HomeDerived StarsLeopard Tail
Derived Stars · Household Strain, Carelessness and Containment

Leopard Tail.Small lapses become costly when attention is already stretched.

Leopard Tail (豹尾), or Bao Wei, is a Year-Branch-derived annual caution marker. Modern readings commonly associate it with unease, absent-mindedness, arguments, household or property concerns and avoidable expenditure. It does not guarantee loss, injury or family trouble.

Chinese · 豹尾Pinyin · Bào WěiKey · Year BranchRule · Opposite Yellow Banner
Leopard Tail is most useful as an attention-and-containment prompt—not as a prediction that something bad must happen.
What the marker signifies

Protect the edges: attention, possessions, household agreements and emotional regulation.

In older calendrical and directional traditions, Leopard Tail is placed opposite 黃幡 Yellow Banner, the burial Branch of the Year Branch’s trine. Annual BaZi-star tables adapt that Year-Branch pattern into a personal caution marker.

Constructively, it prompts better checking, calmer communication, property care and sensible reserves. Its shadow expression is agitation, distraction, careless handling of money or valuables, domestic friction and interpreting normal stress as an omen.

Because the name also appears in Feng Shui and date selection, this page keeps those directional rules separate from the declared annual BaZi-star lookup.

Complete Year-Branch lookup

Find the Year Branch, then locate its Leopard Tail Branch.

The twelve Year Branches resolve into four trine groups.

Year BranchLeopard Tail · 豹尾 Branch
子 Zi · Rat戌 Xu · Dog
丑 Chou · Ox未 Wei · Goat
寅 Yin · Tiger辰 Chen · Dragon
卯 Mao · Rabbit丑 Chou · Ox
辰 Chen · Dragon戌 Xu · Dog
巳 Si · Snake未 Wei · Goat
午 Wu · Horse辰 Chen · Dragon
未 Wei · Goat丑 Chou · Ox
申 Shen · Monkey戌 Xu · Dog
酉 You · Rooster未 Wei · Goat
戌 Xu · Dog辰 Chen · Dragon
亥 Hai · Pig丑 Chou · Ox

Group shorthand: 申子辰→戌 · 亥卯未→丑 · 巳酉丑→未 · 寅午戌→辰.

Simple reading method

Locate the Branch, then inspect where attention is leaking.

01 · FIND

Identify the Year Branch

Use the Earthly Branch of the natal Year Pillar.

02 · MAP

Take the Leopard Tail Branch

Read directly across to the target Branch.

03 · LOCATE

Check the chart

Look for the target among the remaining natal Branches.

04 · VERIFY

Examine real patterns

Review distraction, household strain, careless loss and emotional reactivity.

Practical applications

Contain avoidable loss before it compounds.

Attention

Slow the final check

Review valuables, payments, documents and travel details before moving on.

Household

Clarify responsibility

Make ownership, maintenance and shared expenses explicit.

Communication

Lower reactivity

Separate fatigue and irritation from the issue that actually needs resolution.

Money

Keep a repair margin

Budget for maintenance and small disruptions without assuming major loss.

Worked example

A Rat Year finds Leopard Tail at Xu.

Find 子 Zi · Rat in the first column. The table returns 戌 Xu · Dog.

From Year Branch to containment review

Anchor子 Zi is the Earthly Branch of the natal Year Pillar.
TargetRead across to 戌 Xu · Dog.
PresenceCheck whether Xu appears elsewhere among the natal Branches.
VerificationObserve whether stress becomes distraction, domestic friction or avoidable expense—and which control improves it.
Interpretive safeguards

Caution should sharpen care, not create dread.

No guaranteed loss

Leopard Tail does not prove that money, property or valuables will be lost.

No medical prediction

Do not use this marker to diagnose illness or predict injury.

No family fatalism

Household tension is a prompt for clearer systems and communication.

No system mixing

Keep natal BaZi use distinct from directional and date-selection rules.

No single-star reading

Chart structure, interactions and timing remain primary.

Use ordinary controls

Checklists, maintenance, reserves and calm conversation are sufficient responses.

Steady the attention. Protect the household. Contain the small leak.

Quick FAQ

Leopard Tail is an attention prompt—not an omen.

How do I find Leopard Tail here?

Find the natal Year Branch in the table, note its Leopard Tail Branch and check whether that Branch appears elsewhere in the natal chart.

Why is it opposite Yellow Banner?

Yellow Banner occupies the burial Branch of the Year Branch’s trine; Leopard Tail is placed at the Branch directly opposite it.

Does Leopard Tail guarantee financial loss?

No. It is a secondary prompt to strengthen attention, household systems and financial containment.

Is it a health diagnosis?

No. Health or injury claims require appropriate professional evidence, not a derived star.

What is its constructive expression?

Careful checking, emotional steadiness, property care, clear household agreements and sensible reserves.

Steady the attention. Protect the household. Contain the small leak.

Leopard Tail is most useful as a restrained prompt for care, containment and practical risk controls.