TWELVE EARTHLY BRANCHES
Branch 11 of 12
- Yang Earth
- Dog
- Late Autumn
- 19:00–21:00
- Zodiac animal
- Dog
- Month
- Cold Dew
- Hour
- 19:00–21:00
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Xu — Autumn Earth Keeping a Fire
Xu closes autumn while holding a trace of Fire inside Earth. That combination makes the eleventh branch easy to misread: a Fire storehouse is not a Fire branch, and dry Earth is not necessarily hot Earth. Its layers are Yang Earth, Yin Metal and Yin Fire, set at the threshold before winter.
At a glance
- Element
- Yang Earth
- Zodiac animal
- Dog
- Hidden stems
- Yang Earth · Yin Metal · Yin Fire
- Month
- Cold Dew · 10/08–11/06
- Hour
- 19:00–21:00
- Direction
- West-northwest
- Seasonal frame
- Autumn · 申酉戌
- Three Harmony frame
- 寅 · 午 · 戌 → Fire
The enclosing ground
A bank of Earth around an ember is a useful image for Xu. The enclosure and what it contains are different things: Earth remains the main qi even when the Fire storehouse attracts most of the attention.
Metal after its peak
Yin Metal sits between the main Earth and residual Fire in the hidden-stem order. Xu can therefore participate in autumn's Metal gathering without being classified as Metal itself.
Dryness is not temperature
Both Goat and Dog are commonly classed as dry Earth, yet Goat closes summer and Dog closes autumn. Their climate and hidden roots differ; exchanging one for the other loses information.
What is hidden inside
- Yang Earth50%Primary qi · Earth
- Yin Metal33%Middle qi · Metal
- Yin Fire17%Residual qi · Fire
Xu contains Yang Earth as main qi, Yin Metal as middle qi and Yin Fire as residual qi. The diagram's 50/33/17 proportions follow a relative 3:2:1 weighting. They show the internal categories, not a fixed amount of Fire that a clash can release.
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 Dog hour is 19:00–21:00. Dog month extends from Cold Dew to Beginning of Winter, approximately October 8–November 6, with Frost's Descent inside it. These are solar-term boundaries; the actual local weather need not follow their names literally.
戌 and the other eleven
Rabbit–Dog Six Harmony is assigned to Fire. Rabbit's Yin Wood and Dog's residual Yin Fire help explain the association, but combination and actual transformation are separate judgments.
- 戌 · 卯Fire
戌 in each of the four pillars
Year branch
As a year branch, Xu belongs to the background layer of the reading. The Dog animal image cannot establish loyalty, family obligations or inherited property; those are not contained in the calendar fact.
Month branch
At the month position, late-autumn Earth sets the seasonal context. Residual Yin Fire may matter for warmth, but the presence of a Fire storehouse does not by itself make Fire seasonally dominant.
Day branch — spouse palace
A Yang Metal day pillar sees the main Yang Earth as Indirect Resource, whereas a Yang Water day pillar sees it as Seven Killings. The same enclosing Earth thus enters two very different spouse-palace structures.
Hour branch
The hour position can be discussed through the traditional theme of what is retained into later life. Hidden Fire is a symbolic reserve here, not proof of a hidden asset, a future inheritance or a guaranteed late success.
The five 戌 day pillars
Each stem that can sit on this branch makes a different pillar. Open one for the full profile.
- Yang Wood DogYang Wood encounters Yang Earth as Indirect Wealth, Yin Metal as Direct Officer and Yin Fire as Hurting Officer. The pillar holds distinct roles, not a single wealth label.
- Yang Fire DogYang Fire finds residual Yin Fire as Rob Wealth, while Yang Earth is Eating God and Yin Metal is Direct Wealth. A Fire storehouse is not the same as a main Fire root.
- Yang Earth DogYang Earth sits on its main root as Companion; Yin Metal is Hurting Officer and Yin Fire is Direct Resource. Root, output and support coexist.
- Yang Metal DogYang Metal receives Yang Earth as Indirect Resource, shares Metal with Yin Metal as Rob Wealth, and meets Yin Fire as Direct Officer.
- Yang Water DogYang Water meets Yang Earth as Seven Killings, Yin Metal as Direct Resource and Yin Fire as Direct Wealth. The dry branch contains no Water stem.
A classical note
Xu means that things have all passed away; hence the name Xu.
Records of the Grand Historian, Treatise on Pitch Pipes
This is the text's severe description of growth ending as winter approaches. Read it at the scale of the annual cycle, not as a prediction of death or loss for a person. The Fire-storehouse classification comes from another framework and should not be presented as the literal meaning of this sentence.
Frequently asked questions
Why is a Fire storehouse classified as Earth?
Earth is Xu's main element. Fire storehouse is its role in the Tiger–Horse–Dog frame, supported by residual Yin Fire within it. A role in a combination does not replace the branch's own element.
Does Dragon–Dog clash automatically open a wealth storehouse?
No. First determine whether Wealth is involved for the particular Day Master. Even then, a clash is not proof that money or an asset will become available.
How is Dog Earth different from Goat Earth?
Dog belongs to late autumn and contains Yang Earth, Yin Metal and Yin Fire. Goat belongs to late summer and contains Yin Earth, Yin Fire and Yin Wood. They share dryness, not the same season or roots.
Does a Dog branch mean a loyal personality?
The animal is a calendar correspondence. Loyalty is not established by a year, month, day or hour branch; the branch's useful technical information concerns its element, hidden stems and relationships.
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