TWELVE EARTHLY BRANCHES
Branch 12 of 12
- Yin Water
- Pig
- Early Winter
- 21:00–23:00
- Zodiac animal
- Pig
- Month
- Start of Winter
- Hour
- 21:00–23:00
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Hai — A Root Beneath Winter Water
The last branch in the sequence is not an empty ending. Hai contains Yang Water and Yang Wood: winter Water already holds a root for the Wood cycle. Compare it with Rat, which contains only Yin Water, and the distinction becomes clear—Hai is a two-element branch whose Water can feed something inside it.
At a glance
- Element
- Yin Water
- Zodiac animal
- Pig
- Hidden stems
- Yang Water · Yang Wood
- Month
- Start of Winter · 11/07–12/06
- Hour
- 21:00–23:00
- Direction
- North-northwest
- Seasonal frame
- Winter · 亥子丑
- Three Harmony frame
- 亥 · 卯 · 未 → Wood
The submerged root
A root beneath water is a teaching image for Hai's hidden Yang Wood. It describes potential nourishment, not visible spring growth; cold and the surrounding chart still matter.
Two kinds of polarity
Hai is classified as Yin, yet both its hidden stems are Yang. Branch polarity and stem polarity describe different layers, so neither label should overwrite the other.
End of a list, start of a season
Hai is twelfth in branch order but first in winter's three-branch sequence. Numerical order, seasonal position and the start of a calendar year are separate conventions.
What is hidden inside
- Yang Water60%Primary qi · Water
- Yang Wood40%Middle qi · Wood
Yang Water is the main qi and Yang Wood is the second hidden stem. The illustration assigns relative weights of 3:2, giving 60% and 40%. These are diagram weights within Hai, not the proportions of Water and Wood in an entire birth chart.
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
Hai hour spans 21:00–23:00. Its month begins at Beginning of Winter and ends at Major Snow, roughly November 7–December 6. The actual solar-term instant determines a boundary birth; the midnight date-change question belongs to the following Rat interval, not to Hai as a whole.
亥 and the other eleven
Tiger–Pig Six Harmony is assigned to Wood. Both branches contain Yang Wood, and Hai also supplies Water, but the combination's presence does not establish completed transformation.
- 亥 · 寅Wood
亥 in each of the four pillars
Year branch
A Hai year identifies the year's branch, not the Day Master's element. The Pig sign therefore cannot tell you whether hidden Wood is a resource, an output or a wealth factor for a particular person.
Month branch
In the month position, Hai establishes early-winter Water conditions. Wood has a root within that cold setting; having a root and having conditions for vigorous growth are distinct judgments.
Day branch — spouse palace
For Yin Fire on Hai, Yang Water is Direct Officer and Yang Wood is Direct Resource. For Yin Earth on Hai, they become Direct Wealth and Direct Officer. These two day pillars share a branch but not the same spouse-palace roles.
Hour branch
At the hour position, Hai places its Water–Wood relationship in the traditional later-life and output layer. A late-evening birth supplies no evidence by itself of winter season, a child's temperament or a person's sleep habits.
The five 亥 day pillars
Each stem that can sit on this branch makes a different pillar. Open one for the full profile.
- Yin Wood PigYin Wood receives Yang Water as Direct Resource and meets Yang Wood as Rob Wealth. The hidden Wood is a related root, not the same stem as the Day Master.
- Yin Fire PigYin Fire encounters Direct Officer through Yang Water and Direct Resource through Yang Wood. The Water–Wood production link connects two different roles.
- Yin Earth PigYin Earth sees Yang Water as Direct Wealth and Yang Wood as Direct Officer. There is no hidden Earth root in this branch.
- Yin Metal PigYin Metal produces Yang Water as Hurting Officer and controls Yang Wood as Direct Wealth. Hai itself supplies no Metal root.
- Yin Water PigYin Water meets Yang Water as Rob Wealth and produces Yang Wood as Hurting Officer. A Water branch can contain an output as well as a fellow element.
A classical note
Hai means encompassing: Yang qi is stored below.
Records of the Grand Historian, Treatise on Pitch Pipes
The passage describes concealed seasonal vitality. It does not say that someone born under Hai hides feelings or possesses secret abilities. Hidden Yang Wood is a separate technical classification that helps illustrate how winter storage and a later growth cycle can be discussed together.
Frequently asked questions
Is Hai pure Water?
No. It contains Yang Water and Yang Wood. Rat, by contrast, has only Yin Water in the hidden-stem table.
Why is a Yin branch made of Yang stems?
The branch's Yin classification and the polarity of its hidden stems are different attributes. Hai remains Yin Water while containing Yang Water and Yang Wood.
Does Hai automatically mean Traveling Horse?
No. A common calculation assigns Hai as Traveling Horse when the reference year or day branch belongs to Snake–Rooster–Ox. The reference must be identified; merely finding Hai is insufficient.
Does the last branch mean the end of the year?
Not by itself. Branch sequence, solar months, lunar years and the year-pillar boundary are different conventions. Hai begins winter's branch sequence even though it closes the list of twelve.
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