What are the 12 Earthly Branches?

The twelve Earthly Branches (地支) are Zi, Chou, Yin, Mao, Chen, Si, Wu, Wei, Shen, You, Xu, and Hai. They correspond to the twelve Chinese zodiac animals (Rat through Pig) and sit at the bottom of each pillar in a BaZi chart.

What are hidden stems?

Hidden stems (藏干) are the Heavenly Stems stored inside each Earthly Branch — one to three per branch. They let a branch express more than one element and are used to judge the true strength of the Day Master, since a rooted stem is much stronger than an isolated one.

Are Earthly Branches the same as the Chinese zodiac?

The twelve zodiac animals ARE the twelve Earthly Branches in their popular form. Zi is the Rat, Chou is the Ox, and so on. In BaZi the branches add elements, seasons, directions, and hidden stems to those familiar animal signs.

What element is each Earthly Branch?

Zi is Water, Chou is Earth, Yin and Mao are Wood, Chen is Earth, Si and Wu are Fire, Wei is Earth, Shen and You are Metal, Xu is Earth, and Hai is Water. The four Earth branches (Chou, Chen, Wei, Xu) sit between the seasons.

What is the Korean name for Earthly Branches?

In Korean Saju the Earthly Branches are called Jiji (지지). They use the same twelve characters and zodiac animals as Chinese BaZi.

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地支

The 12 Earthly Branches (地支)

The twelve Earthly Branches are the ground layer of your chart — the signs behind the Chinese zodiac animals, each one a season, a direction, and a set of hidden stems.

What Are the Earthly Branches?

The twelve Earthly Branches (地支, Di Zhi) are the "ground" layer of a BaZi chart, sitting beneath the Heavenly Stems in each pillar. Most people meet them first as the twelve Chinese zodiac animals — Rat, Ox, Tiger, and so on — but in BaZi each branch is much richer: it carries an element, a season, a compass direction, and one or more hidden stems tucked inside.

The Twelve Branches in Full

Branch	Animal	Element	Season / Month	Hidden Stems
子 Zi	Rat	Yang Water	Winter / Dec	癸
丑 Chou	Ox	Yin Earth	Winter / Jan	己癸辛
寅 Yin	Tiger	Yang Wood	Spring / Feb	甲丙戊
卯 Mao	Rabbit	Yin Wood	Spring / Mar	乙
辰 Chen	Dragon	Yang Earth	Spring / Apr	戊乙癸
巳 Si	Snake	Yin Fire	Summer / May	丙庚戊
午 Wu	Horse	Yang Fire	Summer / Jun	丁己
未 Wei	Goat	Yin Earth	Summer / Jul	己丁乙
申 Shen	Monkey	Yang Metal	Autumn / Aug	庚壬戊
酉 You	Rooster	Yin Metal	Autumn / Sep	辛
戌 Xu	Dog	Yang Earth	Autumn / Oct	戊辛丁
亥 Hai	Pig	Yin Water	Winter / Nov	壬甲

Hidden Stems (藏干)

Each branch secretly stores one to three Heavenly Stems, called hidden stems (藏干). They are the reason a branch can act like more than one element. The Tiger (寅), for instance, hides Yang Wood, Yang Fire, and Yang Earth — so although the Tiger is "a Wood branch," it can also feed Fire. Hidden stems are essential for judging the real strength of your Day Master, because a stem with roots in the branches is far more powerful than one standing alone.

Seasons & Combinations

The branches map onto the seasons in groups of three: 寅卯辰 = spring (Wood), 巳午未 = summer (Fire), 申酉戌 = autumn (Metal), 亥子丑 = winter (Water). The same season-mates also form "directional" combinations, while other triplets create the famous Three Harmonies used in zodiac compatibility. Branches can also clash, harm, or punish one another — the dynamics that make a chart come alive.

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