Two features that were previously just ideas on the roadmap are now live on the Zodiac & Birth Chart Calculator: an optional moon-sign sub-score on the Compatibility tab, and a standalone Chinese Zodiac mode with your year animal, element, and animal-based compatibility. Here's exactly what changed and how to use each one.
What's new, in short
Quick answer The Compatibility tab now has optional "moon sign" dropdowns for each person, adding an emotional-compatibility layer on top of the existing sun-sign score. Separately, a brand-new "Chinese Zodiac" tab gives your year animal, its element, and which animals it traditionally pairs well with.
Both features build directly on tools that were already on the page. The moon-sign sub-score depends on the Moon Sign tab, which estimates an approximate moon sign from a birth date, time, and city. The Chinese Zodiac tab is entirely new and only needs a birth date, using the traditional 12-year animal cycle layered with a 5-element, 60-year cycle.
Neither addition changes how the existing Sun Sign, Rising Sign, or Horoscope tabs work — they're additive, and both are still free with no sign-up.
Using the new moon-sign compatibility sub-score
Quick answer On the Compatibility tab, below the two sun-sign pickers, there are now two more dropdowns labeled "1st person's moon sign (optional)" and "2nd person's moon sign (optional)." Selecting a moon sign for either or both people adds an emotional-compatibility layer to the result; leaving them on "Unknown / skip" keeps the standard sun-sign-only score.
Say, purely as a worked example, you're comparing yourself and a partner. You already know your sun signs and want the standard love/communication/passion/long-term percentage — that still works exactly as before by picking the two signs and pressing Calculate. The new step is optional: switch to the Moon Sign tab first, enter your birth date, time, and city (the field notes that the Moon shifts into a new sign roughly every 2.28 days on average, so both date and time matter), and note your approximate result. Do the same for the other person if you know their details.
Back on the Compatibility tab, select each person's moon sign from the new dropdown before pressing Calculate. The tool folds that in as an additional sub-score alongside the existing breakdown, rather than replacing it — so you get both the familiar sun-sign-based percentage and a second, independent read on emotional compatibility if you have the moon-sign data to support it.
Why moon sign matters for compatibility: the sun sign reflects core identity, while the moon sign reflects emotional temperament and needs. Two sun signs can score well together on the standard breakdown while still having moon signs that process feelings very differently — which is exactly the gap this new sub-score is meant to surface.
If you don't know a moon sign for one or both people, the dropdown's default "Unknown / skip" option means the Compatibility tab behaves exactly like it always has — nothing is required to keep using it the way you're used to.
Using the new Chinese Zodiac mode
Quick answer The new "Chinese Zodiac" tab takes just a birth date and returns your year animal (Rat, Ox, Tiger, and so on through the 12-year cycle), its associated element, and a list of animals it's traditionally considered compatible with — a separate tradition from the Western sun-sign system used on the rest of the tool.
Open the Chinese Zodiac tab and enter a birth date — the same date field pattern used across the calculator. Behind that single input, the tool applies the traditional 12-year animal cycle together with a 5-element, 60-year cycle, so the same animal (say, Dragon) recurs with a different element (wood, fire, earth, metal, or water) once every 60 years rather than repeating identically every 12.
There's one edge case worth knowing about if your birthday falls in late January or early February: Chinese New Year moves around from year to year, landing anywhere between January 21 and February 20. A birthday in that window belongs to the previous year's animal until the new lunar year actually starts. The tab's own hint notes that this lunar-year boundary is approximated to February 4 here, so a birthday very close to that window is worth double-checking against an exact lunar calendar if precision matters to you.
Illustrative example only — showing the kind of output the Chinese Zodiac tab returns, not real calculated values
| Input | Example output field | What it shows |
|---|
| Birth date | Year animal | One of 12 animals from the repeating cycle |
| (same date) | Element | Wood, fire, earth, metal, or water for that year |
| (same date) | Compatible animals | Animals traditionally grouped as harmonious with yours |
This mode sits entirely alongside the Western tropical-zodiac tools already on the page rather than replacing anything — you can look up your Western sun sign on one tab and your Chinese zodiac animal on another from the very same birth date, since the two traditions read completely different signals from it.
Frequently asked questions
Is the moon-sign compatibility sub-score required to get a Compatibility result?
No. The Compatibility tab still gives a full sun-sign-based percentage from just two signs. The moon-sign fields for each person are optional "Unknown / skip" selectors — filling them in adds an extra emotional-compatibility data point, but leaving them blank still returns the standard love/communication/passion/long-term breakdown.
How do I find my moon sign before using the new compatibility sub-score?
Use the Moon Sign tab first: enter your birth date, birth time, and birth city (context) to get your approximate moon sign, the same inputs used on the Rising Sign tab. Once you have it, switch to the Compatibility tab and select it from the moon-sign dropdown for that person.
What does the Chinese Zodiac mode need as input?
Just a birth date. The tool applies the traditional 12-year animal cycle and a 5-element, 60-year cycle to that date. Because Chinese New Year falls between January 21 and February 20 depending on the year, a birthday in that window uses the animal of the previous year until the new lunar year begins; the tool approximates that lunar-year boundary to February 4.
Does the Chinese Zodiac mode replace the Western sun sign on this tool?
No, it sits alongside it as a separate tab. The Sun Sign tab still covers the Western tropical zodiac (fixed date ranges, elements, modality); the Chinese Zodiac tab is an independent tradition based on birth year rather than the Sun's position, complete with its own year animal, element, and animal-based compatibility notes.
Can I check Chinese zodiac compatibility between two people?
The Chinese Zodiac tab shows which animals your own year animal is traditionally considered compatible with, based on classic animal-grouping rules, alongside your animal and its element. It's a single-person lookup rather than a two-person side-by-side score like the Compatibility tab, so comparing two birth years currently means checking each date separately and cross-referencing the compatible-animals list shown for each.
Related guides
A note on methodology: This guide describes features live on the ToolPico Zodiac & Birth Chart Calculator as of the publish date above. The moon-sign compatibility sub-score and Chinese Zodiac mode both use simplified, entertainment-oriented models (as does the rest of the calculator); an exact astrological or lunar-calendar calculation requires a professional ephemeris and, for edge-case birthdays near the lunar new year, a precise lunar calendar reference. All content is for entertainment and informational purposes only.