The Ox branch is number 2 of the twelve: yin Earth, the animal Ox, the 12th month (beginning at Minor Cold), the hour 01:00–03:00, direction Northeast, season Winter. Below are the structural facts — hidden stems, six-harmony, clash, harm, punishment, trine and meeting — plus which of the twelve stages each of the ten stems occupies on this branch. All of it is computed and checkable; none of it is a personality verdict.
This page is generated from the engine v0.14.0, not hand-written; structural facts reconcile against the methodology page.
| Branch | 丑 Chou (Ox) · position 2 of 12 |
|---|---|
| Polarity | yin (even position — consistent with the stem pairs in the sixty-cycle) |
| Element | Earth 土 |
| Animal | Ox 牛 |
| Month | 12th month · begins at Minor Cold (小寒) |
| Hour | 01:00–03:00 |
| Direction | Northeast (东北) |
| Season | Winter |
| Hidden stems | 己 Ji Yin Earth (main, Earth); 癸 Gui Yin Water (middle, Water); 辛 Xin Yin Metal (residual, Metal) |
Branch relations are fixed tables — combination, clash, harm, punishment, trine and meeting each have a defined membership. This site computes them from those tables and does not add the popular "once combined, everything improves" clause.
| Six harmony | 子 Zi (Rat) — combines into Earth |
|---|---|
| Six clash | 未 Wei (Goat) |
| Six harm | 午 Wu (Horse) |
| Punishment | Punishment of Ingratitude: 戌 Xu (Dog), 未 Wei (Goat) |
| Three harmony | Metal trine: 巳 Si (Snake) 酉 You (Rooster) 丑 Chou (Ox) |
| Meeting | North Water meeting: 亥 Hai (Pig) 子 Zi (Rat) 丑 Chou (Ox) |
The twelve stages describe how strong a stem is on a given branch. Yang stems run forward, yin stems run backward, so each of the ten stems lands on exactly one stage per branch. The ten rows below are computed; the stage names link to their full definitions.
| Stem | Stage on this branch | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 甲 Jia Yang Wood (yang Wood) | Attiring | 3 of 12 |
| 乙 Yi Yin Wood (yin Wood) | Decline | 6 of 12 |
| 丙 Bing Yang Fire (yang Fire) | Nourishment | 12 of 12 |
| 丁 Ding Yin Fire (yin Fire) | Tomb | 9 of 12 |
| 戊 Wu Yang Earth (yang Earth) | Nourishment | 12 of 12 |
| 己 Ji Yin Earth (yin Earth) | Tomb | 9 of 12 |
| 庚 Geng Yang Metal (yang Metal) | Tomb | 9 of 12 |
| 辛 Xin Yin Metal (yin Metal) | Nourishment | 12 of 12 |
| 壬 Ren Yang Water (yang Water) | Decline | 6 of 12 |
| 癸 Gui Yin Water (yin Water) | Attiring | 3 of 12 |
Each branch appears in five of the sixty pillars (a yang branch only pairs with yang stems, a yin branch only with yin stems). Every pillar has its own page:
Every enumerable component of ba zi has its own page here. Each page is computed by the same engine and can be checked item by item — none of it is a personality table.