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Updated 2026-06-25

Tibetan Zodiac: the Monkey

Traits and the 2026 Fire Horse year outlook for the Monkey in the Tibetan-Mongolian (zurkhai) tradition.

Traits: Inventive, witty, versatile and curious.

In the Fire Horse year (2026): Monkey (metal) is traditionally weakened by the strong Fire of 2026 — a year to avoid burnout.

The Monkey across the five elements

Over the 60-year cycle the Monkey appears once with each of the five elements — each pairing gives a different character:

Wood Monkeyspring Fire Monkeysummer Earth Monkeythe turn of the seasons Metal Monkeyautumn Water Monkeywinter

Years of the Monkey

Recent years of the Monkey: 1932, 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004, 2016, 2028. The Monkey returns every twelve years, each time carrying a different one of the five elements — which is why a 2028 Monkey and a 2016 Monkey are read differently in zurkhai.

Who the Monkey gets on with

In zurkhai compatibility the Monkey's closest match is the Snake — its Liu He, or "six-harmony", partner. Its natural allies are the Rat and Dragon (together they form one of the four San He triangles), while its traditional opposite is the Tiger, a pairing said to need extra care. These animal rules are only one of four parameters the app weighs — element, animal, menge and parkha — when it calculates full couple compatibility.

Check a couple's compatibility in the app. The animal match above is only one of four factors. The Zurkhai app for iPhone weighs all four — element, animal, menge and parkha — and gives any two birth dates a 1–5 star rating with a detailed reading. Check compatibility in the App Store →

Frequently asked

What is the Tibetan zodiac Monkey like?
Inventive, witty, versatile and curious.
Which animals is the Monkey compatible with?
The Monkey's closest match is the Snake; its allies are the Rat and Dragon; its traditional opposite is the Tiger.
How does the Monkey fare in the Fire Horse year 2026?
Monkey (metal) is traditionally weakened by the strong Fire of 2026 — a year to avoid burnout.
How does the Tibetan zodiac work?
Tibetan astrology overlays a 12-year cycle of animals with a 5-element cycle (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water). Each element governs two consecutive years, so 12 animals × 5 elements form a 60-year cycle before the same animal+element pairing repeats. Every year therefore carries both an animal and an element — 2026 is the Fire Horse. The system blends indigenous Bon astrology, Chinese-derived element/animal astrology, and Indian Kalachakra star astrology.

The Fire Horse year 2026 → · What is zurkhai? →

Animal/element traits and yearly outlooks are presented as traditional belief, not fact, and vary between astrologers and lineages.