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Horse in a traditional Chinese landscape

Earthly branch 7 of 12

Horse 午 Branch: Hours 11:00–12:59, Fire & Trine

午 Wu is branch 7 of 12: the Horse, Yang Fire, hours 11:00–12:59, month opening at Mángzhòng 芒种. It clashes with Rat and joins the Fire trine with Tiger and Dog.

午Wu

What 午 names

  • 01

    The hour

    11:00–12:59

    Traditionally noon, when the sun stands highest and yang is at its fullest.

  • 02

    The month

    芒种 Mángzhòng

    Grain in Ear opens it — month 5 counted from 立春, not from January.

  • 03

    The direction

    South

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

  • 04

    The phase

    Fire

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

Inside 午: season and hidden stems

summer · yang Fire. The branch contains 丁 (primary fire), 己 (middle earth). Compare the full hidden-stem register →

All branch memberships

Its fixed relations

  • 冲 · Clash

    Rat 子

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

  • 六合 · Six harmony

    Goat 未

    One of six pairs whose positions balance across the cycle.

  • 三合 · Trine

    Tiger · Horse · Dog

    Four places apart, governing the Fire phase together.

The Horse in the Great Race

Place7of 12

Fast enough to place far higher and undone at the last stride by the passenger it never knew it carried.

Read the complete Great Race story →

The five Horse pillars

  1. Cycle position7庚午Yang Metal HorseExample year 1990
  2. Cycle position19壬午Yang Water HorseExample year 2002
  3. Cycle position31甲午Yang Wood HorseExample year 2014
  4. Cycle position43丙午Yang Fire HorseExample year 2026
  5. Cycle position55戊午Yang Earth HorseExample year 2038

Move around the circle

The twelve branches