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Rabbit in a traditional Chinese landscape

Earthly branch 4 of 12

Rabbit 卯 Branch: Hours 05:00–06:59, Wood & Trine

卯 Mao is branch 4 of 12: the Rabbit, Yin Wood, hours 05:00–06:59, month opening at Jīngzhé 惊蛰. It clashes with Rooster and joins the Wood trine with Pig and Goat.

卯Mao

What 卯 names

  • 01

    The hour

    05:00–06:59

    Traditionally the hour of the jade rabbit, which the moon was said to hold as it set.

  • 02

    The month

    惊蛰 Jīngzhé

    Awakening of Insects opens it — month 2 counted from 立春, not from January.

  • 03

    The direction

    East

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

  • 04

    The phase

    Wood

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

Inside 卯: season and hidden stems

spring · yin Wood. The branch contains 乙 (primary wood). Compare the full hidden-stem register →

All branch memberships

Its fixed relations

  • 冲 · Clash

    Rooster 酉

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

  • 六合 · Six harmony

    Dog 戌

    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 Rabbit in the Great Race

Place4of 12

Unable to swim the distance, the Rabbit crossed by hopping stepping stones, then finished the journey on a drifting log — a lesson about the route mattering more than the strength.

Read the complete Great Race story →

The five Rabbit pillars

  1. Cycle position4丁卯Yin Fire RabbitExample year 1987
  2. Cycle position16己卯Yin Earth RabbitExample year 1999
  3. Cycle position28辛卯Yin Metal RabbitExample year 2011
  4. Cycle position40癸卯Yin Water RabbitExample year 2023
  5. Cycle position52乙卯Yin Wood RabbitExample year 2035

Move around the circle

The twelve branches