⚠ The saju year turns at ipchun, around 4 February — not 1 January, and not Lunar New Year. Born in January or the first days of February? Your branch is the previous animal.
Yang fire at its peak, midsummer, midday. The Horse reads as visible energy — movement, warmth, the wish to be out in the open. It gives generously and spends itself quickly, so pacing is this branch’s lifelong subject.
Popular compatibility charts rarely say why. These come from two rule sets in the system — the harmony bindings (six harmony, three harmony) and the friction relations (clash, harm, destruction) — applied to your branch against all twelve. Everything below is computed, not written to fit.
You and the Tiger belong to the same three-branch group, which together produce one element. Read as a shared direction: you tend to want the same things.
Your branch and the Goat bind directly — the classic pairing, read as easy mutual fit that settles rather than sparks.
You and the Dog belong to the same three-branch group, which together produce one element. Read as a shared direction: you tend to want the same things.
You sit directly opposite the Rat on the cycle. Read as friction and movement — not doom, but a pairing that will not sit still.
A subtle mismatch with the Ox — the traditional reading is crossed wires rather than open conflict, the kind that shows up in timing and tone.
A minor breaking pattern with the Rabbit: something gets cracked and rebuilt. The mildest of the friction relations, and often the most productive.
No harmony or clash rule connects your branch to the Dragon. Traditionally that is read as neutral — the pairing is decided by the rest of both charts, not by the animals.
No harmony or clash rule connects your branch to the Snake. Traditionally that is read as neutral — the pairing is decided by the rest of both charts, not by the animals.
The same branch as yours. Two of the same energy recognise each other instantly — and compete for the same ground just as fast.
No harmony or clash rule connects your branch to the Monkey. Traditionally that is read as neutral — the pairing is decided by the rest of both charts, not by the animals.
No harmony or clash rule connects your branch to the Rooster. Traditionally that is read as neutral — the pairing is decided by the rest of both charts, not by the animals.
No harmony or clash rule connects your branch to the Pig. Traditionally that is read as neutral — the pairing is decided by the rest of both charts, not by the animals.
One branch each is a thin comparison
Two full charts give a 0–100 score with every component shown — day-pillar chemistry, element complementarity, and all the harmonies and clashes across four pillars, not one. The snapshot is free.
Compare our charts — freeYour day branch says far more than your year branch. If you were born on a Horse day, one of these is your day pillar.
1966, 1978, 1990, 2002, 2014, 2026 and every twelfth year before and after. One warning that matters: the saju year turns at ipchun, around 4 February — not on 1 January and not at Lunar New Year. If you were born in January or the first days of February, your branch is the previous animal.
By the branch rules: Tiger (Three Harmony), Goat (Six Harmony), Dog (Three Harmony). Friction relations run to Rat (Clash), Ox (Harm), Rabbit (Destruction). These describe one character out of the eight in each person's chart, so treat them as a first note rather than a verdict.
Only thinly. Your animal is your year branch — one of eight characters, shared with roughly a twelfth of everyone alive. The character that stands for you is the top of your day pillar, and it changes every single day. That is where a real reading starts.
Same twelve animals in the same order — Korea keeps the Rabbit where Vietnam uses the Cat. In Korean the Horse is the 말 (午), romanised Wu in Mandarin. What differs between the traditions is the reading culture, not the cycle.
Branch relations are computed from the Ioreum engine’s harmony and clash tables (ruleset ioreum-2026.07) — the same tables our compatibility score uses. The character readings are interpretation from tradition, not verified science.