiac #astrology 🐰🐰🐰 Share on XRabbit zodiac years
Since the Chinese zodiac follows the lunisolar calendar, it does not completely align with your birthday in our solar calendar. For the purposes of Western readers, if your birthday falls in one of the years listed, you were born in the year of the rabbit, even if your birthday falls before the Chinese New Year actually starts.
Would you like to know if you are a zodiac Rabbit? The list below tells all years from 1903 to 2071.
The handy chart also shows the 12 year cycle of the Chinese Zodiac Rabbit Years.
You can print it out here, click on the image to print it out, or use the project card at the bottom of this post to print it in a slightly smaller format.
Years of the Rabbit include passed years of 1903, 1915, 1927, 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011, and 2023, as well as those to come in the years 2035, 2047, 2059, 2071 and every 12 years, thereafter.
Year of the Rabbit traits
In China, the Rabbit is considered an animal of elegant beauty with a merciful nature. They have many other positive qualities, too.
Like the regular rabbit, people born in the Year of Rabbit are thought to have soft and tender personalities.
They inspire trust and will not easily be irritated by others. Zodiac Rabbit people tend to avoid fighting if at all possible.
If you have a friend who was born in the Year of the Rabbit, you will know that they can be very responsible and often quite silly.
On the negative side, the Year of the Rabbit personality is thought to be timid, hesitant and sometimes even fool hardy.
Those with the birth year of the Rabbit often have a tendency to escape reality.
Year of the Rabbit compatibility
According to Chinese astrologists, animal signs that are 4 years apart from each other and thought to be most compatible. The thinking is that each of the animals in a good match have a similar temperament or way of thinking.
This means that people born in the Year of the Rabbit are generally thought to be most compatible with people of the Sheep and Pig zodiac signs.
Those born 6 years apart are thought to be least compatible, so the Rooster is definitely not a good match.
In Chinese zodiac astrology, it is thought that a happy marriage can be predicted if you choose a mate from the compatible zodiac signs.
Best matches for the Rabbit zodiac sign
For the most harmonious relationships choose those born under the year of these zodiac animals:
- Sheep
- Pig
So-so matches for Year of the Rabbit
Marriages and matches with these zodiac signs are considered a medium match:
- Dog
- Tiger
- Snake
Lesser matches for Chinese new year Rabbit
Unless you enjoy lots of conflict in relationships, avoid a match with these zodiac signs:
- Rat
- Ox
- Horse
- Dragon
Worst compatibility for the Chinese zodiac sign rabbit
- Rooster
The zodiac Rabbit and the five elements
There are five elements of the Chinese zodiac: wood, fire, earth, metal and water.
In Chinese astrology, each of the 12 Chinese zodiac animal signs is associated with one of the five elements, which is known as the fixed element of their sign.
The fixed element for the Year of the Rabbit is wood.
Year of the Rabbit and fengshui
Chinese philosophers believe that proper feng shui brings good luck. They thought that each of the natural elements has a unique quality that can be expressed in color, compass direction, seasons, and shapes, etc.
If your sign is the Year of the Rabbit, your lucky element is wood, water, fire, earth or metal, depending on the year.
For example, those born in 2023 have water as their lucky element because 2023 was a Water Rabbit Chinese zodiac year!
To enjoy the benefit of the elements, you should incorporate these in your life:
- Rainy weather
- A southeasterly direction
- Spring activities
- Planting lilies and snapdragons as flowers
- Colors of black, pink, purple, grey, red or blue
- The lucky numbers 3, 4 and 6 (as well as numbers which contain them – 63, 46, etc)
For instance, to practice good feng shui, as a season changes, you could use 3 blue houseplants in the southeast corner of a room with purple flowers and place it outside in rainy weather.
These practices are thought to encourage good luck and enhance your health, wealth and longevity.
Famous people born in the Year of the Rabbit
Were you born as a Chinese New Year Rabbit? Lucky you! You share the traits of these famous people:
- Michael Jordan
- Whitney Houston
- Lou Gehrig
- Johnny Depp
- Bing Crosby
- Robin Williams
- Bob Hope
If you were born in the Year of the Rabbit, do you feel that you have the traits of the animal? Let us know in the comments below.
Pin this post for the Year of the Rabbit traits for later
Would you like a reminder of this post that talks about the Year of the Rabbit characteristics in the Chinese zodiac? Just pin this image to one of your trivia boards on Pinterest so that you can easily find it later.
You can also watch our video on YouTube.
Year of the Rabbit Years Printable
Would you like a handy copy of the dates for the year of the Rabbit? Print out this printable and keep it handy or frame it for a table decoration.
Materials
- Heavy cardstock
Tools
- Deskjet printer
Instructions
- Load your desk jet printer with heavy cardstock.
- Print out the image below.
- Store in your journal or frame for a decor item.
- Using this print function on this card will print a calendar that fills about 3/4 of an 8 x 11 sheet of paper.
- To fill the entire page, choose 125% or "fit to page" on your printer if you have this setting.
- You can also use the link over the image in the post above and print using the browser print feature.
Notes
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