In Mandarin Chinese, 卯 (Pinyin: mǎo) is the fourth of twelve earthly branches. It corresponds to the Year of the Rabbit (兔) of the Chinese zodiac; the second month; the hour of the Rabbit (5 am to 7 am, “the time when the Jade Rabbit is busy pounding herbal medicine on the Moon”); and the direction 90° (i.e. east). Its associated “fixed element” is Wood, 木. Note that the character 兔 refers to any rabbit or hare while 卯 refers to the “zodiac rabbit”.
According to Wiktionary, it is a “door (門) opened to spring”, while Uncle Hanzi says it is “possibly open gates (open eyes) which open at 5 to 7 AM”. To me, it looks like stylised “GP” (makes me think of Jade Rabbit as a general practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine).
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