The two friends and the enemy of each Chinese zodiac sign
Each Chinese zodiac sign has two friends and one enemy, and you find them by counting positions in the cycle. The full list for all twelve, and why that's enough.
Of all the relationships Chinese tradition describes between signs, there are two that appear in every source and don't depend on interpretation: the friends of the same triad (San He, 三合) and the direct opposite in the cycle (Liu Chong, 六冲).
Molino uses only those, plus your own sign. Three slots: who you share your sign with, who your two friends are and which is your enemy. The rest of the cycle has no special relationship.
The rule: counting positions in the cycle
Put the twelve signs in a circle, in their order: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Cat, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig. Your two friends are the ones four positions away from you, in either direction. The three together form an equilateral triangle inside the circle.
Your enemy is the one six positions away: the sign opposite, at the other end of the diameter. Each sign has exactly one.
The four triangles of friends
The twelve signs are divided into four triads of three. Tradition associates each one with an element, which has nothing to do with the element of your year: it's the triad's.
- Rat, Dragon, Monkey: Water triad.
- Ox, Snake, Rooster: Metal triad.
- Tiger, Horse, Dog: Fire triad.
- Cat, Goat, Pig: Wood triad.
Friends and enemy of each sign
The full list, in the order of the cycle. It comes from the same data Molino uses to build your map.
- Rat: friends Dragon and Monkey; enemy Horse.
- Ox: friends Snake and Rooster; enemy Goat.
- Tiger: friends Horse and Dog; enemy Monkey.
- Cat: friends Goat and Pig; enemy Rooster.
- Dragon: friends Rat and Monkey; enemy Dog.
- Snake: friends Ox and Rooster; enemy Pig.
- Horse: friends Tiger and Dog; enemy Rat.
- Goat: friends Cat and Pig; enemy Ox.
- Monkey: friends Rat and Dragon; enemy Tiger.
- Rooster: friends Ox and Snake; enemy Cat.
- Dog: friends Tiger and Horse; enemy Dragon.
- Pig: friends Cat and Goat; enemy Snake.
Why only these three slots
Tradition has more relationships: harmonious pairs (Liu He), pairs that harm each other (Liu Hai), punishments. They exist and are documented, but they overlap and depend more on the school than on a rule. If you use them all, almost any pair of signs ends up having something good and something bad, and the reading stops saying anything.
With three slots the answer is clear: your sign, your two friends, your enemy. The other eight signs remain in the rest of the cycle, with no special relationship, and that's information too.
How it's used
The reading order is always the same: first your own sign, then your two friends, and finally the enemy, which is read as what's best avoided. It's not a condemnation or a prohibition: it's the most tense relationship in the cycle, and knowing it helps you choose with your eyes open.
In My Map, Molino applies this to cities, universities, people, cars and more: each entity has a year of origin, that year gives its sign, and the sign places it in one of your slots.
Frequently asked questions
Is my enemy incompatible with me?
Not in a literal sense. Tradition describes it as the relationship with the most friction in the cycle. Many couples, partnerships and friendships between opposite signs work; the reading only tells you where the tension is.
What about Liu He, the «secret friend»?
It's real in the tradition, but Molino leaves it out so as not to mix categories. It counts as part of the rest of the cycle.
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