Earthly Branch

지지 · 地支

The lower character of a pillar — one of twelve, showing what is underneath and slower to move.

The twelve branches are the same twelve that name the Chinese zodiac animals, and they also divide the day into twelve two-hour blocks and the year into twelve months.

Branches are denser than stems. Each one conceals one to three hidden stems inside it, which is why two people with what looks like the same chart can read very differently.