The Snake is the sixth of the 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac. Recent Snake years are 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013 and 2025, and the next begins on February 15, 2037. The year starts on Lunar New Year, not on January 1, so the exact dates decide who belongs to the sign. People born under it are traditionally said to be wise, intuitive and calm.
What years are Snake years?
Every twelfth year is a Snake year. The table gives the first and last day of each, with its element.
| Snake year | First day | Last day | Element |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1929 | February 10, 1929 | January 29, 1930 | Earth |
| 1941 | January 27, 1941 | February 14, 1942 | Metal |
| 1953 | February 14, 1953 | February 2, 1954 | Water |
| 1965 | February 2, 1965 | January 20, 1966 | Wood |
| 1977 | February 18, 1977 | February 6, 1978 | Fire |
| 1989 | February 6, 1989 | January 26, 1990 | Earth |
| 2001 | January 24, 2001 | February 11, 2002 | Metal |
| 2013 | February 10, 2013 | January 30, 2014 | Water |
| 2025 | January 29, 2025 | February 16, 2026 | Wood |
| 2037 | February 15, 2037 | February 3, 2038 | Fire |
Was 2025 the Year of the Snake?
Yes, and it was the most recent one. The Year of the Snake began on January 29, 2025 and ended on February 16, 2026, when the Year of the Horse took over. It was a Wood Snake year, the first since 1965.
For babies, that works out as follows:
- Born from January 1 to January 28, 2025: Wood Dragon.
- Born from January 29, 2025 to February 16, 2026: Wood Snake.
- Born on or after February 17, 2026: Fire Horse.
So a child born in early 2026 can be a Snake, and a child born in January 2025 is not one.
Were you born in January or February?
Then look up the date. Lunar New Year falls between January 21 and February 20, and the animal changes on that day and not on January 1.
- Born on February 10, 1977? The Snake year began on February 18. You are a Dragon.
- Born on January 20, 1990? You are a Snake. Most people born in 1990 are Horses, but the Snake year ran until January 26.
- Born on February 1, 2001? A Snake as well. That year started early, on January 24.
The tool below does the lookup for any birthday and shows the element too. It is the same one as on the Birthday Profile page.
Loading the tool…
What is the Snake's personality said to be?
The zodiac Snake is the thinker of the cycle. People born in a Snake year are traditionally said to be wise, intuitive and calm under pressure. National Museums Liverpool describes the sign as wise and intense, with a reputation for good looks, a fiery temper beneath the surface and a streak of vanity.
The museum also notes that the snake means different things to different people in Chinese culture: some see a strong protector, others a creature that cannot quite be trusted. The sign's reputation carries both.
Traits commonly attached to it:
- Said to be strengths: insight, composure, elegance, determination, discretion.
- Said to be weaknesses: secrecy, jealousy, vanity, a long memory for slights.
As a zodiac animal the Snake is old. The Victoria and Albert Museum shows it in a set of Tang dynasty tomb figures, each with a human body and the head of one of the 12 animals. The idea that the animal of your birth year shapes your character is much younger; the museum calls it a fairly recent development that old Chinese texts do not mention. About one person in 12 is a Snake, and they are as varied as everyone else.
What are the five types of Snake?
Besides its animal, each year has one of five elements: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal or Water. They come from a cycle of ten "heavenly stems" that runs in step with the 12 animals. A pairing such as Wood and Snake therefore repeats only once in 60 years.
Snake years end in an odd number, and the last digit gives the element.
| Type | Years | Year ends in | The element is traditionally linked with |
|---|---|---|---|
| Earth Snake | 1929, 1989 | 9 | Stability, patience and practicality |
| Metal Snake | 1941, 2001 | 1 | Determination, discipline and strength |
| Water Snake | 1953, 2013 | 3 | Flexibility, intuition and communication |
| Wood Snake | 1965, 2025 | 5 | Growth, generosity and cooperation |
| Fire Snake | 1977, 2037 | 7 | Passion, energy and leadership |
The element is said to color the sign. A Wood Snake is described as a warmer, more generous Snake, a Metal Snake as a more disciplined one. Take it as folklore.
How did the Snake finish sixth in the Great Race?
By stealth. In the legend, the Jade Emperor had the animals race across a river for a place in the calendar. The Snake did not swim. It wound itself around the Horse's hoof and rode across unnoticed. Just before the finish it dropped to the ground and slid over the line ahead of the Horse, in sixth place.
That is one telling of a folktale with many. The full race is on our page about Chinese New Year animals.
The animals are stand-ins for 12 older counters, the "earthly branches." The Snake's is the sixth, written 巳 (si); the animal is 蛇 (she). On the traditional clock that branch covers 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.
What does a Snake year mean if you are a Snake?
Babies born from February 15, 2037 to February 3, 2038 will be Fire Snakes. For anyone born in an earlier Snake year, 2037 is their own sign's year, which comes at 12, 24, 36, 48 and 60. Those born in the Fire Snake year of 1977 turn 60 and see both animal and element return.
Folk belief treats a person's own zodiac year, the ben ming nian, as a hurdle and not as a lucky year, and the custom tied to it is wearing red. It is a belief, not a prediction.
Which signs is the Snake said to get along with?
In the traditional scheme, the Snake shares a group of three with the Ox and the Rooster and is paired with the Monkey. Its opposite, six places away in the cycle, is the Pig. How the sets are formed, and why they count as folklore, is laid out in our guide to Chinese zodiac compatibility.
The Snake comes after the Dragon and before the Horse. For the year that begins on February 6, 2027, see Year of the Goat 2027.