Monkey

Years: 1980, 1992, 2004, 2016, 2028 — clever, curious and playful.

In depth

• At your bestinventive and funny — you solve it sideways when the front door’s locked.
• Drivenovelty. A problem worth playing with beats a problem worth grinding at.
• In relationshipsentertaining and engaged, though hard to pin down.
• Watch-outboredom, mischief, and being a bit too pleased with your own cleverness.

Each year also carries an element. Wood Monkey brings growth and generosity — expansive, co-operative, always reaching for more room; Fire Monkey brings heat and drive — passionate, restless, quick to act and quick to burn; Earth Monkey brings weight and patience — steady, practical, the one who stays put and endures; Metal Monkey brings edge and resolve — determined, self-contained, unwilling to bend; Water Monkey brings depth and flow — reflective, persuasive, finding the way around rather than through.