Cast & Chart

Animal 11 of 12

Dog

狗 gǒu, branch 戌

In the classical sources

戌土也，其禽犬也

The branch 戌 is earth; its creature is the dog. (The Wikisource text prints 戍 where 戌 is meant.)

論衡 · 物勢篇第十四 (Wikisource 論衡/14, traditional script)

About this sign

戌 is the eleventh branch, yang in polarity and earth in element. The Lunheng writes its creature as 犬, a plain word for dog. In the passage it joins the ox and goat as one of the earth animals subdued by the tiger.

Loyalty usually comes first in popular zodiac books, followed by a sense of justice and a habit of worrying. That sketch is modern and affectionate. The Han text's dog is instead the animal said to bite the monkey.

戌 belongs to a fire triad with 寅 and 午 and partners 卯 in the Six Harmonies. 辰 opposes it, 酉 is its Harm and 未 its Breaking, and 未 also meets it in the Three Punishments group with 丑. People born under this sign could take the two links with 未 as a prompt. Which person born in a Goat year do you find easiest to talk to, and does that fact say anything about a table of branches?

Traits people associate with it

  • loyal
  • honest
  • protective
  • anxious
  • fair-minded

The personality traits on this page are modern popular tradition. They are not found in the classical sources, which name the animal alongside its earthly branch and say nothing of the kind about people born in its years.

The five element years

Pairings

Where this text comes from

Wang Chong's Lunheng, chapters 14 and 66, on Wikisource, is the source for the pairing of animals and branches. It is one work, so these are two chapters and not independent witnesses. The relations in the last paragraph follow 五行大義 volume 2 and 三命通會 volumes 2 and 3.

The English here is our own plain wording, not a translation of a single source.