According to the Chinese zodiac, 2025 is the Year of the Snake which begins on January 29. The animal is a symbol that has long been linked to cunning and treachery. Just days before, on January 20, a majority of Americans re-installed Donald Trump to the White House, catapulting him back into power.

The alignment of the political and the prophetic has fueled speculation about what the “Snake” might portend for a nation already flailing from deep ideological divides.

SLITHERING FROM EAST TO WEST

The Chinese zodiac imparts each year with traits from a rotating pool of a dozen featured animals. In Chinese culture, the snake is often interpreted as elegant, shrewd, and capable of great transformation. It can shed its skin, casting off the past and emerging renewed. But these qualities can also manifest as secrecy, manipulation, and a knack for preying on the naive.

Biblically, the snake carries a more ominous weight. In the Book of Genesis, the serpent embodies temptation, luring Adam and Eve to taste forbidden knowledge and thereby ushering sin into the human story

Millennia later, in the Book of Revelation, that serpent mutates into a dragon, a cosmic villain hell-bent on plunging the world into chaos. Juxtaposed against the Chinese tradition and a more balanced view of the snake, Western scripture overly accentuates the sinister side, warning that what might look like wisdom can also prove fatal.

A POLARIZING SNAKE RETURNS

Enter Trump, a convicted felon who served as president from 2017 to 2021, and redefined the landscape of American politics for the worse. Radical supporters admire his unapologetic approach to what they call “America First,” crediting him for shaking up entrenched norms and voicing frustrations long ignored by the political establishment.

Critics maintain that he stoked division, sowed distrust in institutions, and eroded civility across the country. In a twist of the MAGA slogan, he has Made America Hate Again.

His return in 2025 has stoked both excitement and alarm. MAGA faithful hail the chance to restore the racist policies that they believe made the country stronger and more prosperous in the Jim Crow days before Civil Rights legislation.

Opponents view another Trump presidency as an existential threat that could tear apart whatever remnants of unity are left in America. Against that backdrop, the Year of the Snake seems like an eerie metaphor, a harbinger of a cunning force returning just when America’s political soul is most vulnerable.

THE SERPENT’S ORIGINAL SIN

The biblical serpent has always been more than just an animal. It is a cautionary figure. In Genesis, it does not force Adam and Eve to do anything. Instead, it plants a suggestion, one that plays to their curiosity, their ego, and their longing for power.

That is the hallmark of evil in many religious traditions. It does not show up as an obvious monster but rather as a sly voice telling people what they want to hear, giving them permission to fulfill the monstrous desires in their hearts.

Transposed onto the modern political sphere, the serpent’s methods feel all too familiar. Spin doctors and influencers traffic in half-truths, social media algorithms feed existing biases, and political rhetoric can easily transform legitimate concerns into fear and anger.

As controversy swirls around the early days of Trump’s second administration in 2025, some will inevitably cast him as the serpent whispering sweet promises that mask darker realities. Others, however, will say he is simply giving voice to truths that have been silenced — making him less snake and more dragon slayer.

BIBLICAL REVELATIONS OF DOOM

In the Book of Revelation, the serpent that once prowled the Garden transforms into a dragon, a global-scale threat that waged war against the very forces of goodness. The text portrayed an apocalyptic endgame, the final showdown between good and evil.

So it is not hard to see why the American public interprets the current political climate as approaching an apocalyptic fever pitch. From climate anxiety to cultural clashes, from conspiracy theories to institutional failures, the sense of end times looms larger every day.

For those who see Trump as a destructive force, his second term has been seen as the final coil of the biblical serpent, America’s last chance to resist a fall into irreversible chaos. They argue that a return to Trumpism would push democracy beyond its breaking point, unleashing forces of distrust and division. That devilish serpent’s victory would devour the moral core of a nation, leaving only partisanship and paranoia behind.

THE SNAKE IN CHINESE LORE

In Eastern traditions, the snake is not always pegged as a villain. It can also be a wise teacher, possessing the insight to navigate perilous times. The capacity for shedding skin can be seen as a metaphor for learning from mistakes and letting go of destructive baggage.

As America stumbles under the weight of old grudges and resentments, perhaps the Snake’s year can offer a chance to evolve. But the Chinese zodiac also warns that the snake’s cunning can be wielded in manipulative ways, using stealth and illusion to gain the upper hand.

However, a second Trump presidency is expected to only accentuate the snake’s worst qualities. For many, the fear is that the upcoming year will showcase all the snake’s cunning, with few of its redeeming traits. The question is whether American leadership will use serpentine savvy for the common good or exploit it to tighten political strangleholds.

THE SERPENT IN AMERICAN HISTORY

Snakes have appeared throughout American iconography. The famous Gadsden flag, adorned with a rattlesnake and the words “Don’t Tread on Me,” was a symbol of defiance during the Revolutionary War. In that context, the snake meant freedom, a fierce refusal to be dominated by outside forces.

It still resonates with individuals who see themselves as part of a populist uprising, fighting bureaucratic oppression. Yet the serpent can also represent betrayal, a menace lurking within one’s own ranks. Over time, it has come to serve as a shorthand for perceived treachery, traitors are sometimes called “snakes in the grass.”

The conflicting symbolism, rebellious patriot versus sinister betrayer, captures the tension many Americans feel about Trump’s second term. Either he is the freedom-loving rattlesnake, reminding bloated institutions not to trample on the people. Or he is the snake that has slithered into the henhouse, striking when the nation’s back is turned.

THEOLOGICAL AND POLITICAL ENMESHMENT

If theology teaches anything, it is that moral choices often come wrapped in attractive packaging. The serpent offers knowledge, power, or security, but the price can be steep. In politics, the gifts might appear as swift economic boosts, a louder voice on the world stage, or a crack down on perceived enemies. But those accomplishments may bring unforeseen consequences, like the alienation of allies, erosion of democratic norms, and an escalation of hostility among fellow citizens.

It is that entwining of biblical warning and modern politics that fuels the talk of impending doom. America’s foundation, already cracked by partisan fights, could crumble if the nation’s leaders feed on fear and resentment instead of seeking a unifying vision. Those who believe in a biblical prophecy might see 2025 as a final warning. If the serpent’s power goes unchecked, the country could plunge into a tailspin.

FACING THE POLITICAL CHALLENGE

Ultimately, the question hovering over 2025 is whether the fateful alignment, Trump’s return and the Year of the Snake, will be a turning point that redefines America’s course into darkness for the remainder of the century.

Skeptics may laugh off the symbolism around the Chinese zodiac, even while they have historically embraced some of the most outlandish conspiracy theories. But symbols hold power in how they shape collective imagination.

In a time when biblical references and political theater intersect more than ever, the presence of the serpent in two distinct traditions heightens the sense that something momentous is on the horizon.

Only time will tell if the year unfolds as a biblical reckoning or if Americans can find a path to redemption. The only certainty is that the Year of the Snake will slither into the nation’s consciousness at a time when moral, political, and spiritual questions loom large.

In that fraught environment, the serpent’s tale — woven through centuries of myth, scripture, and tradition — may offer a deeper insight into how easily promises of power can tip a society into disarray, or how determined reflection can guide it back to safer ground.

© Art

Dall-E