Heavenly Stems

What Are the Heavenly Stems?

The 10 Heavenly Stems are based on the Sexagenary cycle — also known as the Stems and Branches system. This ancient framework was used to record and keep track of dates and years long before Western calendars were adopted in Vietnam.

What many people don't realize is that the Vietnamese Zodiac doesn't complete its full cycle in 12 years — it takes 60 years. Think of it like a clock: the 12 animals are like the hours, but the 10 Heavenly Stems are like the minutes, creating 60 unique combinations before the cycle repeats.

The Ten Stems

The Vietnamese names for the 10 Heavenly Stems are:

Decoding a Year's Name

Each Vietnamese year is named by combining one Heavenly Stem with one Earthly Branch (the animal sign):

Armed with this decoder, you can translate any Vietnamese year name into its elemental and animal meaning — unlocking another layer of the ancient system.