12 October 2026

12 Chinese Zodiac Signs

Ding Si · 丁巳

2097: Year of the Fire Snake

2097 is the year of the Fire Snake, from 12 Feb 2097 – 31 Jan 2098. A 2097 birth before 12 Feb 2097 belongs to the previous Fire Dragon year.

Animal
Snake 蛇
The earthly branch—the second Gan-Zhi character—supplies the year's animal.
Year-stem element
Yin Fire
The first Gan-Zhi character supplies this changing year coordinate.
Animal fixed element
Fire
The Snake branch keeps this element in every Snake year.
Gan-Zhi · what is this?
Ding Si 丁巳
A heavenly stem plus an earthly branch: the traditional two-character year name.
Na Yin · what is this?
沙中土 · Earth
A separate named classification for a two-year Gan-Zhi pair.
Age reached in 2026
71 years from now
Age attained in Gregorian 2026; the birthday sets the exact day.

The year's complete signature

What is specific to 2097

The Fire year stem and the Snake's fixed Fire branch are different coordinates. Their element dynamic is Fire meets Fire. Both positions carry Fire, so the element repeats rather than generating or controlling another element.

The complete 丁巳 pillar carries Na Yin 沙中土, a Earth classification.

Na Yin
沙中土 · Earth
Lunar leap month
None — twelve lunar months
Li Chun · Start of Spring
3 February 2097 at 09:41 UTC+8
Clashing animal
Pig 猪
Ben ming nian
Own animal year for people born under Snake

One year, two boundary conventions

Chinese New Year and Li Chun in 2097

Site convention

Chinese New Year

12 February 2097

Snake from this lunar-calendar boundary.

Solar convention

Li Chun 立春

3 February 2097 at 09:41 China Standard Time (UTC+8)

Snake from this solar-term boundary.

Between the two boundaries, Chinese New Year assigns Dragon; Li Chun assigns Snake. On 3 February 2097, the solar answer changes at 3 February 2097 at 09:41 UTC+8.

The moving New Year boundary

Born early in 2097? You may be Dragon, not Snake

Chinese New Year 2097 fell on 12 February 2097. Anyone born between 1 January 2097 and 11 February 2097 — a window of 42 days — belongs to the 2096 zodiac year, the Yang Fire Dragon, and not to the Snake.

Check an exact birth date against the 12 February 2097 boundary.

Exact 2097 zodiac year dates

The 2097 lunar year ran its ordinary twelve months, 354 days in total.

Zodiac year beginsThe Chinese New Year boundary used for this site's animal sign.
12 February 2097
Zodiac year endsThe day before the next Chinese New Year begins a new animal year.
31 January 2098
Complete year namePolarity, year-stem element, and animal read together.
Yin Fire SnakeOpen this year type →
Day the year beganThe weekday on which this year's Chinese New Year fell.
Tuesday
Lunar-year lengthLeap months occasionally add a thirteenth lunar month.
354 days · twelve lunar months
Previous zodiac yearThe animal year immediately before this boundary.
2096 · Yang Fire DragonOpen the previous record →
Next zodiac yearThe animal year that starts at the following Chinese New Year.
2098 · Yang Earth HorseOpen the next record →

The Gregorian year's solar clock

All 24 solar terms in Gregorian 2097

These are the calculated seasonal markers from January through December2097, shown in China Standard Time (UTC+8). Jie terms open solar months; qi terms fall between them.

春SpringWood season · six markers

The Tiger, Rabbit, and Dragon branch months form the spring meeting. Start of Spring opens it; the Spring Equinox is its midpoint.

  1. Start of Spring 立春

    Jie · month opening

    Opens traditional spring and the Tiger solar month. Four Pillars calendars also use this instant as their change of astrological year.

    Read the term guide →
  2. Rain Water 雨水

    Qi · month midpoint

    Names the early-spring turn toward rain and moisture. It is the Qi midpoint of the Tiger solar month.

    Read the term guide →
  3. Awakening of Insects 惊蛰

    Jie · month opening

    Evokes hibernating life stirring as spring advances. This Jie opens the Rabbit solar month.

    Read the term guide →
  4. Spring Equinox 春分

    Qi · month midpoint

    The equinox at the middle of traditional spring, when day and night are close to equal in length.

    Read the term guide →
  5. Pure Brightness 清明

    Jie · month opening

    Names the clear, bright interval of later spring. This Jie opens the Dragon solar month and also names the Qingming observance.

    Read the term guide →
  6. Grain Rain 谷雨

    Qi · month midpoint

    The final spring term, named for rains associated with the growth of grain. It is the Qi midpoint of Dragon month.

    Read the term guide →
夏SummerFire season · six markers

The Snake, Horse, and Goat branch months form the summer meeting. Start of Summer opens it; the Summer Solstice is its midpoint.

  1. Start of Summer 立夏

    Jie · month opening

    Opens traditional summer and the Snake solar month, before the June solstice rather than on it.

    Read the term guide →
  2. Grain Buds 小满

    Qi · month midpoint

    Describes grain beginning to fill without yet being fully ripe. It is the Qi midpoint of Snake month.

    Read the term guide →
  3. Grain in Ear 芒种

    Jie · month opening

    Names the time of awned grains in the seasonal sequence. This Jie opens the Horse solar month.

    Read the term guide →
  4. Summer Solstice 夏至

    Qi · month midpoint

    The June solstice and midpoint of traditional summer, with the longest daylight of the Northern Hemisphere year.

    Read the term guide →
  5. Minor Heat 小暑

    Jie · month opening

    Introduces the hotter part of the traditional calendar. This Jie opens the Goat solar month.

    Read the term guide →
  6. Major Heat 大暑

    Qi · month midpoint

    The closing term of traditional summer, named for the season's strongest heat and placed at the midpoint of Goat month.

    Read the term guide →
秋AutumnMetal season · six markers

The Monkey, Rooster, and Dog branch months form the autumn meeting. Start of Autumn opens it; the Autumn Equinox is its midpoint.

  1. Start of Autumn 立秋

    Jie · month opening

    Opens traditional autumn and the Monkey solar month, well before the September equinox.

    Read the term guide →
  2. End of Heat 处暑

    Qi · month midpoint

    Its name marks summer heat beginning to withdraw. It is the Qi midpoint of Monkey month.

    Read the term guide →
  3. White Dew 白露

    Jie · month opening

    Evokes the more visible dew of cooler early-autumn nights. This Jie opens the Rooster solar month.

    Read the term guide →
  4. Autumn Equinox 秋分

    Qi · month midpoint

    The equinox at the middle of traditional autumn, when day and night are close to equal in length.

    Read the term guide →
  5. Cold Dew 寒露

    Jie · month opening

    Names the deepening chill signalled by cold dew. This Jie opens the Dog solar month.

    Read the term guide →
  6. Frost Descent 霜降

    Qi · month midpoint

    The final autumn term, named for the arrival of frost in the traditional seasonal vocabulary and placed at the midpoint of Dog month.

    Read the term guide →
冬WinterWater season · six markers

The Pig, Rat, and Ox branch months form the winter meeting. Start of Winter opens it; the Winter Solstice is its midpoint. In a Gregorian-year record, its January terms appear before the four markers in November and December.

  1. Minor Cold 小寒

    Jie · month opening

    Begins the final solar month of winter. This Jie opens the Ox month near the start of January.

    Read the term guide →
  2. Major Cold 大寒

    Qi · month midpoint

    The twenty-fourth term closes the traditional winter sequence before Start of Spring begins it again.

    Read the term guide →
  3. Start of Winter 立冬

    Jie · month opening

    Opens traditional winter and the Pig solar month, before the December solstice rather than on it.

    Read the term guide →
  4. Minor Snow 小雪

    Qi · month midpoint

    Introduces snow imagery into the winter sequence. It is the Qi midpoint of Pig month, not a promise of local snowfall.

    Read the term guide →
  5. Major Snow 大雪

    Jie · month opening

    Names a deeper-cold stage in the traditional calendar. This Jie opens the Rat solar month.

    Read the term guide →
  6. Winter Solstice 冬至

    Qi · month midpoint

    The December solstice and midpoint of traditional winter, with the shortest daylight of the Northern Hemisphere year.

    Read the term guide →

The repeating earthly branch

Follow Snake years through the cycle

The Snake branch repeats every twelve years. Across five returns, the year stem moves through all five elements; the exact Yin Fire Snake signature comes back after sixty years.

12Years between Snake returns
5Elements across five returns
60Years to the same signature
2085–2097Published remainder · 2 Snake returns

Each point is twelve years apart. Element names describe the changing heavenly stem; the animal branch remains Snake. Open a year or complete name for its full record.

  1. Begins26 January 2085Ends13 February 2086

    Yin Wood Snake
  2. Begins12 February 2097Ends31 January 2098

    Yin Fire Snake This page

The exact pairing 丁巳 — Yin Fire Snake — returns only once every sixty years: 1917, 1977, 2037. Open the complete Snake year history →