What BaZi is
BaZi starts from one instant: the moment of birth. That clock time is restored to the historical timezone of the birthplace, then cut on four boundaries. The year pillar changes at Beginning of Spring, not on 1 January. The month pillar changes at the twelve solar terms, so it is neither the Gregorian month nor the lunar month. The day pillar follows the stated day boundary, and the hour pillar is one two-hour branch. You name the day stem, the day master, first. Then you see how the other seven characters face it, and only then which ten-year luck cycle is stacked on top. Remarks about character or fortune sit on the pillars. They do not rewrite the stems, branches or weights already printed.
The input is one moment
BaZi uses the instant of birth, restored first to the timezone of the birthplace in that year. Mainland China ran on UTC+9 in the summers of 1986 to 1991, not the UTC+8 used now. The wrong place shifts the hour pillar by one branch.
Four boundaries cut the pillars
In BaZi the year changes at Beginning of Spring, the month at the twelve solar terms, the day at the day boundary, and the hour every two hours. The month pillar therefore does not match the name of a Gregorian or lunar month. The day boundary defaults to 23:00 and can be switched to 00:00.
Name the day master first
BaZi takes the day stem as the day master. Ten Gods, hidden stems, element strength and the strength score are the other characters facing that one stem. A luck cycle is a later ten-year layer. It does not replace the day master.
What you can ask BaZi
A useful BaZi question can be pointed back at the stems and branches: who the day master is, where the Ten Gods fall, which element is heavy, and which luck cycle is running. Ask one kind of question at a time. Rewrite the lines below for your own case.
Temperament and strengths
In BaZi, a strength starts with whether the day master is in season in the month command.
- Does the day master’s element hold the month command?
- Of the stems that show, which Ten God stands out?
- Do the hidden stems beside it feed it, or control it?
Where the elements lean
In BaZi, a lean is which element is heavy, and which is light, after the weights are applied.
- After weighting, which element is clearly heavier?
- Which element is down to almost nothing but residual qi?
- Does that weight come from a stem, or from a hidden stem?
When to push
In BaZi, a phase is which Ten God the current luck-cycle stem is to the day master.
- What Ten God is the stem of the current luck cycle, to the day master?
- Which years does this ten-year step cover?
- Which element does this year’s annual pillar add weight to?
People and settings that fit
In BaZi, a fit is the other person’s day master read from your side.
- What Ten God is the other person’s day master, from yours?
- Is one chart’s weakest element the other’s strongest?
- This question needs the two charts side by side.
Work and money as structure
In BaZi, work and money are where Officer, Resource and Wealth sit, not a salary or a job title.
- Which pillar holds Officer or Resource?
- Is Wealth visible on a stem, or hidden in a branch?
- This is structure, not one paycheck or one post.
How BaZi differs from Zi Wei Dou Shu and Western astrology
All three can use a birth time. They do not read the same thing. Keep stems, palaces and aspects in separate sentences.
| BaZi | Zi Wei Dou Shu | Western astrology | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What you enter | Birth date and hour | Birth date, hour and gender | Birth time and the birthplace coordinates |
| What it reads | Four pillars, Ten Gods and element strength | Stars and transformations in twelve palaces | Planets, houses and aspects |
| One pass | Relations on the stems, and a ten-year luck cycle | Which palace holds this situation | The angles on one chart |
| Time layer | Luck cycles and annual pillars | Decade and annual cycles | Transits |
Read stems in BaZi, palaces in Zi Wei Dou Shu, and angles in Western astrology. Do not fold the three into one conclusion.
Where to start reading a BaZi chart
1.Name the day master
The day stem is the reference for the whole chart. Ten Gods, strength and structure are the other characters facing that stem, not the year pillar. Do not read the later names until the day master is clear.
2.Then the Ten Gods
See which Ten God each visible stem is. Then split the hidden stems into primary, middle and residual. A branch often carries more than one. Start with the heaviest weight.
3.Which element is heavy, and which is checked
Use the weighted counts, not the eight characters on the surface. A heavy or light element has to point back at a stem or a hidden stem. Do not write character or fortune first.
4.Structure and seasonal adjustment
The structure is the stem that can stand in the month command. Seasonal adjustment is the cold, heat, dryness or damp of that month. Both lines carry their evidence. A structure name is not a rank.
5.Luck cycles and annual pillars last
Finish the natal pillars first. Then see which element this decade, and this year, pushes forward. The person is still the same day master.
Timezone: the chart uses the historical offset of the birthplace in that year (Asia/Shanghai for a birth in mainland China; UTC+9 in the summers of 1986 to 1991). The day boundary defaults to 23:00 and can be switched to 00:00. For a birth abroad, enter the birthplace rather than the city you live in now, or the hour pillar can shift by one branch.
To cast this chart, cast a free BaZi chart. For which questions belong on the chart, see what BaZi is good for.
Common questions
- What is BaZi good for?
- Structural questions: strengths and weak spots, where the elements lean, which phase favours a push, and what kind of person or setting fits. It is not for “what happens on a given day”.
- Can I make decisions from this chart?
- For reference only — not a substitute for medical, legal, or financial advice. BaZi shows structure and pace. It does not make the medical, legal or financial decision for you.
- Do I need an exact birth time?
- The two-hour branch sets the hour pillar, and the Ten Gods that hang on it. If the time is unknown, read the year, month and day, and leave the hour pillar blank. Do not guess a branch just to fill eight characters. If the birthplace longitude is far from its standard meridian, also check whether true solar time crosses an hour boundary.
- Is BaZi accurate?
- The same birth details, timezone and day-boundary switch produce the same chart again. Stems, branches and weights can be checked line by line. That means the chart can be reproduced. It does not mean a judgment about one event has been confirmed.
- What is the difference between a regular, formed and broken structure?
- A regular structure is the ordinary month-command frame. A hidden stem that appears on a stem takes priority; otherwise the primary stem is used, giving names such as Direct Officer, Seven Killings, Wealth, Resource or Output. Formed asks whether the support that structure needs is present. Broken asks whether a key condition is disrupted by a clash or a control. This site lists the name and the evidence. It does not grade formed or broken as success or failure, and the name is not a rank.
- Does true solar time always change the pillars?
- No. True solar time corrects clock time by the birthplace longitude and the equation of time. A pillar changes only when the corrected time crosses an hour, a day boundary or a solar term. If it does not cross, the pillars stay as they were.
- Do the lunar calendar and a leap month change the month pillar?
- Yes. A lunar date, including its leap-month flag, is converted to the Gregorian date before the month pillar is set by the 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.
- Why do two calculators disagree?
First match the year boundary (Beginning of Spring or not), the day boundary (23:00 or 00:00), how the hours are cut, and whether true solar time is on. If those switches differ, the pillars differ. The settings are listed under BaZi.
- What if I cannot read the chart?
- Name the day master, then see where the Ten Gods fall, then which element is heavier, and only then the luck cycle. Stop at the item that does not match. Do not let one structure name cover the stems and branches already printed.
- How is the chart different from the AI reading?
- The chart computes the pillars, Ten Gods, hidden stems, element strength, the strength score, the structure and the luck cycles from the chosen rules. The same input always matches. The AI reading only explains fields already calculated. 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 before the reading.
To see your own chart, cast a free BaZi chart. To start from how the pillars are cut, read the four pillars.