The Dragon in the Chinese zodiac

A widely told version of the great race goes like this. The Jade Emperor called every animal to race across a wide river. The Dragon could have arrived first, since it flies. It stopped instead, because a village below was suffering drought, and it brought rain. Then it blew a small animal clinging to a log towards the shore. So it arrived fifth.

The story carries the picture tradition has of the Dragon: a lot of strength, often spent on others. And a streak of pride that does not need to win to feel large. Perhaps you know the move: you take the hard task in the team and barely mention afterwards how much work it was.

The Year of the Dragon returns every twelve years, each time with a different element. It never begins on 1 January but at Chinese New Year. The next one begins on 28 Jan 2036 as the Fire Dragon.

Many people born in a Dragon year say they fill a room quickly. Not necessarily loudly, more with a posture that says: I have this. Trust often grows from that, because others can lean on it. Pressure can grow too, because everyone expects you to set the direction again.

• At family dinner, the question of where to go on holiday somehow always gets settled by you.
• You say “I'll handle it” before anyone else has opened their mouth.
• A small plan turns into a big project in your head within five minutes.
• When your colleague hesitates, it quickly feels like standstill to you.

The shadow side tradition gives the Dragon is impatience with anything small and slow. When you have big plans, it is easy to miss that your partner just wanted a quiet Sunday. Criticism can then land harder than it was meant. Check it yourself: when did you last let go of an idea because it was too much for someone else?

At work this often shows twice. Dragon-born people tend to take responsibility and attract projects. At the same time, handing work over is hard when your own picture of how it should look is very clear.

In the Chinese system every animal has a fixed element. For the Dragon it is Earth, even though people tend to picture water or fire. Earth here stands for centre and footing: the Dragon gathers strength and passes it on as rain. Add Yang, the active, outward-facing side.

Each animal also rules a double hour of the day. The Dragon has 7:00 to 8:59 a.m., the hour when, in tradition, the morning mist rises. Are you already full of plans in the morning while others are still looking for coffee? That is a small check you can run yourself.

Each element appears once in 60 years among the Dragon years. Tradition reads the element as a tint on the animal. Check for yourself which line fits you better.

Tradition places the Dragon in a San He — the three animals that traditionally complement each other: Rat, Dragon and Monkey. Its Liu He, the “secret friend”, is the Rooster, a pair said to support each other quietly. Its Liu Chong, the classic opposite, is the Dog: the Dragon wants to go high, the Dog asks whether it is fair. None of this is a verdict on a relationship, more a map of where friction might sit. Check it against your own people, and notice where it does not fit at all.

To checkWhen did you last let someone else lead, and how did it feel?