Find Stem of Hours by the Stem of Day Master
The Five Rats Seeking Hours Crossreference Table
The Stem-Branch Calendar of Chinese astrology is a perpetual calendar. It applies to the cycle of the Chinese astrological year, month, day, and hour. The unit of the Chinese astrological hour is two hours. There are 12 astrological hours a day. A complete cycle of the Stem-Branch is 60. That means the sequence of Chinese astrological hours will repeat every five days. Therefore, we have a cross-reference table for the relationship between the Day Stem-Branch and the Hour Stem-Branch. Since the table starts from the Rat, we call this table 'Five Rats Seek Hours'.
When looking for the Stem of the astrological Hour, don't use the 'Five Tigers Seek Months', which is the cross-reference table of the Year Stem-Branch and the Month Stem-Branch. Otherwise, you will pick the wrong Stem for the Rat Hour or Cow Hour.
Chinese Zodiac Table - Five Rats Seek Hours
| Zodiac Hours below the Day Master | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day Stem | Yang Wood | Yin Wood | Yang Fire | Yin Fire | Yang Earth |
| Yin Earth | Yang Metal | Yin Metal | Yang Water | Yin Water | |
| Rat 0-1 | Yang Wood Rat | Yang Fire Rat | Yang Earth Rat | Yang Metal Rat | Yang Water Rat |
| Cow 1-3 | Yin Wood Cow | Yin Fire Cow | Yin Earth Cow | Yin Metal Cow | Yin Water Cow |
| Tiger 3-5 | Yang Fire Tiger | Yang Earth Tiger | Yang Metal Tiger | Yang Water Tiger | Yang Wood Tiger |
| Rabbit 5-7 | Yin Fire Rabbit | Yin Earth Rabbit | Yin Metal Rabbit | Yin Water Rabbit | Yin Wood Rabbit |
| Dragon 7-9 | Yang Earth Dragon | Yang Metal Dragon | Yang Water Dragon | Yang Wood Dragon | Yang Fire Dragon |
| Snake 9-11 | Yin Earth Snake | Yin Metal Snake | Yin Water Snake | Yin Wood Snake | Yin Fire Snake |
| Horse 11-13 | Yang Metal Horse | Yang Water Horse | Yang Wood Horse | Yang Fire Horse | Yang Earth Horse |
| Sheep 13-15 | Yin Metal Sheep | Yin Water Sheep | Yin Wood Sheep | Yin Fire Sheep | Yin Earth Sheep |
| Monkey 15-17 | Yang Water Monkey | Yang Wood Monkey | Yang Fire Monkey | Yang Earth Monkey | Yang Metal Monkey |
| Chicken 17-19 | Yin Water Chicken | Yin Wood Chicken | Yin Fire Chicken | Yin Earth Chicken | Yin Metal Chicken |
| Dog 19-21 | Yang Wood Dog | Yang Fire Dog | Yang Earth Dog | Yang Metal Dog | Yang Water Dog |
| Pig 21-23 | Yin Wood Pig | Yin Fire Pig | Yin Earth Pig | Yin Metal Pig | Yin Water Pig |
| Rat 23-24 | Yang Fire Rat | Yang Earth Rat | Yang Metal Rat | Yang Water Rat | Yang Wood Rat |
The time between midnight to one a.m. is called the Early Rat hour. The time between 23 p.m. to midnight is called the Late Rat hour. Some Chinese horoscope books don't separate Rat hours. Readers might not notice the difference.
Finding the Stem of the Month - Five Tigers Seeks Months