Wednesday, January 29th is Lunar New Year! 2025 is the year of the snake.
Snakes are a commonly misunderstood and feared animal. While there are dangerous snakes out there, most snakes prefer to avoid humans and are crucial to their environment as both predator and prey.
One of snakes’ most important roles in nature is as environmental pest control. As predators, they help keep the population of rodents, including mice and rats, in check.
In the Northeast, timber rattlesnakes eat rodents that host ticks, which helps reduce the tick population as well as the prevalence of Lyme disease in the environment. Smaller snakes eat insects, slugs and other garden pests. Some snakes will even eat termite eggs if they come across them!
As the zodiac animal, the wood snake symbolizes wisdom and transformation. See the links below for more information on snakes, why we care about them, and what the zodiac animal means for the coming year.