TWELVE EARTHLY BRANCHES
Branch 3 of 12
- Spring Gate
- Yang Wood
- Tiger
- 03:00–05:00
- Zodiac animal
- Tiger
- Month
- Start of Spring
- Hour
- 03:00–05:00
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Yin — Wood Before Sunrise
Yin is the third Earthly Branch and the first branch of spring: Yang Wood pushing before sunrise. Its main hidden stem is Yang Wood, backed by Yang Fire and Yang Earth. Unlike Chou, which keeps life stored, Yin commits energy to a direction and starts the season moving.
At a glance
- Element
- Yang Wood
- Zodiac animal
- Tiger
- Hidden stems
- Yang Wood · Yang Fire · Yang Earth
- Month
- Start of Spring · 02/04–03/05
- Hour
- 03:00–05:00
- Direction
- East-northeast
- Seasonal frame
- Spring · 寅卯辰
- Three Harmony frame
- 寅 · 午 · 戌 → Fire
The first push
Yin is a shoot forcing a path through cold ground. It wants a direction it can act on, not one more round of permission, theory or perfect preparation.
What it starts
Initiative, courage and contagious momentum. Yin is valuable at blank-page moments, when a team needs someone to name the route and make the first irreversible move.
What must follow
A beginning is not a system. Define the handoff, the finish line and the person who maintains the result, or Yin's next start will compete with its unfinished first one.
What is hidden inside
- Yang Wood50%Primary qi · Wood
- Yang Fire33%Middle qi · Fire
- Yang Earth17%Residual qi · Earth
Yin holds three Yang stems: Yang Wood as main qi, Yang Fire as middle qi and Yang Earth as residual qi. The 50/33/17 display is the engine's shared 3:2:1 root-weight model. It makes the calculation visible; it is not a classical claim of literal volume.
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 Yin month begins at Beginning of Spring and runs to Awakening of Insects (about Feb 4–Mar 5). Yin hour is 03:00–05:00, when night remains but the horizon is changing. Both mark a start that becomes real before it becomes obvious.
寅 and the other eleven
Yin–Hai are a Six Harmony pair assigned to Wood. Hai Water supplies the spring root, but whether the pair truly transforms into Wood still depends on season and the rest of the chart.
- 寅 · 亥Wood
寅 in each of the four pillars
Year branch
Yin in the year branch often points to an early environment shaped by starts, moves or strong expectations of independence. The family story tends to reward the person who goes first.
Month branch
Yin in the month branch means Yang Wood opens the spring and holds seasonal authority. The whole chart must show whether that rising Wood has Water for supply, Fire for expression and Metal for useful shaping.
Day branch — spouse palace
Yin in the day branch places Yang Wood, Yang Fire and Yang Earth in the spouse palace. Relationships move through shared plans; the recurring risk is deciding the route before the other person has joined it.
Hour branch
Yin in the hour branch gives future plans a strong ignition point. Children, later work or private ambitions may begin boldly; completion improves when maintenance is assigned from day one.
The five 寅 day pillars
Each stem that can sit on this branch makes a different pillar. Open one for the full profile.
- Yang Wood TigerYang Wood rooted in Yang Wood: a forceful beginning that needs pruning and a finish line.
- Yang Fire TigerFire fed directly by spring Wood: visible drive, with fuel management more important than another spark.
- Yang Earth TigerEarth over rising Wood: structure meets pressure from below and works best when it can flex.
- Yang Metal TigerMetal over Wood: tool and timber in one pillar, productive when the cut has a clear purpose.
- Yang Water TigerWater feeding spring Wood: abundant beginnings that become useful when given a channel.
A classical note
Yin says that all things have begun to grow, writhing into life; therefore it is called Yin.
Records of the Grand Historian, Treatise on Pitch Pipes
The early explanation describes movement in the ground, not a Tiger's temperament. Yin names life beginning to stretch and stir; the Tiger is the later animal marker. Read it as seasonal ignition, then ask what the other seven characters let that beginning become.
Frequently asked questions
What does Yin mean in a BaZi chart?
Yin is a Yang Wood branch and the Tiger sign. It marks 03:00–05:00, the month from Beginning of Spring to Awakening of Insects and the east-northeast. Its hidden stems are Yang Wood, Yang Fire and Yang Earth.
Why does the BaZi year begin with the Yin month?
BaZi follows solar terms. The Yin month begins at the exact Beginning of Spring transition, which also marks the standard BaZi year boundary; it does not wait for Lunar New Year. Births near that instant need the correct year, time zone and calculation.
Is a Yin–Shen clash always bad?
No. Wood and Metal oppose each other, and both branches are associated with movement. The clash can bring travel, relocation, a job change or a decisive course correction. Its value depends on whether the chart needs movement and which element it needs.
Does one Yin branch create punishment or harm by itself?
No. Yin needs another branch to form a relation. Si creates both harm and one punishment edge; Shen creates both clash and one punishment edge; the full three-way punishment needs Yin, Si and Shen together. A lone Yin is none of those.
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