THE FOUR PILLARS
Eight Characters
Bazi reads a birth as four pillars, one each for the year, month, day and hour. Every pillar carries a Heavenly Stem above and an Earthly Branch below. The stem of the day is your Day Master, the character that stands for you, and everything else in the chart is read by how it relates to it.
Compare your Day Master to any other stem and there are five things it can be: the same element, the element you produce, the element you control, the element that controls you, or the element that produces you. Each of those five can arrive matching your polarity or opposing it, Yin against Yang. Five relationships, two polarities each, give the Ten Gods.
十神 · the ten faces around your Day Master
The element that matches your Day Master
比肩 · Bǐ Jiān
The equal who stands beside you
This is your sense of independence and the people who stand as your equals, like siblings and close friends. When it is strong you are self reliant, steady and sure of who you are, happy to stand on your own. Too much of it can make you stubborn or turn everyday life into a contest.
劫財 · Jié Cái
The bold rival who dares
This is your bold, competitive side and the daring friends or rivals who push you forward. It gives you courage, ambition and the nerve to take a chance. In excess it can make you act on impulse, overspend, or clash with other people over money.
The element your Day Master produces
食神 · Shí Shén
Talent expressed with ease
This is relaxed self expression and the simple enjoyment of life. It covers creativity, hobbies, good food and easy contentment. When it is strong, your talent flows out of you naturally, without pressure or struggle.
傷官 · Shāng Guān
Brilliance that breaks the rules
This is the brilliant, attention grabbing kind of talent. It covers wit, charisma, performance and original ideas. When it is strong you shine and love to stand out, but you dislike rules and can rub the people in charge the wrong way.
The element your Day Master controls
正財 · Zhèng Cái
Steady reward for honest work
This is steady money and honest hard work. It covers a regular income, savings and things you can hold in your hands, and traditionally a faithful partner. When it is strong you are careful, reliable and good at building security slowly.
偏財 · Piān Cái
Fortune that flows in tides
This is money that arrives in big, unpredictable waves, like windfalls, deals and business chances. When it is strong you have a nose for opportunity and an easy, generous way with money, though it tends to come and go.
The element that controls your Day Master
正官 · Zhèng Guān
Honour, duty and rightful rank
This is about rules, responsibility and earning respect the proper way. It covers your reputation, your standing at work and your self control, and traditionally a husband. When it is strong you are principled, dependable and at ease with structure and authority.
七殺 · Qī Shā
Raw power under pressure
This is the fierce, high pressure side of power, the strongest of the ten. It covers challenge, competition and acting under stress. When it is strong you are decisive and a natural leader in a crisis, but pushed too far it turns into aggression, stress or a quick temper.
The element that produces your Day Master
正印 · Zhèng Yìn
The nurture that shelters you
This is about support, learning and being cared for. It covers education, protection and kindness, and traditionally your mother. When it is strong you value knowledge, feel backed up by others, and carry a calm, caring nature.
偏印 · Piān Yìn
Insight from an unusual angle
This is the unusual, insightful kind of mind, sometimes called the Owl. It covers intuition and niche or unconventional knowledge. When it is strong you think in original ways and trust your instincts, though it can leave you distant, restless or lost in your own thoughts.
天干 · the year stem at a glance
The last digit of the birth year fixes the top stem of the Year Pillar. It never varies, so you can read it straight off the year with no calculation at all.
The last digit gives the Year Stem. The pillar that truly stands for you is the Day Master, the day stem, and that needs your full birth date and hour. The stem year also turns at Lì Chūn in early February, near the start of spring, not on the first of January, so a birth in January or early February still belongs to the year before.