The Chinese horoscope · the twelve animals·6th of twelve
The Snake
蛇shé
- Branch 巳 · sì
- Fixed element: Fire
- yin
- Hour: 9:00 to 11:00
- Direction: SSE
In a word
Wise, private, elegant.
What tradition attributes to it
- They think before they speak, and they speak little.
- Intuition: they work out what is not being said.
- Taste, charm, a natural elegance.
- Tenacious, they see through what they have decided, quietly.
- They would rather understand than shine.
The other side
- Distrust: they keep everything in, including what would do better out.
- Jealous, possessive when they love.
- They can chew things over for a long time, a very long time.
In love
A quiet seducer, they attach deeply and don’t like sharing. They need trust and calm; agitation closes them up.
At work
At ease in what calls for depth: research, analysis, strategy, advising. They are happy working alone and hate being rushed.
What helps
Say one thing you have been holding on to, to the person it concerns, without dressing it up. You will find it weighs less outside than in.
By the element of the year
- Wood Snake: more sociable, gentler, and they share more.
- Fire Snake: more passionate, more ambitious, wanting to be recognised.
- Earth Snake: the most stable and the most reliable, the friend of many years.
- Metal Snake: the most determined, calculating, hard to make bend.
- Water Snake: the most intuitive, thoughtful, patient as a river.
The Year of the Fire Horse
This year for the Snake
Between the animal of the year and its own, tradition names nothing in particular: no triangle, no opposition, no secret friendship. An ordinary year, where the element counts for more.
The same element as its own this year: tradition sees it as a boost, and the flaw that comes with it gets doubled too.
Chinese tradition reads the year by comparing this animal with the year's animal, then their two elements. It describes a mood, not events.
The years of the Snake
- February 10, 1929 → January 29, 1930Earth Snake己巳
- January 27, 1941 → February 14, 1942Metal Snake辛巳
- February 14, 1953 → February 2, 1954Water Snake癸巳
- February 2, 1965 → January 20, 1966Wood Snake乙巳
- February 18, 1977 → February 6, 1978Fire Snake丁巳
- February 6, 1989 → January 26, 1990Earth Snake己巳
- January 24, 2001 → February 11, 2002Metal Snake辛巳
- February 10, 2013 → January 30, 2014Water Snake癸巳
- January 29, 2025 → February 16, 2026Wood Snake乙巳
- February 15, 2037 → February 3, 2038Fire Snake丁巳
From Chinese New Year to the last day of the Chinese year. If your birthday falls in January or early February, your animal is often the one from the year before: check your birth date in the list.
With the others
- Its affinity triangle: the Ox and the Rooster. Three animals four years apart, who understand one another without effort, says tradition.
- Its secret friend: the Monkey. The quiet pair, the one that gets along without showing it.
- Its opposite: the Pig, six years apart, directly across on the wheel of the twelve animals. Not a ban: a difference in pace, one you can learn to work with.
Traditional affinities, not verdicts. Two people are two whole charts, not two birth years.
And you?
Your sign is based on the actual date of Chinese New Year, and your birth time gives your animal of the hour.
See my sign