Earthly Branches

Each Earthly Branch has its own Five Element, Yin-Yang polarity, Chinese zodiac sign, month, season, and two-hour period. Each branch also contains one or more Heavenly Stems known as Hidden Stems. These represent the internal qi carried within a branch and are important when determining the Ten Gods, Five Element strength, and interactions within a BaZi chart. The table below summarizes the key attributes of all twelve Earthly Branches.

BaZi months are determined by solar terms rather than lunar calendar months. For example, Yin Month generally begins at Li Chun (Beginning of Spring), followed by Mao Month, Chen Month, and so on.

Hidden Stems are listed in the order of Main Qi → Middle Qi → Residual Qi. The first stem is the primary qi of the branch, followed by its secondary and residual qi where applicable.

When Earthly Branches appear together in a BaZi chart, they can form relationships such as Combinations, Clashes, Punishments, Harms, and Breaks. Groups of three branches may also form Three Harmony Combinations or Three Meetings. These relationships describe how branches connect, oppose, constrain, or change the balance of Five Element qi within a chart.

An Earthly Branch relationship is not inherently favorable or unfavorable. Its effect depends on where the branches appear in the Four Pillars, the strength of the Five Elements, their Hidden Stems, and the overall structure of the BaZi chart.

Explore Earthly Branch Combinations, Clashes, Punishments, Harms, and Breaks →

The Earthly Branches are a set of twelve symbols—Zi, Chou, Yin, Mao, Chen, Si, Wu, Wei, Shen, You, Xu, and Hai—used in the traditional Chinese calendar and BaZi. In a BaZi chart, they appear in the Year, Month, Day, and Hour Pillars and carry information such as Five Element, Yin-Yang polarity, Hidden Stems, season, time, and interactions with other branches.

The Chinese zodiac consists of twelve animals—Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig. A person's zodiac sign is commonly determined by the Earthly Branch of their birth year.

Each Earthly Branch has a fixed zodiac animal, but an Earthly Branch is not the same thing as a zodiac sign. For example, Mao corresponds to the Rabbit, so a Mao year is a Rabbit year. In BaZi, however, Mao also represents Yin Wood, Mao Month, the Mao two-hour period, Yi Wood as its Hidden Stem, and specific interactions with other Earthly Branches.