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Twelve Earthly Branches in Bazi

Use the complete 12 Earthly Branches table for character, pinyin, animal, element, polarity, solar month, double-hour, hidden stems, and Bazi chart role.

Editorially reviewed: · Reviewed by OpenFate · Editorial Methodology

Overview

The Twelve Earthly Branches—Zi, Chou, Yin, Mao, Chen, Si, Wu, Wei, Shen, You, Xu, and Hai—form the lower row of a Bazi chart. Each branch has a fixed order, polarity, primary phase, solar-term month, conventional double-hour, and hidden-stem composition. The Year-Branch animal is only one mnemonic; a branch is a calendrical and relational chart symbol, not a zodiac personality type.

At a glance

Canonical order
子 Zi · 丑 Chou · 寅 Yin · 卯 Mao · 辰 Chen · 巳 Si · 午 Wu · 未 Wei · 申 Shen · 酉 You · 戌 Xu · 亥 Hai
Calendar structure
12 solar months and 12 conventional double-hours
Internal structure
Each branch contains one or more hidden Heavenly Stems
Relationship system
Harmony, clash, trines, punishments, harms, and breaks require chart context
Chart placement
One branch below each Year, Month, Day, and Hour Stem
Cycle relation
Twelve branches combine with ten stems at matching parity to form sixty Jiazi
Calendar boundary
Branch months follow solar terms, not numbered lunar months

Explore concepts

Complete Twelve Earthly Branches table

Each line gives the fixed branch identity, animal mnemonic, primary phase and polarity, solar-month entry term, conventional civil-clock double-hour, and canonical hidden stems. Exact solar-term instants and time standards must still be calculated for the chart.

  • 1 · 子 Zi · Rat · Yang Water · Great Snow month · 23:00–00:59 · hidden Gui
  • 2 · 丑 Chou · Ox · Yin Earth · Minor Cold month · 01:00–02:59 · hidden Ji, Gui, Xin
  • 3 · 寅 Yin · Tiger · Yang Wood · Start of Spring month · 03:00–04:59 · hidden Jia, Bing, Wu
  • 4 · 卯 Mao · Rabbit · Yin Wood · Awakening of Insects month · 05:00–06:59 · hidden Yi
  • 5 · 辰 Chen · Dragon · Yang Earth · Clear and Bright month · 07:00–08:59 · hidden Wu, Yi, Gui
  • 6 · 巳 Si · Snake · Yin Fire · Start of Summer month · 09:00–10:59 · hidden Bing, Wu, Geng
  • 7 · 午 Wu · Horse · Yang Fire · Grain in Ear month · 11:00–12:59 · hidden Ding, Ji
  • 8 · 未 Wei · Goat · Yin Earth · Minor Heat month · 13:00–14:59 · hidden Ji, Ding, Yi
  • 9 · 申 Shen · Monkey · Yang Metal · Start of Autumn month · 15:00–16:59 · hidden Geng, Ren, Wu
  • 10 · 酉 You · Rooster · Yin Metal · White Dew month · 17:00–18:59 · hidden Xin
  • 11 · 戌 Xu · Dog · Yang Earth · Cold Dew month · 19:00–20:59 · hidden Wu, Xin, Ding
  • 12 · 亥 Hai · Pig · Yin Water · Start of Winter month · 21:00–22:59 · hidden Ren, Jia

Order, seasons, and the calendar

The sequence runs Zi, Chou, Yin, Mao, Chen, Si, Wu, Wei, Shen, You, Xu, and Hai, then repeats. Branch months begin at the twelve Jie solar terms, while branch hours divide the day into twelve conventional two-hour periods.

A branch month is not a numbered lunar month, and a wall-clock time is not sufficient near a time-zone, longitude, daylight-saving, or day-boundary edge. Record the calendar and time standard used by the calculator.

  • Yin–Mao–Chen: spring
  • Si–Wu–Wei: summer
  • Shen–You–Xu: autumn
  • Hai–Zi–Chou: winter

Why a branch is more than one character

Every branch contains one or more hidden Heavenly Stems. These layers help describe roots, seasonal continuity, and latent relationships, but their strength and relevance depend on the complete chart and the calculation method.

  • Visible presence and hidden root are different.
  • A hidden stem is not automatically active or useful.
  • Weighting conventions vary, so this Wiki lists composition without inventing universal percentages.

Harmony, clash, and larger relationship groups

Branches form named pairs and groups such as Six Harmonies, Six Clashes, and Three Harmonies. These labels identify structural relationships; they do not automatically mean good, bad, union, separation, or transformation.

  • Check whether the full group is present.
  • Check season, support, and competing relations.
  • Separate a relationship pattern from its actual chart function.

The reliable reading boundary

A branch page defines one calendrical chart symbol. Reliable interpretation still requires pillar position, month command, hidden stems, stem-branch links, element balance, interactions, and active timing.

The ten Heavenly Stems and twelve Earthly Branches run together at matching Yang or Yin parity to create the sixty Jiazi. The animal name describes only the branch component, so a Year-Branch animal omits the Year Stem and the other three pillars.

  • The zodiac animal is a mnemonic, not a personality diagnosis.
  • The branch phase is not the whole internal composition.
  • No single branch decides career, relationships, health, or fortune.

Sources and editorial basis

  1. Hong Kong Observatory: Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches
    An official modern reference for the canonical stem and branch orders, the sexagenary cycle, and calendrical use.
  2. 《御定星曆考原》卷一
    A historical source for stem and branch Yin-Yang, Five Phase, direction, seasonal, and calendrical correspondences.
  3. 《淵海子平》 (Yuanhai Ziping)
    A foundational Ziping reference for branch months, hidden stems, roots, and stem-branch relationships.
  4. 《子平真詮》 (True Explanations of Ziping)
    A major reference for month-command, structure, and contextual Bazi interpretation.
  5. OpenFate Editorial Methodology
    OpenFate separates deterministic chart calculation, traditional interpretation, and modern editorial explanation.

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