1953 Chinese Zodiac: Year of the Water Snake (癸巳)
癸巳 Gui Si · Yin Water over the Snake's Fire branch · number 30 of 60
1953 was a 癸巳 (Gui Si) year — the 30th of the sixty stem-and-branch combinations, and in everyday English a Water Snake year. The element in that name comes from the heavenly stem 癸 (Yin Water); the branch 巳, the Snake itself, carries Fire whatever the stem above it says. Its na yin, the older sixty-part scheme, reads 长流水 — a Water na yin.
The 1953 zodiac year did not start on 1 January. It started at Lichun (立春), 4 Feb 1953, 10:45 (Beijing time, UTC+8), and ran until the instant before Lichun 1954, 4 Feb 1954, 16:30 (Beijing time, UTC+8). Chinese New Year 1953 fell on 14 February 1953, a separate boundary that festivals use; between the two dates the popular and the classical conventions disagree. Anyone born in January or early February 1953 should check the table below before claiming a sign.
1953 is one of 9 Snake years between 1924 and 2027, and one of 2 Water Snake years in that span (1953 and 2013), because stem and branch only line up again after sixty years: the same 癸巳 pillar last stood in 1893 and returns in 2013.
Which sign a 1953 birthday belongs to
| Born between (Beijing time) | Stem and branch | Sign | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 January 1953, 00:00 → 4 February 1953, 10:45 | 壬辰 | Water Dragon | Still the Dragon year that opened in 1952. |
| 4 February 1953, 10:45 → 31 December 1953, 23:59 | 癸巳 | Water Snake | The Snake year proper; it runs on past 31 December until Lichun 1954. |
Born on 1 January 1953? That is a Dragon, not a Snake: the Water Dragon year 壬辰 ran on until 4 February 1953 at 10:45 Beijing time.
Lichun is an astronomical instant, not a date: in 1953 it fell at 10:45 Beijing time (UTC+8). The instant itself starts the Snake year, so a birth at 10:45 on that day is already a Snake. Convert your own birth moment to Beijing time first — a birth in the Americas on the previous evening can already be past Lichun in Beijing. Check an exact birth date and time.
The 癸巳 pillar
| 1953 | |
|---|---|
| Stem and branch | 癸巳 (Gui Si) |
| Place in the sixty-year cycle | 30 of 60 |
| Heavenly stem | 癸 — Yin Water 水 |
| Earthly branch | 巳 — the Snake 蛇, fixed element Fire 火 |
| Na yin (纳音) | 长流水 — a Water na yin |
| Lichun (start of the zodiac year) | 4 Feb 1953, 10:45 (Beijing time, UTC+8) |
| Chinese New Year | 14 February 1953 |
| Same pillar last seen / next seen | 1893 / 2013 |
Ten stems and twelve branches only return to the same pairing after sixty years, so 癸巳 belongs to 1893, 1953 and 2013 and to no year in between. That is why a sixtieth birthday is traditionally marked: it is the year the whole pillar comes back.
The Water Snake
Water Snake (Gui Si) sets Water over Fire, the element that controls the branch, which the texts read as an internal dialogue between warmth and doubt. It is the most reflective variant — philosophy, psychology, long private reconsideration — and the one whose reinventions are the most complete. The caution is hesitation, since the controlling element damps the Fire that would otherwise act.
| Variant | Stem and branch | Snake years 1924–2027 |
|---|---|---|
| Wood Snake | 乙巳 | 1965, 2025 |
| Fire Snake | 丁巳 | 1977 |
| Earth Snake | 己巳 | 1929, 1989 |
| Metal Snake | 辛巳 | 1941, 2001 |
| Water Snake | 癸巳 | 1953, 2013 |
Every Snake year from 1924 to 2027
- 1929Earth Snake
- 1941Metal Snake
- 1953Water Snake · this page
- 1965Wood Snake
- 1977Fire Snake
- 1989Earth Snake
- 2001Metal Snake
- 2013Water Snake
- 2025Wood Snake
Born in 1953: the 2027 Goat year
| Snake born 1953 | |
|---|---|
| Age at Lichun 2027 | 73–74 |
| Nominal age 虚岁 | 75 |
| Relationship with the 2027 Tai Sui | None |
| Traditional reading | Steady — no direct relationship with the Tai Sui |
| Ben Ming Nian 本命年 | No — 2027 is a Goat year |
| Lucky element for the year | Wood · green, teal · 3, 8 · East |
At Lichun 2027 someone born in 1953 is 73 if their birthday has not yet come round and 74 if it has. The nominal age (虚岁), counted as one at birth and raised at each Chinese New Year, is 75 once New Year 2027 has passed.
The full reading — the month-by-month table, the five-element relationship with the year stem and the traditional remedies — is on Snake in 2027. For the part of the sign that does not move with the year, see the Snake profile.
Frequently asked questions
- Someone born in January 1953 — Dragon or Snake?
- Dragon. The Snake year did not begin until Lichun (立春), 4 Feb 1953, 10:45 (Beijing time, UTC+8), so every birthday from 1 January up to that instant still belongs to the Water Dragon year 壬辰. Chinese New Year 1953 fell on 14 February 1953, which is a different boundary again; classical chart work uses Lichun. Convert your birth moment to Beijing time before comparing it, because the Chinese calendar is defined on that meridian.
- Is 1953 a Water Snake or a Fire Snake?
- Water Snake, and both labels are describing something real. The element in the popular name comes from the year's heavenly stem, which for 1953 is 癸 — Yin Water. The Fire belongs to the branch 巳, the Snake's own fixed element, and it does not change from one Snake year to the next. So 1953 is a Water stem sitting over a fire branch; its na yin, a third system again, is 长流水.
- How old is someone born in 1953 in 2027?
- 73–74 by the ordinary count at Lichun 2027, and 75 by the nominal count (虚岁) that starts at one and rises at each Chinese New Year. The two answers differ because the ordinary count waits for the birthday and the nominal one does not. 1953 is one of 9 Snake years between 1924 and 2027; in 2027 all of them stand in the same relationship to the Tai Sui — None — but each is a different age.