Animal 06 · twelve-year cycle

Year of the
Snake

Year of the Snake runs from Chinese New Year to the day before the next, not 1 January to 31 December. See every exact Snake year from 1900 to 2035 with its element.

Calendar and tradition: The Chinese New Year boundary is a calendar result. Personality, compatibility, career, and lucky-item material below are traditional interpretations, not scientific findings or predictions.

Immediate answer

The Snake is #6 in the cycle

Most recent complete Snake year: Wood Snake 202529 January 2025 to 16 February 2026
Cycle length: Every 12 yearsThe element repeats every 60 years
Traditional colors: Black · Red · Yellow
Exact lookup: Use the maintained date calculatorCoverage: 1900–2035 birth dates

Calendar fact

Every Snake year and its exact dates

A Chinese zodiac year is not a Gregorian year. Each Snake year opens on that year's Chinese New Year and closes the day before the next one, so it always straddles two Gregorian years. Every row below is derived from the maintained Chinese New Year boundary table rather than estimated, which is why the start and end dates move each cycle.

Snake years from 1900 to 2035, with the element and yin or yang quality of each.
Zodiac year	Element & quality	First day	Last day
2025	Wood SnakeYin	29 Jan 2025	16 Feb 2026
2013	Water SnakeYin	10 Feb 2013	30 Jan 2014
2001	Metal SnakeYin	24 Jan 2001	11 Feb 2002
1989	Earth SnakeYin	6 Feb 1989	26 Jan 1990
1977	Fire SnakeYin	18 Feb 1977	6 Feb 1978
1965	Wood SnakeYin	2 Feb 1965	20 Jan 1966
1953	Water SnakeYin	14 Feb 1953	2 Feb 1954
1941	Metal SnakeYin	27 Jan 1941	14 Feb 1942
1929	Earth SnakeYin	10 Feb 1929	29 Jan 1930
1917	Fire SnakeYin	23 Jan 1917	10 Feb 1918
1905	Wood SnakeYin	4 Feb 1905	24 Jan 1906

Why this matters: someone born in early 2026, before that year's Chinese New Year, is still a Snake rather than the following animal. A Gregorian birth year on its own gives the wrong answer for roughly the first five to seven weeks of every year. The calculator checks the boundary for you.

Traditional profile

How tradition describes the Snake

The Snake represents wisdom, intuition, and mystery. People born in the Year of the Snake are intelligent and wise, with deep thinking abilities. They're often drawn to philosophy and the mysteries of life.

EnigmaticIntelligentWiseIntuitiveGraceful

Traditional strengths

Common themes

Wise · Discreet · Agile · Attractive · Intuitive

Traditional challenges

Common cautions

Jealous · Suspicious · Sly · Fickle · Nonchalant

Traditional interpretation

Compatibility themes

This simplified animal-sign tradition is not a relationship assessment. Chinese astrology can also consider elements and other factors.

Commonly described as strongest

Ox · Rooster

Commonly described as favorable

Rat · Rabbit · Dragon · Snake · Horse · Goat

Commonly described as challenging

Tiger · Monkey · Pig

Traditional associations

Numbers, colors, flowers, and directions

Traditional numbers: 2 · 8 · 9
Traditional colors: Black · Red · Yellow
Traditional flowers: Orchid · Cactus
Traditional directions: East · West · Southwest

Interpretation label: “Lucky” and “unlucky” lists are traditional correspondences. They do not alter probability or predict an outcome.

Traditional interpretation

Career themes in animal-sign guides

Traditional profiles often associate the Snake with these fields. Career fit depends on the individual, not their zodiac animal.

ScientistAnalystInvestigatorPainterSociologist

Boundary note: People born before Chinese New Year belong to the preceding animal year. Use a complete date, not the Gregorian year alone.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which years are Year of the Snake?▼

Snake years repeat every 12 years: 1929, 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013, 2025, 2037. Each one begins at Chinese New Year rather than 1 January, so the 2025 Snake year ran from 29 January 2025 to 16 February 2026.

Why can a January or February birthday have the previous animal?▼

Chinese New Year falls between 21 January and 21 February depending on the year, because the Chinese calendar is lunisolar. A birthday before that year's boundary belongs to the preceding zodiac year, so a Gregorian birth year alone is unreliable for anyone born in the first weeks of a year.

What element is the Snake?▼

The animal repeats every 12 years while the five elements repeat every 10, so a full animal-and-element combination returns only every 60 years. The most recent complete Snake year was a Wood Snake (Yin).

Are Year of the Snake personality readings scientific?▼

No. Animal traits, compatibility, lucky items, and career themes are cultural or astrological interpretations, not scientific measurements or predictions.