Stems, branches and the 60-pair cycle

A two-character notation pairing one of ten heavenly stems with one of twelve earthly branches.

Heavenly stems 10 + Earthly branches 12. One step together. Jiǎ Zǐ → Yǐ Chǒu → Bǐng Yín
The stem and branch each advance one place together. Jia–Zi, Yi–Chou and Bing–Yin begin the sequence; after 60 steps both return to the first pair. Ring segments show order, not compass directions or times.

Why 60 pairs?

Stems repeat every 10 steps and branches every 12. The shortest interval that returns both to the start is 60 steps. This sequence is different from freely combining all 10 × 12 possibilities.

View all 60 pairs and explanation

A stem–branch is two characters made by pairing one of the ten heavenly stems with one of the twelve earthly branches. Pairing them in order yields sixty combinations (the sexagenary cycle), which repeat every sixty units. A saju chart turns the year, month, day and hour of birth each into one such pair, which is why it has eight characters; the luck pillars and the year, month and day cycles are all written the same way. Every character carries one of the five elements and a polarity, and all reckoning in this tradition is a matter of reading the relations between them. A stem–branch is in itself neither good nor bad — meaning always arises from its relation to the other characters.

  1. 1.Jiǎ Zǐ
  2. 2.Yǐ Chǒu
  3. 3.Bǐng Yín
  4. 4.Dīng Mǎo
  5. 5.Wù Chén
  6. 6.Jǐ Sì
  7. 7.Gēng Wǔ
  8. 8.Xīn Wèi
  9. 9.Rén Shēn
  10. 10.Guǐ Yǒu
  11. 11.Jiǎ Xū
  12. 12.Yǐ Hài
  13. 13.Bǐng Zǐ
  14. 14.Dīng Chǒu
  15. 15.Wù Yín
  16. 16.Jǐ Mǎo
  17. 17.Gēng Chén
  18. 18.Xīn Sì
  19. 19.Rén Wǔ
  20. 20.Guǐ Wèi
  21. 21.Jiǎ Shēn
  22. 22.Yǐ Yǒu
  23. 23.Bǐng Xū
  24. 24.Dīng Hài
  25. 25.Wù Zǐ
  26. 26.Jǐ Chǒu
  27. 27.Gēng Yín
  28. 28.Xīn Mǎo
  29. 29.Rén Chén
  30. 30.Guǐ Sì
  31. 31.Jiǎ Wǔ
  32. 32.Yǐ Wèi
  33. 33.Bǐng Shēn
  34. 34.Dīng Yǒu
  35. 35.Wù Xū
  36. 36.Jǐ Hài
  37. 37.Gēng Zǐ
  38. 38.Xīn Chǒu
  39. 39.Rén Yín
  40. 40.Guǐ Mǎo
  41. 41.Jiǎ Chén
  42. 42.Yǐ Sì
  43. 43.Bǐng Wǔ
  44. 44.Dīng Wèi
  45. 45.Wù Shēn
  46. 46.Jǐ Yǒu
  47. 47.Gēng Xū
  48. 48.Xīn Hài
  49. 49.Rén Zǐ
  50. 50.Guǐ Chǒu
  51. 51.Jiǎ Yín
  52. 52.Yǐ Mǎo
  53. 53.Bǐng Chén
  54. 54.Dīng Sì
  55. 55.Wù Wǔ
  56. 56.Jǐ Wèi
  57. 57.Gēng Shēn
  58. 58.Xīn Yǒu
  59. 59.Rén Xū
  60. 60.Guǐ Hài
Explore hidden stems

Source: reviewed stem–branch glossary and the calculation engine’s ordered stems, branches and sexagenary cycle.