Quick Answer: What Is the 2025 Chinese Zodiac Sign?
The 2025 Chinese zodiac (生肖, shēngxiào) is the Wood Snake for births from January 29, 2025 through February 16, 2026, inclusive. The traditional year name is Yi-Si (乙巳, Yǐ-Sì).[1][2]
- Before January 29. January 1–28, 2025 remains in the Wood Dragon year.[1]
- The name Wood Snake. Yi gives Wood and Si gives Snake.[4]
- The next change. February 17, 2026 opens the Fire Horse year.[2]
These ranges use Lunar New Year. Some Four Pillars charts use Start of Spring (立春, Lìchūn) to change the year.[3]
There are Snake birthdays in both 2025 and 2026. The first part of January 2025 still belongs to the Dragon, while the first sixteen days of February 2026 remain in the Snake year.
2025 Wood Snake Birth Dates and the 2026 Cutoff
| Gregorian date of birth | Lunar New Year sign |
|---|---|
| January 1–28, 2025 | Wood Dragon |
| January 29, 2025–February 16, 2026 | Wood Snake |
| February 17–December 31, 2026 | Fire Horse |
On January 31, 2025, the lunar calendar already assigns the Snake. A chart using Start of Spring still assigns the Wood Dragon, because the solar term fell on February 3 that year.[1][3][4]
How Yi-Si and Buddhist Lamp Fire Fit the Calendar
Yi is the Heavenly Stem (天干, tiāngān) for Yin Wood (阴木, yīn mù) in Wuxing (五行, wǔxíng). Si is the Earthly Branch (地支, dìzhī) for Snake (蛇, shé). The pair in the Gan-Zhi (干支, gānzhī) cycle also names the 1965 Wood Snake, exactly 60 years earlier.[3][4]
The 2025 Wood Snake and the previous Wood Dragon share Buddhist Lamp Fire (佛灯火, Fó Dēng Huǒ) in the Na Yin (纳音, nà yīn) classification. The particular entry in the paired table gives the Fire label. The individual year stem gives the Wood label.[4][5]
Zodiac Snakes and Snakes in Chinese Stories
A 2025 exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art included a 13th-century painted earthenware Snake figure associated with the zodiac and an 18th-century porcelain cup depicting a scene from the White Snake legend. The earthenware figure represents the animal sign. The other uses the snake to tell a specific story.[8]
Popular Wood Snake profiles emphasize watchfulness and patience. One 2025 guide lists 2, 8 and 9 as lucky numbers and black, green and red as lucky colors. The broader Snake compatibility tradition frequently pairs Snake with Ox or Rooster.[4][6][7][8]
The Snake in the 2027 Goat Year
A branch-based 2027 reading puts Snake and Goat in a neutral relationship. It starts from the Si branch found in every Snake year. A 2013 Water Snake and a 2025 Wood Snake therefore share that animal-level reading despite having different stems.[4]
FAQs About the 2025 Chinese Zodiac
Is January 28, 2025 a Wood Snake birthday?
It remains in the Wood Dragon year. The Snake begins on January 29.[1]
Is February 16, 2026 still a Snake birthday?
Yes. It is the last date of the Wood Snake year. The Fire Horse begins on February 17.[2]
Is 2025 the same kind of Snake as 2013?
Both share the Si branch. Yi gives 2025 Wood, while Gui gives the 2013 Snake its Water element.[3][4]
Sources
[1] Hong Kong Observatory. 2025 Gregorian–lunar calendar conversion table
[2] Hong Kong Observatory. 2026 Gregorian–lunar calendar conversion table
[3] Hong Kong Observatory. What year is it today?
[4] Zodiac Almanac. 2025 Wood Snake calendar labels and dated folk interpretation
[5] Liao Zhong. Wuxing Jingji, digital edition
[6] TravelChinaGuide. 2025 Wood Snake associations
[7] China Highlights. Chinese zodiac compatibility chart
[8] Metropolitan Museum of Art. Celebrating the Year of the Snake