In Korea the rabbit is famous for living on the moon, pounding rice cakes under a cinnamon tree, and for outwitting the dragon king's turtle in the old tale of the rabbit's liver (토끼전). It is small, quick and much cleverer than it looks.
In Saju the Rabbit is the branch 卯 Myo. It is pure wood, the middle of spring, and the hours from 05:00 to 07:00, sunrise. It is read as gentle growth at its fullest: blossom, green shoots, the east.
Your animal is your year branch and one of eight characters. The Rabbit also appears as a month branch (early March to early April) and in day and hour pillars. The Rabbit year begins at Ipchun, around 4 February.
- Gentle
- Quick thinking
- Tactful
- Artistic
The five Rabbits of the sixty year cycle
Every twelve years is a Rabbit year, and each one wears the colour of its heavenly stem. The same colour comes back every sixty years. Each card opens the day pillar with the same two characters.
Harmonies
The Rabbit's six harmony partner is the Dog 戌, read as turning toward fire. Its three harmony partners are the Pig 亥 and the Goat 未, the wood trine, read as kind and creative.
Clash and wonjin
The Rabbit clashes with the Rooster 酉, wood against metal, dawn against dusk. It forms a punishment with the Rat. Its wonjin is the Monkey 申. The tradition reads these as tension that sharpens both sides when handled with care.
- Six harmony: Dog
- Three harmony: Pig and Goat
- Clash: Rooster
- Wonjin: Monkey
The Rabbit with each animal
How the tradition reads the Rabbit branch meeting each of the twelve, as it would in gunghap between two year or day branches. One pair of branches is a small part of two charts; compare the full charts for the whole picture.
| Rat 子 Punishment Read as friction around pride, rules or favors. Useful to know about; never a verdict. | |
| Ox 丑 No named pattern A neutral pairing: nothing in the tradition pulls these two branches together or apart. | |
| Tiger 寅 No named pattern A neutral pairing: nothing in the tradition pulls these two branches together or apart. | |
| Rabbit 卯 Same animal The same branch twice, read as a familiar rhythm: easy to read each other, easy to get stuck in the same place. | |
| Dragon 辰 Harm A subtle mismatch, read as small misunderstandings that grow if nobody names them. | |
| Snake 巳 No named pattern A neutral pairing: nothing in the tradition pulls these two branches together or apart. | |
| Horse 午 No named pattern A neutral pairing: nothing in the tradition pulls these two branches together or apart. | |
| Goat 未 Three harmony Two branches from the same trine, read as shared purpose and working well as a team. | |
| Monkey 申 Wonjin 원진 The resentment pair of Korean gunghap: read as irritation without an obvious cause, eased by talking it through. | |
| Rooster 酉 Clash Branches from opposite points of the year, read as movement and contrast that ask for give and take. | |
| Dog 戌 Six harmony A pair of branches that bond easily, read as comfort and a natural fit. | |
| Pig 亥 Three harmony Two branches from the same trine, read as shared purpose and working well as a team. |
Rabbit years and when they start
Each Rabbit year begins at Ipchun, shown here in Korea Standard Time. If you were born before the start time, your year pillar belongs to the previous animal.
| Year | Pillar | Color animal | Starts (KST) | Ends (KST) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1927 | 丁卯 Jeong-myo | Red Rabbit | 5 Feb 1927, 04:30 | 5 Feb 1928, 10:16 |
| 1939 | 己卯 Gi-myo | Yellow Rabbit | 5 Feb 1939, 02:10 | 5 Feb 1940, 08:07 |
| 1951 | 辛卯 Sin-myo | White Rabbit | 5 Feb 1951, 00:13 | 5 Feb 1952, 05:52 |
| 1963 | 癸卯 Gye-myo | Black Rabbit | 4 Feb 1963, 22:07 | 5 Feb 1964, 04:04 |
| 1975 | 乙卯 Eul-myo | Blue Rabbit | 4 Feb 1975, 19:59 | 5 Feb 1976, 01:39 |
| 1987 | 丁卯 Jeong-myo | Red Rabbit | 4 Feb 1987, 17:51 | 4 Feb 1988, 23:43 |
| 1999 | 己卯 Gi-myo | Yellow Rabbit | 4 Feb 1999, 15:57 | 4 Feb 2000, 21:40 |
| 2011 | 辛卯 Sin-myo | White Rabbit | 4 Feb 2011, 13:32 | 4 Feb 2012, 19:22 |
| 2023 | 癸卯 Gye-myo | Black Rabbit | 4 Feb 2023, 11:42 | 4 Feb 2024, 17:26 |