Earthly Branches in Qimen Dunjia

The Earthly Branches are part of the basic symbol system in Qimen Dunjia. Like the Heavenly Stems, they come from the traditional Chinese calendar and the Five Elements system. In a Qimen chart, the Earthly Branches are usually not shown directly on the chart. They are hidden within the nine palaces and help connect time, direction, palace position, and symbolic relationships.

This guide introduces the twelve Earthly Branches, their Yin-Yang and Five Element attributes, their links with months and traditional Chinese hours, their positions in the nine palaces, and common branch relationships such as clashes, combinations, harms, punishments, and Traveling Horse.

What Are the Twelve Earthly Branches?

The twelve Earthly Branches are:

Zi, Chou, Yin, Mao, Chen, Si, Wu, Wei, Shen, You, Xu, and Hai.

They can be paired with the ten Heavenly Stems to form the Sixty Jiazi cycle. They are also used to record years, months, days, and hours in the traditional Chinese calendar.

Yin-Yang and Five Elements of the Earthly Branches

The twelve Earthly Branches can be divided into six Yang branches and six Yin branches.

The six Yang branches are:

• Zi: Yang Water;
• Yin: Yang Wood;
• Chen: Yang Earth;
• Wu: Yang Fire;
• Shen: Yang Metal;
• Xu: Yang Earth.

The six Yin branches are:

• Chou: Yin Earth;
• Mao: Yin Wood;
• Si: Yin Fire;
• Wei: Yin Earth;
• You: Yin Metal;
• Hai: Yin Water.

Chen, Xu, Chou, and Wei all belong to Earth. This is why Earth appears more often among the Earthly Branches than the other elements.

Earthly Branches in the Nine Palaces

In Qimen Dunjia, the twelve Earthly Branches are placed in the nine palaces in fixed positions:

• Zi is in the Kan palace;
• Chou and Yin are in the Gen palace;
• Mao is in the Zhen palace;
• Chen and Si are in the Xun palace;
• Wu is in the Li palace;
• Wei and Shen are in the Kun palace;
• You is in the Dui palace;
• Xu and Hai are in the Qian palace.

These branches do not appear on the chart in the same way as the Heavenly Stems, Eight Doors, Nine Stars, or Eight Spirits, but they are closely related to time, direction, and palace relationships.

To generate a Qimen chart online, you can use AskQimen. It creates a chart based on time, location, and your question, then helps you analyze the symbols in the chart.

Earthly Branches and Lunar Months

The Earthly Branches correspond to lunar months:

• Zi: the 11th lunar month;
• Chou: the 12th lunar month;
• Yin: the 1st lunar month;
• Mao: the 2nd lunar month;
• Chen: the 3rd lunar month;
• Si: the 4th lunar month;
• Wu: the 5th lunar month;
• Wei: the 6th lunar month;
• Shen: the 7th lunar month;
• You: the 8th lunar month;
• Xu: the 9th lunar month;
• Hai: the 10th lunar month.

In traditional Chinese metaphysics, month references usually follow the lunar calendar.

Earthly Branches and the Chinese Zodiac

The twelve Earthly Branches also correspond to the twelve zodiac animals:

• Zi: Rat;
• Chou: Ox;
• Yin: Tiger;
• Mao: Rabbit;
• Chen: Dragon;
• Si: Snake;
• Wu: Horse;
• Wei: Goat;
• Shen: Monkey;
• You: Rooster;
• Xu: Dog;
• Hai: Pig.

The zodiac animals are a common way to express the branches. In Qimen Dunjia, the branches are mainly used for time, direction, and branch relationships.

Earthly Branches and Traditional Chinese Hours

A day is divided into twelve traditional Chinese hours. Each branch hour lasts about two modern hours:

• Zi hour: 23:00 to 01:00;
• Chou hour: 01:00 to 03:00;
• Yin hour: 03:00 to 05:00;
• Mao hour: 05:00 to 07:00;
• Chen hour: 07:00 to 09:00;
• Si hour: 09:00 to 11:00;
• Wu hour: 11:00 to 13:00;
• Wei hour: 13:00 to 15:00;
• Shen hour: 15:00 to 17:00;
• You hour: 17:00 to 19:00;
• Xu hour: 19:00 to 21:00;
• Hai hour: 21:00 to 23:00.

Qimen Dunjia chart casting often depends on year, month, day, and hour, so the branch hour is an important part of the chart setup.

Earthly Branch Clashes

There are six Earthly Branch clashes:

• Zi clashes with Wu;
• Chou clashes with Wei;
• Yin clashes with Shen;
• Mao clashes with You;
• Chen clashes with Xu;
• Si clashes with Hai.

A clash can suggest conflict, movement, collision, tension, or opposition. For example, Zi belongs to Water and Wu belongs to Fire, so Zi-Wu clash carries a Water-Fire conflict. Yin belongs to Wood and Shen belongs to Metal, so Yin-Shen clash carries a Metal-Wood conflict.

In Qimen analysis, if two related symbols fall into branch positions that clash, the reading may include conflict, movement, or opposition between the related matters.

Six Combinations of the Earthly Branches

There are six Earthly Branch combinations:

• Zi combines with Chou;
• Yin combines with Hai;
• Mao combines with Xu;
• Chen combines with You;
• Si combines with Shen;
• Wu combines with Wei.

A combination can suggest cooperation, closeness, agreement, or connection. In practical readings, it may point to cooperation, a closer relationship, or benefit gained through cooperation.

Combinations and clashes can restrain each other. A combination may soften a clash, while a clash may break a combination.

Three-Harmony Combinations

There are four Three-Harmony groups:

• Shen, Zi, and Chen combine into Water;
• Hai, Mao, and Wei combine into Wood;
• Yin, Wu, and Xu combine into Fire;
• Si, You, and Chou combine into Metal.

These groups are related to the Twelve Growth Stages of the Five Elements. For example, in the Water group, Water is born in Shen, reaches peak strength in Zi, and enters storage in Chen. Together, these three branches form a Water group.

In Qimen, Three-Harmony combinations can be used to see whether a certain element is gathered or strengthened in the chart.

Earthly Branch Harms

There are six Earthly Branch harms:

• Zi harms Wei;
• Chou harms Wu;
• Yin harms Si;
• Mao harms Chen;
• Shen harms Hai;
• You harms Xu.

Harm can suggest damage, obstruction, interference, or hidden friction. It is less direct than a clash, but it still shows an unfavorable relationship between branches.

Earthly Branch Punishments

The main Earthly Branch punishments include:

• Yin, Si, and Shen: punishment of ingratitude;
• Chou, Xu, and Wei: punishment of relying on force or position;
• Zi and Mao: punishment of disrespect;
• Chen, Wu, You, and Hai: self-punishment.

The punishment of ingratitude can suggest betrayal or a broken relationship.

The punishment of relying on force or position can suggest hostility, loneliness, or weakness.

The punishment of disrespect is often linked with improper conduct or disorder.

Self-punishment suggests a person or matter turning against itself.

In Qimen Dunjia readings, punishments are usually not as forceful as clashes, but they still add useful information to the analysis.

Traveling Horse in Qimen Dunjia

The Traveling Horse is used in Qimen Dunjia to indicate movement. It is often related to travel, business trips, movement, running around, or a matter already in motion.

The Traveling Horse is found as follows:

• For Shen, Zi, and Chen, the horse is in Yin;
• For Hai, Mao, and Wei, the horse is in Si;
• For Yin, Wu, and Xu, the horse is in Shen;
• For Si, You, and Chou, the horse is in Hai.

If the Traveling Horse falls into a palace, it may suggest movement, change, travel, or action related to the person, matter, or direction represented by that palace.

Earthly Branches and the Sixty Jiazi

The ten Heavenly Stems and twelve Earthly Branches combine to form the Sixty Jiazi cycle.

The cycle begins with Jia-Zi and Yi-Chou, continues through sixty combinations, and ends with Gui-Hai.

The Sixty Jiazi cycle is used to record years, months, days, and hours in the traditional Chinese calendar. Since Qimen Dunjia chart casting depends on time, the Sixty Jiazi cycle is also part of the basic knowledge needed for Qimen study.

Summary

The Earthly Branches in Qimen Dunjia are often hidden in the chart, but they connect time, direction, Five Elements, palace positions, and branch relationships. A practical way to study them is to begin with their Yin-Yang and Five Element attributes, palace positions, month and hour correspondences, then move on to clashes, combinations, harms, punishments, and Traveling Horse.