BaZi prelude

Fate takes form through time

Year, month, day, and hour write climate, position, and rhythm into one structure. Read the frame first, then the rest falls into place.

Scroll on — read the chart

Chart atlas

Structure, season, and expression — all in one wheel.

立春雨水惊蛰春分清明谷雨立夏小满芒种夏至小暑大暑立秋处暑白露秋分寒露霜降立冬小雪大雪冬至小寒大寒子RAT丑OX寅TIGER卯RABBIT辰DRAGON巳SNAKE午HORSE未GOAT申MONKEY酉ROOSTER戌DOG亥PIG甲乙丙丁戊己庚辛壬癸STEM-BRANCH CYCLE六十甲子Temporal snapshot

Current layer

Overview

BaZi records birth year, month, day, and hour as four stem-branch pairs, eight characters in total. It is a spatiotemporal snapshot of birth, grounded in the sixty-pair stem-branch cycle.

Click a term, branch, or stem

Layer 01

The branches form a wheel before anything else

Twelve Earthly Branches lock into a clockwise ring — a spatial frame. Only with this grid in place can the pillars land.

子RAT丑OX寅TIGER卯RABBIT辰DRAGON巳SNAKE午HORSE未GOAT申MONKEY酉ROOSTER戌DOG亥PIGTwelve BranchesThe wheel forms first, then the pillars can land on it.Clockwise orderIt answers one question: where is the slot.BRANCH WHEELPosition first

Layer 02

Once the frame is set, the pillars can land

Each pillar is a stem plus a branch: stem first, branch second. Four pillars land on four time layers — year, month, day, hour.

The first character is the stemThe second character is the branchSTEMBRANCH01YearAncestry and inherited context丙子Origin firstThe year branch frames roots and inherited background02MonthSeasonal climate and growth environment辛丑Then the climateThe month branch sets the seasonal climate of the chart03DaySelf and partner axis己酉Center of selfThe day branch points to the spouse seat and the self-axis04HourFuture output and later-life expression甲子Then what unfoldsThe hour branch often reflects offspring, output, and later unfoldingNot four labelsThey land one after another onto the branch frame.A pillar = stem + branch

Layer 03

Same address, different tenant

The branch is the coordinate, the stem is the force. Both Bing-Zi and Jia-Zi land on Zi, but Bing brings the warmth of fire, Jia brings the growth of wood — same room, entirely different atmosphere.

丙Bing-ZiSTEM · FIRE甲Jia-ZiSTEM · WOODBRANCH子Same branch, different stemsBranch = fixed coordinateStem = different forceTap a stem to compare

Zi is the fixed slot. Tap a stem to see what changes.

Layer 04

Five phases set the chart's undertone

Every stem and branch belongs to one of five phases. They generate and control each other, creating the chart's inner tension and balance. Tap an element below to explore.

WoodGrowthFireExpressionEarthGroundingMetalStructureWaterFlowGEN / CTRLUnbroken cycleGenerateControlTap an element

Every stem and branch belongs to one of five phases. Tap an element to explore.

Layer 05

Everything is read from the Day Master

The Day Master is the stem of your day pillar — the origin of the entire chart. Every other stem is measured against it, forming five relationship pairs and ten role names.

DAY MASTERSelfEarthSAMEFireFEEDS MEWoodCONTROLS MEWaterI CONTROLMetalI GENERATETap any role to explore

The Day Master is the chart's origin. Tap a role to explore.

Layer 06

Symbolic stars live in the margins

Day Grace, Literary Star, Relay Horse, Red Phoenix — these names do not build the chart. They enter after the structure is read, like marginal notes in an old manuscript.

These are the symbolic stars that may appear on your chart (in this site's convention), in display order:

Tap a name to view a brief explanation.

Ready

You now have the basics of BaZi

Enter your birth time and see what your chart looks like.

Open my chart