Clashes, combinations and harms between branches
Six clashes, six combinations, four trines — and the combinatorics that mean almost everyone has some.
4 min read · Published 18 August 2026
The short answer
Earthly branches form fixed relationships with each other. The six clashes (冲) pair opposite branches — Rat clashes Horse, Ox clashes Goat, and so on. The six combinations (合) bind pairs together. The four three-harmony trines group branches into elemental teams. Harms, punishments and destructions add further layers. With four natal branches plus a Luck Pillar and an annual branch, most charts contain several of these at any time, which is worth knowing before treating one as significant.
The six clashes
| Pair | Branches | Element tension |
|---|---|---|
| Rat – Horse | 子 – 午 | Water against Fire |
| Ox – Goat | 丑 – 未 | Earth against Earth |
| Tiger – Monkey | 寅 – 申 | Wood against Metal |
| Rabbit – Rooster | 卯 – 酉 | Wood against Metal |
| Dragon – Dog | 辰 – 戌 | Earth against Earth |
| Snake – Pig | 巳 – 亥 | Fire against Water |
A clash is traditionally read as instability, movement or disruption in whatever the two pillars govern. A clash between the day and hour branches is read differently from one between year and month, because the pillars cover different domains.
This is also the basis of ben ming nian — the year that clashes your own animal.
The six combinations
| Pair | Branches | Said to produce |
|---|---|---|
| Rat – Ox | 子 – 丑 | Earth |
| Tiger – Pig | 寅 – 亥 | Wood |
| Rabbit – Dog | 卯 – 戌 | Fire |
| Dragon – Rooster | 辰 – 酉 | Metal |
| Snake – Monkey | 巳 – 申 | Water |
| Horse – Goat | 午 – 未 | Fire or Earth, depending on school |
Combinations bind two branches together, and the tradition holds that a combined branch is partly occupied — less available to do its other work. Whether the combination actually transforms into the produced element is disputed and generally held to depend on supporting conditions elsewhere in the chart.
That last row is a good illustration of how much genuine disagreement exists in this material.
The three-harmony trines
Four groups of three branches each, spaced evenly around the circle, that combine into a single element when all three are present.
| Trine | Branches | Combines into |
|---|---|---|
| Rat, Dragon, Monkey | 子 辰 申 | Water |
| Ox, Snake, Rooster | 丑 巳 酉 | Metal |
| Tiger, Horse, Dog | 寅 午 戌 | Fire |
| Rabbit, Goat, Pig | 卯 未 亥 | Wood |
These are the same groupings used for zodiac compatibility, covered in the four trines. In a BaZi chart, having all three of a trine is read as a strong concentration of that element — which matters a great deal if it is the element you already had too much of.
Harms, punishments and destructions
- Six harms (害) — pairs read as quiet undermining rather than open conflict: Rat–Goat, Ox–Horse, Tiger–Snake, Rabbit–Dragon, Monkey–Pig, Rooster–Dog.
- Punishments (刑) — groups of branches read as self-inflicted difficulty, including a self-punishment where a branch repeats.
- Destructions (破) — a weaker relationship, treated as minor damage, and given less weight by most practitioners.
These layers are where BaZi gets most elaborate, and where the combinatorics start doing real work. Between clashes, combinations, trines, harms, punishments and destructions, almost any pair of branches has *some* named relationship.
How to read them sensibly
Weigh which pillars are involved, not just whether a relationship exists. A clash involving the day pillar — the one that stands for you — is treated as more consequential than one between year and month.
Read them against elemental balance rather than in isolation. A clash that removes an element you have too much of is not obviously bad news, and the tradition itself says so.
And treat the specific predictions with the same scepticism as everything else here. AsterNym computes the clashes present in your chart and describes what the tradition says about them, on your BaZi page, without telling you what will happen as a result.
Common questions
- What is a clash in BaZi?
- A relationship between two earthly branches sitting directly opposite each other on the twelve-branch circle — Rat clashes Horse, Ox clashes Goat, Tiger clashes Monkey, Rabbit clashes Rooster, Dragon clashes Dog, and Snake clashes Pig. It is read as instability or disruption.
- What are the six combinations?
- Six fixed pairs of branches said to bind together and, under supporting conditions, transform into a produced element: Rat–Ox, Tiger–Pig, Rabbit–Dog, Dragon–Rooster, Snake–Monkey and Horse–Goat. Whether transformation actually occurs is disputed between schools.
- What are the three-harmony trines?
- Four groups of three branches spaced evenly around the circle that combine into one element: Rat-Dragon-Monkey into Water, Ox-Snake-Rooster into Metal, Tiger-Horse-Dog into Fire, and Rabbit-Goat-Pig into Wood. They are also the basis of zodiac compatibility groupings.
- Does everyone have clashes in their chart?
- Most charts contain several branch relationships at any time. Four natal branches give six pairs, and adding a Luck Pillar and the annual branch gives fifteen — each checkable against six relationship types. Their presence is normal rather than remarkable.