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Goat in a traditional Chinese landscape

Earthly branch 8 of 12

Goat 未 Branch: Hours 13:00–14:59, Earth & Trine

未 Wei is branch 8 of 12: the Goat, Yin Earth, hours 13:00–14:59, month opening at Xiǎoshǔ 小暑. It clashes with Ox and joins the Wood trine with Pig and Rabbit.

未Wei

What 未 names

  • 01

    The hour

    13:00–14:59

    Traditionally the hour goats graze best, after the worst of the heat.

  • 02

    The month

    小暑 Xiǎoshǔ

    Minor Heat opens it — month 6 counted from 立春, not from January.

  • 03

    The direction

    South-southwest

    The twelve branches divide the compass as they divide the day.

  • 04

    The phase

    Earth

    十二支五行 — the phase the branch itself carries.

Inside 未: season and hidden stems

summer · yin Earth. The branch contains 己 (primary earth), 丁 (middle fire), 乙 (residual wood). Compare the full hidden-stem register →

All branch memberships

Its fixed relations

  • 冲 · Clash

    Ox 丑

    Six places opposite, so the two never share a season or an hour.

  • 六合 · Six harmony

    Horse 午

    One of six pairs whose positions balance across the cycle.

  • 三合 · Trine

    Pig · Rabbit · Goat

    Four places apart, governing the Wood phase together.

The Goat in the Great Race

Place8of 12

One of three who found a raft and crossed together, agreeing to share the work rather than race each other. The Goat is given the raft's steering in most tellings.

Read the complete Great Race story →

The five Goat pillars

  1. Cycle position8辛未Yin Metal GoatExample year 1991
  2. Cycle position20癸未Yin Water GoatExample year 2003
  3. Cycle position32乙未Yin Wood GoatExample year 2015
  4. Cycle position44丁未Yin Fire GoatExample year 2027
  5. Cycle position56己未Yin Earth GoatExample year 2039

Move around the circle

The twelve branches