What BaZi is
BaZi builds four pillars from the year, month, day and hour of birth, each with one stem and one branch — eight characters in all. The day-pillar stem is the day master; the other seven characters are read against it as Ten Gods, and each branch unpacks into hidden stems by primary, middle and residual qi. You read relations among the stems and branches, the element mix, and ten-year luck cycles — not a verdict on what happens on a given day.
What is on the chart
Four pillars
Year, month, day and hour each carry one stem and one branch. The year changes at Beginning of Spring rather than January 1st; months follow the twelve solar terms; the day follows the day-boundary rule; the hour covers two hours per branch and can include a true-solar-time correction.
Ten gods and hidden stems
Relations between the day master and the other characters become the Ten Gods: Companion, Rob Wealth, Eating God, Hurting Officer, Direct and Indirect Wealth, Direct and Seven Killings, Direct and Indirect Resource. Each branch also unpacks into primary, middle and residual hidden stems, weighted 1 / 0.5 / 0.3 — which is why one branch usually carries more than one meaning.
Element strength and day-master strength
Elements are not counted; they are compared as hidden-stem-weighted values, so you can see which one runs strong and which is constrained. Day-master strength is then scored along three routes — season, rooting and support — with every plus and minus printed, before any useful-god reading is offered.
Structure and seasonal adjustment
The chart structure is taken from whichever hidden stem in the month pillar can actually stand — one that appears on a stem takes priority, otherwise the primary stem is used, so a chart can carry a main structure and a fallback. Seasonal adjustment reads the same month for cold, heat, dryness and damp, and both conclusions list their evidence.
Luck cycles
Luck cycles run in ten-year steps. The start is derived from the distance between birth and the adjacent solar term (5 years 6 months, for example), and the direction from the year stem’s polarity together with gender. Each pillar lists its stem and branch, its Ten God and its age range, with yearly markers inside.
Void branches, twelve stages and nayin
Void branches mark the two branches missing from the current decade; the twelve stages place the day master against each branch; nayin gives the year pillar a five-element attribute. All three come from published fixed tables and are there to be checked line by line.
How the chart is cast
1.Restore the birth instant
Historical timezone offsets and the daylight-saving rules of that year are restored first — mainland China, for example, ran on UTC+9 in the summers of 1986 to 1991.
2.Optional true solar time
Longitude correction and the equation of time convert clock time into the Sun’s actual position, which can shift the hour pillar. Every correction is printed on the chart so you can verify it.
3.Set the four pillars
The year changes at Beginning of Spring, the month at each of the twelve solar terms, the day by the day-boundary rule (23:00 by default, switchable to 00:00), and the hour by its two-hour branch.
4.Compute Ten Gods, elements and strength
Hidden stems are weighted 1 / 0.5 / 0.3 into the element counts, day-master strength is scored along season, rooting and support, and the structure and seasonal-adjustment conclusions list their evidence.
5.Lay out the luck cycles
The start of the cycles comes from the distance to the adjacent solar term and the direction from the year stem’s polarity and gender, giving ten-year pillars with yearly markers.
6.Charting and reading
The chart first computes the four pillars, Ten Gods, hidden stems, element strength, day-master strength, structure and luck cycles. The AI reading only explains those already-calculated fields: it does not invent a missing birth time or change the pillars.
Timezone: charts are cast in the birthplace timezone by default (Asia/Shanghai, UTC+8 for mainland China), with historical offsets and daylight saving restored as they actually were. The day boundary defaults to 23:00 and can be switched to 00:00. For births outside mainland China, set the actual birthplace — otherwise the hour pillar can shift by one position.
What you see after casting
After you cast the chart, the page lists results you can check line by line. It does not add a luck grade.
- The year, month, day and hour pillars, and the day master.
- The Ten Gods, hidden stems in each branch, and their weights.
- Element strength, day-master strength, and every plus or minus behind the score.
- The structure name and its basis, seasonal adjustment, void branches, twelve stages and nayin.
- Ten-year luck cycles and yearly markers.
- The true solar time, solar terms, day-boundary rule (23:00 or 00:00) and birthplace timezone used this time.
Common questions
- What is BaZi good for?
- Structural questions: your strengths and weak spots, which element is out of balance, which stage favours action, and what kind of environment or people fit you. It is not suited to predicting a specific event on a specific date.
- Can I make decisions from this chart?
- For reference only — not a substitute for medical, legal or financial advice. BaZi is a tool for self-reflection and cultural exploration; it shows structure and timing and does not decide for you.
- Can I cast a chart without an exact birth time?
- You can cast from what you know, but the hour pillar and the Ten God structure that depends on it will not be reliable; in places far from their standard meridian the hour pillar may also need true-solar-time correction. The closer the time is to reality, the more trustworthy the chart.
- What is the difference between a regular structure, a formed structure and a broken structure?
- A regular structure is the ordinary month-command frame: a hidden stem that appears on a stem takes priority, otherwise the primary qi is used, giving names such as Direct Officer, Seven Killings, Wealth, Resource or Output. Formed and broken structures ask whether the needed support is present or disrupted. This site lists the structure name and its basis; it does not grade formed or broken as success or failure.
- Does true solar time always change the four pillars?
- No. True solar time only changes a pillar when the correction crosses an hour, day-boundary or solar-term line. If it does not cross, the pillars stay the same.
- Do the lunar calendar and leap months change a BaZi chart?
- Yes. A lunar date must be converted together with its leap-month flag before the month pillar is set by solar terms; the month pillar is not the lunar month itself. An unmarked leap month is treated as an ordinary month, and the month pillar is wrong from that step. Use the calendar in the birth record, and mark a leap month when it is one.
- What is the difference between the chart and the AI reading?
- The chart computes the four pillars, Ten Gods, hidden stems, element strength, day-master strength, structure and luck cycles from the chosen rules; the same input always matches. The AI reading only explains those already-calculated fields: it does not invent a missing birth time, and it does not treat a disputed call as the only fact. If the fields do not match, compare the chart first.
You can cast your own chart now: enter your birth details and get Four pillars, Ten gods, Hidden stems in one pass.
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