Guides

Short answer: Your Chinese zodiac year is the year when the zodiac animal from your birth year comes around again. In Chinese, this tradition is called ben ming nian (本命年). Some families associate it with extra caution and red clothing or accessories, but it does not mean that bad luck is guaranteed. That distinction matters.

Short answer: eight figures are assigned to the twelve zodiac animals, and four of them each look after two animals. This is the benmingfo system — the birth-year guardian Buddha or bodhisattva — and the twelve collapse into eight because Ox and Tiger share one, Dragon and Snake share one, Goat and Monkey share one

Short answer: on jewellery, the material name on a listing is a shortcut, not a specification. “Titanium steel” does not mean titanium. “Gold-plated” does not tell you how much gold there is, and “24K” on a plated piece describes the purity of a layer far too thin to see. Here is what titanium steel, 925

Short answer: your animal is set by the lunar year you were born in, and that year begins on Lunar New Year — not on 1 January. Look up your birth year in the chart below, then compare your date of birth with the Lunar New Year date beside it. Born on or after that