The monkey

The monkey is the ninth of the twelve earthly branches.

Its place in the cycle

Phase: metal
Season: the start of autumn
Double hour: 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Direction: west-southwest
Linked with: rat and dragon — the water group of three
Facing: the tiger

The monkey carries metal, but belongs to the water group of three. As with the snake, this is where it becomes plain that the cycle runs on two orders at once — that of the seasons, and that of the links between the branches. The interpretation works with both.

What tradition hands down

Nimbleness, inventiveness, curiosity, an eye for solutions and for loopholes — and the other side of it: inconstancy, mockery, difficulty with anything that drags on.

In this order metal stands for what divides and what puts to the test; in the monkey that shows as a skill in making distinctions, not as the severity it takes on in the rooster.

What the year animal is worth

The coarsest of the four pillars. Anyone who wants it more exact has the year, the month, the day and the hour determined — the day pillar stands for the person themselves. The heavenly stem is part of it.

Checking the start of the year

Between late January and mid-February the animal changes. See the Chinese calendar.