Chinese zodiac
Rabbit — Chinese zodiac sign
The rabbit is fourth in the cycle and the sign of 卯时 (05:00 to 07:00), first light. Rabbit years are read as careful, well-mannered and quietly determined — a sign that steps around a fight and still gets its way.
Where it sits in the twelve
- Position in the cycle: 4 / 12
- Branch, and its two hours: 卯 (Mao) · 05:00–07:00
- Fixed element: Wood
- What 2026 asks of this sign: a break year (破太岁)
In the river race the rabbit crossed on stones and drifting wood and came in fourth. 卯 was given to the hour before sunrise, when the moon is still in the sky — in the classical pairing the rabbit belongs to the moon and the rooster to the sun. Its branch is 卯 (mao), its fixed element wood.
Years of the Rabbit
| Years | Animal | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 癸卯 | Water |
| 2011 | 辛卯 | Metal |
| 1999 | 己卯 | Earth |
| 1987 | 丁卯 | Fire |
| 1975 | 乙卯 | Wood |
| 1963 | 癸卯 | Water |
The animal returns every twelve years; the stem in front of it changes, so the element moves with it. The next one is 2038.
Character
Reads people well and moves before an argument starts. A rabbit-year person will step around a fight rather than win it.
Tidy, precise, and bothered by disorder — in a room, in a plan, in someone's manners.
Gentle on the surface, firm underneath. The rabbit is not soft, it is careful; what it wants it tends to get, through patience and through being liked.
Strengths
- Diplomatic — rarely makes an enemy
- Good taste and good timing
- Outlasts louder people
- Keeps a calm surface under pressure
Weak points
- Avoids the confrontation that is necessary
- Keeps score in silence
- Withdraws instead of saying what is wrong
- Anxious about money and about being disliked
Six harmony, three harmony, and the ones it stands off with
Six harmony (六合) is the closest pairing; three harmony (三合) is the working alliance. The rest are the classical frictions: clash (冲), punishment (刑), harm (害), break (破).
Six harmony (六合): the dog (卯戌) — steady, protective, no games. Three harmony (三合): the goat and the pig (亥卯未, the wood frame) — a soft frame, and the one for work that runs on trust. Standing off: the rooster clashes (卯酉冲), the dragon harms (卯辰害), the rat punishes (子卯刑), the horse breaks (卯午破).
What 2026 asks of this sign
a break year (破太岁)
2026 is 丙午 (fire horse), and for the rabbit it is a break year (卯午相破, 破太岁). A break is not a clash and not a loss: it is the small crack in something already in place — an arrangement that shifts, a second party that goes quiet, a price that moves. The reading is maintenance. Re-check the numbers on anything already running, and finish what is half-finished before starting anything new.
Questions
Which years are rabbit years?
Twelve years apart: 2023, 2011, 1999, 1987, 1975, 1963, and 2035 next.
Are rabbit and dog compatible?
Yes — 卯戌 is six harmony: the dog's directness is what the rabbit's caution can lean on.
What is the rabbit like at work?
Precise, diplomatic and patient — the person still there, and still liked, when the loud ones have moved on.