The Rat comes first of the twelve animals (십이지 sibiji). A Korean folk tale explains why: when the animals raced to greet the heavenly king, the rat rode on the ox's back and jumped off at the finish line. Cleverness beat size, and the tradition never forgot it.
In Saju the Rat is the branch 子 Ja. It is water, it is midwinter, and it is the hour from 23:00 to 01:00, when one day turns into the next. That makes it a branch of beginnings hidden in darkness: seeds under the snow.
Your animal sign is only your year branch, one of the eight characters in a Saju chart. The Rat also appears as a month branch (early December to early January) and in day and hour pillars, and each placement means something different. In Saju the Rat year begins at Ipchun, around 4 February, not on 1 January and not at the lunar new year.
- Quick witted
- Resourceful
- Sociable
- Thrifty and alert
The five Rats of the sixty year cycle
Every twelve years is a Rat 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 Rat's six harmony partner is the Ox 丑, and together they are read as turning toward earth: steady and practical. Its three harmony partners are the Monkey 申 and the Dragon 辰, the water trine, a group read as clever and fast moving.
Clash and wonjin
The Rat clashes with the Horse 午, water against fire, midnight against noon. Its wonjin (원진 怨嗔, the resentment pair that Korean gunghap pays special attention to) is the Goat 未. Both are read as friction to understand and work with, not a verdict on anyone.
- Six harmony: Ox
- Three harmony: Monkey and Dragon
- Clash: Horse
- Wonjin: Goat
The Rat with each animal
How the tradition reads the Rat 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 Same animal The same branch twice, read as a familiar rhythm: easy to read each other, easy to get stuck in the same place. | |
| Ox 丑 Six harmony A pair of branches that bond easily, read as comfort and a natural fit. | |
| Tiger 寅 No named pattern A neutral pairing: nothing in the tradition pulls these two branches together or apart. | |
| Rabbit 卯 Punishment Read as friction around pride, rules or favors. Useful to know about; never a verdict. | |
| Dragon 辰 Three harmony Two branches from the same trine, read as shared purpose and working well as a team. | |
| Snake 巳 No named pattern A neutral pairing: nothing in the tradition pulls these two branches together or apart. | |
| Horse 午 Clash Branches from opposite points of the year, read as movement and contrast that ask for give and take. | |
| Goat 未 HarmWonjin 원진 A subtle mismatch, read as small misunderstandings that grow if nobody names them. | |
| Monkey 申 Three harmony Two branches from the same trine, read as shared purpose and working well as a team. | |
| Rooster 酉 No named pattern A neutral pairing: nothing in the tradition pulls these two branches together or apart. | |
| Dog 戌 No named pattern A neutral pairing: nothing in the tradition pulls these two branches together or apart. | |
| Pig 亥 No named pattern A neutral pairing: nothing in the tradition pulls these two branches together or apart. |
Rat years and when they start
Each Rat 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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1924 | 甲子 Gap-ja | Blue Rat | 5 Feb 1924, 10:50 | 4 Feb 1925, 16:36 |
| 1936 | 丙子 Byeong-ja | Red Rat | 5 Feb 1936, 08:29 | 4 Feb 1937, 14:25 |
| 1948 | 戊子 Mu-ja | Yellow Rat | 5 Feb 1948, 06:42 | 4 Feb 1949, 12:23 |
| 1960 | 庚子 Gyeong-ja | White Rat | 5 Feb 1960, 03:53 | 4 Feb 1961, 09:52 |
| 1972 | 壬子 Im-ja | Black Rat | 5 Feb 1972, 02:19 | 4 Feb 1973, 08:04 |
| 1984 | 甲子 Gap-ja | Blue Rat | 5 Feb 1984, 00:18 | 4 Feb 1985, 06:12 |
| 1996 | 丙子 Byeong-ja | Red Rat | 4 Feb 1996, 22:08 | 4 Feb 1997, 04:02 |
| 2008 | 戊子 Mu-ja | Yellow Rat | 4 Feb 2008, 20:00 | 4 Feb 2009, 01:50 |
| 2020 | 庚子 Gyeong-ja | White Rat | 4 Feb 2020, 18:03 | 3 Feb 2021, 23:59 |