生肖配對 · the line between two animals
Compatibility & Trines
The oldest Chinese matchmaking is not a score but a geometry. The twelve animals sit on a ring, and the bond between any two is the line that runs between them: the golden San He triangle of allies four signs apart, the red Liu He thread of secret friends, the dark Liu Chong axis straight across. Place two and the wheel reads the line aloud.
Or type two birth years and the wheel finds each animal.
Place two animals on the wheel, or type two birth years, and the line between them lights up.
三合 · san he
The four trines
The twelve split into four affinity triangles, each three animals set four signs apart who share one guiding element and instinctively support each other.
The Triangle of Water
Rat · Dragon · Monkey
Rat, Dragon, and Monkey share the water frame, the quick clever current that wants to know, to reach, to rise. Together they think faster than any of them does alone, and they forgive each other the speed.
The Triangle of Metal
Ox · Snake · Rooster
Ox, Snake, and Rooster share the metal frame, the patient endurance that finishes what it starts. They keep a standard between them without saying so, and they build things that last past the noise.
The Triangle of Fire
Tiger · Horse · Dog
Tiger, Horse, and Dog share the fire frame, the warm forward courage that runs toward the cause. They are idealists together, quick to defend each other, slow to count the cost.
The Triangle of Wood
Rabbit · Goat · Pig
Rabbit, Goat, and Pig share the wood frame, the soft growing compassion that makes a room feel like home. They tend each other gently and let the harder world stay outside the door.
六合 · liu he
The six secret friends
Six quiet binding pairs, the red thread of partnership. Not loud, just durable.
- ✦ Rat & Ox
- ✦ Tiger & Pig
- ✦ Rabbit & Dog
- ✦ Dragon & Rooster
- ✦ Snake & Monkey
- ✦ Horse & Goat
六冲 · liu chong
The six clashes
Each animal faces the one six signs across the wheel. The tradition calls this the axis: maximum tension, and the richest soil for growth. Never doom.
- ⟷ Rat & Horse
- ⟷ Ox & Goat
- ⟷ Tiger & Monkey
- ⟷ Rabbit & Rooster
- ⟷ Dragon & Dog
- ⟷ Snake & Pig
A clash is not a verdict. The old almanacs treat opposition as catalytic, the place two people teach each other what they never had to learn. The wheel only draws the line. What you do along it is yours.