Born in 1941: the Snake

Metal Snake is the full name of the 1941 sign. Its traditional two-part year name is 辛巳 (xīnsì), which puts it at number 18 of 60, and 1941 is a yin year, the cycle's quieter, more reflective half. Expect the Snake's usual traits (wise, private, elegant) with a determined, disciplined and self-reliant edge from the Metal element.

The 1941 lunar year ran from January 27, 1941 up to the day before Chinese New Year 1942 (February 15, 1942). If you were born on or after January 27, 1941 you are a Snake; if you were born earlier in 1941, you belong to the previous year's sign, the Dragon. Someone born in 1941 turns 85 in 2026 (or 84 until their birthday for the year).

Calendar note: 1941's Chinese New Year fell on a Monday, and that lunar year ran 384 days — a long, 13-month year with an inserted leap month.

What the Metal element adds

Metal is the element of autumn, structure and resolve. A Metal year sharpens focus and independence: a Metal animal knows what it wants and pursues it directly, sometimes at the cost of flexibility.

The full 60-year cycle pairs each of the 12 animals with each of the 5 elements, so a Metal Snake year comes around only once every 60 years — the last one before 1941 was 1881, and the next is 2001. People born in it are said to combine wise and private with the element's determined nature. Every Snake year is yin (the quieter, inward type). See the Metal element and the full Metal Snake profile.

1941 at a glance

Animal	🐍 Snake (蛇)
Element	Metal
Yin or yang	yin
Traditional year name	辛巳 (xīnsì)
Place in the 60-year cycle	18 of 60
Zodiac year runs	January 27, 1941 to February 14, 1942
Age in 2026	84–85
Traditional best match	Monkey
Traditional hardest match	Pig
Lucky numbers	2, 8, 9
Lucky colors	red, light yellow, black

Snake compatibility

In the traditional chart, a 1941 Snake gets on best with the Monkey (the "secret friend" pairing), and also with Ox and Rooster. The hardest pairing is the Pig, six years apart in the cycle. See the full Snake compatibility table.

Where a birthday around 1941 lands

The zodiac year does not follow the calendar year, so 1941 is spread across two calendar years. This table shows exactly which animal a birthday gets.

Birthday	Zodiac animal
January 1 to January 26, 1941	Dragon (the 1940 year)
January 27, 1941 to December 31, 1941	Snake
January 1, 1942 to February 14, 1942	Snake (still the 1941 year)
February 15, 1942 onward	Horse (the 1942 year)

Zodiac years ahead for a 1941 Snake

The next own-sign year for someone born in 1941 is 2037, around age 96, then 2049, around age 108. Tradition calls this your běnmìngnián. Despite being "your" year, it is thought to clash with Tài Suì (the God of Age) and to carry a higher chance of setbacks, so many people wear red through it for protection.

The element pair: 1941 and 1940

Metal years come in pairs. 1941 is the yin year and 1940 is the yang year, the Dragon. So a 1941 Snake and a 1940 Dragon share an element and sit one year apart in the cycle. The traditional chart rates the Snake and Dragon pairing as moderate: it has no special bond or conflict, so how well it goes depends on the two people more than on the calendar. See the Snake and Dragon pairing.

Other Snake years

1953 1965 1977 1989 2001 2013 2025 2037

Full Snake personality profile →   Snake compatibility with every sign →

Know your exact birth date? Use the calculator for your full combination →

What a Metal year changes for the Snake

Talking. What marks a 1941 Snake in conversation is the Metal element: it gets more guarded about it, saying less than it's actually thinking.

Work. Expect a 1941 Snake to work with a sharper, less negotiable edge than most, because Metal sharpens and hardens the sign's usual approach. The element affects execution more than the field.

Love. In 1941's Metal version, the Snake shows affection through direct, no-nonsense gestures, since metal is the element of autumn, structure and resolve.

For the sign as a whole (how the Snake communicates, works and loves in every element) see the Snake profile. This page covers what is different about 1941.

Known Snakes

Muhammad Ali was born in the 1941 lunar year, an exact Metal Snake match for this page. Other well-known Snakes, from other years, include Oprah Winfrey, Taylor Swift and Sarah Jessica Parker. A shared sign says nothing about how anyone's life goes; these are simply familiar names to put to the sign.