Tiger

Third on the circle, 寅 is a wood branch with yang polarity, and its creature is the Tiger. A theorist quoted in the Lunheng puts the tiger first in a list and reasons from it. Since wood overcomes earth, he says, the dog, ox and goat of the earth branches are subdued by the tiger. Wang Chong goes on to dispute this.

Courage and a dislike of being told what to do lead the Tiger's portrait in popular zodiac books, which also tend to add a competitive edge. These are recent character sketches, and the Han passage says nothing of human temperament. Its tiger is a predator placed in an element scheme.

寅 pairs with 亥 in the Six Harmonies and joins 午 and 戌 in a fire triad. 申 is its Clash, the branch seven places along when both ends are counted, and 巳 is its Harm. It also belongs to the Three Punishments circuit of 寅, 巳 and 申, while the one handbook in our sources that lists Mutual Breaking leaves 寅 out of that table. The practical use is noticing how 巳 and 申 each turn up twice for a Tiger, and asking whether two rules aimed at one sign tell you anything beyond the geometry of the circle.