Find the element behind the label
Mù · 木
Wood
Wood names the phase of spring growth. In the calendar it appears as the two stems Jia and Yi, while Tiger and Rabbit carry Wood as their fixed branch element. Dragon completes the spring branch sequence but has Earth as its own fixed element.
Stems: Jiǎ 甲 · Yǐ 乙
Huǒ · 火
Fire
Fire connects the summer phase with the stems Bing and Ding. Snake and Horse are its fixed animal branches. The Horse month contains the summer solstice; Goat closes the summer sequence with an Earth branch rather than a third Fire branch.
Stems: Bǐng 丙 · Dīng 丁
Tǔ · 土
Earth
Earth is distributed across four branch months: Dragon closes spring, Goat closes summer, Dog closes autumn and Ox closes winter. These four positions explain why Earth has more animal branches than the other phases. Wu and Ji supply Earth in the stem cycle.
Stems: Wù 戊 · Jǐ 己
Jīn · 金
Metal
Metal belongs to the autumn phase and the stems Geng and Xin. Monkey opens the autumn branch months; Rooster contains the autumn equinox. Dog completes their seasonal group while retaining Earth as its fixed branch element.
Stems: Gēng 庚 · Xīn 辛
Shuǐ · 水
Water
Water joins the stems Ren and Gui to the winter phase. Pig and Rat carry Water as their fixed branch element. Rat’s month contains the winter solstice, and its double-hour crosses midnight. Ox follows as the Earth branch that closes winter.
Stems: Rén 壬 · Guǐ 癸
Which element does a day have?
The visible stem
The first character of a pillar supplies a phase and polarity: Jia is Yang Wood, Yi is Yin Wood, and so on. This is the element in names such as “Yang Wood Monkey.”
Read the ten stems →The animal branch
The second character supplies the branch, whose fixed element does not change. Monkey keeps Metal even on a Wood Monkey day.
Read the twelve branches →The complete pillar’s Na Yin
The two-character pair also belongs to one of thirty named sounds. Spring Water, for example, is the Na Yin of Jia Shen and Yi You; it does not replace their Wood stems.
Explore the named sounds →