BaZi – Four Pillars
Year, month, day and hour: four pillars of destiny
Signs: 60 Origin: ~800 AD Region: East Asian
The Signs
甲子
Yang Wood Rat
Pillar 1 of 60 in the sexagenary cycle · Day Master: Yang Wood (甲) · Branch: Rat (子, Water) · Water nourishes Wood — the most auspicious Stem-Branch harmony · Year: cycle years ending in 4 (e.g. 1984, 2044)
乙丑
Yin Wood Ox
Pillar 2 of 60 in the sexagenary cycle · Day Master: Yin Wood (乙) · Branch: Ox (丑, Earth) · Earth partially controls Wood — the vine growing through cold, dense soil; perseverance over ease · Year: cycle years ending in 5 (e.g. 1985, 2045)
丙寅
Yang Fire Tiger
Pillar 3 of 60 in the sexagenary cycle · Day Master: Yang Fire (丙) · Branch: Tiger (寅, Wood) · Wood feeds Fire — the most radiant and powerful of the Fire pillars · Year: cycle years ending in 6 (e.g. 1986, 2046)
丁卯
Yin Fire Rabbit
Pillar 4 of 60 in the sexagenary cycle · Day Master: Yin Fire (丁) · Branch: Rabbit (卯, Wood) · Wood feeds Fire — the candle made of living wood; warmth and light through artistic refinement · Year: cycle years ending in 7 (e.g. 1987, 2047)
戊辰
Yang Earth Dragon
Pillar 5 of 60 in the sexagenary cycle · Day Master: Yang Earth (戊) · Branch: Dragon (辰, Earth with hidden Wood and Water) · Earth-Earth combination with hidden stems — the mountain containing rivers; immense power with concealed depth · Year: cycle years ending in 8 (e.g. 1988, 2048)
己巳
Yin Earth Snake
Pillar 6 of 60 in the sexagenary cycle · Day Master: Yin Earth (己) · Branch: Snake (巳, Fire with hidden Yang Fire, Yang Metal, Yang Earth) · Fire nourishes Earth — the Snake's inner warmth continuously feeds the fertile soil · Year: cycle years ending in 9 (e.g. 1989, 2049)
庚午
Yang Metal Horse
Pillar 7 of 60 in the sexagenary cycle · Day Master: Yang Metal (庚) · Branch: Horse (午, Fire with hidden Yin Fire and Yin Earth) · Fire controls Metal — the forge: creative tension between the Horse's passion and the Metal's drive for structure; the blade being sharpened by heat · Year: cycle years ending in 0 (e.g. 1990, 2050)
辛未
Yin Metal Goat
Pillar 8 of 60 in the sexagenary cycle · Day Master: Yin Metal (辛) · Branch: Goat (未, Earth with hidden Yin Earth, Yin Fire, Yin Wood) · Earth generates Metal — the earth containing precious stones; deep resources of beauty and refinement embedded in the nurturing ground · Year: cycle years ending in 1 (e.g. 1991, 2051)
壬申
Yang Water Monkey
Pillar 9 of 60 in the sexagenary cycle · Day Master: Yang Water (壬) · Branch: Monkey (申, Metal with hidden Yang Metal, Yang Water, Yang Earth) · Metal generates Water — a deeply harmonious combination; the Monkey's Metal continuously enriches the ocean-like intelligence of the Yang Water Day Master · Year: cycle years ending in 2 (e.g. 1992, 2052)
癸酉
Yin Water Rooster
Pillar 10 of 60 in the sexagenary cycle · Day Master: Yin Water (癸) · Branch: Rooster (酉, pure Metal with hidden Yin Metal only) · Metal generates Water — pure and harmonious; the Rooster's refined Metal feeds the Yin Water's intuitive sensitivity with crystalline clarity · Year: cycle years ending in 3 (e.g. 1993, 2053)
甲戌
Yang Wood Dog
Pillar 11 of 60 in the sexagenary cycle · Day Master: Yang Wood (甲) · Branch: Dog (戌, Earth with hidden Yang Earth, Yin Metal, Yin Fire) · Wood controls Earth — the roots of the great tree penetrating and organising the earth; principled authority whose drive for growth structures and transforms its environment · Year: cycle years ending in 4 (e.g. 1994, 2054)
乙亥
Yin Wood Pig
Pillar 12 of 60 in the sexagenary cycle · Day Master: Yin Wood (乙) · Branch: Pig (亥, Water with hidden Yang Water and Yang Wood) · Water nourishes Wood — perfect harmony; the Pig's deep oceanic water feeds the Yin Wood's creative growth, while its hidden Yang Wood creates a resonance of Wood nourishing itself · Year: cycle years ending in 5 (e.g. 1995, 2055)
丙子
Yang Fire Rat
Pillar 13 of 60 in the sexagenary cycle · Day Master: Yang Fire (丙) · Branch: Rat (子, Water with hidden Yang Water only) · Water controls Fire — the focused brilliance of sunlight reflected on deep water; the Rat's intelligence tempers and concentrates the Sun's radiance into precise illumination · Year: cycle years ending in 6 (e.g. 1996, 2056)
丁丑
Yin Fire Ox
Pillar 14 of 60 in the sexagenary cycle · Day Master: Yin Fire (丁) · Branch: Ox (丑, Earth with hidden Yin Earth, Yin Water, Yin Metal) · Fire generates Earth — the candle's steady warmth nourishes the Ox's patient cultivation; the guiding light sustaining the methodical builder · Year: cycle years ending in 7 (e.g. 1997, 2057)
戊寅
Yang Earth Tiger
Pillar 15 of 60 in the sexagenary cycle · Day Master: Yang Earth (戊) · Branch: Tiger (寅, Wood with hidden Yang Wood, Yang Fire, Yang Earth) · Wood controls Earth — the Tiger's explosive growth energy penetrates the mountain; the most Yang-charged branch challenging the most commanding Earth; creative dynamic tension of unstoppable initiative meeting immovable authority · Year: cycle years ending in 8 (e.g. 1998, 2058)
己卯
Yin Earth Rabbit
Pillar 16 of 60 in the sexagenary cycle · Day Master: Yin Earth (己) · Branch: Rabbit (卯, pure Wood with hidden Yin Wood only) · Wood controls Earth — the graceful vine shapes the cultivated garden; the spring equinox's harmony refined into a partnership of aesthetic soil and flowering growth · Year: cycle years ending in 9 (e.g. 1999, 2059)
庚辰
Yang Metal Dragon
Pillar 17 of 60 in the sexagenary cycle · Day Master: Yang Metal (庚) · Branch: Dragon (辰, Earth with hidden Yang Earth, Yin Wood, Yin Water) · Earth generates Metal — the Dragon's mythologically complex earth contains and generates the Metal's decisive power; immense authority sharpened by the blade's cutting clarity · Year: cycle years ending in 0 (e.g. 2000, 2060)
辛巳
Yin Metal Snake
Pillar 18 of 60 in the sexagenary cycle · Day Master: Yin Metal (辛) · Branch: Snake (巳, Fire with hidden Yang Fire, Yang Metal, Yang Earth) · Fire controls Metal — the jewel tested by fire; the Snake's inner heat challenges and ultimately reveals the true quality of the gem; refinement achieved through pressure · Year: cycle years ending in 1 (e.g. 2001, 2061)
壬午
Yang Water Horse
Pillar 19 of 60 in the sexagenary cycle · Day Master: Yang Water (壬) · Branch: Horse (午, Fire with hidden Yin Fire and Yin Earth) · Water controls Fire — the vast ocean and the blazing sun: oceanic wisdom tempering passionate action into something far more powerful than either alone; the great wave that carries fire within it · Year: cycle years ending in 2 (e.g. 2002, 2062)
癸未
Yin Water Goat
Pillar 20 of 60 in the sexagenary cycle · Day Master: Yin Water (癸) · Branch: Goat (未, Earth with hidden Yin Earth, Yin Fire, Yin Wood) · Earth controls Water — the nurturing soil gently containing the subtle rain; warmth and care as the natural container for quiet, deep sensitivity · Year: cycle years ending in 3 (e.g. 2003, 2063)
甲申
Yang Wood Monkey
Pillar 21 of 60 in the sexagenary cycle · Day Master: Yang Wood (甲) · Branch: Monkey (申, Metal with hidden Yang Metal, Yang Water, Yang Earth) · Metal controls Wood — the axe meeting the great tree; the challenge that tests whether the tree's strength is genuine; pioneering ambition sharpened and tested by the Monkey's cutting intelligence · Year: cycle years ending in 4 (e.g. 2004, 2064)
乙酉
Yin Wood Rooster
Pillar 22 of 60 in the sexagenary cycle · Day Master: Yin Wood (乙) · Branch: Rooster (酉, pure Metal with hidden Yin Metal only) · Metal controls Wood — the jeweler's precise tool shaping the delicate vine; creative grace meeting discerning precision; the flower whose beauty is defined by the exactitude of its form · Year: cycle years ending in 5 (e.g. 2005, 2065)
丙戌
Yang Fire Dog
Pillar 23 of 60 in the sexagenary cycle · Day Master: Yang Fire (丙) · Branch: Dog (戌, Earth with hidden Yang Earth, Yin Metal, Yin Fire) · Fire generates Earth — the sun warming and illuminating the loyal guardian's earth; the Dog's hidden Yin Fire resonates with the Sun's Yang Fire, creating a warmth that is both radiant and deeply sustaining · Year: cycle years ending in 6 (e.g. 2006, 2066)
丁亥
Yin Fire Pig
Pillar 24 of 60 in the sexagenary cycle · Day Master: Yin Fire (丁) · Branch: Pig (亥, Water with hidden Yang Water and Yang Wood) · Water controls Fire — yet the Pig's hidden Yang Wood nourishes Yin Fire; the candle flame sustained by the deep wood within the water; interior contemplative light surviving and deepening through its encounter with the oceanic depths · Year: cycle years ending in 7 (e.g. 2007, 2067)
戊子
Yang Earth Rat
Pillar 25 of 60 in the sexagenary cycle · Day Master: Yang Earth (戊) · Branch: Rat (子, Water with hidden Yang Water only) · Water controls Earth — the deep spring hollowing the mountain; intelligence creating depth within commanding solidity; the vast plain that conceals a hidden river within its foundation · Year: cycle years ending in 8 (e.g. 2008, 2068)
己丑
Yin Earth Ox
Pillar 26 of 60 in the sexagenary cycle · Day Master: Yin Earth (己) · Branch: Ox (丑, Earth with hidden Yin Earth, Yin Water, Yin Metal) · Double Earth resonance — the cultivated garden and the patient builder share the same elemental nature; the Ox's hidden Yin Water provides the moisture that keeps the garden fertile; the deepest expression of Earth's nurturing, methodical patience · Year: cycle years ending in 9 (e.g. 2009, 2069)
庚寅
Yang Metal Tiger
Pillar 27 of 60 in the sexagenary cycle · Day Master: Yang Metal (庚) · Branch: Tiger (寅, Wood with hidden Yang Wood, Yang Fire, Yang Earth) · Metal controls Wood — the great sword in the forest; the Tiger's hidden Yang Fire also controls Metal in return; a triple-Yang tension of extraordinary dynamic energy producing both decisive power and the pressure that continually refines it · Year: cycle years ending in 0 (e.g. 2010, 2070)
辛卯
Yin Metal Rabbit
Pillar 28 of 60 in the sexagenary cycle · Day Master: Yin Metal (辛) · Branch: Rabbit (卯, pure Wood with hidden Yin Wood only) · Metal controls Wood — the jeweler's needle and the spring vine; the most delicate and intimate of all controlling relationships, where the precision of the gem-cutter meets the natural grace of the flowering plant · Year: cycle years ending in 1 (e.g. 2011, 2071)
壬辰
Yang Water Dragon
Pillar 29 of 60 in the sexagenary cycle · Day Master: Yang Water (壬) · Branch: Dragon (辰, Earth with hidden Yang Earth, Yin Wood, Yin Water) · The Dragon's hidden Yin Water (癸) resonates with and sustains the Yang Water Day Master — a Water-within-Earth affinity; Earth normally controls Water, but the Dragon's hidden Water creates an internal resource that makes the ocean self-sustaining; mythological depth meeting oceanic intelligence · Year: cycle years ending in 2 (e.g. 2012, 2072)
癸巳
Yin Water Snake
Pillar 30 of 60 in the sexagenary cycle · Day Master: Yin Water (癸) · Branch: Snake (巳, Fire with hidden Yang Fire, Yang Earth, Yang Metal) · Water controls Fire — the gentle rain meeting the summer furnace; the Snake's hidden Yang Metal generates Water in return, creating a subtle reciprocal relationship: the element that Water controls also secretly sustains it · Year: cycle years ending in 3 (e.g. 2013, 2073)
甲午
Yang Wood Horse
Pillar 31 of 60 in the sexagenary cycle · Day Master: Yang Wood (甲) · Branch: Horse (午, Fire with hidden Yang Fire and Yin Fire) · Wood generates Fire — the great tree feeding the summer flame; the Horse's Yang Fire is the natural output of the Yang Wood's vitality, creating an expression dynamic of pure, uninhibited upward expansion: the tallest tree reaching toward the brightest sky · Year: cycle years ending in 4 (e.g. 2014, 2074)
乙未
Yin Wood Goat
Pillar 32 of 60 in the sexagenary cycle · Day Master: Yin Wood (乙) · Branch: Goat (未, Earth with hidden Yin Earth, Yin Fire, Yin Wood) · The Goat's hidden Yin Wood (乙) is identical to the Day Master — a self-rooting vine: the most complete self-sufficiency in the cycle, the creeper that finds its own anchor within the earth itself · Year: cycle years ending in 5 (e.g. 2015, 2075)
丙申
Yang Fire Monkey
Pillar 33 of 60 in the sexagenary cycle · Day Master: Yang Fire (丙) · Branch: Monkey (申, Metal with hidden Yang Metal, Yang Water, Yang Earth) · Fire controls Metal — the sun melting the ore; but the Monkey's hidden Yang Water controls Fire in return, creating a mutual-control dynamic of extraordinary tension and productive paradox: the brilliance that shapes the instrument that limits the brilliance · Year: cycle years ending in 6 (e.g. 2016, 2076)
丁酉
Yin Fire Rooster
Pillar 34 of 60 in the sexagenary cycle · Day Master: Yin Fire (丁) · Branch: Rooster (酉, pure Metal with hidden Yin Metal only) · Fire controls Metal — the candle's flame and the gold needle; the most intimate and precise of all Fire-Metal encounters, where the small flame does not overwhelm but refines: the jeweller's torch that shapes without destroying · Year: cycle years ending in 7 (e.g. 2017, 2077)
戊戌
Yang Earth Dog
Pillar 35 of 60 in the sexagenary cycle · Day Master: Yang Earth (戊) · Branch: Dog (戌, Earth with hidden Yang Earth, Yin Fire, Yin Metal) · Double Earth resonance — the mountain and the guardian share their elemental nature; the Dog's hidden Yin Fire warms and energises the Earth; the hidden Yin Metal adds a discriminating intelligence to the commanding solidity; a combination of extraordinary loyalty and principled steadfastness · Year: cycle years ending in 8 (e.g. 2018, 2078)
己亥
Yin Earth Pig
Pillar 36 of 60 in the sexagenary cycle · Day Master: Yin Earth (己) · Branch: Pig (亥, Water with hidden Yang Water and Yin Wood) · Water controls Earth and Wood penetrates Earth — a double controlling dynamic of unusual depth: the underground river softening the garden soil while roots work through it; the most receptively intelligent of all Earth expressions · Year: cycle years ending in 9 (e.g. 2019, 2079)
庚子
Yang Metal Rat
Pillar 37 of 60 in the sexagenary cycle · Day Master: Yang Metal (庚) · Branch: Rat (子, pure Water with hidden Yang Water only) · Metal generates Water — the great blade sweating the living spring; decisive authority producing the quick, adaptive intelligence that flows from it; the sword that generates the river · Year: cycle years ending in 0 (e.g. 2020, 2080)
辛丑
Yin Metal Ox
Pillar 38 of 60 in the sexagenary cycle · Day Master: Yin Metal (辛) · Branch: Ox (丑, Earth with hidden Yin Earth, Yin Water, Yin Metal) · The Ox's hidden Yin Metal (辛) is identical to the Day Master — the jewel embedded in its own native earth; Earth generates Metal in the cycle, and here the source and the product are the same element: the most self-nourishing of all Yin Metal expressions, patient refinement sustained from within its own ground · Year: cycle years ending in 1 (e.g. 2021, 2081)
壬寅
Yang Water Tiger
Pillar 39 of 60 in the sexagenary cycle · Day Master: Yang Water (壬) · Branch: Tiger (寅, Wood with hidden Yang Wood, Yang Fire, Yang Earth) · Water generates Wood — the great ocean feeding the great forest; the Tiger's hidden Yang Fire is also controlled by Water; a dual dynamic of nourishing power: the ocean sustains the forest while simultaneously governing the fire within it, producing an intelligence of sweeping authority · Year: cycle years ending in 2 (e.g. 2022, 2082)
癸卯
Yin Water Rabbit
Pillar 40 of 60 in the sexagenary cycle · Day Master: Yin Water (癸) · Branch: Rabbit (卯, pure Wood with hidden Yin Wood only) · Water generates Wood — the dew that nourishes the vine; both are Yin, both are the most delicate expressions of their element: the most intimate and tender of all generative relationships in the entire cycle, the morning rain and the spring blossom · Year: cycle years ending in 3 (e.g. 2023, 2083)
甲辰
Yang Wood Dragon
Pillar 41 of 60 in the sexagenary cycle · Day Master: Yang Wood (甲) · Branch: Dragon (辰, Earth with hidden Yang Earth, Yin Wood, Yin Water) · Earth controls Wood — but the Dragon's hidden Yin Wood (乙) shares the tree's nature, and the hidden Yin Water (癸) nourishes the tree within the controlling earth: the tree rooted in the dragon's earth, sustained by a hidden spring, resisting the earth's control through the depth of its own rooting · Year: cycle years ending in 4 (e.g. 2024, 2084)
乙巳
Yin Wood Snake
Pillar 42 of 60 in the sexagenary cycle · Day Master: Yin Wood (乙) · Branch: Snake (巳, Fire with hidden Yang Fire, Yang Earth, Yang Metal) · Wood generates Fire — the vine feeding the summer furnace; but the Snake's hidden Yang Metal also controls the Yin Wood Day Master: a creative tension of expression and restraint, the vine that generates brilliance while being shaped by the instrument it creates · Year: cycle years ending in 5 (e.g. 2025, 2085)
丙午
Yang Fire Horse
Pillar 43 of 60 in the sexagenary cycle · Day Master: Yang Fire (丙) · Branch: Horse (午, Fire with hidden Yang Fire and Yin Fire) · Double Fire — the sun meeting the summer solstice; Day Master and Branch share the same element in its most blazing expression; the most radiant and expansively vital of all Fire combinations, the sun at noon on the longest day · Year: cycle years ending in 6 (e.g. 2026, 2086)
丁未
Yin Fire Goat
Pillar 44 of 60 in the sexagenary cycle · Day Master: Yin Fire (丁) · Branch: Goat (未, Earth with hidden Yin Earth, Yin Fire, Yin Wood) · The Goat's hidden Yin Fire (丁) is identical to the Day Master; Yin Wood nourishes the flame; Fire generates Earth (output): a self-sustaining warm cycle — the candle finds its own fuel in the Wood hidden within the earth, burns with the same quality as its own nature, and generates the ash that enriches the ground · Year: cycle years ending in 7 (e.g. 2027, 2087)
戊申
Yang Earth Monkey
Pillar 45 of 60 in the sexagenary cycle · Day Master: Yang Earth (戊) · Branch: Monkey (申, Metal with hidden Yang Metal, Yang Water, Yang Earth) · The Monkey's hidden Yang Earth (戊) is identical to the Day Master; Earth generates Metal — the mountain producing the ore; the Monkey's Yang Water controls Earth in turn: self-generating authority that produces ingenious instruments which then challenge their own source · Year: cycle years ending in 8 (e.g. 2028, 2088)
己酉
Yin Earth Rooster
Pillar 46 of 60 in the sexagenary cycle · Day Master: Yin Earth (己) · Branch: Rooster (酉, pure Metal with hidden Yin Metal only) · Earth generates Metal — the cultivated garden producing the most refined gem; Yin Earth generating Yin Metal: the most intimate and perfectly matched generative relationship, the soil that produces the most exquisite of its own treasures · Year: cycle years ending in 9 (e.g. 2029, 2089)
庚戌
Yang Metal Dog
Pillar 47 of 60 in the sexagenary cycle · Day Master: Yang Metal (庚) · Branch: Dog (戌, Earth with hidden Yang Earth, Yin Fire, Yin Metal) · Earth generates Metal — the Dog's Yang Earth feeds the great blade; the Dog's hidden Yin Fire controls Metal — the inner fire that tests and refines the sword; the Dog's Yin Metal resonates with the Day Master: the blade forged by its own inner fire in its own generative earth · Year: cycle years ending in 0 (e.g. 2030, 2090)
辛亥
Yin Metal Pig
Pillar 48 of 60 in the sexagenary cycle · Day Master: Yin Metal (辛) · Branch: Pig (亥, Water with hidden Yang Water and Yin Wood) · Metal generates Water — the jewel sweating the living spring; the needle's precision producing the flowing, adaptive intelligence; a purely generative relationship where the most refined of all Metal expressions becomes the source of the most comprehensive of all Water expressions · Year: cycle years ending in 1 (e.g. 2031, 2091)
壬子
Yang Water Rat
Pillar 49 of 60 in the sexagenary cycle · Day Master: Yang Water (壬) · Branch: Rat (子, pure Water with hidden Yang Water only) · Double Yang Water — Day Master and Branch share the same element in its most pure and concentrated expression; the most completely and uninhibitedly Water of all sixty pillars; the great ocean at midnight, the deepest and most comprehensive intelligence at the deepest point of the annual cycle · Year: cycle years ending in 2 (e.g. 2032, 2092)
癸丑
Yin Water Ox
Pillar 50 of 60 in the sexagenary cycle · Day Master: Yin Water (癸) · Branch: Ox (丑, Earth with hidden Yin Earth, Yin Water, Yin Metal) · The Ox's hidden Yin Water (癸) is identical to the Day Master; Earth controls Water — but the spring persists within the frozen winter earth; the underground river that keeps flowing beneath the field that would contain it: hidden persistence within patient constraint · Year: cycle years ending in 3 (e.g. 2033, 2093)
甲寅
Yang Wood Tiger
Pillar 51 of 60 in the sexagenary cycle · Day Master: Yang Wood (甲) · Branch: Tiger (寅, Wood with hidden Yang Wood, Yang Fire, Yang Earth) · Double Yang Wood — the great tree in its own native forest; Day Master and Branch share their primary element, both at their most upright and expansive; the most completely and powerfully Wood of all combinations, the primal forest in its fullest expression · Year: cycle years ending in 4 (e.g. 2034, 2094)
乙卯
Yin Wood Rabbit
Pillar 52 of 60 in the sexagenary cycle · Day Master: Yin Wood (乙) · Branch: Rabbit (卯, pure Wood with hidden Yin Wood only) · Perfect self-resonance — Yin Wood and Yin Wood; the vine and the vine; the most completely self-identical combination in the entire cycle; the spring equinox grace fully at home in its own element, the flowering plant in the meadow of its own kind · Year: cycle years ending in 5 (e.g. 2035, 2095)
丙辰
Yang Fire Dragon
Pillar 53 of 60 in the sexagenary cycle · Day Master: Yang Fire (丙) · Branch: Dragon (辰, Earth with hidden Yang Earth, Yin Wood, Yin Water) · Fire generates Earth — the sun heating the Dragon's mythological ground; the Dragon's Yin Wood fuels the Fire from within; the Dragon's Yin Water controls Fire from within: a triple-layered dynamic of generating, fuelling, and containing within the same branch — the solar fire that transforms what it illuminates · Year: cycle years ending in 6 (e.g. 2036, 2096)
丁巳
Yin Fire Snake
Pillar 54 of 60 in the sexagenary cycle · Day Master: Yin Fire (丁) · Branch: Snake (巳, Fire with hidden Yang Fire, Yang Earth, Yang Metal) · The Snake's dominant Yang Fire intensifies the Yin Fire Day Master — the candle within the furnace; Fire generates Earth (output); Snake's Yang Metal is controlled by Fire: the intimate candle flame meeting the full summer furnace, its precision both amplified and challenged by the same element in its more expansive form · Year: cycle years ending in 7 (e.g. 2037, 2097)
戊午
Yang Earth Horse
Pillar 55 of 60 in the sexagenary cycle · Day Master: Yang Earth (戊) · Branch: Horse (午, Fire with hidden Yang Fire and Yin Fire) · Fire generates Earth — the summer fire warming and energising the great mountain; the most vitally animated of all Earth expressions, the mountain that has been warmed to its core by the solstice sun and radiates that warmth as a sustaining, dynamic authority · Year: cycle years ending in 8 (e.g. 2038, 2098)
己未
Yin Earth Goat
Pillar 56 of 60 in the sexagenary cycle · Day Master: Yin Earth (己) · Branch: Goat (未, Earth with hidden Yin Earth, Yin Fire, Yin Wood) · Double Yin Earth — the garden meeting the midsummer field; the most nurturing and aesthetically warm of all Earth combinations; the Goat's Yin Fire warms the garden; the Goat's Yin Wood grows within it: the most abundantly creative and warmly nourishing of all Earth expressions · Year: cycle years ending in 9 (e.g. 2039, 2099)
庚申
Yang Metal Monkey
Pillar 57 of 60 in the sexagenary cycle · Day Master: Yang Metal (庚) · Branch: Monkey (申, Metal with hidden Yang Metal, Yang Water, Yang Earth) · Double Yang Metal — the great sword in its native forge; Day Master and Branch primary element are identical; the most completely and decisively Metal of all combinations; Yang Metal at its most self-assured and comprehensively sharp, the blade that is surrounded by its own element · Year: cycle years ending in 0 (e.g. 2040, 2100)
辛酉
Yin Metal Rooster
Pillar 58 of 60 in the sexagenary cycle · Day Master: Yin Metal (辛) · Branch: Rooster (酉, pure Metal with hidden Yin Metal only) · Perfect self-resonance — Yin Metal and Yin Metal; the jewel and the jewel; the most completely self-identical Metal combination in the cycle; the most refined discrimination fully at home in its own element, the needle among needles, the gem in its own native medium · Year: cycle years ending in 1 (e.g. 2041, 2101)
壬戌
Yang Water Dog
Pillar 59 of 60 in the sexagenary cycle · Day Master: Yang Water (壬) · Branch: Dog (戌, Earth with hidden Yang Earth, Yin Fire, Yin Metal) · Earth controls Water — the mountain containing the sea; the Dog's Yin Metal generates Water from within the controlling Earth: the ore within the Dog's earth secretly sustaining the ocean it appears to contain; controlled power that finds its own generative source within the constraint · Year: cycle years ending in 2 (e.g. 2042, 2102)
癸亥
Yin Water Pig
Pillar 60 of 60 in the sexagenary cycle — the completing pillar · Day Master: Yin Water (癸) · Branch: Pig (亥, Water with hidden Yang Water and Yin Wood) · Double Water — the rain meeting the great underground river; the cycle's final pillar, the completion that is also the preparation for return; the most completely Water of all Yin expressions, carrying within it the seed of the Wood that the next cycle will begin · Year: cycle years ending in 3 (e.g. 2043, 2103)
History & Origins
BaZi — the "Eight Characters," or Four Pillars of Destiny — is Chinese astrology at its most serious, and far removed from the friendly twelve animals. It reads not one sign but four "pillars": the year, month, day and hour of your birth. Each pillar is written with two characters — a Heavenly Stem and an Earthly Branch — and those eight characters (ba zi) are the raw code of a life.
From those eight characters an astrologer reconstructs the elemental weather of your birth: how the five elements — wood, fire, earth, metal, water — stand in balance or conflict, coloured by yin and yang and by the season. The heart of the reading is the "Day Master," the Heavenly Stem of your day of birth, taken as the self; everything else is read as it supports or strains that centre. It is less a horoscope than a diagnosis.
And it is genuinely old and genuinely Chinese. The three-pillar method — year, month, day — was set out by the Tang scholar Li Xuzhong around 800 AD. The fourth pillar, the hour, and the mature system were added by the Song-dynasty master Xu Ziping, so that the whole art is still called the Ziping method in his honour; his manual, the Yuanhai Ziping, remains in use a thousand years on. This is no invention of the horoscope age.
So the honest verdict is plain admiration. BaZi is the real thing — a rigorous, thousand-year-old system of destiny analysis, ranked with Ziwei Dou Shu as the summit of Chinese astrology, and still the tool a Chinese astrologer reaches for at a birth, a marriage or a business decision. The animal of your year is a single letter of this alphabet; BaZi reads the whole word.