Cast & Chart

Animal 5 of 12

Dragon

龍 lóng, branch 辰

In the classical sources

辰為龍，巳為蛇，辰巳之位在東南。龍有毒，蛇有螫，故蝮有利牙，龍有逆鱗。

The branch 辰 is the dragon and 巳 is the snake, and the places of 辰 and 巳 are in the southeast. The dragon has venom and the snake has a sting, so the viper has sharp teeth and the dragon has reversed scales.

論衡 · 言毒篇第六十六 (Wikisource 論衡/66, traditional script)

About this sign

The fifth branch is 辰, an earth branch and yang in polarity, and it alone among the twelve is missing from the Lunheng's chapter on animals and elements. Its dragon appears in a different chapter, one on poisons, where 辰 and 巳 are placed in the southeast. There the dragon is a creature with venom and reversed scales.

Modern zodiac books make the Dragon the star of the set, with charm, drive and a large opinion of itself. That glamour belongs to popular tradition. Our classical witness is far less flattering and files the dragon alongside stinging things.

辰 has a Six Harmonies link with 酉 and joins 申 and 子 in a water triad. Across the circle lies 戌, its Clash, while 卯 is its Harm and 丑 its Breaking. 辰 is also one of only four branches listed as punishing themselves, a rule called Self-Punishment that concerns the branch meeting its own kind. If two Dragons are in the room, that entry gives them a funny and harmless question to try: which of our habits would be hardest to live with in a copy of ourselves?

Traits people associate with it

  • confident
  • ambitious
  • showy
  • energetic
  • self-assured

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.