Glossary

Ancient Chinese timekeeping based on the zodiac:
* Zi (子): 11:00 PM – 1:00 AM (Rat)
* Chou (丑): 1:00 AM – 3:00 AM (Ox)
* Yin (寅): 3:00 AM – 5:00 AM (Tiger)
* Mao (卯): 5:00 AM – 7:00 AM (Rabbit)
* Chen (辰): 7:00 AM – 9:00 AM (Dragon)
* Si (巳): 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM (Snake)
* Wu (午): 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM (Horse)
* Wei (未): 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM (Goat/Sheep)
* Shen (申): 3:00 PM – 5:00 PM (Monkey)
* You (酉): 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM (Rooster)
* Xu (戌): 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM (Dog)
* Hai (亥): 9:00 PM – 11:00 PM (Pig)
For more info, read here.

Eight Characters:
The Four Pillars of Destiny, also known as ‘Ba-Zi’, which means ‘eight characters’ or ‘eight words’ in Chinese, is a Chinese astrological concept that a person’s destiny or fate can be divined by the two sexagenary cycle characters assigned to their birth year, month, day, and hour. More info here.

Terms:
Throat bone – a mythical bone that blocks spiritual creatures from speaking human language until they cultivate enough to refine or “melt” it.