Branch Harmonies: Six Pairs, Four Trios and Half Harmonies

Among the twelve earthly branches, some pairs and trios are said to draw together. The tradition calls these harmonies: six harmony pairs, four three-harmony trios, and the half harmonies made from part of a trio.

Why branches can join at all

The twelve branches, 子 Rat to 亥 Pig, are laid out on a circle like a clock face: months, double hours and directions all sit on it. Harmonies are patterns on that circle. The six harmonies pair branches that mirror each other; the three harmonies link branches four places apart, which together cover the birth, the peak and the storage (tomb) of one element through the year.

Harmony describes attraction and cooperation. The tradition reads it as energy gathering or people getting along, while also noting that too much gathering can tip a chart to one side.

The six harmonies (六合)

There are exactly six pairs, and every branch belongs to one of them. The app's Korean text describes a six harmony as an energy that pulls two sides together to join hands, a day when you get on well with the people close to you.

The three harmonies (三合)

Each trio is named for one element. The first branch is where that element is born, the middle one is its peak (the branch whose own element it is), and the last is where it is stored away. Water, for example, is born in 申, peaks in 子 and is stored in 辰.

When all three branches are present, the app describes the element as gathering strongly, so that shared work gains momentum.

Half harmonies (半合)

Two branches of a trio can join on their own. In the haru engine a half harmony counts only when one of the two is the peak branch, so 申 with 子 counts as a Water half harmony, but 申 with 辰 (birth and storage without the peak) does not. That gives eight half-harmony pairs in all.

The app words it as two joining forces to build up that element: minds meet easily, though things can lean to one side.

How the app checks harmonies each day

The app does not look for harmonies inside a birth chart alone. It compares today's day branch with each of your natal branches (year, month, day and, if known, hour). A six harmony or half harmony is noted wherever a pair appears. A full three harmony is noted when two different natal branches plus today's branch complete a trio.

Here is engine example A (1990-05-15, Seoul), whose branches are 午 year, 巳 month, 辰 day and 未 hour, set against a few dates.

• A full trio would need two natal branches: for a 戌 day, example A has 午 but not 寅, so only the half harmony 午戌 appears.
• Harmonies and tensions often arrive together; the app lists each one separately rather than adding them into a single score.

Questions

Is a harmony always a good sign?

The tradition reads it as cooperation and gathering. The app also notes that a half harmony can make things lean one way, so it is a description of flow, not a promise.

Why does 申 with 辰 not count as a half harmony?

In this engine a half harmony needs the peak branch of the trio. 申 and 辰 are the birth and storage of Water without the peak 子.

How many harmony pairs are there?

Six six-harmony pairs and eight half-harmony pairs, plus four full trios.

Does the app find harmonies inside my own chart?

Its daily reading compares today's day branch with your natal branches; that is where these harmonies are reported.

Read next

Traditional Four Pillars (myeongni) and yin-yang five-element interpretation. Not a medical diagnosis or advice.