子 is the first of the twelve earthly branches
子 is the first of the twelve earthly branches and belongs to the Rat. When the branch of the birth month is 子, the season is winter and the element that owns the season is Water.
When the branch of the birth day is 子, this character is the spouse position. Below you can see which stems this branch holds and what they are to the day stem.
The stems this branch holds (hidden stems)
A branch is one visible character but holds stems inside. The share is how the thirty days of the branch are divided among the stems, and the principal stem is the branch's representative energy.
| Stem | Element and polarity | Position | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yang Water (壬) | Water Yang | residual (餘氣) | 34.3% |
| Yin Water (癸) | Water Yin | principal (本氣) | 65.7% |
The strength of the five elements when the month branch is 子
When the branch of the birth month is 子, each element gets a state (Wang, Sang, Hyu, Su, Sa), and that state becomes the multiplier applied to its strength.
| Element | State | Multiplier |
|---|---|---|
| Wood | Sang (相) | 1.2 |
| Fire | Sa (死) | 0.5 |
| Earth | Su (囚) | 0.7 |
| Metal | Hyu (休) | 0.9 |
| Water | Wang (旺) | 1.5 |
The Ten Gods by day stem
The same hidden stems of 子 become different Ten Gods depending on the day stem. When 子 is the day branch, this table is the reading of the spouse position.
| Day stem | Yang Water (壬) — residual (餘氣) | Yin Water (癸) — principal (本氣) |
|---|---|---|
| Yang Wood (甲) | Unconventional Support (偏印) | Nurture (正印) |
| Yin Wood (乙) | Nurture (正印) | Unconventional Support (偏印) |
| Yang Fire (丙) | Challenger (偏官) | Authority (正官) |
| Yin Fire (丁) | Authority (正官) | Challenger (偏官) |
| Yang Earth (戊) | Windfall (偏財) | Steady Wealth (正財) |
| Yin Earth (己) | Steady Wealth (正財) | Windfall (偏財) |
| Yang Metal (庚) | Expression (食神) | Disruptor (傷官) |
| Yin Metal (辛) | Disruptor (傷官) | Expression (食神) |
| Yang Water (壬) | Companion (比肩) | Rival (劫財) |
| Yin Water (癸) | Rival (劫財) | Companion (比肩) |