Earthly Branches 地支
Dì Zhī · The twelve-term cycle behind the animals, the double hours and the solar months.
What it means
The Earthly Branches are a cycle of twelve characters — Zi, Chou, Yin, Mao, Chen, Si, Wu, Wei, Shen, You, Xu, Hai — that predate the animals attached to them. Each branch carries a fixed element, a polarity, a two-hour block of the day, a solar month, and a compass sector, and each stands in a defined relationship with every other branch through the harmony, clash, harm, punishment and destruction tables.
Why it matters
Almost every rule in the almanac is a rule about branches. Compatibility, Tai Sui, auspicious dates and month-by-month forecasts are all lookups in branch tables; the animals are a mnemonic layer on top. This is also why a claim like "the Rat and the Horse clash" is not an opinion — it is the arithmetic fact that Zi and Wu sit six positions apart.
| Branch | Pinyin | Animal | Element | Double hour | Solar month |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 子 | Zi | Rat | Water 水 | 23:00–00:59 | 11 (from Major Snow) |
| 丑 | Chou | Ox | Earth 土 | 01:00–02:59 | 12 (from Minor Cold) |
| 寅 | Yin | Tiger | Wood 木 | 03:00–04:59 | 1 (from Start of Spring) |
| 卯 | Mao | Rabbit | Wood 木 | 05:00–06:59 | 2 (from Awakening of Insects) |
| 辰 | Chen | Dragon | Earth 土 | 07:00–08:59 | 3 (from Pure Brightness) |
| 巳 | Si | Snake | Fire 火 | 09:00–10:59 | 4 (from Start of Summer) |
| 午 | Wu | Horse | Fire 火 | 11:00–12:59 | 5 (from Grain in Ear) |
| 未 | Wei | Goat | Earth 土 | 13:00–14:59 | 6 (from Minor Heat) |
| 申 | Shen | Monkey | Metal 金 | 15:00–16:59 | 7 (from Start of Autumn) |
| 酉 | You | Rooster | Metal 金 | 17:00–18:59 | 8 (from White Dew) |
| 戌 | Xu | Dog | Earth 土 | 19:00–20:59 | 9 (from Cold Dew) |
| 亥 | Hai | Pig | Water 水 | 21:00–22:59 | 10 (from Start of Winter) |
Where this site uses it
The compatibility tool and every sign page on this site read from the same branch tables, and the profile pages list the hour, month and direction each branch owns.