← Glossary
Chou (丑) — Ox Branch / Yin Earth
Also known as: Ox Branch
Second Earthly Branch; yin earth; the ox sign; rules pre-dawn (01:00–03:00) and the deep earth before spring stirs.
Chou is yin earth holding three hidden stems: 己 (yin earth), 癸 (yin water), 辛 (yin metal) — wet, cold, and metal-bearing soil. Symbolically the ox in the cold barn before dawn: patient, slow, capable of sustained labor. Chou Day Masters typically embody loyalty, endurance, frugality, and the willingness to do unglamorous foundational work.
Chou san-he with 巳 and 酉 transforms to metal (巳酉丑合化金), and six-unites with 子 to earth. It is conflicted by 未 (丑未相冲) and forms the strong 三刑 with 戌 and 未 (丑戌未三刑 — the "ungrateful punishment").