--- title: "What Chinese Zodiac Is 1989? Year of the Earth Snake" description: "1989 is the Year of the Earth Snake in the Chinese zodiac, from February 6, 1989 to January 26, 1990. Personality, Lunar New Year dates and numerology." canonical: https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1989 last-updated: 2026-10-23 reviewed: false author: Unified Reading editorial --- # What Chinese Zodiac Is 1989? Year of the Earth Snake In Chinese astrology, 1989 is the Year of the Earth Snake, a Yin year. It began at Lunar New Year on February 6, 1989 and ended on January 26, 1990, so people born in 1989 before Feb 6 belong to the Earth Dragon year. ## Key facts | Fact | Value | | --- | --- | | Animal · element · polarity | Snake · Earth · Yin | | Starts (Lunar New Year) | February 6, 1989 | | Ends | January 26, 1990 | | Born in 1989 before Feb 6 | Earth Dragon (the 1988 year) | | Snake's fixed element | Fire (Fire generates Earth) | | Other Earth Snake years (1924-2044) | 1929 | | Stem-branch name | Ji-Si | | Lunar New Year weekday · Sun sign | Monday · Aquarius | | Numerology year number | 9 | ## 1989 Lunar New Year: start and end dates Lunar New Year opened the Earth Snake year on February 6, 1989, and the year ran to January 26, 1990. So a birth date of Feb 6, 1989 or later counts as Earth Snake, and so do early 1990 birthdays through Jan 26; births in 1989 before Feb 6 still belong to the Earth Dragon. That moving boundary comes from the lunisolar calendar, in which the new year starts with the second new moon after the winter solstice in most years, so its Gregorian date shifts by up to a month from one year to the next. Look sixty years either side and the pairing repeats: 1929 are Earth Snake years too. That Monday new year arrived with the Sun in Aquarius in the Western zodiac. ## What the Earth Snake is like Those born in an Earth Snake year are often pictured as the most approachable Snakes: thoughtful, reliable and quietly warm. Fire generating Earth turns intensity into steadiness in the traditional reading. Their patience suits long plans and careful savings. Readings suggest that small regular risks, plus honest conversations about hurt, keep their natural caution from narrowing their world too much. In classical thought, Earth belongs to the centre and to the late-summer pause between seasons, the point where things ripen and settle. As a year stem, it tends to slow an animal down in a useful way, adding prudence, loyalty and a strong sense of responsibility. People born under an Earth stem are often described as dependable, sensible and protective of the people they love. They value security and tend to build carefully. The caution traditionally attached to Earth is caution itself: overthinking, clinging to the familiar and carrying other people's problems as though they were their own. ## 1989 in the animal cycle and in numerology In numerology the year reduces to 9, the number of completion, generosity and letting go, and a 9 year is traditionally read as one of endings that clear space. The digits of 1989 add up to 27, which reduces to 9. The Snake holds the sixth place among the twelve animals and its fixed element is Fire. Set beside the year's Earth stem, fire generates Earth, which readings use to describe how settled or stretched the combination feels. The year before was the Earth Dragon and the year after is the Metal Horse. Chinese almanacs name 1989 Ji-Si, pairing the Earth stem Ji with the branch Si. Both are Yin, as stem and branch always share a polarity, so of the hundred and twenty possible pairings only sixty ever occur, and each one names a single year in every cycle. ## Frequently asked questions ### What Chinese zodiac is 1989? 1989 is the Year of the Earth Snake. It started on February 6, 1989 and ended on January 26, 1990. ### What if I was born in January or February 1989? Check the date against Feb 6. Born before February 6, 1989, you are a Earth Dragon; born on or after it, you are a Earth Snake. ### What element is 1989 in the Chinese zodiac? Earth, a Yin year. The Snake's own fixed element is Fire; the year element changes every two years, while the fixed element stays with the animal. ### What is the traditional Chinese name for 1989? Ji-Si. The first part is the heavenly stem, which carries the year's element and polarity; the second is the earthly branch, which carries the animal. Almanacs, calendars and Four Pillars charts identify years this way rather than by animal alone. ### When is the next Earth Snake year? 2049, sixty years later, when the five elements and twelve animals line up again; the table also has 1929. ## Related pages - [Earth Snake](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/earth-snake) - [Snake](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/snake) - [Chinese zodiac years](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/years) - [1988 (Earth Dragon)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1988) - [1990 (Metal Horse)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1990) - [1977 (Fire Snake)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1977) - [2001 (Metal Snake)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/2001) - [1929 (Earth Snake)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1929) - [1965 (Wood Snake)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1965) - [2013 (Water Snake)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/2013) - [Chinese zodiac calculator](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac-calculator) - [Chinese zodiac](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac) ## About Unified Reading Unified Reading combines Pythagorean numerology, the Western Sun sign (Moon and rising with a birth time), the Chinese zodiac and life-stage context in one reading. The preview is free at https://unifiedreading.com/#details; the full reading is $4.99, paid once through Stripe, with no subscription. A fictional sample is at https://unifiedreading.com/sample. With a birth time and place it adds whole sign houses and the chart ruler; it does not calculate planetary aspects or transits, and it is a framework for reflection, not a prediction.