HORIZON ASTROLOGY

Chinese Zodiac Compatibility
Horse and Ox

Compatibility overview

The Eastern zodiac has a reputation for not mincing words when it comes to combinations seen as unlucky. Unfortunately for the firsteast and secondeast, their shared energy has a troubling reputation for tension, conflict, and unhappiness.

Horse and Ox - Relationship Horoscope

Read more about the HORSE and OX zodiac signs...

Across the whole Eastern zodiac, the most difficult combinations are said to be the six Adversary matches along the fourth degree axis, which include the Horse and Ox. The strain between these two can sometimes surprise others, because superficially they seem to have lots in common. Both the Horse and Ox tend to have a larger-than-life presence and are comfortable being the center of attention. And both can be relied on to get the job done, when tasked with physically or intellectually demanding projects.

However, these two signs have completely different instincts about control. The Horse is not a loner as such—in fact they can be one of the most devoted signs there is—but they are fiercely independent. They are at their happiest performing, competing, and loving, with as few outside limitations as possible. The Ox, by contrast, is a master of constraint. They have a paramount belief in structure and chains of command, and tend to inevitably rise up through the ranks to leadership. A pairing of the Horse and Ox is thus apt to stir destructive forces. The Ox will be forever trying to rein in the Horse. The Horse will be constantly trying to outrun the Ox. As the Ox is overtaken by stubborn bitterness, the Horse tends to poke fun and laugh at them. As the Horse escapes into skittish extravagance and selfishness, the Ox expresses ever more intense disappointment and criticism.

Unfortunately, conflicts here are more indirect than direct. Rather than a blaze of fury, mutual antagonism is likely to cause brooding discontent and unpleasantness. Problems may take forever to resolve, assuming they ever resolve at all.

Problematic energy like this need not be insurmountable, of course, and lots of relationships achieve success and understanding in spite of this potentially challenging connection. Strongly positive influences on the Western side, or clear strategies to facilitate mutual understanding, may be invaluable in achieving positive results.

Celebrity Horse/Ox Pairings^*

^*Click on the names to see both Western and Chinese zodiac matches for that pairing.

Barack Obama and Joe Biden (click for attribution/s)

Barack Obama (8/4/1961, Leo Ox), Joe Biden (11/20/1942, Scorpio Horse) : Despite the much-publicised "bromance" between the 44th and 46th US Presidents, reports of rivalry and tension between Obama and Biden have also surfaced during their respective administrations. New York Times reporter Jonathan Martin described in 2022: "[F]or all the talk Biden and Obama do about being brothers and good friends, they’re actually not that close. They don’t talk super often today. There’s a rivalry there...Biden’s a prideful guy. And he knew he was looked down on in the White House when he was [Obama's] VP, and he loved the idea of being a bigger historic figure than Obama."

Dwight Howard (12/8/1985, Sagittarius Ox), Kobe Bryant (8/23/1978, Virgo Horse) : After the late basketball champion Bryant died tragically in 2020, his one-time Lakers teammate Howard told movingly, "A lot of people thought me and Kobe hated each other and stuff like that...There were times where we just didn’t understand each other and I didn’t get a chance to tell him how appreciative I was for our time together."

Dennis Quaid and Meg Ryan (click for attribution/s)

Meg Ryan (11/19/1961, Scorpio Ox), Dennis Quaid (4/9/1954, Aries Horse) : Once one of the world's most famous celebrity couples, Ryan and Quaid divorced in 2001. In 2008, Ryan accused Quaid of serial infidelity during their marriage, to which he responded, "I find it unbelievable that Meg continues publicly to rehash and rewrite the story of our relationship."

Richard Gere (8/31/1949, Virgo Ox), Cindy Crawford (2/20/1966, Pisces Horse) : The actor and supermodel were married for four years in the early 1990s. Crawford said in 2016, "I don’t know if we were ever friends – like peers, because I was young, and he was Richard Gere. And then, as I started kind of growing up and growing into myself – it’s hard to change the nature of a relationship once you’re already in it."

Photo of Helmut Kohl and Margaret Thatcher (click for attribution/s)

Margaret Thatcher (10/13/1925, Libra Ox), Helmut Kohl (4/3/1930, Aries Horse) : The former German Chancellor and British Prime Minister shared a famously hostile relationship. To quote the head of the UK National Archives in 2019, "They didn't get on at all."

Neil Patrick Harris (6/15/1973, Gemini Ox), Perez Hilton (3/23/1978, Aries Horse) : The actor, singer and writer Harris has suggested that celebrity blogger Hilton conducted a sustained campaign to out him as gay: "There was an interview [in 2006] that claimed that I was asked if I was gay and that my publicist had said that I was 'not of that persuasion.' That was the weird catalyst tipping point because that expression set Perez Hilton off. He was offended by that and then started posting about me and asking people to come forward with truths or stories. Then it became apparent that I needed to make some sort of decisive respectable move."

Paul Newman (1/26/1925, Aquarius Ox), Steve McQueen (3/24/1930, Aries Horse) : These two acting legends starred together in The Towering Inferno, and shared an equally famous love of motor racing, but seem to have brought the worst out in one another off-screen. It has been reported that Newman called McQueen "chicken s—" for counting the number of lines they both had in Inferno, and that the two competed over who was given top billing.