Chen (辰) Earthly Branch in Bazi
Chen (辰) is branch 5 of 12, classified as Yang Earth. Learn its month, double-hour, hidden stems, harmony, clash, trine, and reading limits.
Overview
Chen (辰) is the Yang Earth branch associated with late spring. It is a calendrical and structural chart symbol, not a stand-alone zodiac personality label.
At a glance
- Character and reading
- 辰 · Chén
- Sequence position
- 5 of 12
- Yin-Yang and phase
- Yang Earth
- Zodiac animal
- Dragon
- Solar month and season
- 3rd solar month · begins near Clear and Bright · Late spring
- Conventional double-hour
- 07:00–08:59
- Hidden stems
- 戊 Earth · 乙 Wood · 癸 Water
- Core relations
- Harmony: You (酉) · Clash: Xu (戌) · Water trine with Shen (申) and Zi (子)
Definition and place in the cycle
Chen is fifth in the cycle and closes the spring branch group before Si begins summer.
Chen (辰) is classified as a Yang Earth Earthly Branch. Its animal is a calendrical mnemonic; neither the animal nor the phase alone establishes personality, strength, or outcome.
Season, solar month, and double-hour
Chen (辰) governs the 3rd solar month · begins near clear and bright and is associated with late spring. The listed civil-clock double-hour is 07:00–08:59.
Chen is transitional late-spring Earth with retained Wood and Water qualities, not an interchangeable form of every other Earth branch. Solar-term boundaries and the time standard used for a chart can shift the practical calendar or hour boundary, so calculate the chart rather than guessing from a date or wall clock alone.
Branch relations and reliable reading boundary
Chen (辰) forms a Six Harmony pair with You (酉), a Six Clash axis with Xu (戌), and a Water trine group with Shen (申) and Zi (子). A listed relation is a structural possibility, not proof of a favorable, harmful, or transformed result.
- Read month command, pillar position, hidden stems, visible stems, support, control, and timing together.
- Do not reduce an Earthly Branch to its zodiac animal or one personality adjective.
- Do not assume that a harmony, clash, or trine automatically activates or decides the whole chart.
Sources and editorial basis
- Hong Kong Observatory: Heavenly Stems and Earthly BranchesAn official modern reference for the canonical stem and branch orders, the sexagenary cycle, and calendrical use.
- 《御定星曆考原》卷一A historical source for stem and branch Yin-Yang, Five Phase, direction, seasonal, and calendrical correspondences.
- 《淵海子平》 (Yuanhai Ziping)A foundational Ziping reference for branch months, hidden stems, roots, and stem-branch relationships.
- 《子平真詮》 (True Explanations of Ziping)A major reference for month-command, structure, and contextual Bazi interpretation.
- OpenFate Editorial MethodologyOpenFate separates deterministic chart calculation, traditional interpretation, and modern editorial explanation.