The Tiger

The Tiger is the third of the twelve earthly branches — and the one with which the Chinese astrological year actually begins.

Its place in the cycle

• Phase: wood
• Season: the start of spring
• Double hour: 3:00 to 5:00
• Direction: east-northeast
• Linked with: Horse and Dog — the fire triad
• Opposite: the Monkey

The tiger month begins with lìchūn, the start of spring around 4 February — and that is the beginning of the year most Bazi schools work from, while the popular New Year festival is tied to the first lunar month. Hence the discrepancy for births in February; see the Chinese calendar.

What has been handed down

Courage, drive, independence, a pull towards what lies ahead — and the other side: lack of restraint, impatience, trouble with taking orders.

In this system, wood stands for what rises and forces a way through. The start of spring is the point at which what winter kept hidden comes out into the open.

What the year animal is worth

The coarsest of the four pillars. Year, month, day and hour together make up the picture; the day pillar stands for the person themselves. The heavenly stem is what separates a wood tiger from a metal tiger.

See also: Chinese astrology, the Rabbit.