Combinations, Clashes, Punishments, Destructions & Harms — Reading the Relationships Between the Earthly Branches

"Combinations, clashes, punishments, destructions, and harms" is the umbrella term for the relationships that form when the Earthly Branches (地支) of a chart meet one another. It covers the pull of a combination (合) that binds branches together, the head-on collision of a clash (沖), the friction of punishments (刑), destructions (破), and harms (害) where things fall out of step, and the vague, reasonless irritation of resentment (怨嗔). The names make it sound like a ruling on good and bad fortune, but Gwiraedang doesn't read these as stamps of lucky or unlucky. We read them as the grain of the relationships running between the characters. Which pair produces which relationship is already fixed by the standard classical tables — and Gwiraedang computes those tables deterministically in code, so you get the same accurate result every time, rather than the guesswork a generic AI so often gets wrong.

What kinds of combinations are there?

A combination is a relationship where branches pull toward each other and bind into one. In the standard tables there are two broad kinds: the Six Combinations, where two branches pair up, and the Three Harmony combinations, where three branches gather into a single group.

Six Combinations (六合) — pairs of two branches: Rat–Ox (子丑) → Earth, Tiger–Pig (寅亥) → Wood, Rabbit–Dog (卯戌) → Fire, Dragon–Rooster (辰酉) → Metal, Snake–Monkey (巳申) → Water, and Horse–Goat (午未) → Fire — six pairs in all. Each names the grain of two facing branches merging and transforming (化) into a particular Element.
Three Harmony combinations (三合) — groups of three branches: Monkey-Rat-Dragon (申子辰, a Water formation), Tiger-Horse-Dog (寅午戌, a Fire formation), Snake-Rooster-Ox (巳酉丑, a Metal formation), and Pig-Rabbit-Goat (亥卯未, a Wood formation) — four groups. When all three branches are present it's a full Three Harmony; when only two gather but they include the central cardinal branch (Rat, Horse, Rooster, or Rabbit — 子·午·酉·卯), it's read as a half combination.

A combination is the grain of scattered energy gathering in one direction, so we connect it with binding currents like cooperation, connection, and focus. But a combination doesn't automatically mean "good" — once things bind, they can also tip too far to one side. How relationships like combinations and clashes read on top of the chart itself comes into sharper focus when you look at them alongside the positions in the palace system (roots, sprouts, flowers, fruits).

How do clashes, punishments, destructions, harms, and resentment differ?

If a combination is the grain of pulling together, the rest are grains of falling out of step or colliding. And these, too, aren't a prophecy that "something bad will happen" — they're markers pointing to directions where change and friction tend to enter. Laid out by the standard tables:

Clash (沖) — the Six Clashes: Rat–Horse (子午), Ox–Goat (丑未), Tiger–Monkey (寅申), Rabbit–Rooster (卯酉), Dragon–Dog (辰戌), Snake–Pig (巳亥) — six pairs sitting at exact opposite positions. The biggest shake-up of the set: they point to a grain of movement, relocation, and airing-out. We read them not as breakage but as energy that changes the whole board.
Punishment (刑): the Yin-Si-Shen (寅巳申) and Chou-Xu-Wei (丑戌未) Three Punishments, the Zi–Mao (子卯) Punishment, and the Self-Punishments where a branch doubles on itself (Chen–Chen 辰辰, Wu–Wu 午午, You–You 酉酉, Hai–Hai 亥亥). A grain of friction that calls for adjustment and refinement.
Destruction (破) — the Six Destructions: Rat–Rooster (子酉), Horse–Rabbit (午卯), Tiger–Pig (寅亥), Snake–Monkey (巳申), Dragon–Ox (辰丑), Dog–Goat (戌未) — six pairs. A grain where small misalignments or chips tend to slip in.
Harm (害) — the Six Harms: Rat–Goat (子未), Ox–Horse (丑午), Tiger–Snake (寅巳), Rabbit–Dragon (卯辰), Monkey–Pig (申亥), Rooster–Dog (酉戌) — six pairs. A grain of quiet discomfort or being slightly off-beat.
Resentment (怨嗔) — six pairs: Rat–Goat (子未), Ox–Horse (丑午), Tiger–Rooster (寅酉), Rabbit–Monkey (卯申), Dragon–Pig (辰亥), Snake–Dog (巳戌). A subtle grain of feeling inexplicably grated on, with no clear reason behind it.

Even the same clash acts on a different timing and life area depending on which two pillars (year, month, day, hour) it lights up between. So we never pin down combinations, clashes, and the rest from a single isolated character — we read them as a flow, alongside the body of the chart (the Day Master and the distribution of the Five Elements) and supporting clues like the symbolic stars. You can look up each term in more detail in the Saju glossary.

FAQ

Does having a clash (沖) mean I have a bad chart? No. A clash is a spot where two exact-opposite energies collide, so it points to a grain of large movement and change — not a signal that fixes an unlucky fate. That shaking can just as easily become the airing-out energy that clears away the stale and reshuffles the board. Gwiraedang doesn't read a clash in the language of fear; we point out the engine of change inside it, too. Good and bad aren't decided by a single relationship between characters — they turn on the context of the whole chart.

If there's a combination, is it automatically good? Not necessarily either. A combination is the grain of scattered energy pooling together, so it's often read as a current that helps cooperation and focus — but it also carries a side where you tip too far in one direction, or feel boxed in by being bound. Neither a combination nor a clash decides fortune on its own; you have to see which pillar it landed in, and which character it met there. And please remember that Saju itself isn't a tool that tells you a fixed fate — it's reference material for understanding your own temperament and flow.

Combinations, clashes, punishments, destructions, and harms aren't a divination that pronounces good or bad fortune — they're a reference for self-reflection, for understanding the relationships that run between the characters.