The Year of the Snake: A Year of Introspection, Intuition, and Adaptability
- The Chinese Zodiac is based on the lunar calendar and assigns an animal to each year within a 12-year cycle.
- It is said that people born each year receive some of that year’s animal’s reputed attributes, and this myth dates back to the Zhan Guo period (5th century BC) with the story of the Great Race.
- There was a Jade Emperor (a representation of China’s “first god”) who decreed that the years of the calendar would be named for each animal.
- The order of the animals would be decided by the order in which the chosen animals won a race to reach him and had to cross a great river.
- The order from first to last is as follows: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog, pig.
- Within the Chinese Zodiac, each animal represents different characteristics. Each animal is assigned personality traits, a natural element, and a yin/ yang designation. The nature elements were an early attempt to explain the relationship between certain aspects of the natural world while Yin and Yang represent the Chinese belief in duality; light and dark.
- Lunar Near Year is observed on Wednesday, January 29th this year.
- 2024 was the year of the dragon and 2025 is the year of the snake.
- The snake symbolizes wisdom, adaptability, creativity, and good luck. People are encouraged to “shed one’s skin” as a snake does, which can encourage individuals to let go of old beliefs and examine new perspectives.
- According to Chinese astrology, people born in the Year of the Snake are said to be wise, intelligent, mysterious, creative, resourceful, good speakers, and deep thinkers, and are also said to be stubborn and overconfident.
- Years of the Snake include: 1929, 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013, and now 2025.