The twelve earthly branches, zodiac animals and traditional double-hours

The twelve earthly branches, in order, are Zi, Chou, Yin, Mao, Chen, Si, Wu, Wei, Shen, You, Xu and Hai. Their usual animal correspondences are rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog and pig.

A common modern conversion assigns the Zi double-hour to 23:00–01:00, followed by Chou, Yin, Mao and the other branches in two-hour intervals; Wu is 11:00–13:00. This is a simplified comparison. Historical timekeeping, longitude, legal time zones, daylight-saving time and whether a school uses apparent solar time can affect a specific conversion. Branches also mark years, months and days; a branch name does not always refer to a zodiac animal.

Introductory cultural reference, not personal fortune-telling, medical or investment advice. Symbolism expresses a wish, not a guaranteed effect.