Updated 2026-11-11

Gold lines join the sign with its allies, the dashed line with its best match; red marks the opposite sign. Tap a sign to open it.

Tibetan Zodiac: the Tiger

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

Traits: Brave, confident, passionate and independent.

In the Fire Horse year (2026): Tiger (wood) feeds Fire — traditionally an active, supportive year for Tiger ventures.

Amur (Siberian) tigress with her cubImage: Dave Pape · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

The Tiger across the five elements

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

Wood Tigerspring Fire Tigersummer Earth Tigerthe turn of the seasons Metal Tigerautumn Water Tigerwinter

Years of the Tiger

Recent years of the Tiger: 1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010, 2022. The Tiger returns every twelve years, each time carrying a different one of the five elements — which is why a 2022 Tiger and a 2010 Tiger are read differently in zurkhai.

A young Amur tiger in the snowImage: Derek Ramsey · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Who the Tiger gets on with

In zurkhai compatibility the Tiger's closest match is the Pig — its Liu He, or "six-harmony", partner. Its natural allies are the Horse and Dog (together they form one of the four San He triangles), while its traditional opposite is the Monkey, 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 →

Next 30 days by animal compatibility

Good for you 12 Nov, 16 Nov, 20 Nov, 21 Nov, 24 Nov, 28 Nov, 2 Dec, 3 Dec, 6 Dec, 10 Dec

Tense 18 Nov, 30 Nov

Good days are those of your allies, your best match and your own animal; tense days belong to the opposite sign.

The 12 animals of zurkhai

Dog

Frequently asked

What is the Tibetan zodiac Tiger like?

Brave, confident, passionate and independent.

Which animals is the Tiger compatible with?

The Tiger's closest match is the Pig; its allies are the Horse and Dog; its traditional opposite is the Monkey.

How does the Tiger fare in the Fire Horse year 2026?

Tiger (wood) feeds Fire — traditionally an active, supportive year for Tiger ventures.

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.