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Earthly Branches · Five-Element classification

Five-Element Classification of Earthly Branches (地支五行)

Map Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water to the twelve branches while distinguishing each branch’s primary phase from its hidden stems and seasonal state.

Simplified Chinese
地支五行分类
Traditional Chinese
地支五行分類
Pinyin
Dì Zhī Wǔ Xíng Fēn Lèi
Also known as
Branch Five Phases · Earthly Branch element table

Editorially reviewed:

Overview

Yin and Mao are Wood; Si and Wu are Fire; Shen and You are Metal; Hai and Zi are Water; and Chen, Xu, Chou, and Wei are Earth. This primary-phase mapping is fixed, but many branches contain hidden stems of additional phases. Strength and usefulness therefore require season, stored qi, roots, and the full relation network.

At a glance

Wood
Yin and Mao
Fire
Si and Wu
Earth
Chen, Xu, Chou, and Wei
Metal
Shen and You
Water
Hai and Zi
Important distinction
Primary phase is not the complete hidden-stem contents

Record the primary phase as a stable property

The five groups provide the branch-level phase used in basic generation, control, season, and direction mappings.

Earth has four branches because it marks transitional positions around the seasonal cycle, but those branches are not interchangeable.

  • Use the fixed five-group table.
  • Keep each Earth branch distinct.

Primary phase and hidden contents answer different questions

A branch can contain hidden stems from more than one phase; Yin is primarily Wood while also storing Fire and Earth stems in the standard table.

The primary label describes the branch coordinate, whereas hidden stems provide potential roots and internal functions.

  • Open the hidden-stem list.
  • Do not overwrite the primary phase.

Season and relations determine effective capacity

Two branches with the same primary phase can differ because one commands the month, one is distant, or one is altered by combinations and clashes.

Count-based balance is insufficient; trace which phases are rooted, supported, drained, controlled, stored, or released.

  • Evaluate month command first.
  • Report support and counterpressure together.

An element label is not a life verdict

A Water branch does not guarantee flexibility, travel, emotion, or wealth, and an Earth branch does not diagnose stagnation or illness.

Do not prescribe colors, objects, diets, investments, or medical actions from the branch phase alone.

  • Avoid fixed personality mapping.
  • No remedial promise from one element label.

Sources and editorial basis

  1. 《御定星曆考原》卷一
    《星曆考原》十二支配五行與方位：寅卯木、巳午火、辰戌丑未土、申酉金、亥子水A historical source for stem and branch Yin-Yang, Five Phase, direction, seasonal, and calendrical correspondences.
  2. 《禮記・月令》
    《禮記·月令》四時月令與五行配置：季節位置是地支五行有效性的重要背景An early classical source for the seasonal grouping of Jia-Yi, Bing-Ding, Wu-Ji, Geng-Xin, and Ren-Gui.
  3. OpenFate Editorial Methodology
    地支五行頁分開主五行、藏干內容、季節強弱與實際用途，禁止元素人格及處方承諾OpenFate separates deterministic chart calculation, traditional interpretation, and modern editorial explanation.
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