Key ideas of the Di Tian Sui

The ten stems

The Di Tian Sui gives each heavenly stem eight four-character lines on its nature and needs, the most quoted verses on the ten stems.

Jia (甲) Wood

「甲木參天，脫胎要火。春不容金，秋不容土。火熾乘龍，水蕩騎虎。地潤天和，植立千古。」

Jia wood is a towering tree that needs fire to show its splendour. In spring it is strong and shrugs off metal; in autumn it is too weak to work the earth. Too much fire calls for damp Chen beneath it, too much water for Yin to absorb it. With moist earth and a mild sky it stands for ages.

Yi (乙) Wood

「乙木雖柔，刲羊解牛。懷丁抱丙，跨鳳乘猴。虛濕之地，騎馬亦憂。藤蘿繫甲，可春可秋。」

Yi wood is soft yet can work the earth of Chou or Wei beneath it. With Bing or Ding fire it need not fear a Shen or You metal month. In cold, damp, rootless ground even sitting on Wu does not help it grow. With Jia to climb, like a vine on a tree, it is secure in any season.

Bing (丙) Fire

「丙火猛烈，欺霜侮雪。能鍛庚金，逢辛反怯。土眾成慈，水猖顯節。虎馬犬鄉，甲來成滅。」

Bing fire is the sun and fears neither autumn frost nor winter snow. It can forge hard Geng metal yet is tamed by soft Xin, which combines with it. Among much earth it shows kindness by producing it; against strong water it shows integrity. When Yin, Wu and Xu already form a fire alliance, adding Jia wood makes it burn out of control.

Ding (丁) Fire

「丁火柔中，內性昭融。抱乙而孝，合壬而忠。旺而不烈，衰而不窮。如有嫡母，可秋可冬。」

Ding fire is gentle outside and bright within. It shields Yi wood, its mother, from Xin metal, and combines with Ren water instead of fighting it. Strong, it is not fierce; weak, it does not go out. With Jia wood, its true mother, to feed it, it shines even in autumn and winter.

Wu (戊) Earth

「戊土固重，既中且正。靜翕動闢，萬物司命。水潤物生，火燥物病。若在艮坤，怕沖宜靜。」

Wu earth is heavy, central and upright: it gathers in when still and opens out when moving, and all things depend on it. With water to moisten it things grow; too dry and they wither. Sitting on Yin or Shen it fears a clash and prefers stillness.

Ji (己) Earth

「己土卑濕，中正蓄藏。不愁木盛，不畏水狂。火少火晦，金多金光。若要物旺，宜助宜幫。」

Ji earth is low, moist field soil that holds and stores. It nourishes wood and absorbs water, so it fears neither. A little fire is dimmed by it, while much metal is polished by it. For things to flourish, Ji needs warmth and support.

Geng (庚) Metal

「庚金帶煞，剛健為最。得水而清，得火而銳。土潤則生，土乾則脆。能贏甲兄，輸於乙妹。」

Geng metal is hard and martial. With water it becomes clear, with fire sharp. Moist earth nourishes it while dry earth makes it brittle. It can fell Jia wood yet yields to Yi, which combines with it.

Xin (辛) Metal

「辛金軟弱，溫潤而清。畏土之多，樂水之盈。能扶社稷，能救生靈。熱則喜母，寒則喜丁。」

Xin metal is soft, warm and clear. It fears being buried under too much earth and delights in plenty of water. Combining with Bing fire into water, it can steady the chart. Born in summer it likes Ji earth, its mother, to shade it from the heat; born in winter it likes Ding fire for warmth.

Ren (壬) Water

「壬水通河，能洩金氣。剛中之德，周流不滯。通根透癸，沖天奔地。化則有情，從則相濟。」

Ren water is a great river that drains the strength of metal; firm yet virtuous, it flows without stopping. With Shen, Zi and Chen together and Gui showing, its force is unstoppable. Combining with Ding into wood is affectionate, and in summer, yielding to fire and earth, it still becomes rain and dew that help.

Gui (癸) Water

「癸水至弱，達於天津。得龍而潤，功化斯神。不愁火土，不論庚辛。合戊見火，化象斯真。」

Gui water is the gentlest, like rain and dew. Meeting Chen, the dragon, it makes clouds and rain that nourish all things. It does not fear much fire or earth and does not lean on Geng or Xin metal. Combining with Wu earth and seeing fire, it truly transforms into fire.

The branches

「陽支動且強，速達顯災祥。陰支靜且專，否泰每經年。」

The yang branches Zi, Yin, Chen, Wu, Shen and Xu are active and strong, and their effects come fast and plain; the yin branches Chou, Mao, Si, Wei, You and Hai are still and focused, and their effects take time to show.

「生方怕動庫宜開，敗地逢沖仔細推。」

Yin, Shen, Si and Hai are places of birth and fear being clashed; Chen, Xu, Chou and Wei are storehouses that a clash can open; when Zi, Wu, Mao or You are clashed, look closely.

「支神只以沖為重，刑與穿兮動不動。」

Among branch relations the clash matters most; punishments and harms sometimes stir things and sometimes not, and weigh less.

「旺者沖衰衰者拔，衰神沖旺旺者發。」

When the strong clashes the weak, the weak is uprooted; when the weak clashes the strong, it only rouses the strong.

The chart's branch interactions section lists the clashes, punishments, harms and combinations among the four branches.

Heaven covers, earth carries

「天全一氣，不可使地道莫之載；地全三物，不可使天道莫之覆。」

When the stems are all one element, the branches must root them; when the branches form an alliance, the stems must suit it rather than oppose it. A chart is stable when stems and branches support each other.

Strength and balance

「能知衰旺之真機，其於三命之奧，思過半矣。」

The strong should be drained or restrained and the weak supported; that is the basic rule. But what is extremely strong cannot be forced down, nor what is extremely weak propped up; read the real situation. Understand strength and you understand most of BaZi.

「既識中和之正理，而於五行之妙，有能全焉。」

Balance is the ideal: each element in its place, none too much or too little.

This site estimates the Day Master's strength and favourable elements from the element counts; see the five-element section.

Source, flow and bridging

「何處起根源，流到何方住，機括此中求，知來亦知去。」

Find the most abundant element as the source and follow it as it produces the next and the next; it is best when the flow comes to rest in a favourable element, and where it is blocked tells its own story.

「關內有織女，關外有牛郎，此關若通也，相邀入洞房。」

When two forces fight (metal against wood, say), an element that links them by production (water: metal makes water, water feeds wood) turns conflict into flow. This is bridging.

In the five-element section, if the two strongest elements are at war, the chart points out the bridging element and how much of it the chart holds.

Purity and authenticity

「一清到底有精神，管取生平富貴真；澄濁求清清得去，時來寒谷也回春。」

A clean chart with vitality is best; even a muddled one can turn good if some element has the strength, or a luck cycle arrives, to clear the confusion.

「令上尋真聚得真，假神休要亂真神。」

An element that holds the month and has allies is the true god and the best to use; one out of season that only interferes is false.

This site's structure section takes the structure from the month, exactly this idea.

Hard and soft, going with the flow

「剛柔不一也，不可制者，引其性情而已矣。」

What is too hard cannot be met head on; guide it with something that suits its nature, as Ren water drains autumn Geng metal.

「順逆不齊也，不可逆者，順其氣勢而已矣。」

Once a trend is set, going with it is best, and forcing it back does harm. This is the logic of the following structures.

Cold, warmth, dryness and damp

「天道有寒暖，發育萬物，人道得之不可過也。地道有燥濕，生成品彙，人道得之不可偏也。」

A chart that is too cold, too hot, too dry or too damp needs tempering. This is the basis of seasonal adjustment.

The chart's seasonal adjustment section lists the stems the birth season needs, following the Qiong Tong Bao Jian.

Hidden and shown, many and few

「吉神太露，起爭奪之風；凶物深藏，成養虎之患。」

A favourable element too exposed in the stems invites competition from passing years; an unfavourable one hidden in the branches lies quiet until a year or cycle rouses it.

「抑強扶弱者常理，用強舍弱者元機。」

Normally one restrains the strong and helps the weak; but when the strong side is overwhelming, going with it and letting the weak go is the subtler choice.

Officers, Killings and the Hurting Officer

「官煞相混來問我，有可有不可。」

An Officer seen with Seven Killings is not always a problem: when Killings dominate and the Officer follows, or the Officer is light and Killings help it, there is no real mix. It depends which way the balance tips.

「傷官見官果難辨，可見不可見。」

The Hurting Officer meeting the Officer is not always trouble: Wealth can resolve it, as can Resource when the self is weak; it is most to be avoided when the Hurting Officer is strong and there is no Wealth.

The completion and taboo conditions in this site's structure section are simplified from these principles.

Luck cycles and years: fight, clash, harmony, kinship

「休咎係乎運，亦係乎歲，戰沖視其孰降，和好視其孰切。」

Fortune depends on both the luck cycle and the year. When their stems control one another it is a fight, when their branches clash it is a clash, and the question is which gives way; when stems or branches combine it is harmony, and when they share an element it is kinship, and the question is whether that element suits you.

「天戰猶自可，地戰急如火。」

Clashing stems (Jia or Yi meeting Geng or Xin) act slowly; clashing branches (Yin and Shen, Mao and You) act fast and hard.

The annual-year cards mark fight, clash, harmony or kinship between that year and the current luck cycle, and say whether the element involved is one this site estimates as favourable.

Combinations and temperament

「合有宜不宜，合多不為奇。」

Combining away an unfavourable element helps, while tying up a favourable one hinders; too many combinations stop the energy flowing.

「五行不戾，惟正清和；濁亂偏枯，性情乖逆。」

When the elements are in harmony the temperament is clear and calm; when they are muddled or lopsided it tends to extremes.