Ba Zi

4 Pillars 10 Gods
Contents

1 Symbolic Stars 1
1.1 Symbolic Stars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1.1 Nobleman Star . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1.2 Academic Star . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1.3 Sword Star . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1.4 Prosperity Star . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1.5 Peach Blossom Star . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2 General Stars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2.1 General Star . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2.2 Talent Star . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2.3 Travelling Horse Star . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2.4 Robbing Star . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2.5 Death Star . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2.6 Flower of Romance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.3 Heavenly Virtue Stars and Monthly Virtue Stars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.4 Solitary Star and Lonesome Star . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.5 Three Extraordinary Noblemen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.6 Sixty-Year Cycle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.7 Heaven Void . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

2 Heavenly Stems 3
2.1 Heavenly Stems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2.2 Heavenly Stem Combinations and Clashes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

3 Earthly Branches 4
3.1 Earthly Branches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
3.2 Earthly Branch Interactions (Combinations and Clashes) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
3.3 Hierarchy of Earthly Branch Interactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
3.4 Prerequisites For Interactions To Be Successful . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
3.5 Hidden Heavenly Stems in Earthly Branches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
3.6 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

4 Hsia Calendar 6

i
ii CONTENTS

5 Hsia Calendar 7
5.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
5.2 Purpose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
5.3 Seasons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
5.4 Years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
5.4.1 1900s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
5.4.2 1910s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
5.4.3 1920s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
5.4.4 1930s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
5.4.5 1940s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
5.4.6 1950s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
5.4.7 1960s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
5.4.8 1970s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
5.4.9 1980s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
5.4.10 1990s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
5.4.11 2000s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
5.4.12 2010s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
5.4.13 2020s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
5.4.14 2030s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
5.4.15 2040s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
5.5 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

6 Hour Pillar 11
6.1 Hour Pillar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
6.2 Hour Pillar Listed For Every Day Heavenly Stem (HS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

7 Luck Pillar 12
7.1 Luck Pillar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
7.2 Heavenly Stem of the Year Pillar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
7.3 Earthly Branch of the Month Pillar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
7.4 Starting Age of the First Luck Pillar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
7.5 List of Luck Pillars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
7.5.1 In A Forward Direction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
7.5.2 In A Reverse Direction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

8 Life Cycle 14
8.1 12-Stage Life Cycle Of The Self Element . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

9 Hidden Stems 15
9.1 Hidden Stems in Earthly Branches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

10 Aspects Of Life 16
10.1 Aspects Of Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
CONTENTS iii

10.2 Male Elemental Relationships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

10.2.1 For a man with a Self element of Metal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
10.2.2 For a man with a Self element of Wood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
10.2.3 For a man with a Self element of Water . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
10.2.4 For a man with a Self element of Fire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
10.2.5 For a man with a Self element of Earth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
10.3 Female Elemental Relationships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
10.3.1 For a woman with a Self element of Metal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
10.3.2 For a woman with a Self element of Wood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
10.3.3 For a woman with a Self element of Water . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
10.3.4 For a woman with a Self element of Fire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
10.3.5 For a woman with a Self element of Earth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
10.4 Representations of Family Relationships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
10.4.1 Stages of Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
10.4.2 Family Groupings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

11 Date Selection 18

12 Date Selection 19
12.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
12.1.1 Column Headings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
12.2 Years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
12.2.1 Date Selection By Year . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
12.3 Abbreviations, Signs And Symbols Used . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
12.3.1 Brackets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
12.3.2 Prosperity Stars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
12.3.3 Year Asset or Storage Star . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
12.3.4 Heavenly Doctor ( ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
12.3.5 The Earthly Branch Of The Personal Year Pillar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
12.3.6 Clashes ( ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
12.3.7 Three Killings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
12.3.8 Extinction Star ( ). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
12.3.9 No Wealth Days ( ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
12.3.10 Four Separating Days . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
12.3.11 Four Extinct Days . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
12.4 Relationships of Heavenly Stems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
12.4.1 Combinations of Heavenly Stems ( ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
12.4.2 Clashes of Heavenly Stems ( ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
12.5 Relationships of Earthly Branches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
12.5.1 6 Combinations of Earthly Branches ( ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
12.5.2 3 Harmony Combinations of Earthly Branches ( ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
12.5.3 6 Clashes of Earthly Branches ( ). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
iv CONTENTS

12.6 The 12 Day Officers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

13 List Of Ba Zi 23

14 House of Life 24
14.1 House of Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
14.1.1 Earthly Branch (EB) of the House of Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
14.1.2 Heavenly Stem (HS) of the House of Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

15 House of Conception 25
15.1 House of Conception . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

16 Kua Number 26
16.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
16.2 Favorable Directions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
16.2.1 Favorable Directions Of The West Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
16.2.2 Favorable Directions Of The East Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
16.2.3 Names of Directions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
16.3 1920s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
16.4 1930s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
16.5 1940s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
16.6 1950s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
16.7 1960s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
16.8 1970s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
16.9 1980s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
16.101990s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
16.112000s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
16.122010s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
16.132020s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
16.142030s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
16.152040s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

17 120-Year Basic Components Table 27

18 Seasonal Cycle 28
18.1 Seasonal Cycle of the Five Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
18.2 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
18.2.1 Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
18.2.2 Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
18.2.3 Content license . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Chapter 1

Symbolic Stars

Ba Zi | Heavenly Stems | Earthly Branches | Hsia Calendar 1.2 General Stars

(Xia Calendar) | Hour Pillar | Luck Pillar | Life Cycle |
Hidden Stems | Seasonal Cycle | Symbolic Stars | Aspects The key element of General Stars can be either the Day
Of Life | Date Selection | List Of Ba Zi Branch or the Year Branch. For example, if the Day or
Year Branch is E1, and there is an E5 in the Hour Branch,
it implies that there is a Star of Arts in the Hour Pillar.
1.1 Symbolic Stars
1.2.1 General Star
Symbolic Stars are activated when they appear in the
Luck Pillar or the Year Pillar of a Ba Zi chart. For ex-
This Star symbolizes Wealth, Prosperity, and the proba-
ample, a person with H2 as the Day Heavenly Stem, and
bility of a good political career.
E7 on any of his Earthly Branches will have an Academic
Star. Similarly, a person with H6 as the Day Heavenly
Stem, and E1 and/or E9 on any of his Earthly Branches 1.2.2 Talent Star
will have a Nobleman Star.
This Star symbolizes unique ideas, talent, skill, art, mu-
sic, design and aesthetics of a talented person. Also can
1.1.1 Nobleman Star mean smart, philosophy, metaphysics, religion, knowl-
edge, psychic nature. Life can live up to its highest po-
A person with the Nobleman Star is intelligent, and will tential to reach the goal. There is also a tendency towards
get a lot of assistance from people around him. being a loner, a monk or a hermit.

1.1.2 Academic Star 1.2.3 Travelling Horse Star

A person with the Academic Star is intelligent, and will This is a good Star, symbolizing overseas working oppor-
enjoy tremendous academic success. tunities, travel and migration. However, it has the ten-
dency to destroy other good stars, and aggravate the in-
fluence of bad stars.
1.1.3 Sword Star

A person with the Sword Star is strong-willed, and will 1.2.4 Robbing Star
help the weak to fight the powerful.
This Star symbolizes as person who is sharp and smart if
it is a favorable Star. On the other hand, if it is unfavor-
1.1.4 Prosperity Star able, it implies being robbed, though not necessarily in
the literal sense.
A person with the Prosperity Star is strong-willed.

1.2.5 Death Star

1.1.5 Peach Blossom Star
This Star symbolizes as person who has courage and abil-
A person with the Peach Blossom Star is attractive, sexy, ity in planning if it is a favorable Star. On the other hand,
seductive and exhibits strong sexual desires. This person if it is unfavorable, it implies being lawsuits and misfor-
also enjoys good social standing. tune to one’s spouse.

1
2 CHAPTER 1. SYMBOLIC STARS

1.2.6 Flower of Romance 1.6 Sixty-Year Cycle

This Star symbolizes “Internal Romance” (a loving rela-
tionship between husband and wife, if it appears on the
Year or Month Branch. On the other hand, This Star sym-
bolizes “External Romance” (extra-marital affairs) if it
appears on the Hour or Day Branch of a person’s Ba Zi
chart.
As given in the above table, the "Location of the Flower
of Romance" depends on the Year of Birth. For example,
for a person born in the Year of Snake (E6), E2 or E9, the
favorable direction for activating the Flower of Romance
is in the South (E7).
1.3 Heavenly Virtue Stars and
Monthly Virtue Stars
Heavenly Virtue Stars and Monthly Virtue Stars are aus-
picious Stars, and they imply the help of benefactors when
a person is in danger. For example, if a person has a
Month Branch of E2, and H7 appears in any of the four
Heavenly Stems, then the person has a Heavenly Virtue
Star.
1.4 Solitary Star and Lonesome
Star
A person with a Solitary or Lonesome Star may appear
solemn and unfriendly. It symbolizes doom for fam-
ily members; a Solitary Star symbolizes misfortune to
parents, and a Lonesome Star symbolizes misfortune to
spouse. For example, a person with E2 in a Day Branch
or a Year Branch, plus a E3 in any other Earthly Branch
is deemed to have a Solitary Star.
The Sixty-Year Cycle is an infinite cycle, and can be ar-
ranged by Earthly Branch (E1-E10) as shown in the ta-
ble below. An odd-numbered Earthly Branch is always
matched with an odd-numbered Heavenly Stem, and an
even-numbered Earthly Branch is always matched with
an even-numbered Heavenly Stem. For example, a year
can have a Stem and Branch combination of H1-E1 or
H4-E4, but cannot have a Stem and Branch combination
of H1-E2 or H4-E1.
1.7 Heaven Void
When the above Sixty-Year Cycle is arranged by Heav-
enly Stems (H1 to H10), six groups of Earthly Branches
appear, as given in the following table. The Heaven Void
consists of the bottom two rows, where are no Heavenly
Stems to match the Earthly Branches, as indicated by "X".
The presence of Heaven Void is like a catalyst, and it can
moderate or reverse the effect of an auspicious or inaus-
picious Star. For example, if there is both an auspicious
Star and a Heaven Void in a Ba Zi chart, the auspicious
Star will be less beneficial. Similarly, if there is both an
inauspicious Star and a Heaven Void in a Ba Zi chart, the
inauspicious Star will be less harmful.
To determine the presence of the Heaven Void in a Ba
Zi chart, look at both the Stem and Branch of the Year
Pillar and both the Stem and Branch of the Day Pillar.
After this, look at the Earthly Branch of the other pillars
to determine whether the Heaven Void is found.
For example, if the Year Pillar is H1-E1 (in Group One),
then Heaven Void falls on E11 and E12, so if the Month
Branch is E11 or E12, then Heaven Void is located in the
Month Pillar. Similarly, if the Day Pillar is H2-E10 (in
Group Three), then Heaven Void falls on E7 and E8, so
if the Day/Month/Year Branch is E7 or E8, then Heaven
Void is located in the Day/Month/Year Pillar respectively.

1.5 Three Extraordinary Noble-

men

The Three Extraordinary Noblemen are the Heaven,

Earth and Human Extraordinary Noblemen. These Stars
symbolize a person who is extremely intelligent, gifted in
many areas, knowledgeable, learned and generous. He
will have great achievements, and no adverse forces can
cause him harm. If the Heavenly Stems are not in the
order shown in the table below, these Stars are less effec-
tive.
Chapter 2

Heavenly Stems

Ba Zi | Heavenly Stems | Earthly Branches | Hsia Calendar

(Xia Calendar) | Hour Pillar | Luck Pillar | Life Cycle |
Hidden Stems | Seasonal Cycle | Symbolic Stars | Aspects
Of Life | Date Selection | List Of Ba Zi

2.1 Heavenly Stems

There are ten Heavenly Stems (represented by the
acronyms “H” or “HS”) used in the construction of the
Four Pillars of Ba Zi ( ), a method of Chinese Div-
ination based on a person’s date and time of birth. For
example, both the acronyms “HS1” and “H1” represent
the first Heavenly Stem, namely "Jia" (Yang Wood), as
shown in the tables below.

2.2 Heavenly Stem Combinations

and Clashes
Notes:

1. In the above table, “5Com” means the 5 Combina-

tions of two adjacent Heavenly Stems. These com-
binations result in a good structure of a person’s Ba
Zi
2. “Clash” means that the Heavenly Stems clash with
each other in the Ba Zi, when they are next to each
other. Clashes will result in a poor structure of a
person’s Ba Zi.
3. If there is a Clash of two adjacent Stems, as well
as a Combination with another Stem, the Clash will
not occur, as Combinations take precedence over
Clashes.

3
Chapter 3
Earthly Branches
Ba Zi | Heavenly Stems | Earthly Branches | Hsia Calendar
(Xia Calendar) | Hour Pillar | Luck Pillar | Life Cycle |
Hidden Stems | Seasonal Cycle | Symbolic Stars | Aspects
Of Life | Date Selection | List Of Ba Zi
3.1 Earthly Branches
There are twelve Earthly Branches (represented by the
acronyms “E” or “EB”) used in the construction of the
Four Pillars of Ba Zi ( ). For example, both the
acronyms “EB1” and “E1” represent the first Earthly
Branch, namely "Rat" (Yang Water), as shown in the
tables below.
Notes:
1. The Chinese terms used for the animal mnemonics
are not words used for the animals themselves. For
example, the Chinese word for “Rat” is " " and not
" ". Similarly, the word for “Horse” is " " and never
" ", as shown in the table above. The animal signs
are therefore used purely as a memory aid, and carry
no inherent meaning. In other words, the physical or
mental characteristics of a person cannot be inferred
from the animal sign under which he/she is born. For
example, it cannot be inferred that a person born un-
der the “Ox” sign is strong, or that a person born under
the “Tiger” sign is ferocious. Such facile inferences
are invalid.
2. In translating the Earthly Branch from Chinese to En-
glish, only one word is used, although the Chinese
terms could be translated into English in more than
one way. For example, the Chinese term for “Goat”
could equally mean “ram” or “sheep” in English, the
term for “Rat” could also be translated as “mouse”,
and the word for “Metal” is sometimes translated as
“Gold”, as the same Chinese character is used for
both. In addition, the term “Five Elements” could be
translated literally, and perhaps more accurately, as
"Five Movements".
4
3.2 Earthly Branch Interactions
(Combinations and Clashes)
In the table below, combinations and clashes refer to the
type of interactions between two or more of the four
Earthly Branches (the hour, day, month and year earthly
branches) found in a person’s Ba Zi chart.
Combinations refer to auspicious interactions, and
clashes are inauspicious interactions. For example,
in Row 1, combination(E3,E4,E5) means that if the
branches E3, E4 and E5 are found in a person’s Ba Zi
chart, it is an auspicious sign. On the other hand,
clash(E1,E7) in Row 7 means that if the branches E1
and E7 are found in a Ba Zi chart, it is an indication of
an inauspicious chart.
Combinations may result in a new element being formed
in a chart. For example, combination(E12,E4,E8) in
Row2 will result in the formation of the new element
"Wood", as indicated in the table below.
3.3 Hierarchy of Earthly Branch
Interactions
The following is the hierarchy of Earthly Branch interac-
tions, ranked in descending order of importance. For ex-
ample, “Seasonal Combination” is more important, and
will override “Three Combinations”, which in turn will
override “Three Persecuting Clashes”.
1. Seasonal Combination
2. Three Combinations
3. Three Persecuting Clashes
4. Six Clashes
5. Half Combination
6. Self Persecuting Clash
7. Six Combinations
8. Conflicted Clashes
3.6. REFERENCES 5

9. Related Clashes The "+" sign in the table below represents “Yang”, and the
"-" sign represents “Yin”. For example, "+Wood” denotes
“Yang Wood”, and "-Water” denotes “Yin Water”.
3.4 Prerequisites For Interactions
To Be Successful 3.6 References
The prerequisites for interactions to be successful are: 1. http://www.math.nus.edu.sg/aslaksen/
gem-projects/hm/0203-1-44-heavenly_secrets/
1. Three Combinations: For a front-half or rear-half heavenly_secrets.pdf
combination to be successful, the resultant element
(Water, Earth, Fire, Wood, or Metal) must be
present in any one or more of the Heavenly Stems
of the Ba Zi chart. For example, a half-combination
of E1 (Yang Water) and E9 (Yang Metal) will re-
sult in the Water element. If the Water element is
found in any of the four Heavenly Stems, then this
half-combination will be effective (the branches E1
and E9 need not be next (adjacent) to each other in
the Ba Zi chart for the combination to be success-
ful). Conversely, a combination of E1 and E9 will
not be successful if the element Water is not found
in any of the four Heavenly Stems of a person’s Ba
Zi chart.

2. Six Clashes: For a “Six Clash” to be effective, the

pair of contributing branches must be next (adja-
cent) to each other in a Ba Zi chart. For exam-
ple, the clash of E7 and E1 will be effective if E7
is on the Hour Earth Branch and E1 is on the Day
Earth Branch. On the other hand, the clash of E7
and E1 will not be effective if E7 is on the Hour
Earth Branch and E1 is on the Month or Year Earth
Branch.

3. Six Combinations: For a “Six Combination” to be

effective, the pair of contributing branches must be
next (adjacent) to each other in a Ba Zi chart. For
example, the combination of E2 and E1 will be ef-
fective if E2 is on the Hour Earth Branch and E1
is on the Day Earth Branch. On the other hand, the
combination of E2 and E1 will not be effective if E2
is on the Hour Earth Branch and E1 is on the Month
or Year Earth Branch.

4. Seasonal Combinations: For a “Seasonal Combina-

tion” to be effective, the three contributing branches
need not be next (adjacent) to each other in a Ba Zi
chart.

3.5 Hidden Heavenly Stems in

Earthly Branches
For every Earthly Branch, one or more Hidden Heavenly
Stems may be found. In the evaluation of a Ba Zi chart,
both the Earthly Branches and Hidden Heavenly Stems
are taken into account.
Chapter 4

Hsia Calendar

Ba Zi | Heavenly Stems | Earthly Branches | Hsia Calendar

(Xia Calendar) | Hour Pillar | Luck Pillar | Life Cycle |
Hidden Stems | Seasonal Cycle | Symbolic Stars | Aspects
Of Life | Date Selection | List Of Ba Zi

6
Chapter 5

Hsia Calendar

5.1 Introduction • 1901

• 1902
The Hsia Calendar ( ) is also known as the Ten Thou-
sand Year Calendar ( ). Unlike the Chinese Lunar • 1903
Calendar, the Hsia Calendar is a Chinese solar sexage-
nary calendar system, based on a cycle of 60-years. • 1904

• 1905

5.2 Purpose • 1906

• 1907
For a given date and time of birth, the Hsia Calendar is
used to obtain the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches • 1908
with which to construct the Four Pillars of Destiny ( ) • 1909
of a person. The Four Pillars of Destiny are also known as
the Ba Zi ( ), literally the Eight Characters of a person’s
birth. In ancient China, one use of this form of divination 5.4.2 1910s
was to select a suitable marriage partner.
The Four Pillars of Destiny are the Year Pillar, the Month • 1910
Pillar, the Day Pillar and the Hour Pillar. Each Pillar is • 1911
made up of two components, namely the Heavenly Stem
and the Earthly Branch, both of which are read from the • 1912
Hsia Calendar.
• 1913
The Hsia Calendar is also used in various types of Feng
Shui, or Chinese Geomancy, such as the Flying Star Feng • 1914
Shui.
• 1915

• 1916
5.3 Seasons • 1917

There are twelve Seasons (SS) used in the Hsia Calendar. • 1918
These are based on the relative position of the sun.
• 1919

5.4 Years 5.4.3 1920s

• 1920
The following is a list of Gregorian calendar years repre-
sented in the Hsia Calendar system: • 1921

• 1922
5.4.1 1900s • 1923

• 1900 • 1924

7
8 CHAPTER 5. HSIA CALENDAR

• 1925 5.4.6 1950s

• 1926 • 1950

• 1951
• 1927
• 1952
• 1928
• 1953
• 1929 • 1954

• 1955
5.4.4 1930s • 1956

• 1930 • 1957

• 1958
• 1931
• 1959
• 1932

• 1933 5.4.7 1960s

• 1934 • 1960

• 1961
• 1935
• 1962
• 1936
• 1963
• 1937 • 1964

• 1938 • 1965

• 1966
• 1939
• 1967

• 1968
5.4.5 1940s
• 1969
• 1940

• 1941 5.4.8 1970s

• 1970
• 1942
• 1971
• 1943
• 1972
• 1944 • 1973

• 1945 • 1974

• 1975
• 1946
• 1976
• 1947
• 1977
• 1948 • 1978

• 1949 • 1979
5.4. YEARS 9

5.4.9 1980s 5.4.12 2010s

• 1980 • 2010

• 1981 • 2011

• 1982 • 2012

• 1983 • 2013

• 1984 • 2014

• 1985 • 2015

• 1986 • 2016

• 1987 • 2017

• 1988 • 2018

• 1989 • 2019

5.4.10 1990s 5.4.13 2020s

• 1990 • 2020

• 1991 • 2021

• 1992 • 2022

• 1993 • 2023

• 1994 • 2024

• 1995 • 2025

• 1996 • 2026

• 1997 • 2027

• 1998 • 2028

• 1999 • 2029

5.4.11 2000s 5.4.14 2030s

• 2000 • 2030

• 2001 • 2031

• 2002 • 2032

• 2003 • 2033

• 2004 • 2034

• 2005 • 2035

• 2006 • 2036

• 2007 • 2037

• 2008 • 2038

• 2009 • 2039
10 CHAPTER 5. HSIA CALENDAR

5.4.15 2040s
• 2040
• 2041

• 2042
• 2043

• 2044
• 2045

• 2046
• 2047

• 2048

5.5 References
• Joey Yap, “The Ten Thousand Year Calendar - Your
Definitive Reference For Feng Shui and Chinese As-
trology”, JY Books Sdn Bhd; 3rd edition (2004).
ISBN: 9834076150

• Vincent Koh, “Hsia Calendar: 1924-2024”, Asiapac

Books (1998). ISBN: 981229077X
Chapter 6

Hour Pillar

Ba Zi | Heavenly Stems | Earthly Branches | Hsia Calendar

(Xia Calendar) | Hour Pillar | Luck Pillar | Life Cycle |
Hidden Stems | Seasonal Cycle | Symbolic Stars | Aspects
Of Life | Date Selection | List Of Ba Zi

6.1 Hour Pillar

The Hour Pillar is used in the construction of the Four
Pillars of Ba Zi ( ), a method of Chinese Divination
based on a person’s date and time of birth:

• The Heavenly Stem of the Hour Pillar is obtained

from the intersection of the column (Heavenly Stem
of Day Pillar) and the row (Time of Birth). For ex-
ample, for a person born between 5pm-7pm, with a
Heavenly Stem of the Day Pillar of H3, the Heavenly
Stem of the Hour Pillar will be H4.

• The Earthly Branch of the Hour Pillar is obtained

from the last column (Earthly Branch of Hour Pillar)
of the above chart. For example, if the Heavenly
Stem of Day Pillar is H3 and the time of birth is
6.23pm, then the Hour Pillar is H4, E10.

6.2 Hour Pillar Listed For Every

Day Heavenly Stem (HS)
1. Hour Pillar For Day HS1
2. Hour Pillar For Day HS2
3. Hour Pillar For Day HS3
4. Hour Pillar For Day HS4
5. Hour Pillar For Day HS5
6. Hour Pillar For Day HS6
7. Hour Pillar For Day HS7
8. Hour Pillar For Day HS8
9. Hour Pillar For Day HS9
10. Hour Pillar For Day HS10

11
Chapter 7

Luck Pillar

Ba Zi | Heavenly Stems | Earthly Branches | Hsia Calendar Luck Pillar. The starting age of the Luck Pillar is based
(Xia Calendar) | Hour Pillar | Luck Pillar | Life Cycle | on the date of birth in the Hsia Calendar. The following
Hidden Stems | Seasonal Cycle | Symbolic Stars | Aspects variables are used to derive the Luck Pillar:
Of Life | Date Selection | List Of Ba Zi
1. The gender of the person

7.1 Luck Pillar 2. The Yin or Yang of the Heavenly Stem of the year
of birth

The Luck Pillar ( , Ta Yun) of a person’s Ba Zi chart 3. The Monthly Pillar of the Ba Zi of the person
gives an indication of a person’s luck in periods of 10
years each. The Luck Pillar is plotted based on the fol- 4. The number of days to the preceding or following
lowing: Hsia Season, from the date of birth

There are two possibilities, (A) and (B), as given below:

7.2 Heavenly Stem of the Year Pil- (A)
lar For a male born in a Yang year (that is, the Heavenly Stem
of the Year Pillar is Yang), the method is to look up his
date of birth in the Hsia Calendar, count forward, and
7.3 Earthly Branch of the Month obtain the number of days from his date of birth to the
Pillar next Hsia Season, where Early Spring is represented by 1,
Mid Spring by 2, Late Spring by 3, ... etc. For example,
if Joe is born on 28th August 2000 (where the Monthly
There are 12 Earthly Branches as follows: Pillar is HS1 and EB9), then the first day of the following
Using the Monthly Pillar of a Ba Zi chart, the first luck Hsia Season is 7th Sep 2000, and the number of days is
pillar will be the next Stem & Branch of the above charts, 10.
in either the forward or reverse cycle. The starting age will be 10 divided by 3, rounded to the
For example, a male born in a Yang year (or a female nearest integer, which is 3. The Heavenly Stem of Joe’s
born in a Yin year) will follow the forward cycle, and if first five years will be from 3 to 7, and the Earthly Branch
his Month Pillar is HS8 and EB6, then his first Luck Pillarof his next five years will be from age 8 to age 12. The
will be HS9 and EB7. Luck Cycle or Luck Pillar is plotted from right to left, as
the age increases, beginning from the next (in increasing
Similarly, if a female is born in a Yang year (or a male
order) Heavenly Stem and Earthly Branch of his Monthly
born in a Yin year), her luck will follow the reverse cy-
Pillar.
cle, and her first Luck Pillar will be HS7 and EB5, if her
Monthly Pillar is HS8 and EB6. The above calculation also applies for a female born in a
Yin year.
The Luck Cycle : H2-E10, Age 3, Forward
7.4 Starting Age of the First Luck (B)
Pillar However, for a male born in a Yin year, or a female born
in a Yang year, the counting is in a backward sequence.
Each Luck Pillar lasts 10 years. The first five years are The counting starts from the date of birth backwards to
covered by a Heavenly Stem, and the next five years by an the preceding Hsia Season. For example, if Joe is born
Earthly Branch, and this is repeated for each subsequent in a Yin year, the counting will start from 28th August

12
7.5. LIST OF LUCK PILLARS 13

2000 backwards to 6th August 2000, giving a total of 22

days. In this case, the starting age will be 22 divided by 3,
which is 7 (rounded to the nearest integer). The Heavenly
Stem of Joe’s first five years will be from 7 to 11, and the
Earthly Branch of his next five years will be from age 12
to age 16.
The Luck Cycle or Luck Pillar is plotted from right to left,
as the age increases, beginning from the next (in decreas-
ing order, since Joe is a male born in a Yin year) Heavenly
Stem and Earthly Branch of his Monthly Pillar.
The Luck Cycle : H10-E8, Age 7, Reverse

7.5 List of Luck Pillars

7.5.1 In A Forward Direction

7.5.2 In A Reverse Direction

Chapter 8

Life Cycle

Ba Zi | Heavenly Stems | Earthly Branches | Hsia Calendar

(Xia Calendar) | Hour Pillar | Luck Pillar | Life Cycle |
Hidden Stems | Seasonal Cycle | Symbolic Stars | Aspects
Of Life | Date Selection | List Of Ba Zi

8.1 12-Stage Life Cycle Of The Self

Element
The Self Element is the Heavenly Stem of the Day Pillar.
The Self Element is combined with the Earthly Branch
of each of the Pillars (Year, Month, Day, Hour), and the
intersection of these gives the Life Stage as depicted in
the chart below:
For example, if the Month Pillar is H3~E4, then the Self
Element is H3. If the Year Pillar is H10~E1, then the Life
Stage for the Year Pillar is H3~E1, and from the above
table, it is depicted as “Conception” which is bestowed
with a “Weak” status. This process of obtaining the Life
Stage is then repeated for each of the four pillars.

14
Chapter 9

Hidden Stems

Ba Zi | Heavenly Stems | Earthly Branches | Hsia Calendar

(Xia Calendar) | Hour Pillar | Luck Pillar | Life Cycle |
Hidden Stems | Seasonal Cycle | Symbolic Stars | Aspects
Of Life | Date Selection | List Of Ba Zi

9.1 Hidden Stems in Earthly

Branches
Each Earthly Branch in the four Pillars will have one or
more Hidden Heavenly Stems.
For example, if the Earthly Branch of the Month Pillar
is E11, then the Hidden Heavenly Stems are H4, H5 and
H8 for the Month Pillar. If the Earthly Branch of the Day
Pillar is E10, then the Hidden Heavenly Stem is H8 for
the Day Pillar.

15
Chapter 10

Aspects Of Life

Ba Zi | Heavenly Stems | Earthly Branches | Hsia Calendar 10.2 Male Elemental Relationships
(Xia Calendar) | Hour Pillar | Luck Pillar | Life Cycle |
Hidden Stems | Seasonal Cycle | Symbolic Stars | Aspects
Of Life | Date Selection | List Of Ba Zi

10.2.1 For a man with a Self element of

Metal

10.2.2 For a man with a Self element of

Wood

10.2.3 For a man with a Self element of

Water

10.2.4 For a man with a Self element of

10.1 Aspects Of Life Fire

10.2.5 For a man with a Self element of

The columns “Opposite Gender" and “Same Gender" re- Earth
fer to the Yin or Yang of the Self element as compared to
the Yin or Yang of the other element, such as the Wealth
element. Gender here refers to Yin or Yang, not male or
female.
For example, for a man with a Self element of Yang
Metal, his element of Direct Wealth will be Yin Wood, 10.3 Female Elemental Relation-
and his element of Unexpected Wealth will be Yang ships
Wood.
For a man with a Self element of Yin Metal, his element
of Direct Wealth will be Yang Wood, and his element of
Unexpected Wealth will be Yin Wood.

16
10.4. REPRESENTATIONS OF FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS 17

10.3.1 For a woman with a Self element of

Metal

10.3.2 For a woman with a Self element of

Wood

10.3.3 For a woman with a Self element of

Water

10.3.4 For a woman with a Self element of

Fire

10.3.5 For a woman with a Self element of

Earth

10.4 Representations of Family Re-

lationships

10.4.1 Stages of Life

10.4.2 Family Groupings

Chapter 11

Date Selection

Ba Zi | Heavenly Stems | Earthly Branches | Hsia Calendar

(Xia Calendar) | Hour Pillar | Luck Pillar | Life Cycle |
Hidden Stems | Seasonal Cycle | Symbolic Stars | Aspects
Of Life | Date Selection | List Of Ba Zi

18
Chapter 12

Date Selection

12.1 Introduction ets, then putting them into existing columns in the tables,
with the understanding that all signs/symbols have mean-
In Chinese divination, the selection of an auspicious date ing only within the context of the date (row) itself. In
is based on the Hsia Calendar. Auspicious dates are se- other words, these signs/symbols within brackets can be
lected for marriages, job applications, business transac- put under any other column without altering their mean-
tions, signing of agreements and other important events. ings.
The general strategy to select a good or auspicious day is
to follow these steps:
12.2 Years
1. For a particular period (week/month/year), first
strike off the days that are generally inauspicious, The following is a list of Gregorian calendar years that
such as [Danger] or Three Killings days. may be used for the selection of auspicious dates in the
Hsia Calendar system:
2. By comparing with a person’s Ba Zi, strike off those
days that are personally inauspicious, such as Ex-
tinction Star (pX-) days.
12.2.1 Date Selection By Year
3. After narrowing down the search, the remaining
days are probably usable if not auspicious. Select the 12.3 Abbreviations, Signs And
remaining days that auspicious, such as [Success] or
Good Asset days, and/or those that are personally Symbols Used
advantageous, such as Combination (pGC-) and/or
Heavenly Doctor (pGH-) days. The use of abbreviations, signs and symbols is to min-
imise the size of the date selection calendar, whilst facil-
itating understanding without bloat.
12.1.1 Column Headings
The signs/symbols (Three Killings, Good Asset, Success, 12.3.1 Brackets
etc) that indicate whether a day is auspicious or inaus-
picious may appear under any Column Heading (Year, 1. [] - Square Brackets are used to indicate effects that
Month, Day, Season, etc) in a table for convenience of are solely dependent on the date itself, and are inde-
representation only. As a calendar with listings by date, pendent of a person’s Ba Zi. Within square brackets,
all signs/symbols refer to the day itself, and may not in- capital letters are acronyms for the Pillar and Stem
dicate any relationship whatsoever with the column / Branch of the Date. For example, “MH” refers to
under which it appears. For example, the personal Ex- the Month Heavenly Stem of the Date, and “YE”
tinction Stars are put into the Season column for conve- refers to the Year Earthly Branch of the Date.
nience only, as it makes the table more compact; the Ex-
tinction Stars do not have any relationship with the Sea- 2. () - Round Brackets are used to indicate effects that
son. If an Extinction Star is to be put into a column that are dependent on BOTH the date and a person’s Ba
represents a person’s Ba Zi, namely one of the 10 Heav- Zi. Within round brackets, the small letter “p” im-
enly Stems, an additional 10 columns will have to be in- plies that the effect is “personal” to a person’s Ba
cluded, making the table unwieldy. This problem will be Zi. The other small letters are acronyms for the Pil-
compounded if the same logic is applied to the Earthly lar and Stem / Branch of a person’s Ba Zi chart. For
Branches, and 12 additional columns will need to be in- example, “mh” refers to the Month Heavenly Stem,
cluded. Column proliferation is avoided by simply en- and “de” refers to the Day Earthly Branch of a per-
closing the signs/symbols within round or square brack- son’s Ba Zi.

19
20 CHAPTER 12. DATE SELECTION

The use of square and round brackets, together with the Earthly Branch of the Year, resulting in an inauspicious
use of capital and small letters, are designed to help a day.
reader to rapidly decipher and understand the usefulness
of a day in date selection.
Clashes With The Month

12.3.2 Prosperity Stars “XM-" : These inauspicious days, also known as Month
Breaker days, are days where the Earthly Branch of the
“GPS-" represents a Good Prosperity Star, and is an aus- Month clashes with the Earthly Branch of the Day. For
picious day for investments. For any particular Date, the example XM-9 means that the Earthly Branch of the
Properity Star is computed using the Heavenly Stem of Day is 9 (representing Monkey), and this clashes with the
the Year and the Earthly Branch of the Day. For exam- Earthly Branch of the Month, resulting in a bad day.
ple, “GPS-DE5” means there is a Prosperity Star on that
day, where the Day Earthly Branch has a value of 5 (rep-
resenting Dragon). 12.3.7 Three Killings

“X3-" : These inauspicious days are known as Yearly

12.3.3 Year Asset or Storage Star Three Killings Days, and represent the clash of the Ele-
ment of the Day with the 5-Element Structure of the Year.
“GA-" represents Good Asset (Year Asset or Storage For example, X3-Wood means the clash of the Day El-
Star) days. For example, [GA-DE2] represents a Year ement of Metal against the Wood Structure of the Year.
Asset Day, with a Day Earthly Branch of 2 (representing These are inauspicious days.
Ox). There are four frames (structures) of the Three Harmony
Combination of the 12 Earthly Branches:
12.3.4 Heavenly Doctor ( )
1. Water Structure - consisting of Dragon (E5), Mon-
“pGH-" are days of the Personal Good Heavenly Doctor, key (E9) and Rat (E1). The Water Structure clashes
when the Month Earthly Branch (the Earthly Branch of with all Fire Elements, namely Snake, Horse and
the Month of Birth in a person’s Ba Zi), combines with Goat (E6, E7, E8).
the Heavenly Doctor Star in the Day Earthly Branch (the
Earthly Branch of the Day in the respective Date). For 2. Wood Structure - consisting of Goat (E8), Pig (E12)
example, “pGH-me12” represents an auspicious date for and Rabbit (E4). The Wood Structure clases with all
a person whose Ba Zi has a Month Earthly Branch with a Metal Elements, namely Monkey, Rooster and Dog
value of 12 (representing Pig). (E9, E10, E11).

3. Fire Structure - consisting of Dog (E11), Tiger (E3)

and Horse (E7). The Fire Structure clashes with all
12.3.5 The Earthly Branch Of The Per-
Water Elements, namely Pig, Rat and Ox (E12, E1,
sonal Year Pillar E2).
“pGC-ye1” (2, 3,... 12) : This is the Personal Good Com- 4. Metal Structure - consisting of Snake (E6), Ox (E2)
bination day for someone with an Earthly Branch of 1 (2, and Rooster (E10). The Metal Structure clashes
3,... 12) in a Ba Zi’s Year Pillar. It indicates that the with all Wood Elements, namely Tiger, Rabbit and
combination between the Earthly Branch of the Day (for Dragon (E3, E4, E5).
the respective Date) and the Earthly Branch of Year (in
a person’s Ba Zi) is auspicious. For example, “pGC-ye6”
For example, on 1st Jan 2012, the year is a Rabbit Year,
is an auspicious day for a person whose Ba Zi has a Year
and this belongs to the Wood Structure. All days with
Pillar where the Earthly Branch is 6 (representing Snake).
Metal in its Earthly Branch will clash with the year Wood
Structure. 1st Jan 2012 has an Earthly Branch of 10
(Rooster - Yin Metal) and this clashes with the Wood
12.3.6 Clashes ( )
Structure. The 3 Killings [X3-Wood] is indicated for this
day.
Clashes With The Year
“X4-" : These are the Three Killings Days of the Month,
“XY-" : These inauspicious days, also known as Year and represent the clash of the Element of the Day with
Breaker days, are days where the Earthly Branch of the the 5-Element Structure of the Month. These are inaus-
Year clashes with the Earthly Branch of the Day. For picious days. For example, [X4-Metal] means that the
example XY-10 means that the Earthly Branch of the Day Earthly Branch clashes with the Metal Structure of
Day is 10 (representing Rooster), and this clashes with the the Month Earthly Branch.
12.5. RELATIONSHIPS OF EARTHLY BRANCHES 21

The Three Killings Days are obtained from the following 12.4.1 Combinations of Heavenly Stems
table, by comparing the Earthly Branch of the Year or ( )
Month against the Earthly Branch of the Day:
1. Yang Wood combines with Yin Earth
12.3.8 Extinction Star ( ) 2. Yin Wood combines with Yang Metal

“pX-" : This is known as the Extinction Star Day when 3. Yang Fire combines with Yin Metal
the Qi in a person’s Ba Zi is old and worn out. For ex-
ample “pX-dh8” represents an Extinction Star Day for a 4. Yin Fire combines with Yang Water
person whose Ba Zi has a value of 8 (representing Xin -
Yin Metal) in his Day Heavenly Stem (also known as the 5. Yang Earth combines with Yin Water
Heavenly Stem of the Day Pillar), and this represents an
inauspicious day for the person.
12.4.2 Clashes of Heavenly Stems ( )

12.3.9 No Wealth Days ( ) 1. Yang Wood clashes with Yang Metal

“XX-10Bad” : These very inauspicious days are known
as the No Wealth Days, the Big Disaster Days or Ten Fe-
rocious Days. These are generally inauspicious days for
everybody.
2. Yin Wood clashes with Yin Metal
3. Yang Fire clashes with Yang Water
4. Yin Fire clashes with Yin Water

12.3.10 Four Separating Days

12.5 Relationships of Earthly
These four days are best avoided for important matters. Branches
They are March 20, June 20, September 22 and Decem-
ber 21. The Four Separating Days are one day before:
Earthly Branches have relationships with each other. The
1. Spring Equinox positive relationships are known as combinations, and the
negative relationships as clashes. Combinations result in
2. Summer Solstice auspicious days, and clashes result in inauspicious days.
3. Autumn Equinox
4. Winter Solstice 12.5.1 6 Combinations of Earthly
Branches ( )
12.3.11 Four Extinct Days 12.5.2 3 Harmony Combinations of
These four days should not be used for important matters. Earthly Branches ( )
They are February 3, May 5, August 8 and November 7.
The Four Extinct Days are one day before: 12.5.3 6 Clashes of Earthly Branches ( )

1. Coming of Spring 12.6 The 12 Day Officers

2. Coming of Summer Solstice
The 12 Day Officers ( ) refer to the 12 types of
3. Coming of Autumn Equinox Qi or energies that may exist in that day. These generic
4. Coming of Winter Solstice energies are common to everybody on that day.

1. Establish ( ) - suitable for getting en-

12.4 Relationships of Heavenly gaged/marriage proposal, starting a new job/school
term, business transactions, medical treatments.
Stems NOT for funerals.

Heavenly Stems have relationships with each other. The 2. Remove ( ) - suitable for cleansing activities, end-
positive relationships are known as combinations, and the ing a relationship, dieting, medical excisions, demo-
negative relationships as clashes. Combinations result in lition or repair works. NOT for marriage, adoption,
auspicious days, and clashes result in inauspicious days. official openings, starting a new job, travel.
22 CHAPTER 12. DATE SELECTION

3. Full ( ) - suitable for bountiful outcomes e.g. off-

ical openings, house-warming party, install new
equipment. NOT for marriage, legal settle-
ments/lawsuits, starting a new job.
4. Balance ( ) - suitable for outcomes that are
favourable for both parties (win-win) e.g. marriage,
travels, situations where one needs to balance against
a more dominating power. NOT for lawsuits.
5. Stable ( ) - suitable for activities with lasting effects
(long-term) e.g. marriage. NOT for projects to be
completed quickly, jobs with no prospects.

6. Initiate ( ) - suitable for activities that commence

something (new beginnings). NOT for travel and
moving house. Not a superior day.

7. Destruction ( ) - suitable for destroying something

e.g. building demolition.

8. Danger ( ) - to be generally AVOIDED.

9. Success ( ) - MOST auspicious, POSITIVE and has
MULTIPLIER effect. Suitable for all activities that
require positive outcomes e.g. marriages, move into
new house, start construction. NOT for lawsuits.
10. Receive ( ) - suitable to attain something/rewards.
NOT for medical treatments or visiting the sick.
11. Open ( ) - suitable for office opening, house-
warming, starting work, marriage, starting a new
job/school. NOT for groudbreaking.

12. Close ( ) - to be AVOIDED for activities of signif-

icance.
Chapter 13

List Of Ba Zi

Ba Zi | Heavenly Stems | Earthly Branches | Hsia Calendar

(Xia Calendar) | Hour Pillar | Luck Pillar | Life Cycle |
Hidden Stems | Seasonal Cycle | Symbolic Stars | Aspects
Of Life | Date Selection | List Of Ba Zi
The following links to the Ba Zi (8-characters) based on
the hour, day, month and year of birth. The Luck Pillars
are also included.

23
Chapter 14

House of Life

Ba Zi | Heavenly Stems | Earthly Branches | Hsia Calendar

(Xia Calendar) | Hour Pillar | Luck Pillar | Life Cycle |
Hidden Stems | Seasonal Cycle | Symbolic Stars | Aspects
Of Life | Date Selection | List Of Ba Zi

14.1 House of Life

14.1.1 Earthly Branch (EB) of the House

of Life
The Earthly Branch (EB) of the House of Life is found at
the intersection of the Earthly Branch (EB) of the Month
of Birth (in the Monthly Pillar) and the Earthly Branch
(EB) of the Hour of Birth (in the Hourly Pillar).

14.1.2 Heavenly Stem (HS) of the House of

Life
The Heavenly Stem (HS) of the House of Life is found at
the intersection of the Heavenly Stem (HS) of the Year of
Birth (in the Yearly Pillar) and the Earthly Branch (EB)
of the House of Life.

24
Chapter 15

House of Conception

Ba Zi | Heavenly Stems | Earthly Branches | Hsia Calendar

(Xia Calendar) | Hour Pillar | Luck Pillar | Life Cycle |
Hidden Stems | Seasonal Cycle | Symbolic Stars | Aspects
Of Life | Date Selection | List Of Ba Zi

15.1 House of Conception

25
Chapter 16

Kua Number

Ba Zi | Heavenly Stems | Earthly Branches | Hsia Calendar 16.2.3 Names of Directions

(Xia Calendar) | Hour Pillar | Luck Pillar | Life Cycle |
Hidden Stems | Seasonal Cycle | Symbolic Stars | Aspects In the above table, the top four are considered good di-
Of Life | Date Selection | List Of Ba Zi rections, and the bottom four as unfavorable directions.

16.3 1920s
16.1 Introduction

The Kua number of a person is determined by his/her year

16.4 1930s
of birth in the Chinese Hsia calendar. For example, if a
male is born between 5th Feb 1928 and 3rd Feb 1929, 16.5 1940s
then his Kua number is 7. A female born in the same
period will have a Kua number of 6. The Kua number
is used in ancient Chinese divination and Feng Shui or 16.6 1950s
Chinese geomancy.

16.7 1960s
16.2 Favorable Directions
16.8 1970s
The Kua number can be depicted in a magic square
(where the sum of any 3 numbers whether horizontally, 16.9 1980s
vertically or diagonally is always equal to 15) and is used
in Ba Zi divination to indicate the good or favorable di-
rections of a person born with this Kua number. 16.10 1990s

16.11 2000s
16.2.1 Favorable Directions Of The West
Group
16.12 2010s
Kua numbers 2,5,6,7 and 8 belong to the West Group,
and the good or favorable directions of people born with 16.13 2020s
these Kua numbers are West, South-West, North-West and
North-East.
16.14 2030s

16.2.2 Favorable Directions Of The East 16.15 2040s

Group

Kua numbers 1,3,4,9 belong to the East Group, and the

good or favorable directions of people born with these
Kua numbers are North, South, East and South-East.

26
Chapter 17

120-Year Basic Components Table

Ba Zi | Heavenly Stems | Earthly Branches | Hsia Calendar

(Xia Calendar) | Hour Pillar | Luck Pillar | Life Cycle |
Hidden Stems | Seasonal Cycle | Symbolic Stars | Aspects
Of Life | Date Selection | List Of Ba Zi
The 120-Year Basic Components Table spans the years
1912 to 2031. The basic 60-year cycle that is repeated
endlessly may be taken as starting from 1924 to 1983.
Each year is given a name, consisting of the name of the
Heavenly Stem followed by the name of the (Animal Sign
of the) Earthly Branch. For example, 1983 is known
as the “Wood Rat” ( ) year, and 1983 as the “Water
Pig” ( ) year. For simplicity, the complete name is fre-
quently not used, and is shortened to “Year of the Rat” or
“Year of the Pig” respectively. In the table below, “E” is
the acronym for Earthly Branch and “H” is the acronym
for Heavenly Stem.

27
Chapter 18

Seasonal Cycle

Ba Zi | Heavenly Stems | Earthly Branches | Hsia Calendar

(Xia Calendar) | Hour Pillar | Luck Pillar | Life Cycle |
Hidden Stems | Seasonal Cycle | Symbolic Stars | Aspects
Of Life | Date Selection | List Of Ba Zi

18.1 Seasonal Cycle of the Five El-

ements
The Season of Birth has the greatest impact on the Ba
Zi. For example, if a person is born in Spring, then
Wood prospers, Fire is born, Earth dies, Metal is impris-
oned, and Water retreats. The term “All Seasons” refer
to the last month (the third month) of every Season, when
Earth prospers, as Earth is the transition element between
any two Seasons. For example, when Metal (Autumn)
changes to Water (Winter) the transition element is Earth.

28
18.2. TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES 29

18.2 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

18.2.1 Text
• Ba Zi/Symbolic Stars Source: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Ba_Zi/Symbolic_Stars?oldid=2778552 Contributors: Cheryl2012, ByGrace,
4pillars and Anonymous: 1
• Ba Zi/Heavenly Stems Source: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Ba_Zi/Heavenly_Stems?oldid=2487361 Contributors: Cheryl2012, By-
Grace and 4pillars
• Ba Zi/Earthly Branches Source: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Ba_Zi/Earthly_Branches?oldid=2591654 Contributors: Whym,
Cheryl2012, ByGrace, 4pillars, Jhvsjhj and Anonymous: 2
• Ba Zi/Hsia Calendar Source: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Ba_Zi/Hsia_Calendar?oldid=2450510 Contributors: Cheryl2012, ByGrace
and 4pillars
• Ba Zi/Hour Pillar Source: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Ba_Zi/Hour_Pillar?oldid=2497338 Contributors: Cheryl2012, ByGrace and
4pillars
• Ba Zi/Luck Pillar Source: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Ba_Zi/Luck_Pillar?oldid=2501408 Contributors: Cheryl2012, ByGrace, 4pillars
and Anonymous: 1
• Ba Zi/Life Cycle Source: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Ba_Zi/Life_Cycle?oldid=2450513 Contributors: Cheryl2012 and ByGrace
• Ba Zi/Hidden Stems Source: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Ba_Zi/Hidden_Stems?oldid=2498059 Contributors: Cheryl2012, ByGrace
and 4pillars
• Ba Zi/Aspects Of Life Source: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Ba_Zi/Aspects_Of_Life?oldid=2478579 Contributors: Cheryl2012 and By-
Grace
• Ba Zi/Date Selection Source: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Ba_Zi/Date_Selection?oldid=2481384 Contributors: Cheryl2012, Icetruck,
ByGrace and Anonymous: 1
• Ba Zi/List Of Ba Zi Source: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Ba_Zi/List_Of_Ba_Zi?oldid=2498625 Contributors: 4pillars
• Ba Zi/House of Life Source: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Ba_Zi/House_of_Life?oldid=2452395 Contributors: Cheryl2012 and By-
Grace
• Ba Zi/House of Conception Source: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Ba_Zi/House_of_Conception?oldid=2965665 Contributors: Az1568,
Cheryl2012, ByGrace and Anonymous: 2
• Ba Zi/Kua Number Source: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Ba_Zi/Kua_Number?oldid=2501410 Contributors: Cheryl2012, ByGrace,
Sylvialim, 4pillars and Anonymous: 1
• Ba Zi/120-Year Basic Components Table Source: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Ba_Zi/120-Year_Basic_Components_Table?oldid=
2501412 Contributors: Sylvialim, 4pillars and Anonymous: 1
• Ba Zi/Seasonal Cycle Source: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Ba_Zi/Seasonal_Cycle?oldid=2450518 Contributors: Cheryl2012 and By-
Grace

18.2.2 Images

18.2.3 Content license

• Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0