Water was paired with the Snake in the Chinese zodiac year that began on February 10, 2013.
The year is therefore known as the Water Snake year. Chinese zodiac designations combine one of twelve animals with one of five elements: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water. The animal identifies the earthly-branch part, while the element comes from the heavenly-stem cycle.
The 2013 zodiac year began at Lunar New Year, not on January 1, and ended before the 2014 Wood Horse year began. This difference explains why zodiac references may list a different sign for people born in January or early February.
A Water Snake year is distinct from every other Snake year. Although Snake returns every twelve years, the same Water Snake combination repeats only once in the 60-year sexagenary cycle.