The term "september 11th chinese zodiac" functions as a noun phrase. It refers to the specific animal sign in the Chinese astrological system that corresponds to a person's birth on the date September 11th. Unlike Western astrology where the sign is determined by the day and month, the Chinese zodiac sign is determined almost exclusively by the birth year.
The Chinese zodiac is a repeating 12-year cycle, with each year represented by an animal. The cycle follows this order: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig. The crucial detail for determining a sign is that the zodiac year does not begin on January 1st. Instead, it starts on the Lunar New Year (Chinese New Year), which typically falls between late January and mid-February. Therefore, a birth date of September 11th will always fall well within the established zodiac year, making the specific day and month irrelevant for identifying the primary animal sign.
For practical application, one must know the specific birth year to identify the correct zodiac animal. For instance, a person born on September 11, 2001, falls within the Year of the Snake (which began on January 24, 2001). Similarly, a person born on September 11, 1990, was born in the Year of the Horse. The noun phrase is thus a query for a zodiac sign that can only be resolved by providing the associated year of birth.
