Animal 6 of 12 · Fire · Yin
The Snake
Discernment, privacy and long calculation.
Strength. Reads situations accurately and says nothing until saying something helps.
Friction. Keeps its own counsel to the point where nobody knows where they stand.
Each animal also governs two hours of the day — the Snake holds 09:00–11:00. Someone born in those hours is said to carry the Snake as an inner sign regardless of their year.
Traits
Snake years
| Year | Element | New year began |
|---|---|---|
| 1941 | Metal Snake | 27 January |
| 1953 | Water Snake | 14 February |
| 1965 | Wood Snake | 2 February |
| 1977 | Fire Snake | 18 February |
| 1989 | Earth Snake | 6 February |
| 2001 | Metal Snake | 24 January |
| 2013 | Water Snake | 10 February |
| 2025 | Wood Snake | 29 January |
Born in January or early February of one of these years? Check the new year date — you may belong to the previous animal.
The five Snakes
The Snake's own fixed element is Fire. The element of the year interacts with it differently each time, which is what separates the five versions — and why the cycle runs sixty years.
| Version | Years | Relation to Fire |
|---|---|---|
| Earth Snake | 1929, 1989 | Drained by it — productive but costly |
| Metal Snake | 1941, 2001 | Dominated by it — most forceful |
| Water Snake | 1953, 2013 | Controls it — most restrained |
| Wood Snake | 1965, 2025 | Feeds it — best supported |
| Fire Snake | 1977, 2037 | Doubled — strongest expression |
Calculated from the lunar calendar
Not every Snake year is the same length
A lunisolar year runs 12 or 13 lunar months, so it lasts between 353 and 385 days rather than a fixed 365. That means the window for being born under a sign is genuinely wider in some years than others.
| Year | Ran from | To | Days | Lunar months |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1929 | 10 Feb 1929 | 29 Jan 1930 | 354 | 12 |
| 1941 | 27 Jan 1941 | 14 Feb 1942 | 384 | 13 — leap year |
| 1953 | 14 Feb 1953 | 2 Feb 1954 | 354 | 12 |
| 1965 | 2 Feb 1965 | 20 Jan 1966 | 353 | 12 |
| 1977 | 18 Feb 1977 | 6 Feb 1978 | 354 | 12 |
| 1989 | 6 Feb 1989 | 26 Jan 1990 | 355 | 12 |
| 2001 | 24 Jan 2001 | 11 Feb 2002 | 384 | 13 — leap year |
| 2013 | 10 Feb 2013 | 30 Jan 2014 | 355 | 12 |
| 2025 | 29 Jan 2025 | 16 Feb 2026 | 384 | 13 — leap year |
A leap month is inserted seven times every nineteen years to keep the lunar calendar aligned with the seasons. Those are the 13-month years, and they run a full month longer than the others — a difference of about a month in how long a sign lasts.
The next Snake year is 2037
By tradition that is the year for a Snake to be careful in, not to celebrate. Why your own animal's year is considered unlucky.
Snake compatibility
| With | Relation | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Ox | Traditional ally | 90% |
| Rooster | Traditional ally | 90% |
| Monkey | Traditional ally | 88% |
| Rabbit | Sextile — easy | 78% |
| Goat | Sextile — easy | 78% |
| Snake | Same sign | 72% |
| Rat | Neutral | 68% |
| Dragon | Neutral | 68% |
| Horse | Neutral | 68% |
| Dog | Neutral | 68% |
| Tiger | Square — friction | 60% |
| Pig | Traditional clash | 45% |