Year of the Snake
The Snake is read as the wise, intuitive animal of the zodiac: thoughtful, private and hard to fool.
| Fixed element | Fire |
|---|---|
| Yin or yang | Yin |
| Best matches | Ox, Rooster |
| Clashes with | Pig |
| Current or next year | Fire Snake (2037) |
Snake personality
People born in a Snake year are said to be perceptive, calm and strategic. They tend to think deeply, read people well and move only when they are ready. Their caution can become secrecy or suspicion, and they may hold a grudge longer than they should. At their best they see what others miss and act at exactly the right moment.
The Snake in love
In love, the Snake is read as intense, loyal and quietly romantic. It values depth over display. It may need to share what it is thinking, since partners can find its silences hard to read.
The Snake at work
At work, the Snake often excels in research, strategy, finance, psychology, investigation or any field that rewards insight. It prefers depth to speed and works well alone.
Room to grow
The growth edge for a Snake is openness. Trusting a few people with its plans and its worries makes its wisdom easier for others to follow.
Snake compatibility
In the tradition, the Snake gets on best with the Ox and the Rooster, the other two animals of its group of three, and clashes with the Pig, the animal opposite it on the wheel. These are traditional pairings, not rules: any two people can make it work.
The Snake making decisions
A Snake thinks it through in private, for longer than anyone realises, and announces only the conclusion. It reads people well and rarely shows its hand. The tradition reads this as wisdom, and it often is. The drawback is that those around it never got a say, and they may feel handled. A Snake that lets one or two people into the thinking tends to go much further.
The Snake as a friend
As a friend, the Snake is selective and worth it. It has few close friends, listens closely and gives advice that turns out to be right. It's elegant company and enjoys a good conversation with one person more than a crowd. It doesn't forgive betrayal easily, and it doesn't need to raise its voice to let you know.
The Snake with every other animal
The Ox and the Rooster are the Snake's allies: they share its discipline and its liking for a plan. The Monkey is its secret friend, and they enjoy each other's cleverness. The Pig sits across the wheel, and the Snake finds its openness hard to read. The Tiger is the pairing the tradition warns about, since neither quite trusts the other.
| With the | Snake reads as |
|---|---|
| Rat | No special tie |
| Ox | Ally |
| Tiger | Harm |
| Rabbit | No special tie |
| Dragon | No special tie |
| Horse | No special tie |
| Goat | No special tie |
| Monkey | Secret friend |
| Rooster | Ally |
| Dog | No special tie |
| Pig | Clash |
The five kinds of Snake
Each kind of Snake returns every 60 years. Find your birth year:
- Wood Snake: 1965, 2025. A Wood Snake is read as graceful and well read, the most curious of the five and the most fond of beautiful things.
- Fire Snake: 1977, 2037. A Fire Snake is read as the most forceful and most charismatic, with a strong will behind the calm exterior.
- Earth Snake: 1929, 1989. An Earth Snake is read as trustworthy and calm, slower to judge and more comfortable with a long, steady plan.
- Metal Snake: 1941, 2001. A Metal Snake is read as highly self-reliant and exacting, with a sharp mind and a very private life.
- Water Snake: 1953, 2013. A Water Snake is read as perceptive and persuasive, good at reading motives and at getting things done quietly.
Are you really a Snake?
Since 1930, Snake years have started as early as January 24 and as late as February 18. Born before your Snake year's start in the table below? Then you are a Dragon, the animal before it.
This Chinese year, Snakes are turning 1, 13, 25, 37, 49, 61.
The Snake's hour and month
The Snake's hour runs from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., and its month is the fourth month of the lunar year. Anyone born in that hour has the Snake as a second animal, read as how they behave in private.
What people get wrong about the Snake
The Snake is often seen as cold or scheming, largely thanks to Western stories about snakes. In the Chinese tradition it's a symbol of wisdom and is sometimes called the little dragon. Its reserve is mostly about privacy, and what looks like calculation is often just thinking ahead. Those it trusts see a warm and very funny person.
Questions about the Snake
Is the Snake a bad sign?
No. In the Chinese tradition it stands for wisdom and elegance, and the Western associations don't apply. It's read as one of the most thoughtful animals on the wheel.
What is the Snake like in love?
Devoted, private and watchful. It tends to want all of a partner's trust and gives its own slowly, so a Snake's jealousy is something the tradition notes.
What jobs suit a Snake?
Work where insight is the asset: research, law, strategy, writing, psychology or any field with hidden layers. It does its best with a quiet place to think.
Years of the Snake
| Year | Element | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| 1941 | Metal | January 27, 1941 to February 14, 1942 |
| 1953 | Water | February 14, 1953 to February 2, 1954 |
| 1965 | Wood | February 2, 1965 to January 20, 1966 |
| 1977 | Fire | February 18, 1977 to February 6, 1978 |
| 1989 | Earth | February 6, 1989 to January 26, 1990 |
| 2001 | Metal | January 24, 2001 to February 11, 2002 |
| 2013 | Water | February 10, 2013 to January 30, 2014 |
| 2025 | Wood | January 29, 2025 to February 16, 2026 |
| 2037 | Fire | February 15, 2037 to February 3, 2038 |
Find your animal from your date of birth