Born in 2013: the Snake

Anyone born in 2013 is a Water Snake. The year's traditional two-part name is 癸巳 (guǐsì), number 30 in the 60-year cycle, and it is a yin year, the quieter, more reflective half of the cycle. The base Snake traits (wise, private, elegant) come filtered through an adaptable, perceptive and persuasive Water tone.

The 2013 lunar year ran from February 10, 2013 up to the day before Chinese New Year 2014 (January 31, 2014). If you were born on or after February 10, 2013 you are a Snake; if you were born earlier in 2013, you belong to the previous year's sign, the Dragon. Someone born in 2013 turns 13 in 2026 (or 12 until their birthday for the year).

Calendar note: 2013's Chinese New Year fell on a Sunday, and that lunar year ran 355 days — an ordinary 12-month lunar year.

What the Water element adds

Water is the element of winter, depth and adaptability. A Water year makes an animal more intuitive and persuasive, better at reading people and bending around obstacles rather than confronting them head-on.

The full 60-year cycle pairs each of the 12 animals with each of the 5 elements, so a Water Snake year comes around only once every 60 years — the last one before 2013 was 1953, and the next is 2073. People born in it are said to combine wise and private with the element's adaptable nature. Every Snake year is yin (the quieter, inward type). See the Water element and the full Water Snake profile.

2013 at a glance

Animal	🐍 Snake (蛇)
Element	Water
Yin or yang	yin
Traditional year name	癸巳 (guǐsì)
Place in the 60-year cycle	30 of 60
Zodiac year runs	February 10, 2013 to January 30, 2014
Age in 2026	12–13
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 2013 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 2013 lands

The zodiac year does not follow the calendar year, so 2013 is spread across two calendar years. This table shows exactly which animal a birthday gets.

Birthday	Zodiac animal
January 1 to February 9, 2013	Dragon (the 2012 year)
February 10, 2013 to December 31, 2013	Snake
January 1, 2014 to January 30, 2014	Snake (still the 2013 year)
January 31, 2014 onward	Horse (the 2014 year)

Zodiac years ahead for a 2013 Snake

The next own-sign year for someone born in 2013 is 2037, around age 24, then 2049, around age 36. 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: 2013 and 2012

Water years come in pairs. 2013 is the yin year and 2012 is the yang year, the Dragon. So a 2013 Snake and a 2012 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

1941 1953 1965 1977 1989 2001 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 Water year changes for the Snake

Talking. The Water element shows up in how a 2013 Snake speaks: it gets more strategic about it, choosing words to manage how the other person reacts. Another element on the same animal would sound different.

Work. In 2013 the Water element deepens and adds subtlety to the Snake's habits at work, so this version runs things with more patience for reading the room than most. It changes the style, not the choice of career.

Love. A 2013 Snake shows affection in quieter, more perceptive ways. That follows from the element: water is the element of winter, depth and adaptability.

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 2013.

Known Snakes

Oprah Winfrey, Taylor Swift, Muhammad Ali, Sarah Jessica Parker are among the names most often cited as Snakes, though none of them was born in the 2013 lunar year. They're referenced here as examples of the animal's wise streak generally, not proof of what a Water Snake specifically looks like.