The Earthly Branches

twelve animals underfoot

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The lower character of every pillar is one of twelve Earthly Branches — the layer that carries the zodiac animals, the seasons, and the twelve double-hours. When you name your animal, you are naming a branch.

The Earthly Branches — illuminated illustration

Twelve branches, twelve animals

The Earthly Branches are a twelve-step cycle as old as Chinese timekeeping itself — originally marks for the stations of the year and the hours of the day. Each branch came to be called by an animal: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, Pig. Your year animal is simply the branch of your year pillar; your secret animal is the branch of your hour.

Each branch also carries one of the five elements as its principal qi — the Horse carries fire, the Rat water — which is how the animals contribute to a chart's element balance alongside the stems.

Branches in relationship

The liveliest part of branch lore is how the twelve get along. Branches four steps apart form the harmony trines — Rat–Dragon–Monkey, Ox–Snake–Rooster, Tiger–Horse–Dog, Rabbit–Goat–Pig — the friendships behind compatibility. Branches six steps apart sit in direct opposition: the clash pairs, which is why the year opposite your animal is your clash year. Secret friends, paired harmonies, and other refinements layer on from there — all of it geometry on the same twelve-spoke wheel.

Branches in time

The branches also mark time directly: twelve months of the agricultural year, and the twelve double-hours of the day, each animal governing a two-hour watch. Raise your own four branches — year, month, day, and hour — with the free BaZi calculator, and see the reigning branch of the current year at This Year.

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Your year, month, day, and hour — converted exactly, Lichun-precise, with your Day Master and element balance read free.

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The Earthly Branches FAQs

Are the Earthly Branches the same as the zodiac animals?

Effectively yes — the animals are the folk names of the twelve branches. Serious BaZi work uses the branches beneath the animals because they also carry elements, seasons, and hour assignments the animal names don't show.

How do branch trines work for compatibility?

Animals four apart on the wheel share a harmony trine — Rat–Dragon–Monkey, Ox–Snake–Rooster, Tiger–Horse–Dog, Rabbit–Goat–Pig. These trios are the classical best-match groups. Our compatibility tool weighs them alongside the rest of both charts.

What is a clash pair?

Two branches directly opposite each other — six steps apart — like Rat and Horse, or Ox and Goat. When the year's branch clashes your year branch, tradition calls it your clash year: friction you can plan for, not doom.

Which branch governs my birth hour?

Each animal rules a two-hour watch — the Rat 11pm–1am, the Ox 1–3am, and so on around the clock. The branch of your birth watch is your hour branch, better known as your secret animal.

the deeper lore