午 | wǔ

In Mandarin Chinese, 午 (Pinyin: wǔ 🔊) is the seventh of twelve earthly branches. It corresponds to the Year of the Horse (马) of the Chinese zodiac; the fifth month; the hour of the Horse (11 am to 1 pm, “the time when the sun is high overhead and while other animals are lying down for a rest, Horses are still standing”, or, sometimes, precisely noon); and the direction 180° (i.e. south). Its associated “fixed element” is Fire, 火. Note that the character 马 refers to any horse while 午 refers to the “zodiac horse”.

The shape of 午 is almost exactly the same as 牛 but these two characters are unrelated. According to Uncle Hanzi, 午 is a “pictograph of a large double ended pestle for dehusking rice”.

More photos related to horses, zodiac and sea glass @ Shutterstock.