SuperBazi 超级八字 - Earthly Branches: The Twelve Animals and Their Hidden Depths

When two people share similar Heavenly Stems (天干) yet live very different lives, the answer is usually sitting in the branches below. The Earthly Branches (地支, dìzhī) carry the hidden information that explains why a chart actually behaves the way it does: hidden stems, seasonal energy, and relationship patterns with other branches. When you understand what the branches are doing, the chart shifts from a list of labels to something that describes how energy actually moves through a person's life.

The Twelve Branches at a Glance

Each of the twelve Earthly Branches maps to a Chinese zodiac animal, an element, and a position in the annual solar calendar. The animal name is the most recognisable label, but it is the least important part.

Branch	Pinyin	Animal	Element	Season
子	zǐ	Rat 鼠	Water 水	Winter
丑	chǒu	Ox 牛	Earth 土	Winter
寅	yín	Tiger 虎	Wood 木	Spring
卯	mǎo	Rabbit 兔	Wood 木	Spring
辰	chén	Dragon 龙	Earth 土	Spring
巳	sì	Snake 蛇	Fire 火	Summer
午	wǔ	Horse 马	Fire 火	Summer
未	wèi	Goat 羊	Earth 土	Summer
申	shēn	Monkey 猴	Metal 金	Autumn
酉	yǒu	Rooster 鸡	Metal 金	Autumn
戌	xū	Dog 狗	Earth 土	Autumn
亥	hài	Pig 猪	Water 水	Winter

Each branch occupies a position in the Year, Month, Day, and Hour pillars of the chart. But the animal label is just the surface. What matters more is what each branch carries underneath.

Hidden Stems: What Lives Inside

Every Earthly Branch contains one to three hidden stems (藏干, cánggān), which are Heavenly Stems stored inside the branch. They supply elements that may not be visible on the surface. Only after a Day Master is established do those elements become Resource, Companion, Output, Wealth, or Power through the Ten Gods.

How hidden stems work

Take the Tiger branch (寅) as an example. On the outside it looks like Wood, but inside it holds:

寅 Tiger	Stem	Element	Type
Main qi 主气	甲	Wood 木	Dominant influence
Middle qi 中气	丙	Fire 火	Secondary influence
Residual qi 余气	戊	Earth 土	Tertiary influence

So when the Tiger branch is activated by timing or interaction, the result is not purely Wood. Fire and Earth can also surface, depending on the situation. For more on how hidden stems shape a reading, see Hidden Stems in Bazi.

The full map

Every branch carries one to three hidden stems. Here is the complete reference:

Branch	Main qi 主气	Middle qi 中气	Residual qi 余气
子 Rat	癸 Water	—	—
丑 Ox	己 Earth	癸 Water	辛 Metal
寅 Tiger	甲 Wood	丙 Fire	戊 Earth
卯 Rabbit	乙 Wood	—	—
辰 Dragon	戊 Earth	乙 Wood	癸 Water
巳 Snake	丙 Fire	庚 Metal	戊 Earth
午 Horse	丁 Fire	己 Earth	—
未 Goat	己 Earth	丁 Fire	乙 Wood
申 Monkey	庚 Metal	壬 Water	戊 Earth
酉 Rooster	辛 Metal	—	—
戌 Dog	戊 Earth	辛 Metal	丁 Fire
亥 Pig	壬 Water	甲 Wood	—

Some branches are simple containers. 子 holds only Gui Water (癸), 卯 holds only Yi Wood (乙), and 酉 holds only Xin Metal (辛). When these branches appear, their influence is focused and relatively transparent.

Most branches, however, hold multiple elements. The more hidden stems a branch contains, the more layered its elemental makeup becomes. For example, the Dragon (辰) holds Wu Earth (戊) as its main qi, but also hides Yi Wood (乙) and Gui Water (癸). Whether those hidden Wood and Water stems become Companion, Resource, Wealth, or another Ten God depends entirely on the chart's Day Master.

Hidden stems can quietly supply an element the chart appears to lack, or they can carry tension beneath the surface that only activates at certain times. This is part of why rootedness matters so much: a stem that looks unrooted on the surface may have hidden support deep inside the branches.

Seasonal Force: Why Timing Changes Everything

Each Earthly Branch carries a seasonal quality. The branches map to the twelve months of the Chinese solar calendar, and each one has a season of strength and a season of weakness. A branch that is "in season" — meaning it appears during the time of year that supports its element — will have more active force. The same branch appearing out of season may be quieter, more dormant, or more difficult to express.

For more on this, see Seasonal Strength in Bazi.

How seasonal force works in practice

The Month Branch is the most influential setting for seasonal strength. When an element's branch appears in the month pillar during its peak season, it carries natural momentum. When it appears out of season, it faces resistance and needs support from elsewhere in the chart.

Consider two hypothetical charts that both have Jia Wood (甲) as the Day Master with a Mao branch (卯) in the Day position:

Born in Mao month (卯, spring): Wood is in season. The Day Master is supported by the monthly climate and carries natural strength.
Born in Shen month (申, autumn): Metal is in season, and Metal controls Wood. The Day Master faces environmental resistance and needs more support from other elements. Water can nourish it, while other Wood branches can stand with it.

Both charts have the same Day Master and Day Branch, but the seasonal baseline is different. The spring chart begins with stronger Wood support; the autumn chart begins with stronger Metal control. A real-life interpretation still requires roots, other elements, branch relationships, and the person's question.

This seasonal layer sets the natal baseline and does not change. Luck cycles and annual influences can add roots, support, control, combinations, or clashes that change a branch's effective force, but they do not move the natal branch into a different birth season.

Relationship Patterns Between Branches

The twelve Earthly Branches do not exist in isolation. They form specific relationships with each other that describe how different parts of the chart interact: sometimes supporting each other, sometimes creating friction.

There are seven relationship families that a complete branch pass checks:

Type	Chinese	Pinyin	What it means
Six Combinations	六合	liù hé	Attraction, binding, or possible transformation between a pair
Three Combinations	三合	sān hé	A three-branch elemental formation, or a weaker partial formation
Three Meetings	三会	sān huì	A directional seasonal formation with strong elemental momentum
Clashes	六冲	liù chōng	Tension, disruption, or forced change
Harms	六害	liù hài	Subtle incompatibility, misunderstanding, or drag
Punishments	相刑	xiāng xíng	Recurring pressure, internal conflict, or tangled dynamics
Destructions	相破	xiāng pò	Disruption that breaks an existing arrangement or state

These patterns are not inherently good or bad. A clash might be exactly what breaks a stalemate and creates forward movement. A combination might sometimes make it too easy to stay comfortable when growth is needed. Context always matters, and the most important question is always which branches are involved and what they represent in the chart. For a deeper look at each type, see Branch Clashes in Bazi, Branch Harms in Bazi, and Branch Punishments in Bazi.

The specific pairs

Six Combinations (六合): Six pairs of branches that attract and bind each other:

Pair	Result
子丑	Combine into Earth 土
寅亥	Combine into Wood 木
卯戌	Combine into Fire 火
辰酉	Combine into Metal 金
巳申	Combine into Water 水
午未	Combine into Earth 土

When two branches form a combination, their energies are drawn together. Combination does not automatically mean transformation. A practitioner checks Month-Order support, the whole chart's elemental tendency, roots, and competing relationships before deciding whether the pair transforms or simply remains bound.

Three Combinations (三合): Four groups that can gather into an elemental frame:

Group	Element
申子辰	Water 水
亥卯未	Wood 木
寅午戌	Fire 火
巳酉丑	Metal 金

All three branches create the full formation. Two can form a partial combination, with the central peak branch (子, 卯, 午, or 酉) generally making the partial formation more effective.

Three Meetings (三会): Four directional groups that gather a complete season:

Group	Element
寅卯辰	Wood 木
巳午未	Fire 火
申酉戌	Metal 金
亥子丑	Water 水

A complete meeting often carries strong elemental momentum. A two-branch partial meeting is weaker and still has to be weighed against clashes, harms, and other relationships.

Clashes (六冲): Six pairs of opposing branches that pull against each other:

Pair	Elements in tension
子午	Water vs Fire
丑未	Earth vs Earth
寅申	Wood vs Metal
卯酉	Wood vs Metal
辰戌	Earth vs Earth
巳亥	Fire vs Water

Clashes create movement, separation, or breakthrough. A clash is not automatically negative. If the branch being hit contains an element the chart is better off without, the disruption can be helpful.

Harms (六害): Six pairs that create subtle, hidden friction:

Pair		Pair
子未		丑午
寅巳		卯辰
申亥		酉戌

Harms are quieter than clashes. Depending on the elements and palace positions involved, they may describe lingering irritation, misunderstanding, or a situation that looks stable while carrying hidden drag.

Punishments (相刑): Three multi-branch patterns plus four self-punishments that involve recurring, tangled dynamics:

Group	Name	Theme
寅巳申	Ungrateful punishment 无恩之刑	Pressure, conflict, accidents
丑未戌	Power-holding punishment 持势之刑	Earth tension, real-world pressure
子卯	Discourtesy punishment 无礼之刑	Boundary issues in relationships
辰辰, 午午, 酉酉, or 亥亥	Self-punishment 自刑	Repetition, internal friction, or self-reinforcing pressure

Punishments describe pressure patterns that are more tangled than a simple clash, but their effect still depends on the elements involved and whether the pattern helps or damages the chart.

Destructions (相破): Six pairs that disrupt an existing state:

Pair		Pair
子酉		丑辰
寅亥		卯午
巳申		未戌

A destruction is usually less forceful than a clash but can still break continuity, interrupt a plan, or unsettle what had been holding together.

How combinations and clashes interact

A branch can participate in more than one relationship at once. If the Day Branch is 子 and the Month Branch is 午, there is a 子午 clash. If the Year Branch is 丑, 子 also forms a 子丑 combination. A successful transformation would change the clash calculation, while a non-transforming combination only constrains 子 and does not erase the clash. The practitioner must resolve both relationships before judging their effective force.

This is why a branch relationship should never be read in isolation. The surrounding chart shapes how much pressure or harmony any single interaction actually delivers.

Reading the Branches in Context

Here is a chart that shows how branches work in practice:

Reading the branches 地支 in context

时 Hour

日 Day

月 Month

年 Year

四柱

Four
Pillars

偏财IW

戊

Wu土

日元DM

甲

Jia木

比肩F

甲

Jia木

偏财IW

戊

Wu土

天干

stems

Heavenly

辰

Chen

龙 Dragon

申

Shen

猴 Monkey

寅

Yin

虎 Tiger

寅

Yin

虎 Tiger

地支

branches

Earthly

癸

Gui水

印 DR

戊

Wu土

才 IW

乙

Yi木

劫 RW

戊

Wu土

才 IW

庚

Geng金

杀 7K

壬

Ren水

枭 IR

戊

Wu土

才 IW

甲

Jia木

比 F

丙

Bing火

食 EG

戊

Wu土

才 IW

甲

Jia木

比 F

丙

Bing火

食 EG

藏干

stems

Hidden

This chart is calculated from 6 February 1998 at 7:00 AM. The Day Master is Jia Wood (甲). What do the branches tell us?

The Month Branch sets the season. Both Year and Month branches are Yin Tiger (寅), which is spring Wood season. Each Tiger hides Jia Wood as its main qi, giving the Day Master seasonal support and two clear roots.

Clashes cut across that support. The Day Branch Shen (申) clashes with both Tiger branches. Shen contains Geng Metal (庚) as main qi, which is Seven Killings for Jia Wood, plus Ren Water (壬) as Indirect Resource and Wu Earth (戊) as Indirect Wealth. The two Yin–Shen clashes place the Day Branch's Metal pressure directly against the roots in Year and Month. Yin and Shen also form an incomplete Ungrateful Punishment (无恩之刑) because Si (巳) is missing; that partial pattern is weaker than the complete punishment but still belongs in the relationship pass.

Partial formations pull in two directions. Shen and Chen form a partial Water combination, which can add Resource support if the wider chart sustains Water. Yin and Chen form a partial Wood meeting, reinforcing the Day Master's side. Neither partial formation erases the Yin–Shen clashes; all three relationships have to be weighed together.

The stems show how the branches change the calculation. Wu Earth (戊) appears in the Year and Hour stems as Indirect Wealth, and both visible Jia stems control both Wu stems. The Month stem supplies Friend support, while the Day branch gives hidden Geng a real Metal root and hidden Ren some Resource support. Metal is out of season, but it is not unrooted or absent.

This is how branches work in a real chart: not as isolated labels, but as interconnected forces whose strength depends on season, roots, clashes, punishments, and partial formations. A surface count would see strong Wood; the branch pass shows where that support is rooted, where it is challenged, and which relationships change its effective force.

How to Read the Branches Wisely

The practical value of understanding Earthly Branches is clarity about what is actually driving the patterns in a person's life. When a reading looks at the branches carefully, it can explain why someone keeps hitting the same wall, why a particular relationship feels complicated, or why certain years feel different than expected.

The most useful questions to ask about any branch are:

What hidden stems does it carry? The surface element is only the starting point.
Is it in season? A branch in its peak season has more influence than one that is dormant.
What relationships does it form with other branches? Six Combinations, Three Combinations, Three Meetings, clashes, harms, punishments, and destructions all shape effective force.
Is the Day Master rooted in it? A Day Master with strong roots in the branches below it has more stability and staying power.

A responsible Bazi reading uses the branches to help a person make better decisions, not to create anxiety or fatalism. The chart describes tendencies and timing, not fixed outcomes. If the branches point to pressure, the person can prepare. If they point to opportunity, the person can check whether they have the capacity to use it.

Bazi works best when it helps people see what is really happening beneath the surface — and respond with clearer judgment.