CALENDAR FOUNDATIONS
An intercalary lunar month
Some lunar years repeat a month number to keep the calendar in seasonal alignment.
Go deeper: the full reference
What it means
A leap month is a calendar adjustment, not a second zodiac year or a sign of unusual destiny. The returned lunar date marks it explicitly, while the year stem, branch and animal remain the same.
An example
May 23, 2020 begins a leap fourth lunar month; it remains in the Geng-Zi Rat year.
A question to carry with you
What does this extra month reveal about how calendars balance cycles?
Find your own lunar-year placement
Use your birth date to find the year animal, stem, branch, stem phase and Yin/Yang. This calculator follows Chinese New Year; it does not calculate a full Four Pillars (BaZi) chart.
Connect the ideas
A lunisolar calendar
Chinese calendar months follow lunar phases while the year stays aligned with seasons.
1 min readThe Lunar New Year boundary
This calculator changes the year placement on the first day of the first lunar month.
1 min readThe sixty-year stem-branch cycle
Ten Heavenly Stems pair in order with twelve Earthly Branches to form sixty year names.
1 min readLunar New Year and Li Chun are different boundaries
Some Four Pillars traditions use the solar term Li Chun for the year pillar.
1 min read