Chinese zodiac · Year of the Snake
The Metal Snake: 1941, 2001, 2061
辛巳 · Xin sì · Yin Metal stem on the Fire branch
A Metal Snake year pairs the Heavenly Stem 辛 (Xin, yin Metal) with the Earthly Branch 巳 (sì, the Snake). The pair recurs every sixty years, so in the range AsterNym covers the Metal Snake years are 1941, 2001, 2061. The animal is the same each time; the stem is what makes a Metal 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 Metal Snake is like
Popular Chinese zodiac tradition. For reflection, not prediction.
The Metal Snake is the most guarded and the most determined, with a will that works quietly for years.
2001 Metal Snakes are the most guarded and the most determined, and the tradition's quietly relentless Snake fits a year that changed the world in September.
In BaZi terms the Fire branch controls the Metal stem: Fire restrains Metal in the controlling cycle. Practitioners read the year as the animal pushing back against the element above it, so the Snake's qualities come through strongly and the stem struggles to impose itself. The animal has the upper hand.
The rest of the Snake’s character, in love, at work and the growing edge, is on the Year of the Snake page.
Metal 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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1941 | 27 January 1941 | 14 February 1942 | 4 February 1941 |
| 2001 | 24 January 2001 | 11 February 2002 | 4 February 2001 |
| 2061 | outside the table | … | 3 February 2061 |
The next Metal Snake year is 2061. Check any birthday against the boundary with the finder.
Famous Metal Snakes
Public birth records, assigned by the Lunar New Year boundary.
Born in 1941
Common questions
- When does the Year of the Metal Snake start?
- The 1941 Metal Snake year began at Lunar New Year on 27 January 1941 and ran to 14 February 1942. The 2001 Metal Snake year began at Lunar New Year on 24 January 2001 and ran to 11 February 2002. 2061 is outside AsterNym's Lunar New Year table. BaZi turns the year at Li Chun instead (1941: 4 February 1941; 2001: 4 February 2001; 2061: 3 February 2061), so a birth between the two dates carries different year animals in the two systems.
- What is a Metal Snake personality?
- The Metal Snake is the most guarded and the most determined, with a will that works quietly for years. In BaZi terms the Fire branch controls the Metal stem: Fire restrains Metal in the controlling cycle. Practitioners read the year as the animal pushing back against the element above it, so the Snake's qualities come through strongly and the stem struggles to impose itself. The animal has the upper hand.
- When is the next Metal Snake year?
- 2061. The pair of stem 辛 and branch 巳 recurs every sixty years.