TWELVE EARTHLY BRANCHES
Branch 2 of 12
- Cold Earth
- Ox
- Winter Store
- 01:00–03:00
- Zodiac animal
- Ox
- Month
- Minor Cold
- Hour
- 01:00–03:00
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Chou — Earth Under Winter
Chou is the second Earthly Branch: cold Yin Earth at the end of winter, when life is stored rather than visible. Its main hidden stem is Yin Earth, with Yin Water and Yin Metal beneath it. Chou does not rush emergence; it preserves what must survive until spring.
At a glance
- Element
- Yin Earth
- Zodiac animal
- Ox
- Hidden stems
- Yin Earth · Yin Water · Yin Metal
- Month
- Minor Cold · 01/06–02/03
- Hour
- 01:00–03:00
- Direction
- North-northeast
- Seasonal frame
- Winter · 亥子丑
- Three Harmony frame
- 巳 · 酉 · 丑 → Metal
Winter ground
Chou is packed, damp soil before dawn. Its first move is to contain: keep the promise, hold the reserve, finish the unglamorous part that lets everything else continue.
What it preserves
Patience, continuity and practical memory. Chou is strongest when a task needs someone to keep turning up after novelty, praise and easy momentum have disappeared.
Where it binds
Storage can become backlog. A decision date, a written division of work and a regular clearing-out stop endurance from hardening into silent refusal.
What is hidden inside
- Yin Earth50%Primary qi · Earth
- Yin Water33%Middle qi · Water
- Yin Metal17%Residual qi · Metal
Chou holds three hidden stems: Yin Earth as the main qi, Yin Water as the middle qi and Yin Metal as the residual qi. The 50/33/17 graphic is this engine's 3:2:1 root-weight model, not a claim that a branch contains literal physical percentages.
Where it falls in the year and in the day
- 寅
- 卯
- 辰
- 巳
- 午
- 未
- 申
- 酉
- 戌
- 亥
- 子
- 丑
- 子
- 丑
- 寅
- 卯
- 辰
- 巳
- 午
- 未
- 申
- 酉
- 戌
- 亥
The Chou month runs from Minor Cold to Beginning of Spring (about Jan 6–Feb 3), the final month of winter. Chou hour is 01:00–03:00: the day is already new, but dawn has not started. Both positions describe work continuing without visible daylight.
丑 and the other eleven
Chou–Zi are a Six Harmony pair assigned to Earth. The bond contains and steadies Water, but a full elemental transformation still depends on season and the rest of the chart.
- 丑 · 子Earth
丑 in each of the four pillars
Year branch
Chou in the year branch often describes an early environment built around duty, thrift or continuity. What was reliable may have mattered more than what was exciting.
Month branch
Chou in the month branch means late-winter Earth holds the seasonal command. The first chart question is temperature: whether Fire can warm the cold, damp storehouse enough to be useful.
Day branch — spouse palace
Chou in the day branch places Yin Earth, Yin Water and Yin Metal in the spouse palace. Care is often shown through reliability; unspoken scorekeeping is the pattern to catch early.
Hour branch
Chou in the hour branch favours plans that mature slowly and survive interruptions. Give future projects milestones, or 'not yet' can quietly become 'never released'.
The five 丑 day pillars
Each stem that can sit on this branch makes a different pillar. Open one for the full profile.
- Yin Wood OxTender Wood over packed winter Earth: growth is possible, but the soil must first be loosened.
- Yin Fire OxA small Fire warming cold ground. Quiet, well-placed heat changes more than force does.
- Yin Earth OxYin Earth doubled: exceptional staying power, with deadlines needed to keep waiting from becoming stasis.
- Yin Metal OxFinished Metal kept in winter Earth: precise and reserved, most useful when brought out on time.
- Yin Water OxRain meeting cold soil: a deep reserve that needs warmth and movement to avoid turning to mud.
A classical note
Chou means bound: Yang qi is above but has not descended; all things remain knotted, not yet daring to emerge.
Records of the Grand Historian, Treatise on Pitch Pipes
The old explanation is seasonal, not zoological. Chou names the state of being tied and held before emergence; the Ox became its later animal marker. This is why Chou is read as storage and endurance, but not as a verdict that every person with Chou must be stubborn.
Frequently asked questions
What does Chou mean in a BaZi chart?
Chou is a Yin Earth branch and the Ox sign. It marks 01:00–03:00, the month from Minor Cold to Beginning of Spring and the north-northeast. Its hidden stems are Yin Earth, Yin Water and Yin Metal.
Why is Chou called a storehouse branch?
Chou is one of the four Earth storehouse branches, together with Chen, Wei and Xu. It closes winter and retains Water and Metal qi inside Earth. That does not automatically mean a 'wealth vault': what is stored and whether it helps depend on the Day Master and the full chart.
Is a Chou–Wei clash always bad?
No. It is a clash between cold, damp Earth and warm, dry Earth. It can expose old obligations, move property or routines, and force a delayed choice. Whether that release helps or hurts depends on what the chart needs.
Why does an Earth branch hide Water and Metal?
Hidden stems record the season's layers. Chou is late winter: Yin Earth is taking form, Water still carries the season, and Metal remains as residual qi. The three stems are not three separate personalities; they are one seasonal transition.
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