丑 Ox

丑 (Chuk), the Ox, is second in the cycle. It stands for the twelfth month, the last stretch of winter when the ground is still hard but the light is returning, and the hours from one to three in the morning. Its direction is north by northeast and its element is Earth, the kind that holds and stores. The Ox is read as patience with weight behind it: the animal that pulled Korean plows for centuries and did not hurry. In the race of the twelve animals it crosses the river first, only to have the Rat leap off its back at the bank, which is why the Ox is told as the honest second.

Choose one thing you have been doing in bursts and do it for ten unbroken minutes instead. Ox energy is said to show in steady pace rather than speed, so watch how far ten plain minutes carry you.

Ox years are traditionally said to sit well with Snake (巳) and Rooster (酉), the Metal harmony group, and to clash with the Goat (未) across the circle. Old pairings, not verdicts; set a friend's sign beside yours and compare notes.

In Korean the Ox year is 소띠 (so-tti). To say someone 소처럼 일한다 (so-cheoreom ilhanda), "works like an ox," is high praise for endurance. The proverb 소 잃고 외양간 고친다, "fixing the barn after losing the ox," is Korea's way of saying too little, too late.