The first time most people see their BaZi chart, the rows of stem-branch pairs look like a foreign script. But once you break it into a few core ideas, it's far more approachable. This guide gives you the whole frame.
What is BaZi (the Four Pillars)?
BaZi pairs a heavenly stem and an earthly branch with each of your birth year, month, day and hour — four pairs, eight characters, hence "BaZi" (literally "eight characters").
- Year pillar — ancestry, roots and early environment
- Month pillar — parents, career and the direction of growth
- Day pillar — the day stem is you; the day branch is the spouse palace
- Hour pillar — children, later life and where ambition lands
The four pillars act like four supports describing your innate makeup.
Stems and branches
Ten stems: Jiǎ, Yǐ, Bǐng, Dīng, Wù, Jǐ, Gēng, Xīn, Rén, Guǐ. Twelve branches: Zǐ, Chǒu, Yín, Mǎo, Chén, Sì, Wǔ, Wèi, Shēn, Yǒu, Xū, Hài.
Stems are clear and outward; branches are mixed and hold "hidden stems" inside. Pairing the two cycles every sixty steps — the well-known Sixty Jiazi.
The Day Master and the Ten Gods
The first step in reading a chart is finding the day stem — called the Day Master, or "self."
Every other character relates to the Day Master by generation, control and yin-yang. These relationships are grouped into the Ten Gods:
| Relationship | Ten Gods |
|---|---|
| Same as self | Friend, Rob Wealth |
| Self generates | Eating God, Hurting Officer |
| Self controls | Direct Wealth, Indirect Wealth |
| Controls self | Direct Officer, Seven Killings |
| Generates self | Direct Resource, Indirect Resource |
The Ten Gods are the language of the chart: Wealth means money and pragmatism; Officer/Killings mean duty and constraint; Resource means support and study; Eating/Hurting mean expression and talent.
Element strength and favorable elements
Sort the eight characters into Metal, Wood, Water, Fire and Earth, then check whether the Day Master is "in command" in its birth month. That tells you whether the Day Master is strong or weak.
- Weak Day Master → favors elements that generate or support it (Resource, Friend)
- Strong Day Master → favors elements that control or drain it (Officer/Killings, Eating/Hurting, Wealth)
This sense of favorable elements is the key to judging luck pillars and annual fortune later.
Next step
With the Four Pillars, stems and branches, Ten Gods and Five Elements in hand, you have the skeleton of chart reading. Symbolic stars, luck pillars and annual cycles all add flesh to that skeleton. Cast your own chart and read it alongside this guide.