What Is BaZi? The Four Pillars of Destiny, Simply Explained

What Is BaZi?

BaZi (八字, literally "eight characters") is a Chinese system of reading personality and life that, in its current form, is about a thousand years old. It is also called the Four Pillars of Destiny. Unlike Western astrology, BaZi doesn't work with planets but with the Chinese calendar: the year, month, day and hour of birth are each translated into two characters, a Heavenly Stem and an Earthly Branch. Four pillars times two characters make the eight characters that give the system its name.

Important: BaZi works with the Chinese solar calendar. The year doesn't begin on 1 January or at Chinese New Year, but at the start of spring, Lichun, around 4 February; the months also follow the solar terms. Anyone born in January therefore still belongs to the previous year in BaZi.

The Four Pillars

Each pillar stands for an area of life and a stage of life:

• Year pillar: origins, family and social environment; according to the teaching, also the early years.
• Month pillar: parents, career and youth; its Earthly Branch sets the season of birth and with it how strong the elements are.
• Day pillar: the self and partnership. Its Heavenly Stem is the Day Master, the core of the chart; its Earthly Branch is considered the palace of partnership.
• Hour pillar: children, plans and later years; also one's inner wishes.

Without a time of birth, only three pillars can be determined. The reading is then less complete, but the Day Master remains.

Stems, Branches and the Five Elements

The ten Heavenly Stems are the five elements wood, fire, earth, metal and water, each in a yang and a yin form. The twelve Earthly Branches are known as the animal signs of the Chinese horoscope, from the Rat to the Pig; each branch carries elements of its own. More in the article on Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches.

• Wood: growth, planning, expansion
• Fire: expression, warmth, visibility
• Earth: stability, trust, mediation
• Metal: structure, clarity, decision
• Water: wisdom, adaptability, depth

The elements nourish each other in a cycle (wood feeds fire, fire earth, earth metal, metal water, water wood) and control each other crosswise. Their distribution in your chart shows, according to BaZi teaching, where you have natural strengths and where balance does you good.

The Day Master and the Ten Gods

The most important single point is the Day Master, the Heavenly Stem of your day pillar. It stands for you, for example as Yang Wood, the great tree, or as Yin Fire, the candle. All the other stems are read in relation to it, as the Ten Gods: companions, expression, wealth, authority and support. All ten Day Masters are described in the overview of the Day Master.

Time in BaZi: Luck Pillars and Years

Besides the birth chart, BaZi knows cycles of time: the ten-year luck pillars (Da Yun) and the year pillar of each calendar year. They describe which elements join in during a phase of life and thus, according to the teaching, which themes come to the fore. More in the article on the great luck period. For the luck pillars you also need the person's sex besides the birth data, because their direction depends on it.

BaZi in UmbraLux

UmbraLux calculates your four pillars from your birth data and shows your Day Master, your birth element, the season of your birth and the Ten Gods of your pillars. The app doesn't calculate the luck pillars. The library describes stems, branches, elements and Day Masters in detail. Ask Verus, your AI companion, about your pillars: he knows the stem, branch and animal of each pillar, your Day Master and the Ten Gods, and connects them with your other systems in conversation.

Frequently Asked Questions about BaZi

What does BaZi mean?

BaZi means "eight characters": the four pillars of birth, each with a Heavenly Stem and an Earthly Branch.

What is the difference between BaZi and the Chinese zodiac?

The well-known Chinese animal sign is only one part of BaZi: the Earthly Branch of the year pillar. BaZi looks at all eight characters, above all the Day Master.

Do I need my time of birth?

For the hour pillar, yes. Without a time of birth, three of the four pillars and the Day Master can be determined.

How old is BaZi?

The foundations of the Chinese calendar and the teaching of the elements are much older; in its current form, with the Day Master at its center, BaZi is about a thousand years old.