Year of the Snake: Birth Years, Ages and Sign Relations
If you were born in a Year of the Snake, the earthly branch of your birth year is Si (巳). It comes round every 12 years; the most recent were 1989, 2001, 2013 and 2025. Below: every Snake year with its year pillar, na yin, your age in 2026, and the date the sign actually changes each year.
Year of the Snake: every year from 1924 to 2043
| Year | Year pillar | Na yin | Age in 2026 | Start of Spring (BaZi new year) | Lunar New Year (popular new year) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1929 | Ji-Si 己巳 | Great Forest Wood | 97 | Feb 4 15:08 | Feb 10 |
| 1941 | Xin-Si 辛巳 | White Wax Metal | 85 | Feb 4 12:49 | Jan 27 |
| 1953 | Gui-Si 癸巳 | Long-Flowing Water | 73 | Feb 4 10:45 | Feb 14 |
| 1965 | Yi-Si 乙巳 | Sheltered Lamp Fire | 61 | Feb 4 08:46 | Feb 2 |
| 1977 | Ding-Si 丁巳 | Sand Earth | 49 | Feb 4 06:33 | Feb 18 |
| 1989 | Ji-Si 己巳 | Great Forest Wood | 37 | Feb 4 04:27 | Feb 6 |
| 2001 | Xin-Si 辛巳 | White Wax Metal | 25 | Feb 4 02:28 | Jan 24 |
| 2013 | Gui-Si 癸巳 | Long-Flowing Water | 13 | Feb 4 00:13 | Feb 10 |
| 2025 | Yi-Si 乙巳 | Sheltered Lamp Fire | 1 | Feb 3 22:10 | Jan 29 |
| 2037 | Ding-Si 丁巳 | Sand Earth | — | Feb 3 20:11 | Feb 15 |
Ages here are the age you reach on your birthday in 2026. In Taiwan and much of East Asia people also use "virtual age" (xu sui), where you are 1 at birth and add a year at each Lunar New Year, so it runs one or two years higher. Start of Spring times are Taiwan time (UTC+8).
Pay attention if you were born between late January and mid-February. BaZi changes the year at the Start of Spring (Li Chun), while popular custom, and most zodiac websites, change it at Lunar New Year. Between 1924 and 2043, Lunar New Year fell up to 14 days before the Start of Spring and up to 16 days after it. Born after the Start of Spring but before Lunar New Year in one of the years above, you are a Snake by BaZi but still the previous sign by popular reckoning; the reverse can happen too. The lookup below settles it from your birthday.
The Snake's branch at a glance
| Earthly branch | Si 巳 (Yin branch) |
|---|---|
| Main element | Fire |
| Hidden stems | Bing 丙, Geng 庚, Wu 戊 (see hidden stems) |
| Double hour | Si hour, 09:00–10:59 |
| Month | Si month: from Start of Summer (立夏) to Grain in Ear (芒種) |
| Direction | South-southeast |
Earthly branches label years, months and two-hour periods alike. Being "a Snake" only refers to the branch of your year pillar. Someone born in a Si month or a Si hour also has Si in their chart, but their zodiac sign is not the Snake.
How the Snake relates to the other signs
| Relation | Sign | Branch relation |
|---|---|---|
| Trine (San He) | Rooster and Ox | Si-You-Chou Metal trine |
| Six Combination (Liu He) | Monkey | Si-Shen combination, transforming to Water |
| Clash (Chong) | Pig | Si-Hai clash |
| Punishment (Xing) | Tiger and Monkey | Punishment of Ingratitude |
| Harm (Hai) | Tiger | Si-Yin harm |
| Break (Po) | Monkey | Si-Shen break |
Classical texts sort the relations between branches into combinations (attraction, joining forces) and clashes, punishments, harms and breaks (friction and wear). Popular "zodiac compatibility" comes straight from this: trines and Six Combinations are said to get along, clashes are said to collide. But that compares only the year branches of two people, and a BaZi chart has eight characters. Our compatibility guide reads how two whole charts interact and never calls a couple incompatible because their signs clash.
The Snake and Tai Sui in 2026 and 2027
| Year | Annual pillar | Relation to Tai Sui |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Bing-Wu (Year of the Horse) | no clash, punishment, harm or break |
| 2027 | Ding-Wei (Year of the Goat) | no clash, punishment, harm or break |
Tai Sui is the branch of the current year. For the full 2027 reading for the Snake, see Snake in 2027; for what offending Tai Sui means and its five forms, see offending Tai Sui.
The popular image of the Snake
Folk wisdom says people born in the Year of the Snake are calm, deep and intuitive. It grew out of the animal's image and is fun as an association, but in BaZi personality is read mainly from the Day Master, the heavenly stem of your birth day; see the ten Day Masters.
What is my Chinese zodiac sign?
Enter your Gregorian date of birth. You will see your sign by both rules, the Start of Spring (used in BaZi) and Lunar New Year (popular custom), plus your year pillar, na yin and your age this year. You can also pick a second sign to see how the two relate. Everything is calculated in your browser; nothing is uploaded.
Born on the day of the Start of Spring itself? Then your sign depends on whether you were born before or after the exact moment it begins; see solar-term boundaries.
Three common misconceptions
Your sign changes at Lunar New Year.
That is the popular convention, but BaZi and the rest of Chinese metaphysics change the year at the Start of Spring. We checked every day from 1960 to 2005: the two rules give different signs on about 2.0% of days, roughly 7 days a year.
A Snake and a Pig clash, so they should not marry.
A clash between signs is a clash between two year branches only. A chart has eight characters, and matching two people means reading how the whole charts interact; even the classical matching texts never looked at the year branch alone. See compatibility.
All Snakes have the same personality.
Millions of people are born in any one Snake year, and they are very different people. In BaZi, character is read from the Day Master and the Ten Gods; see BaZi personality.
The other signs
A straight word: your sign is one branch of your chart
Your Chinese zodiac sign is the earthly branch of your birth year, one of the eight characters in a BaZi chart. What a chart says about personality, relationships or money comes mainly from the Day Master and the balance of the whole chart; millions of people share a birth year, and they do not share a destiny. Signs are a handy way to talk about years and about how you stand with Tai Sui, but they are not a way to sum a person up. Everything on this site is for reference and entertainment.
Beyond your sign: the whole chart
Your sign is one character of your year pillar. Enter your birthday to cast all four pillars for free and see your Day Master, elements and Ten Gods.
Year of the Snake: FAQ
Which years are the Year of the Snake?
1929, 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013, 2025, 2037. The year changes at the Start of Spring, so if you were born between late January and mid-February, check the Start of Spring and Lunar New Year dates for your year.
How old is a Snake this year?
In 2026, on their birthday: born 1941: 85; born 1953: 73; born 1965: 61; born 1977: 49; born 1989: 37; born 2001: 25; born 2013: 13; born 2025: 1. East Asian virtual age is one or two years higher.
Which signs is the Snake most compatible with?
Traditionally the Snake forms a trine with the Rooster and Ox and a Six Combination with the Monkey, and clashes with the Pig. That only compares year branches; real compatibility depends on the whole chart.
Does the Snake offend Tai Sui in 2027?
No. In the Ding Wei year 2027 the Snake has no clash, punishment, harm or break with Tai Sui.