Xu (戌) Earthly Branch in Bazi

Definition and place in the cycle

Xu is eleventh in the cycle and closes autumn before Hai begins winter.

Xu (戌) 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

Xu (戌) governs the 9th solar month · begins near cold dew and is associated with late autumn. The listed civil-clock double-hour is 19:00–20:59.

Xu is dry late-autumn transitional Earth with retained Metal and Fire, so it differs structurally from Chen, Chou, and Wei. 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.

Hidden stems and chart role

Xu (戌) conventionally contains 戊 Earth, 辛 Metal, 丁 Fire. Hidden stems describe internal elemental layers and possible roots; this page does not assign fixed weights because schools and calculation methods differ.

Its Wu, Xin, and Ding hidden stems make storage, dryness, Fire residue, and Metal roots conditional chart relationships rather than fixed outcomes.

Branch relations and reliable reading boundary

Xu (戌) forms a Six Harmony pair with Mao (卯), a Six Clash axis with Chen (辰), and a Fire trine group with Yin (寅) and Wu (午). 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.