How to read a BaZi chart

Basics

Where to start: pillars, Day Master, elements, Hidden Stems, Luck Pillars and birth time.

1. 1What Is BaZi and the Four PillarsWhere the system comes from, what exactly it calculates from a birth date, and what you should not expect from it.Read
2. 2The Four Pillars: Year, Month, Day, HourWhat each pillar describes, how its stem and branch are calculated, and why the day pillar matters most.Read
3. 3The Day Master in a BaZi ChartThe stem of the day pillar is the centre of the chart. Ten images, strength assessment and favourable elements.Read
4. 4The Ten Gods in a BaZi ChartTen types of relationship to the Day Master: a table, the meaning of each, and how they are distributed across the pillars.Read
5. 5The Five Elements in a BaZi ChartThe creation and control cycles, the weighted balance of elements and the favourable elements.Read
6. 6Hidden Stems and Earthly BranchesWhy a branch is more than one element: the Hidden Stems table, main qi and the roots of the Day Master.Read
7. 7Luck Pillars and Annual PillarsTen-year periods and single years: how the start and direction are calculated and how to read the current period.Read
8. 8True Solar Time and the Hour PillarWhy your hour pillar may differ from other calculators: longitude, time zone and the equation of time.Read
9. 9A BaZi Chart Without a Birth TimeThree pillars instead of four: what stays reliable and what the reading will not include.Read
10. 10How BaZi Differs from a Natal ChartTwo different systems of description: calendar and elements versus planets and signs — a neutral comparison.Read

Day Master

The ten Day Masters, one page per stem: seasons, strength, favourable elements, work and relationships.

• The Jia Day Master 甲 — Yang WoodThe great tree in a chart: how the season changes its strength, which gods surround Jia and what it benefits from.
• The Yi Day Master 乙 — Yin WoodGrass and vine in a chart: how the season changes Yi's strength, which gods are nearby and what it benefits from.
• The Bing Day Master 丙 — Yang FireThe sun in a chart: how the season changes Bing's strength, which gods are nearby and what it benefits from.
• The Ding Day Master 丁 — Yin FireA candle flame and a hearth fire in a chart: how the season changes Ding's strength, which gods are nearby and what it benefits from.
• The Wu (戊) Day Master — Yang EarthThe mountain stem: how Yang Earth fares across the seasons, when it is strong and what favours it.
• The Ji (己) Day Master — Yin EarthThe soil stem: how Yin Earth fares across the seasons, when it is strong and what favours it.
• The Geng (庚) Day Master — Yang MetalThe ore stem: how Yang Metal fares across the seasons, when it is strong and what favours it.
• The Xin 辛 Day Master — Yin MetalPrecious metal in a BaZi chart: seasons, strength, Ten Gods, spouse palace and types of tasks.
• The Ren 壬 Day Master — Yang WaterThe great river in a BaZi chart: seasons, strength, Ten Gods, spouse palace and types of tasks.
• The Gui 癸 Day Master — Yin WaterRain and dew in a BaZi chart: seasons, strength, Ten Gods, spouse palace and types of tasks.

Ten Gods

Each of the ten relationships to the Day Master: meaning by pillar, excess and absence, Luck Pillars and the year.

• The Friend (比肩) in a BaZi ChartYour own element in the same polarity: self-reliance, partnership between equals, and how the Friend reads for a strong or weak Day Master.
• Rob Wealth (劫财) in a BaZi ChartYour own element in the opposite polarity: drive, competition, bold decisions, and how Rob Wealth reads for a strong or weak Day Master.
• The Eating God (食神) in a BaZi ChartWhat the Day Master produces in its own polarity: calm self-expression, quality, enjoying the process — and how it serves a strong or weak Day Master.
• The Hurting Officer (伤官) in a BaZi ChartWhat the Day Master produces in the opposite polarity: sharp, personal self-expression, a drive to improve things and to argue with the rules.
• Indirect Wealth (偏财) in a BaZi ChartWhat the Day Master controls in its own polarity: flexible resources, projects, an eye for opportunity — and why Wealth is heavier for a weak Day Master.
• Direct Wealth (正财) in a BaZi ChartThe element the Day Master controls, of the opposite polarity: order, steady results and the ability to manage resources.
• Seven Killings (七杀) in a BaZi ChartThe element that controls the Day Master, of the same polarity: pressure, challenge, high demands and the ability to rise to them.
• Direct Officer (正官) in a BaZi ChartThe element that controls the Day Master, of the opposite polarity: rules, responsibility, recognised status and clear limits.
• Indirect Resource (偏印) in a BaZi ChartThe element that produces the Day Master, of the same polarity: unconventional knowledge, self-study, intuition and inner support.
• Direct Resource (正印) in a BaZi ChartThe element that produces the Day Master, of the opposite polarity: systematic learning, care, reliable support and a calm foundation.

Interactions and periods

Branch clashes and combinations, chart palaces, the twelve branches, annual and monthly pillars, the year 2027.

• The 2027 Ding Wei (丁未) Year in BaZiA Yin Fire year on an Earth branch: when it starts, how the 未 branch interacts and how the year reads for each of the ten Day Masters.
• Branch Clashes in a BaZi ChartThe six pairs of opposite branches: why they clash, what a clash means in each palace and how to read it against the year and the Luck Pillar.
• Branch Combinations and Other Interactions in BaZiSix Combinations, Three Harmony and seasonal combinations, punishments, harms and stem combinations — reference tables and the traditional reading.
• Palaces of the BaZi ChartThe Four Pillars as four palaces: which areas of life the tradition links them to, what lies inside and how to read a clash between palaces.
• The 12 Earthly Branches in BaZiA table of the twelve branches — elements, polarity, months, Hidden Stems and hours — and why the year animal is not the chart.
• The Annual Pillar in a BaZi ChartHow a year overlays the chart: the year's Ten Gods, branch interactions, Lichun and the Luck Pillar backdrop.
• The Month Pillar in a BaZi ChartSolar months by the 12 jieqi nodes, tables for 2026–2027, the Five Tigers rule and three layers of reading.