Rat and Snake in love
Intellectually engaging and loyal once trust exists. The Snake's jealousy needs managing.
Neutral
Rat and Snake Compatibility
Rat and Snake compatibility: they sit 5 apart in the twelve-year cycle, a pairing the tradition classes as “Neutral”. We score it 68%.
- Relation
- Neutral no classical relation
- Steps apart
- 5 in the twelve-year cycle
- Next Rat year
- 2032 starts Feb 11, 2032
- Next Snake year
- 2037 new year in late Jan or Feb
New-year dates: Hong Kong Observatory calendar.
Neutral
68%
Are the Rat and Snake compatible?
Rat and Snake are both intelligent, observant and strategic. The Rat is quick and social, the Snake slow and deliberate. They can respect each other's cleverness and build a successful, discreet partnership.
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Working together
A shrewd combination — the Rat moves fast, the Snake plans deeply.
Where it goes wrong
Suspicion and secrecy undermining cooperation.
Over time
How a Rat–Snake relationship usually unfolds
- At first. Intellectually engaging: two clever minds enjoy each other's company and caution.
- Once settled. A loyal partnership once trust is established; jealousy and secrecy are the risks.
- What keeps it working. Openness about plans and money, which keeps suspicion from taking root.
Fixed elements
Water Rat, fire Snake
generating · controlling
The Rat’s water puts out the Snake’s fire — water that can cool a fire or drown it. On the controlling cycle the Rat sets the limits for the Snake.
The fixed element belongs to the animal and never changes; the element of a birth year (wood, fire, earth, metal or water) rotates every two years — see the years below.
On the twelve-year wheel
Where the Rat and the Snake sit on the wheel
- Rat–Snake, 5 steps apart: no classical relation.
- San He triangles. Snake with the Ox and the Rooster (dashed); Rat with the Dragon and the Monkey.
- Clash axes. Snake–Pig; Rat–Horse.
- Secret friends. In the Liu He list the Snake pairs with the Monkey; the Rat pairs with the Ox.
- Six harms. Rat and Goat; Snake and Tiger — not drawn.
Computed from 108 years of real lunar new year dates
The arithmetic behind this pairing
How the Rat and the Snake sit on the cycle, and the share of the century each one actually holds.
Lunar years run 353 to 385 days, so the Rat ends up with 29 more days than the Snake over the 108-year table: 3,306 against 3,277. As a pairing, five positions apart, they make up 1.393% of all pairings.
Possible age gaps — fixed by the cycle
A Rat and a Snake can only be these numbers of years apart:
5
years apart
7
years apart
17
years apart
19
years apart
29
years apart
31
years apart
41
years apart
43
years apart
Recent birth-year combinations
| Rat | Snake | Gap |
|---|---|---|
| Metal Rat 2020 | Water Snake 2013 | 7 years apart |
| Metal Rat 2020 | Wood Snake 2025 | 5 years apart |
| Earth Rat 2008 | Metal Snake 2001 | 7 years apart |
| Earth Rat 2008 | Water Snake 2013 | 5 years apart |
| Fire Rat 1996 | Earth Snake 1989 | 7 years apart |
| Fire Rat 1996 | Metal Snake 2001 | 5 years apart |
| Wood Rat 1984 | Fire Snake 1977 | 7 years apart |
| Wood Rat 1984 | Earth Snake 1989 | 5 years apart |
Birth years for this pairing
Born in January or early February? Check the date before counting yourself a Rat or a Snake.
Rat
1960 · 1972 · 1984 · 1996 · 2008 · 2020Snake
1965 · 1977 · 1989 · 2001 · 2013 · 2025Cite this page
AstroHot. “Rat and Snake Compatibility in the Chinese Zodiac.” Accessed October 29, 2026. https://astrohot.com/chinese-horoscope/compatibility/rat/snake/
For Wikipedia
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