Which Years Are Snake Years?
People born in 1989, 2001, 2013 and 2025 are Snakes. Earlier Snake years are 1941, 1953, 1965 and 1977. The Snake comes around every 12 years.
A Snake year begins at the Start of Spring (Lichun), around February 4. It is usually a different day from Chinese New Year.
BaZi writes your birth year, month, day and hour as two characters each. The two for the year are your year pillar.
Enter your birth date and hour in the free BaZi calculator. If the second character of your year pillar is 巳 (Si), you are a Snake. Born before that date, your pillar still ends in the previous year's Chen, so you are a Dragon.
| Year | Stem-branch | Na Yin | Born between |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Yi Si | Covered Lamp Fire | Feb 3 – Feb 3 next year |
| 2013 | Gui Si | Long-flowing Water | Feb 4 – Feb 3 next year |
| 2001 | Xin Si | White Wax Gold | Feb 4 – Feb 3 next year |
| 1989 | Ji Si | Wood of the Great Forest | Feb 4 – Feb 3 next year |
| 1977 | Ding Si | Earth in the Sand | Feb 4 – Feb 3 next year |
| 1965 | Yi Si | Covered Lamp Fire | Feb 4 – Feb 3 next year |
| 1953 | Gui Si | Long-flowing Water | Feb 4 – Feb 3 next year |
| 1941 | Xin Si | White Wax Gold | Feb 4 – Feb 3 next year |
Calculate your BaZi chart
Enter your birth details to discover your Day Master, elemental balance, and how these concepts apply to your Four Pillars.
Who Are the Snake's Allies? Rooster, Ox and Monkey
The Snake's allies are the Rooster and the Ox, and the Monkey counts too. In folk tradition, your allies are the animals that form a trine or a six harmony with yours.
This is not the Heavenly Noble (Tian Yi Gui Ren), one of BaZi's Special Stars. That one is read from your whole chart.
- TrineThree earthly branches form a group. For the Snake, the other two are the Rooster and the Ox.
- Six HarmonyTwo branches form a pair. The Snake pairs with the Monkey.
When only two of the three meet, the Snake and the Rooster still bond. That makes the Rooster closer than the Ox. A Snake and an Ox need a Rooster between them to connect.
Snake and Monkey: A Pair That Also Grates
The Snake and the Monkey form a six harmony and a punishment at the same time. The harmony makes it easy for you to get close and talk freely.
The punishment comes from a group of three, the Tiger, Snake and Monkey, who all punish one another. Tradition calls it the ungrateful punishment. You give, yet feel the other side does not appreciate it.
The two do not cancel out. You may become friends quickly, then find more to resent as time goes on. Some books also count the pair as a break. Following Sanming Tonghui, we leave that out.
Which Animals Clash with the Snake?
The Pig is the Snake's worst match. Friction with the Tiger and Monkey is lighter. Clash, punishment and harm all make a poor match, but some weigh more than others.
- ClashSet the twelve animals in a circle, and the two directly opposite collide. This is the heavier kind.
- PunishmentFriction, each holding the other back. This is lighter.
- HarmNo open conflict, but each quietly gets in the other's way. This is lighter too.
| Animal | Branch | Relation | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pig | Hai | Clash | Heavier |
| Tiger | Yin | Punishment and harm | Lighter |
| Monkey | Shen | Punishment | Lighter |
No animal forms a break with the Snake. Two Snakes together are not a bad match.
Which Years Does the Snake Offend Tai Sui?
A Snake offends Tai Sui in Snake, Pig, Tiger and Monkey years. Tai Sui is the animal of the current year. In a Snake year, for example, Tai Sui is the Snake. Folk custom compares that animal with yours to see whether you offend it.
For a Snake, the twelve-year cycle runs like this:
- SnakeYour own year
- PigClash
- TigerPunishment and harm
- MonkeyHarmony and punishment
- Ox and RoosterHarmony
A Snake year is your own year (Ben Ming Nian). Tradition weighs your own year and a clash the most. Punishment and harm are lighter, and harmony is seen as a help.
Offending Tai Sui compares two animals only. It is not a full forecast for your year. For each animal's Tai Sui outlook and tips for the year, see the CNY BaZi Fortune Guide.
Snake Element and the Five Snakes
The Snake's element is Fire, because the branch Si belongs to Fire. The Metal Snake, Wood Snake and the rest are sorted by the heavenly stem of the birth year.
Every Snake year's pillar ends in Si. What differs is the first character, the stem. For example, 2001 is Xin Si. Xin is Metal, so 2001 is a Metal Snake.
| Type | Year pillar | Birth years |
|---|---|---|
| Metal Snake | Xin Si | 1941, 2001 |
| Wood Snake | Yi Si | 1965, 2025 |
| Water Snake | Gui Si | 1953, 2013 |
| Fire Snake | Ding Si | 1977 |
| Earth Snake | Ji Si | 1989 |
Some sites sort Snakes by Na Yin instead. Na Yin is a second set of element names, one for each stem and branch pair. For 2025, the Na Yin is Covered Lamp Fire, so those sites call it a Fire Snake. By its stem, it is a Wood Snake.
Snake Personality: Calm, Sharp-eyed, Slow to Trust
Snakes tend to be calm and sharp-eyed, and they take time to trust people. These traits come from Si's hidden stems.
Each branch hides one to three stems, called hidden stems (Cang Gan). Si hides three: one fire, one metal and one earth. The fire stem, Bing Fire, weighs the most.
This fire is bright, so you may come across as warm and magnetic. The metal is sharp. It brings judgment and an eye for what matters. The earth is solid, so you think a situation through before you decide.
The other side is caution. You do not open up easily. Your memory is long, and sometimes that includes grudges.
Where you feel trusted and have room of your own, these traits tend to show as steadiness and insight. Under heavy pressure, they can turn into suspicion.
