Zodiac compatibility · the twelve earthly branches
Snake compatibility: the signs that click and the signs that clash
The Snake’s branch, 巳, is early summer and a fire just catching. Tradition reads the shedding snake as insight and renewal.
- Branch and element
- 巳 · Fire
- Triangle of affinity (三合)
- 巳酉丑 · Snake · Rooster · Ox
- Six Harmonies partner (六合)
- 申 · Monkey
- Opposite sign (沖)
- 亥 · Pig
The Snake and the other eleven signs
These relations come from the traditional tables of the twelve earthly branches. The names are symbols for how two people tend to meet; they do not decide whether a relationship works. The character sketches of each sign are tradition’s pictures too, not a description of the people born in that year.
Signs said to suit the Snake
Linked by a triangle of affinity or the Six Harmonies.
- Ox 丑Triangle of affinity (三合)
- Rooster 酉Triangle of affinity (三合)
- Monkey 申Six Harmonies (六合)Punishment (刑)Break (破)
The Snake forms the 巳酉丑 triangle of affinity with the Ox and the Rooster, fire refining metal into a team that sharpens each other. The Monkey is its Six Harmonies partner (巳申), yet the same pair also carries a punishment and a break: witty at first, tricky once you start testing each other. Say what you want directly.
Signs said to rub against the Snake
A clash, resentment, punishment, harm or break, with no triangle or Six Harmonies.
The Pig is the Snake’s clash (巳亥), fire facing water, read as care versus spontaneity. The Dog is a resentment pair, read as blunt principles that wound easily. The Tiger adds punishment and harm (寅巳). Before you settle a judgement inwardly, ask: “Did I understand you right?”
Signs read as neutral for the Snake
Only the same season, or no named relation at all.
The Horse and the Goat share the Snake’s summer season (巳午未). The Rat, the Rabbit and the Dragon have no named relation with it; opening up a little first works well.
Two people born under the Snake, as tradition reads it
Two Snakes read each other without many words, and both tend to brood. Make it a rule to ask rather than guess.
In the end, compatibility is how you treat each other
Zodiac compatibility looks at one thing only: the year each person was born. Two people with the same pair of signs can get along in completely different ways, so how you listen and how you make up after a disagreement matters far more than any name in the table. For a fuller picture, try a saju reading with both birth dates, or the personality-based pages below.
Snake compatibility: common questions
Which signs suit the Snake?
The Ox and the Rooster (the 巳酉丑 triangle of affinity) and the Monkey (巳申, Six Harmonies), though with the Monkey a punishment and a break also apply.
Are the Snake and the Pig really a bad match?
They clash (巳亥), so tradition expects friction and pictures them moving at different speeds. Each can learn from the other.
Why is the Snake and Monkey harmony tricky?
巳申 sits in three lists at once: Six Harmonies, punishment and break. Easy attraction, easy testing; plain words keep the good part.
Which years are Snake years?
1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013 and 2025, each from Ipchun. Ipchun fell on February 3 in 2025, so a baby born on February 2, 2025 counts as a Dragon.
Snake birth years (from Ipchun)
In the saju calendar the sign changes at Ipchun, the start of spring (around 4 February), not on January 1. The Snake covers births from each Ipchun below to the day before the next one.
Born between January 1 and February 3, 1989? Then the sign is the previous year’s Dragon, while someone born between January 1 and February 3, 1990 still counts as a Snake.
Births 1929–2025; the sign starts at that year’s Ipchun
- 1929 己巳 · from February 4
- 1941 辛巳 · from February 4
- 1953 癸巳 · from February 4
- 1965 乙巳 · from February 4
- 1977 丁巳 · from February 4
- 1989 己巳 · from February 4
- 2001 辛巳 · from February 4
- 2013 癸巳 · from February 4
- 2025 乙巳 · from February 3
Born on Ipchun day itself? The sign then depends on the exact time of Ipchun. Dates are in Korea Standard Time.
This page introduces traditional relations between the zodiac signs, for fun and reflection. Zodiac compatibility is a long-standing East Asian cultural tradition, not a scientifically validated prediction. This page does not promise how any relationship will turn out. Rather than deciding anything by a sign, talk things through with each other.
How to use this content
- This page is reference content for self-understanding and light interpretation, not a diagnostic or evaluative tool.
- It should not replace medical, legal, financial, or hiring decisions, and important choices need stronger evidence than a self-test.
- Use the result for reflection or entertainment only, and seek professional support first when distress or risk is involved.