BaZi Basics
BaZi, the Four Pillars of Destiny, turns the year, month, day and hour of birth into four pairs of heavenly stems and earthly branches: eight characters in all. The stem of the day pillar is the Day Master, standing for you; the other seven characters are read as Ten Gods according to how their elements relate to it. The strength and balance of the elements, and the interactions between branches, then describe temperament and the rhythm of a life.
This guide collects the concepts and readings used by our BaZi tool. They are compiled from general convention and are a way into the symbolic system; where schools disagree, we say which method we use. Months follow the solar terms and the year turns at Start of Spring.
Topics
- The Four PillarsWhat each of the four BaZi pillars stands for: life stage, family ties and the traditional body areas.
- The Ten Day MastersThe nature of each of the ten BaZi Day Masters: Jia, Yi, Bing, Ding, Wu, Ji, Geng, Xin, Ren and Gui.
- The Ten Gods in BaZiThe meaning of each of the Ten Gods in BaZi, and how each is read when it appears in a luck cycle or an annual year.
- The Five Elements and Favourable ElementsHow the five elements produce and control each other in BaZi, how strength and favourable elements are judged, and the directions, colours and trades linked to each element.
- BaZi Symbolic Stars and the Twelve StagesHow common BaZi symbolic stars (Heavenly Noble, Literary Star, Prosperity, Peach Blossom, Travelling Horse, Canopy, Goat Blade, Kui Gang and more) are found and what they mean, plus the twelve stages of life.
- Branch InteractionsCombinations, clashes, punishments and harms between earthly branches in BaZi, and how they are traditionally read.
- Void (Kong Wang)What Void (Kong Wang) means in BaZi, how it is found, and how a Void year, month, day or hour pillar is traditionally read.
This is fixed text compiled from general convention, not a reading of any individual chart and not a prediction. For important decisions, please consult qualified professionals.