The Chinese animal zodiac, or Shēngxiào, is a repeating cycle of 12 years, with each year represented by an animal and its reputed attributes. Traditionally, this system was used for the farming calendar, helping farmers plan their activities, but later it became a complete prediction tool for events and people. Although primarily known as Chinese yearly zodiacs, in BaZi and Chinese astrology, we use them to track monthly, daily, and hourly cycles.
Each year is divided into four seasons, and each season is further divided into three periods/months, representing the beginning, middle, and end of each season.
SPRING
In Chinese astrology, spring represents the beginning of the year and always starts with the Tiger, which means the Wood Element and new growth sprouting after the winter season. Rabbit represents the Wood Element in its most potent and prosperous form. In contrast, Dragon represents the Wet Earth Element that slowly takes over and buries dying Wood just before the summer.
Dragon is also a storage of Water Element, which is saved for the next season, summer, to help us survive the heat; that’s why we call it Wet Earth.
SUMMER
In the summer, Wood Element is slowly diminishing, and we see the rise of Fire and Earth Elements. Summer begins with the Snake, which symbolizes the arrival of warm weather. The Horse represents the Fire Element in its purest and most prosperous form. The Goat represents the end of summer, when the Element of Earth takes over and the heat is absorbed, making Earth warm and dry.
Goat is the Wood Element storage, collected during the summer and used in the coming cold months to start a Fire. Wood also represents food and harvest, like wheat and corn, that is stored for winter. Goat is classified as Dry Earth, the warmest Earth of all.
AUTUMN
In the autumn, Fire and Earth energies slowly diminish, and Metal gains strength. Monkey represents the beginning of autumn, while Rooster represents the peak of the Metal season. Every season ends with the Earth Element, in this case, Dog, which weakens and buries Metal within it.
The Dog is also a storage of the Fire Element, which we use to warm up during winter; therefore, the Dog is classified as Dry Earth.
WINTER
The cycle ends with the winter season and the Element of Water. Pig represents the beginning, while Rat represents the peak of the Water season. The Ox comes at the end of Winter, which brings wet and frozen Earth Element. At that stage, none of the Elements are very active due to cold conditions.
Ox is also a storage of Metal. Metal is needed for the spring season, when we start cutting Wood and plants. Because of this mixture of cold Earth and Metal, Ox is classified as Wet Earth and is the coldest Earth of all.
NOW, ABOUT THAT EARTH…
It’s important to know that Earth doesn’t have its season; therefore, Goat and late summer represent the peak of that Element in the BaZi calendar. But also, each season ends with the Earth period, like Dragon, Goat, Dog, and Ox. The Earth Element is Mother Earth, so after each season, all Elements return to Her to initiate a new season.
We can imagine this as the recycling process, resetting the system, and getting ready for the next season. Earth can be warm (Goat and Dog) or wet (Dragon and Ox); therefore, we often say there are six elements, not five, because these two types of Earth have slightly different properties and should be analyzed differently.