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Pig in a traditional Chinese landscape

Earthly branch 12 of 12

Pig 亥 Branch: Hours 21:00–22:59, Water & Trine

亥 Hai is branch 12 of 12: the Pig, Yin Water, hours 21:00–22:59, month opening at Lìdōng 立冬. It clashes with Snake and joins the Wood trine with Rabbit and Goat.

亥Hai

What 亥 names

  • 01

    The hour

    21:00–22:59

    Traditionally the hour pigs sleep most soundly, when the house has gone quiet.

  • 02

    The month

    立冬 Lìdōng

    Start of Winter opens it — month 10 counted from 立春, not from January.

  • 03

    The direction

    North-northwest

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

  • 04

    The phase

    Water

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

Inside 亥: season and hidden stems

winter · yin Water. The branch contains 壬 (primary water), 甲 (middle wood). Compare the full hidden-stem register →

All branch memberships

Its fixed relations

  • 冲 · Clash

    Snake 巳

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

  • 六合 · Six harmony

    Tiger 寅

    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 Pig in the Great Race

Place12of 12

Grew hungry on the way, ate, then lay down for a sleep and finished last without apparent regret. Last place in the story is not a poor place in the cycle: the Pig closes the twelve and the count begins again.

Read the complete Great Race story →

The five Pig pillars

  1. Cycle position12乙亥Yin Wood PigExample year 1995
  2. Cycle position24丁亥Yin Fire PigExample year 2007
  3. Cycle position36己亥Yin Earth PigExample year 2019
  4. Cycle position48辛亥Yin Metal PigExample year 2031
  5. Cycle position60癸亥Yin Water PigExample year 2043

Move around the circle

The twelve branches