Water Snake

Lunar New Year fell on Feb 14. Anyone born before that date belongs to the previous year (Loong).

Snakes do not explain themselves. Quietest in the meeting and busiest afterwards, they can cut to the point in one sentence if you ask, and they usually wait for you to ask. Small shifts in a room register fast, sometimes before the person involved notices their own change of manner. They read as cool and slightly apart. The truth is that the distance protects their attention: inside is livelier than it looks, and once they open the door for you the conversation runs past midnight. They are not being mysterious for effect; being read too easily feels like being handled.

Gui is the fine rain that soaks without noise, Si the snake coiled in a warm place, slowly shedding. The water lifts as vapour, thins into mist, and keeps rising in a small steady column. People like this are not conspicuous yet always in motion, doing work that takes time. They are good at details others find tedious and can repeat a step many times. Mist scatters quickly, though, so they need somewhere to land rather than drifting. They do not rush, moving a little each day, and only time makes the difference visible.