BaZi entries: the books and a five-page contents
This page says what BaZi is, then keeps the books, the rules, and five pages.
- Also called
- Four Pillars · eight characters
Editorial review: 2026-09-22 · Reviewed by fatequery
Contents
The year changes at the Beginning of Spring. The month follows twelve solar terms. Hidden stems are weighted 1, 0.5, and 0.3. The day boundary defaults to 23:00 and can be switched to 00:00.
Concept snapshot
What this page writes
What BaZi is, then the five-page list
What this page keeps
The books, the rules, and five links
Year and month
Beginning of Spring, then the twelve solar terms
Weights and the day
1 / 0.5 / 0.3, day boundary 23:00
Explore concepts
Four pillars
Four pillars: the year, the solar month, and the day boundary
The four pillars give the year, month, day, and hour one stem and one branch each. The year changes at the Beginning of Spring, the month follows twelve solar terms, the day defaults to 23:00, and each hour-branch lasts two clock hours. True solar time, when on, can move the hour pillar first.
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Ten Gods
Ten Gods: the day-master table, then resource, output, officer, wealth, and peers
A ten god is another stem’s relation to the day master, not a label on the year pillar. Look up the day master’s row first, then read resource, output, officer, wealth, and peers at the place that belongs to that group. Branches split into hidden stems.
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Elements
Elements: hidden-stem weights, the count, and strength from season and roots
The elements are not a count of the eight visible characters. Visible stems count as 1. Hidden stems count as 1, 0.5, and 0.3. The day master’s strength is read from the month and from roots, and the total is not a personality score.
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Marks
Marks: void, the twelve stages, and nayin can sit together
The void, the twelve stages, and nayin are three separate tables. One branch can sit on all three. The three tables do not collapse into one luck sentence.
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Luck cycles
Luck cycles: the start, the decade, the year marker, and where a sentence stops
A luck cycle is a ten-year step laid on pillars that are already set. It does not replace the day master. The year marker is that year’s stem and branch. A sentence stops at which element is heavier and which ten god that is. It does not name a day.
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BaZi match
BaZi match: branches, day masters, and element balance
A BaZi match sets two finished pillar charts side by side. The classic object is marriage matching. Romantic and family lenses are included. A business partnership is not, because this tool has no separate classical frame for it.
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What BaZi is
BaZi gives the year, month, day and hour of birth one stem and one branch each. The day stem is the day master. The other seven characters are read against it as Ten Gods, and the branches are split into hidden stems. The year pillar changes at the Beginning of Spring. The month pillar follows the twelve solar terms.
To cast your own pillars, open the chart page.
Five pages
The cuts, the ten gods, the elements, the marks, and the luck cycles each have one page. Marriage matching stays outside these five.
Books used for the names
Yuanhai Ziping and Sanming Tonghui are the transmitted texts used to check the names. One text does not turn an illustration into something that has already happened.
The boundaries this site actually uses are written in the next section, separately from those books.
Rules kept on every page
The year pillar changes at the Beginning of Spring. The month pillar follows the twelve solar terms. Hidden stems are weighted 1, 0.5, and 0.3. The day boundary defaults to 23:00 and can be switched to 00:00.
The same birth, with the same settings, yields the same four pillars. Two charts that disagree are compared on the settings first.
Common mistakes
- Reading the year stem as the day master.
- Starting the year pillar before the Beginning of Spring.
- Splitting hidden stems into equal thirds.
Use it in fatequery
BaZi marriage match
Branch relations, day-master combinations and element balance
Compare two BaZi charts →Frequently asked questions
Is the definition on this page?
Yes. This page says what BaZi is, then keeps the books and the five-page list.
Which day boundary is the default?
23:00. It can be switched to 00:00. The chart keeps the one it used.
Does marriage matching sit inside these five pages?
No. It stays on its own page.
Sources and editorial basis
- 1. Yuanhai Ziping, transmitted text
Names for the pillars, the ten gods, and the month command. One text does not turn an illustration into an event.
- 2. Sanming Tonghui, transmitted text
Names for the direct and indirect gods, the twelve stages, and nayin.
- 3. fatequery rule snapshot
Beginning of Spring, solar-term months, hidden-stem weights 1 / 0.5 / 0.3, day boundary defaulting to 23:00.