BaZi From Scratch:
Everything You Need to Know at the Start

Every time you encounter the word "destiny," that word carries a thousand-year-old Chinese way of thinking, in which the moment of a person's birth records their potential just as a seed records the potential of a tree. BaZi (八字, bā zì — "eight characters") is exactly such a system. Not a horoscope, not magic, not fortune-telling — but a structured method of analyzing personality and life cycles through the date and time of birth.

1 Where the system came from: a brief 1000-year history

The roots of the system reach back to the Tang era (唐朝, táng cháo — 7th–10th centuries CE). The first systematized version was created by the official Li Xuzhong (李虛中) — he learned to read destiny from the year, month and day of birth (three pillars). Later, in the Song era (宋朝, sòng cháo), the master Xu Ziping (徐子平) added a fourth pillar — the hour — and created the complete system of the "Four Pillars" (四柱命理, sì zhù mìng lǐ). It was after his name that the system gained its second name — Ziping.

In the 20th–21st centuries the system spread to the West thanks to the master Joey Yap from Malaysia — one of the most renowned popularizers of Chinese metaphysics. It is his canons that form the basis of our approach.

2 What the "eight characters" 八字 are

The name "BaZi" (八字, bā zì) translates literally as "eight signs" or "eight characters." Why eight?

Your chart consists of four pillars (四柱, sì zhù). Each pillar is one of the time periods of your birth:

Each pillar consists of two characters: the Heavenly Stem (天干, tiān gān) on top and the Earthly Branch (地支, dì zhī) below. Four pillars × two signs = eight characters. That is why the system is called the "Eight Characters."

3 The Ten Heavenly Stems 天干

The Heavenly Stems (天干, tiān gān) are 10 signs, each of which represents one of the five elements (Wu Xing, 五行, wǔ xíng) in its Yang or Yin form:

• 🌳 甲 Jiǎ — Yang Wood · 乙 Yǐ — Yin Wood
• 🔥 丙 Bǐng — Yang Fire · 丁 Dīng — Yin Fire
• ⛰️ 戊 Wù — Yang Earth · 己 Jǐ — Yin Earth
• ⚔️ 庚 Gēng — Yang Metal · 辛 Xīn — Yin Metal
• 🌊 壬 Rén — Yang Water · 癸 Guǐ — Yin Water

4 The Twelve Earthly Branches 地支 — the animals

The Earthly Branches (地支, dì zhī) are 12 signs, known in popular culture as the "12 animals" of the Chinese zodiac. But in BaZi they carry far more meaning than mere symbols:

• 子 (zǐ) — Rat · 丑 (chǒu) — Ox · 寅 (yín) — Tiger · 卯 (mǎo) — Rabbit
• 辰 (chén) — Dragon · 巳 (sì) — Snake · 午 (wǔ) — Horse · 未 (wèi) — Goat
• 申 (shēn) — Monkey · 酉 (yǒu) — Rooster · 戌 (xū) — Dog · 亥 (hài) — Pig

Each Earthly Branch also contains hidden Heavenly Stems within itself — this is called 藏干 (cáng gān — "hidden stems"). This is precisely why the Earthly Branches carry more complex information than the Heavenly Stems.

5 The five elements 五行: the foundation of everything

At the heart of BaZi lies the concept of the five elements (五行, wǔ xíng). These are not "elements" in the chemical sense, but rather five qualities, five types of movement and transformation of Qi energy (气, qì — "life force"):

The elements interact through two main cycles: the generating cycle (生, shēng) — Wood feeds Fire, Fire creates Earth (ash), Earth gives birth to Metal (ore), Metal "generates" Water (condensation), Water feeds Wood; and the controlling cycle (克, kè) — Wood pierces Earth, Earth stops Water, Water extinguishes Fire, Fire melts Metal, Metal cuts Wood.

6 Who the Day Master 日主 is: the most important thing

Of all eight signs in the chart, one is special — the Heavenly Stem of the Day Pillar. It is called 日主 (rì zhǔ — "master of the day"), or in English the Day Master. This is YOU. Your core element, your nature, your way of interacting with the world.

Everything else in the chart is read through the lens of the 日主: "what is good for my element?", "what weakens it?", "what controls it?". If you are Yang Wood (甲, jiǎ) — Water feeds you, Metal controls you, you generate Fire. This changes literally everything in the interpretation.

7 Day Master strength: strong or weak

One of the first questions when reading a chart is: is your 日主 strong or weak? This determines the strategy of your entire life.

• Strong 日主: many signs of the same element or of the feeding element in the chart. Such a person needs "opponents" — signs that control or consume their energy. Without an outlet, strength becomes a burden.
• Weak 日主: little support, much control and "draining." Such a person needs support — signs that feed their element. Without nourishment, a weak 日主 becomes depleted.

It is precisely this balance that determines the 用神 (yòng shén — "useful god") — the key element of the chart, the element most needed for equilibrium.

8 Luck Pillars 大運: life by decades

Besides the natal chart, BaZi has 大運 (dà yùn — "great movements," or "luck pillars"). These are 10-year periods, each carrying its own element and Ten Gods. Unlike the natal chart, this changes every ten years.

It is through the 大運 that the major life events occur: career rises, love, crises, transformations. Understanding the current decade is one of the most valuable insights of BaZi.

9 The Ten Gods 十神: a map of relationships

Once you know your 日主, the next step is studying the 十神 (shí shén — "ten gods/spirits"). This is a system for classifying all the other signs in the chart based on their relationship to the 日主:

• Same element = 比肩 (bǐ jiān — "shoulder to shoulder") or 劫財 (jié cái — "robber of wealth")
• The element generated by the 日主 = 食神 (shí shén — "eating god") or 傷官 (shāng guān — "hurting officer")
• The element that generates the 日主 = 正印 (zhèng yìn — "direct resource") or 偏印 (piān yìn — "indirect resource")
• The element controlled by the 日主 = 正財 (zhèng cái — "direct wealth") or 偏財 (piān cái — "indirect wealth")
• The element that controls the 日主 = 正官 (zhèng guān — "direct officer") or 七殺 (qī shā — "Seven Killings")

10 BaZi vs Western astrology: what's the difference

People often ask: is this the same as astrology? No — and here's why:

• 🔭 Astrology: based on the positions of the planets. In a horoscope, about 30% of the information depends on the year of birth (the zodiac sign). All Capricorns of one year are "the same" to a certain degree.
• 🀄 BaZi: based on the exact time of birth. Two people born in the same year, month and day, but 2 hours apart, have fundamentally different charts. Individuality is maximized.
• ⚙️ Method: astrology interprets the symbolism of planets and constellations. BaZi is a mathematically rigorous system of elements, Yin/Yang and interactions.

11 Where to begin: a step-by-step plan