The twelve Animal Signs

for Men

Snake man
His physical background

The Snake is probably the most refined, the most pleasant person in the whole Chinese duodecimal zodiac. Even the masculine half of the sign definitely has something graceful, delicate, feminine, and romantic about him. In order to get his way in life, the Snake man never seeks to impose himself on others as do the Tiger or the Dragon, but to enchant them into siding with him - he can charm both his friends and adversaries alike out of their good senses!

The native is most pernickety about his physical appearance. Even more than the Cat man, he never allows himself to indulge in slovenliness; he is always impeccably clean and neat. But unlike his feline counterpart, whose good taste is indisputable, he shows an evident tendency to be a dandy. With his wardrobe always full to overflowing, he dresses up with a great deal of affectation and in many cases even to the point of foppery. Stuck on himself, narcissistic in the extreme, he puts fastidious and exaggerated emphasis on such accessories as gloves, neckties, buttons, handkerchiefs, spectacles, sunglasses, and even toilet waters. He may not even hesitate to use some perfume from time to time.

His carriage is light, elegant, almost sylphlike. With his eternally supple and slender body, his narrow hips, and his unusually long legs, he perfectly recalls professional Spanish dancers. Those who meet him are always struck by his natural distinction, which he exhibits in all places and under all circumstances. His manners conspicuously bear the mark of smoothness, dignity, and appropriateness, even in those rare moments when he loses his temper.

He has dainty, regular features. His eyes are soft, moist, and bordered with long eyelashes - the classic eyes of an incurable misty dreamer! Perhaps his small, heart-shaped mouth constitutes his most distinctive physical trait. His forehead, broad and smooth, is crowned with silky, vaporous hair. While his high and straight nose may suggest nobility, his rounded chin is a clear indication of weak will.

This man's general constitution is rather delicate. He gets tired easily and is unable to make prolonged mental or muscular efforts. Yet he recuperates his forces with surprising swiftness - a fifteen-minute nap can be enough to help him recover from exhaustion, and he is able to doze off in the most unlikely conditions. For this reason he may be said to have good powers of endurance. He is rarely compelled to keep his bed despite his numerous minor miseries. His health does not allow him to be an oak, which is sturdy but may be uprooted by strong winds; it only makes him a reed, which bends but does not break.

His kidneys represent one of the weak parts of his body. They are constantly liable to inflammations, pains, calculi, and other troubles. As a corollary, he also often suffers from various hepatic disorders which are not dangerous but bothersome enough to jeopardize his full enjoyment of life. In addition, his entire lumbar region is so vulnerable as to give him frequent spells of lumbago or aches. Sometimes displaced discs further complicate his existing problems in this area.

The Snake male has to live with an extremely shaky vegetative nervous system - a fact he may be the last one to realize. It is constantly subject to upheavals brought about successively by various agents which would hardly affect an otherwise constituted person. Such agents are wind, moisture, humidity, smoke, dust, and in general pollutants of every description. While his bodily reactions to them present all the symptoms of hay fever, it is doubtful hay can account for some of his miseries since immunosuppressive treatments generally prove of no avail.

He also reacts, practically in the same manner, to all major weather variations - rains, storms, floods, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and so on. It is therefore clear that he presents a hypersensitive pattern, and that his state of health can be improved only if and when a drastic modification of his "terrain" has been achieved. All told, the periods during which the native enjoys perfect physical equilibrium are extremely rare if not inexistent: He is continually getting out of a reaction to enter another, and each one can last several days or several weeks. His entire respiratory system, particularly his nasal mucous membrane, is more or less in jeopardy.

Another of his distinct handicaps is his excessive emotionalism, which puts a heavy strain on his suprarenals. So many things can frighten him and make him start. Violence, sudden noises, loud voices, the sight of blood, and the like induce him to discharge an overdose of adrenaline. He easily blushes or turns pale, with his heart beating like a drum, under the effect of joy, fear, vexation, sorrow, or surprise. He knows better than anyone else what stage fright is like. On top of all this, he is a victim of acrophobia, which is to him not something to laugh off but a real nuisance.

With his organism whose room to maneuver for equilibrium is so narrow, the Snake man must imperatively guard himself against excesses or imprudences of every kind. Each time he loosens his control over his diet or general life hygiene, he will immediately feel the nefarious consequences of his act and have to pay a high price for the slight on his well-being. He must also avoid emotional problems and conflicts by all means - for instance, he had better seek separation or rupture instead of continuing to endure a tense situation. In sum, peace, quiet, and moderation in everything are almost as indispensable to him as the air he breathes.

He does not exactly need to go on any particular diet. His food must be as eclectic as possible. It is of interest to him, however, to give his preference to highly digestible and fresh aliments, take his meals at regular hours, and avoid all that may irritate his kidneys and bladder such as spices, alcohol, tobacco, strong tea or coffee. Chinese food, except some fatty dishes, seems to suit him well. It is also necessary for him to drink much throughout the day in order to secure an adequate elimination of toxins; but while the ingestion of mineral water is a good way to stay immune against calculi, soft drinks are apt to provoke detrimental decalcification.

Muscular exertion and sports are an absolute necessity here, for nothing is so apt to lower the level of this subject's resistance against aggressive agents as an over-sedentary life. He can indulge heartily in hiking, jogging, gardening, table tennis, lawn tennis, or swimming. Dancing is a very good exercise for him as he is naturally gifted for it. But he must avoid violent sports at all cost, his constitution being unable to sustain them without damage.