The 12 Zodiac Signs and the Day Pillars
This page links your Western sun sign to the earthly branches of BaZi. The traditional Chinese table of twelve stations pairs each of the twelve signs with a branch, and following that pairing shows how your sign relates to your Day Pillar.
Signs and their paired branches
| Sign | Dates (2027) | Element | Paired branch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aries | Mar 20 to Apr 19 | Fire | 戌 (Dog) |
| Taurus | Apr 20 to May 20 | Earth | 酉 (Rooster) |
| Gemini | May 21 to Jun 20 | Air | 申 (Monkey) |
| Cancer | Jun 21 to Jul 22 | Water | 未 (Goat) |
| Leo | Jul 23 to Aug 22 | Fire | 午 (Horse) |
| Virgo | Aug 23 to Sep 22 | Earth | 巳 (Snake) |
| Libra | Sep 23 to Oct 22 | Air | 辰 (Dragon) |
| Scorpio | Oct 23 to Nov 21 | Water | 卯 (Rabbit) |
| Sagittarius | Nov 22 to Dec 21 | Fire | 寅 (Tiger) |
| Capricorn | Dec 22 to Jan 19 | Earth | 丑 (Ox) |
| Aquarius | Jan 20 to Feb 17 | Air | 子 (Rat) |
| Pisces | Feb 18 to Mar 19 | Water | 亥 (Pig) |
Four elements and the Three Harmonies
Western signs fall into four elements, three signs each. Swap each sign for its paired branch and the four groups line up exactly with the four Three Harmony frames of BaZi. Only Fire keeps its name; Earth becomes the Metal frame, Air the Water frame and Water the Wood frame.
- Fire = Fire frame 寅午戌
Aries, Leo, Sagittarius
- Earth = Metal frame 巳酉丑
Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn
- Air = Water frame 申子辰
Gemini, Libra, Aquarius
- Water = Wood frame 亥卯未
Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces
Questions
I was born on a cusp day
The sign changes the moment the Sun crosses a 30° mark, and that moment moves by about a day from year to year. If you were born on a cusp day, enter your birth time and place on the home page. The site uses the same calculation it uses for the solar terms.
Is the paired branch the same as my Chinese zodiac animal?
No. Your zodiac animal is the branch of your birth year. The paired branch is the branch of the patch of sky the Sun was in on your birthday. Your Day Pillar is the stem and branch of your birth day, so this page compares the paired branch with your day branch.
Did people really read signs this way?
When the Western zodiac reached China, its twelve signs were matched by name to the twelve stations. The stations sit about 15° off the Western signs, so the two skies do not line up exactly. Here the name pairing is used as a playful bridge.
Find my sign and Day Pillar All 60 Day PillarsYour sign is set by the 30° stretch of ecliptic longitude the Sun was crossing at your birth. The cusps (the mid-month solar terms such as the spring equinox) shift by about a day from year to year, so if you were born on a cusp day, add your birth time too. The sign-to-branch pairing follows the names in the traditional Chinese table of twelve stations, whose boundaries sit about 15° off the Western signs. Read it for fun.