地支 Di Zhi - Earthly Branches
What are the 12 earthly branches (Dì Zhī 地支)?
“內經: 天分五氣, 五氣分流，散支于十干” "Nei Jing: The sky is divided by the five Qi (phases), and the branches are scattered in the Ten Stems". Further, “The sky is divided by six poles, and each has its own division (Yang and Ying). A day is divided into
six Yang and
six Yin therefore, there are
12 branches in a day".
Depending on the perspective, the Earth rotates around its own axis 360 degrees within 24 hours, which is a day, or from the geocentric perspective, the sun takes around 24 hours to revolve around the earth. Either way, the sky (the dome where the stars as ornaments are placed) is divided into six sectors; each of the six divisions has its own Yang/Yin phase. With this, we get 12 sectors in 360 degrees, which are equal to 12 double hours within 24 hours.
Each of the six/twelve divisions/sectors covers a specific asterism along the ecliptic.
While the divisions of the
heavenly stems are
dynamic, the
earthly branches are
constant.
What are these 12 characters of the Earthly Branches?Unlike the heavenly stem characters, which represent asterism around the ecliptic right from the beginning, the twelve characters (the ancient version of the character) of the earthly branches were initially neither asterism nor farming symbols but referred to
12 out of 28
moon phases that morphed as markers into the ecliptic coordinates.
These 12 characters are reused to indicate the
12 Jupiter nodes (year branch, Chinese zodiacs), the
12 months, the
12 moon phases within a month (day branch), and the
12 double hours.
Different regions in China at different times used variations of the 12 characters; therefore, 12 different types of animal symbols were attached to the 12 characters (sectors or phases) to improve their recognisability.
年 Nián: Year木星 MùXīng: The planet
Jupiter is the biggest planet in our solar system; it has a twenty times stronger magnetic field than Earth's. It completes its
cycle around the sun every twelve years, which roughly correlates with the
12 lunar cycles on the elliptic path. Each of these 12 cycles has its own astronomical name and is known as (十二次 Shí'èr cì) or (十二分野 Shí'èr fēn yě)
Jupiter terms, or nodes.
From the geocentric orbital viewpoint, the direction to which the handle of the natural compass, the
Big-Dipper, points when the new moon appears in the same sector (Zodiac) as the planet Jupiter is known as
太歲 Tai Sui, the "Grand Duke of Jupiter” or in short (歲星 Suì xīng),
the year star.
Although each
太歲 Tai Sui node/ station has its own astronomical name, which is distinct from the Jupiter nodes, each year-branch is depicted with animal symbols and is recognized easily as the
Chinese zodiacs.
When the
Earth takes 12 years (twelve times) to
revolve the sun, the planet
Jupiter revolves the sun once every 11.86 years. This discrepancy causes a shift of the zodiac every 86 years; therefore, the (歲星紀年 Suìxīng jì nián) Jupiter year recording
system has been abolished since the later Han dynasty.
月 Yuè: MonthThe Month-Branch indicates the earth's position around the sun and the transition of seasons. The Lunisolar calendar year
starts in February and is depicted with a
tiger. The beginning days of the months are not equal to the first day of the western calendar. Each of the twelve months is also depicted with the same animal symbols used for the years. The month passes one to four of the 28 constellations along the ecliptic every month, which the planet Jupiter culminates in during the year.
月令 Yuè ling: The Month Commander or
Month Order.For event prediction, the month is the starting point to analyze BaZi, the eight-character fate calculation system. In the practical application, the
moon phases, the
Big Dipper tail, the appearance of the
stars, and the
climate must be observed.
天 Tiān: DayThe Day Branch indicates the moon's position/ phases around the Earth. The day branches are also depicted with the twelve animal symbols. The day in the month concerns us most in our daily activities; thus, the
heavenly stem in the
day is taken as the
master regarding other elements in the chart; therefore, it is called the
日元 Day Master.
時 Shí: Hour(十二時辰 Shí'èr shíchén) The Twelve Double-Hours. The Hour-Branch indicates the earth's phase rotation on its own axis. Each Chinese hour consists of two hours; the day is divided into 12 instead of 24 hours. The twelve animal symbols are also used to depict the twelve two-hour blocks.
| 地支 12 Earthly Branches |
| Branches |
Hours |
Month |
Hidden Stems |
| 子 Zi |
Rat |
23:00 - 01:00 |
December |
癸 Gui |
| 丑 Chou |
Ox |
01:00 - 03:00 |
January |
己 Ji 辛 Xin 癸 Gui |
| 寅 Yin |
Tiger |
03:00 - 05:00 |
February |
甲 Jia 戊 Wu 丙 Bing |
| 卯 Mao |
Rabbit |
05:00 - 07:00 |
March |
乙 Yi |
| 辰 Chen |
Dragon |
07:00 - 09:00 |
April |
戊 Wu 癸 Gui 乙 Yi |
| 巳 Si |
Snake |
09:00 - 11:00 |
Mai |
丙 Bing 戊 Wu 庚 Geng |
| 戊 Wu |
Horse |
11:00 - 13:00 |
June |
丁 Ding 己 Ji |
| 未 Wei |
Ram |
13:00 - 15:00 |
July |
乙 Yi 丁 Ding 己 Ji |
| 申 Shen |
Monkey |
15:00 - 17:00 |
August |
戊 Wu 庚 Geng 壬 Ren |
| 酉 You |
Rooster |
17:00 - 19:00 |
September |
辛 Xin |
| 戌 Xu |
Dog |
19:00 - 21:00 |
October |
丁Ding 戊 Wu 辛 Xin |
| 亥 Hai |
Pig |
21:00 - 23:00 |
November |
甲 Jia 壬 Ren |