Year of Sıçgan
Meaning: mouse
A short history
The first year of the twelve-year cycle. In Old Turkic "sıçgan" is the general word for small rodents; as the animal that opens the cycle it always heads the calendar lists.
Cultural background
As the first animal it opens the cycle. The name lives on in Turkish as "sıçan" and in the same slot of the Kazakh calendar as "tyshqan". In a world of granaries and winter stores the rodent is both a threat and an image of preparation; that double meaning makes it a restless yet resourceful symbol.
Symbolic qualities
- alert
- resourceful
- thrifty
- finds a way
Sıçgan is a symbol that balances its small size with wit. It spots a gap where things look closed and makes careful use of little. Its shadow side is alertness turning into worry.
Things you might reflect on
- On beginnings: which small habit would you like to carry into a new cycle?
- Where do you use your resources (time, energy, attention) with care, and where do you scatter them?
- Where is the line between being alert and being restless for you?
Years it falls on
Each year begins on 21 March and ends on 20 March of the following year.
1900 · 1912 · 1924 · 1936 · 1948 · 1960 · 1972 · 1984 · 1996 · 2008 · 2020 · 2032 · 2044 · 2056 · 2068 · 2080 · 2092
Chinese counterpart: Rat →Where does the Turkic 12-animal calendar come from?
In the Divanu Lugati't-Türk, written in the 11th century, Mahmud of Kashgar explains that the Turks counted years by the names of twelve animals and lists them in order. The work also tells a story about the origin of the cycle: of the animals driven into the Ila (Ili) river before a ruler, the names of the twelve that crossed were given to the years.
An older witness is the Orkhon inscriptions (8th century). The Kül Tegin inscription dates his death to the "koń yıl" (year of the sheep, 731) and the Bilge Kagan inscription dates the kagan's death to the "it yıl" (year of the dog, 734). So animal year names were already used to give dates in that period.
The cycle follows the same order as the Chinese calendar and is a heritage shared with neighbouring cultures. Sources reckon the start of the year differently; this page takes Nevruz (21 March) as the start of the year.
- Kaşgarlı Mahmud, Divanu Lugati't-Türk (1072–1077).
- Kül Tegin yazıtı (732) ve Bilge Kağan yazıtı (735), Orhun Vadisi.
- Erkoç, H. İ., Divanü Lugati't-Türk'te Vahşi Hayvanlarla İlgili Kelimeler ve Terimler, Hacettepe Üniversitesi Türkiyat Araştırmaları Dergisi 23 (2015), 177-208.
- Karimova, G. ve Türkmen, F., Kazakistan'da Hayvan Kültü ve 12 Hayvanlı Halk Takvimi (2022).
The twelve animals
For entertainment and self-reflection. Year animals are presented as cultural history and character symbolism; they do not tell you what a year holds.
The images on this page were generated with AI.