---
title: "Chinese Zodiac Animal"
method: POST
path: "/chinese/zodiac/animal"
tags: ["Chinese: Zodiac & Feng Shui"]
---

# Chinese Zodiac Animal

`POST /chinese/zodiac/animal`

## Request

- Base URL: `https://api.astroway.info/v1`
- URL: `https://api.astroway.info/v1/chinese/zodiac/animal`
- Auth: API key in header `X-Api-Key`

Animal sign of the birth year, bounded by the exact Lichun instant, plus the full pillar (stem + branch + element). `yearStart` and `yearEnd` are the two Lichun instants that bound the solar year, in UTC and Beijing time. Pass time + timezoneOffset for births on the boundary day.

## Query parameters

- `fields` string
- `precision` integer

## Request body

- ChineseDateTimeInput
  - `date` string, required
  - `time` string
  - `timezoneOffset` number, nullable: Hours from UTC at the given moment, not minutes. Fractional zones are hours too: 5.5 for India, 5.75 for Nepal, -3.5 for Newfoundland. Defaults to 0, meaning UTC. Ignored when timezone is sent.
  - `timezone` string: IANA zone name such as Europe/Kyiv, or auto to look the zone up from latitude and longitude. The server takes the offset that zone kept at this local date and time, summer time included, and uses it in place of timezoneOffset. A clock time that happened twice takes the first occurrence; one skipped when clocks went forward takes the offset from before the change. Abbreviations such as EST are refused. Before 1970 the tz database is not reliable for every place, so send timezoneOffset when the local clock is known.
  - `solarYear` integer
  - `language` string

## Response `200`

Successful calculation

- object
  - `ok` boolean
  - `data` object
    - `solarYear` number, nullable
    - `animal` string, nullable
    - `glyph` string, nullable
    - `branch` string, nullable
    - `stem` string, nullable
    - `element` object, nullable
      - `fixed` string, nullable
      - `cycling` string, nullable
      - `yin` boolean, nullable
    - `pillar` string, nullable
    - `yearStart` object, nullable
      - `utc` string, nullable
      - `beijing` string, nullable
    - `yearEnd` object, nullable
      - `utc` string, nullable
      - `beijing` string, nullable

## Other responses

- `400`: Validation error
- `401`: Missing or invalid API key

## Changes

- **2026-10-07** `da6d49943f9e`: 2 info
  - added the optional property `data/yearEnd` to the response with the `200` status
  - added the optional property `data/yearStart` to the response with the `200` status
- **2026-09-21** `b64222844186`: 2 info
  - added the new optional `query` request parameter `fields`
  - added the new optional `query` request parameter `precision`
- **2026-09-18** `fd2cd799fc5e`: 1 info
  - added the new optional request property `timezone`
- **2026-09-09** `c90e7fc7e2fa`: 1 info
  - added the new optional request property `language`
- **2026-08-22** `5a17388652f3`: 1 breaking, 3 info
  - added the new required request property `date`
  - added the new optional request property `solarYear`
  - added the new optional request property `time`
  - added the new optional request property `timezoneOffset`

[Operation history](https://skmtc.dev/astroway/apis/astroway-calculation-api/changes/chinese/zodiac/animal/post.md)

---

[API](https://skmtc.dev/astroway/apis/astroway-calculation-api.md) · [All operations](https://skmtc.dev/astroway/apis/astroway-calculation-api/llms.txt) · [OpenAPI document](https://skmtc.dev/astroway/apis/astroway-calculation-api/revisions/593d763ba9a5?raw)