Chinese zodiac · Year of the Snake
The Earth Snake: 1929, 1989, 2049
己巳 · Ji sì · Yin Earth stem on the Fire branch
A Earth Snake year pairs the Heavenly Stem 己 (Ji, yin Earth) with the Earthly Branch 巳 (sì, the Snake). The pair recurs every sixty years, so in the range AsterNym covers the Earth Snake years are 1929, 1989, 2049. The animal is the same each time; the stem is what makes a Earth Snake different from a Wood Snake or a Fire Snake. The popular zodiac begins each of these years at Lunar New Year and BaZi begins it at Li Chun, so both boundaries are given below for every year.
What a Earth Snake is like
Popular Chinese zodiac tradition. For reflection, not prediction.
The Earth Snake is the most reliable, calm and methodical, wisdom applied to practical things.
The Earth Snake of 1989 is the most reliable of the five, wisdom applied to practical things, and the year the Berlin Wall came down is a reasonable match for it.
In BaZi terms the Fire branch feeds the Earth stem: Fire produces Earth in the generating cycle. Practitioners read the year as the Snake giving its strength upward, so the stem element is well resourced and the animal's own qualities are somewhat spent in the giving. Productive, and a little tiring for the Snake.
The rest of the Snake’s character, in love, at work and the growing edge, is on the Year of the Snake page.
Earth Snake years and when each begins
The popular zodiac year begins at Lunar New Year; BaZi begins it at Li Chun, the start of spring. Both dates are given so a birth between them can be placed in either system.
| Year | Lunar New Year (popular zodiac) | Ends | Li Chun (BaZi) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1929 | 10 February 1929 | 29 January 1930 | 4 February 1929 |
| 1989 | 6 February 1989 | 26 January 1990 | 4 February 1989 |
| 2049 | 2 February 2049 | 22 January 2050 | 3 February 2049 |
The next Earth Snake year is 2049. Check any birthday against the boundary with the finder.
Famous Earth Snakes
Public birth records, assigned by the Lunar New Year boundary.
Born in 1929
- Anne FrankGerman-born Dutch Jewish diarist and Holocaust victim
- Audrey HepburnBritish actress
- Grace KellyAmerican actress and Princess consort of Monaco
- Buzz AldrinAmerican astronaut
- Milan KunderaFranco-Czechoslovak poet and novelist
- Jacqueline Kennedy OnassisFirst Lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963
Common questions
- When does the Year of the Earth Snake start?
- The 1929 Earth Snake year began at Lunar New Year on 10 February 1929 and ran to 29 January 1930. The 1989 Earth Snake year began at Lunar New Year on 6 February 1989 and ran to 26 January 1990. The 2049 Earth Snake year began at Lunar New Year on 2 February 2049 and ran to 22 January 2050. BaZi turns the year at Li Chun instead (1929: 4 February 1929; 1989: 4 February 1989; 2049: 3 February 2049), so a birth between the two dates carries different year animals in the two systems.
- What is a Earth Snake personality?
- The Earth Snake is the most reliable, calm and methodical, wisdom applied to practical things. In BaZi terms the Fire branch feeds the Earth stem: Fire produces Earth in the generating cycle. Practitioners read the year as the Snake giving its strength upward, so the stem element is well resourced and the animal's own qualities are somewhat spent in the giving. Productive, and a little tiring for the Snake.
- When is the next Earth Snake year?
- 2049. The pair of stem 己 and branch 巳 recurs every sixty years.