Rat Compatibility

The rat is conventionally paired with the ox, dragon and monkey, and set against the horse in the compatibility scheme. Compatibility pairings come from the relationship between earthly branches, which is a fixed system independent of the animals used to remember it.

It is one factor among several in the traditional system. The rat is conventionally paired with the ox, dragon and monkey, and set against the horse in the compatibility scheme. The year animal is the coarsest of the four pillars — the month, day and hour carry equal weight, and the classical sources never read the year alone. The clashing pair is stated as plainly as the harmonious one — the tradition treats both as descriptions of a relationship type rather than as verdicts.

The tradition's scheme uses the six harmonies and the three-fold affinities of the branches; the clashing pairs are equally systematic. It is grouped under Water (水) in the five-element system.