Year of the Snake 巳
Yin Fire branch · Wise · composed · deeply perceptive
Watches quietly. Strikes precisely.
Snake years are linked to wisdom and privacy — you may watch quietly, then act precisely. The tradition's caution is keeping so much inside that even close people guess wrong about you. People born in Snake years are traditionally read as wise, private, always three moves ahead.
Which years belong to the Snake?
A zodiac year starts at Lunar New Year, not on 1 January. Born in January or early February of a year below, you may belong to the previous animal — the calculator on the Chinese zodiac page uses the true boundary date for your birth year.
- 1941Metal Snake
- 1953Water Snake
- 1965Wood Snake
- 1977Fire Snake
- 1989Earth Snake
- 2001Metal Snake
- 2013Water Snake
- 2025Wood Snake
The element changes each cycle — a Metal Snake and a Wood Snake share the branch but not the stem, which is why the same animal feels different across generations.
Who does the Snake get along with?
- Trine partners
- Ox and Rooster — the traditional harmony triangle: animals said to run in the same pack, sharing instincts and plans without friction.
- Secret friend
- Monkey — the six-harmony pairing: quiet, reliable loyalty rather than fireworks.
- Clash
- Pig — the opposite branch, six places across the wheel. Traditionally read as friction that demands effort, not a verdict on any real pair of people.
Lucky numbers by tradition: 2, 8, 9. These are traditional associations, not predictions — a full match reads all four pillars, not the year animal alone. Run a real match →
Famous Snakes
Verified birth dates from public records — tap any chart to see the whole thing.
- Mahatma GandhiIndian independence activist
- Pablo PicassoSpanish painter and sculptor
- John F. KennedyPresident of the United States from 1961 to 1963
- Franklin Delano RooseveltPresident of the United States from 1933 to 1945
- Volodymyr ZelenskyyPresident of Ukraine since 2019
- Emmanuel MacronPresident of France and Co-Prince of Andorra since 2017
- Stephen HawkingBritish theoretical physicist, cosmologist and author
- J. K. RowlingBritish author and philanthropist
The Snake is one pillar of four
Your year animal is an eighth of a full Chinese chart: BaZi reads a stem and branch for your year, month, day and hour, and the day — not the year — carries your core self.