The Celestial Stems and Terrestrial Branches: The Chinese Spatiotemporal Coordinate System

The Ten Celestial Stems

Jia, Yi, Bing, Ding, Wu, Ji, Geng, Xin, Ren, Gui

| Stem | Yin/Yang | Element | Direction | Season | |------|----------|---------|-----------|--------| | Jia | Yang | Wood | East | Spring | | Yi | Yin | Wood | East | Spring | | Bing | Yang | Fire | South | Summer | | Ding | Yin | Fire | South | Summer | | Wu | Yang | Earth | Center | Four Seasons | | Ji | Yin | Earth | Center | Four Seasons | | Geng | Yang | Metal | West | Autumn | | Xin | Yin | Metal | West | Autumn | | Ren | Yang | Water | North | Winter | | Gui | Yin | Water | North | Winter |

The Twelve Terrestrial Branches

Zi, Chou, Yin, Mao, Chen, Si, Wu, Wei, Shen, You, Xu, Hai

| Branch | Element | Zodiac | Month | Hour | |--------|---------|--------|-----------|----------| | Zi | Water | Rat | November | 23-01 | | Chou | Earth | Ox | December | 01-03 | | Yin | Wood | Tiger | January | 03-05 | | Mao | Wood | Rabbit | February | 05-07 | | Chen | Earth | Dragon | March | 07-09 | | Si | Fire | Snake | April | 09-11 | | Wu | Fire | Horse | May | 11-13 | | Wei | Earth | Goat | June | 13-15 | | Shen | Metal | Monkey | July | 15-17 | | You | Metal | Rooster| August | 17-19 | | Xu | Earth | Dog | September | 19-21 | | Hai | Water | Pig | October | 21-23 |

The Sixty-Year Cycle

The Ten Celestial Stems and Twelve Terrestrial Branches are paired sequentially to form sixty combinations, known as the "Sixty-Year Cycle," used for recording years, months, days, and hours.

Relationships Among the Terrestrial Branches

• Three Harmonies (San He): Shen-Zi-Chen form a Water combination, Yin-Wu-Xu form a Fire combination, Hai-Mao-Wei form a Wood combination, Si-You-Chou form a Metal combination.
• Six Harmonies (Liu He): Zi-Chou, Yin-Hai, Mao-Xu, Chen-You, Si-Shen, Wu-Wei.
• Six Clashes (Liu Chong): Zi-Wu, Chou-Wei, Yin-Shen, Mao-You, Chen-Xu, Si-Hai.

These relationships are extremely important in destiny analysis.