What is BaZi? The four pillars, explained
BaZi (八字, “eight characters”), also called the Four Pillars of Destiny (四柱), writes the moment you were born as four pairs of characters: the year, month, day and hour pillars. Each pillar is a heavenly stem on top of an earthly branch, so four pillars make eight characters.
Stems and branches
There are ten heavenly stems (天干): 甲 jiǎ, 乙 yǐ, 丙 bǐng, 丁 dīng, 戊 wù, 己 jǐ, 庚 gēng, 辛 xīn, 壬 rén and 癸 guǐ. There are twelve earthly branches (地支), the same twelve as the zodiac animals: 子 Rat, 丑 Ox, 寅 Tiger, 卯 Rabbit, 辰 Dragon, 巳 Snake, 午 Horse, 未 Goat, 申 Monkey, 酉 Rooster, 戌 Dog and 亥 Pig. Paired in order from 甲子 to 癸亥, they make a cycle of sixty (六十甲子) that counts years, months, days and hours alike.
Each stem and branch has an element and a polarity:
| Element | Stems | Branches |
|---|---|---|
| Wood | 甲 (yang), 乙 (yin) | 寅, 卯 |
| Fire | 丙, 丁 | 巳, 午 |
| Earth | 戊, 己 | 辰, 戌, 丑, 未 |
| Metal | 庚, 辛 | 申, 酉 |
| Water | 壬, 癸 | 亥, 子 |
Branches also hold hidden stems (藏干). 未, for example, holds 己, 丁 and 乙, and a reading counts them too.
What each pillar stands for
- Year pillar: your birth year, which also gives your zodiac animal. Traditionally linked to family roots and childhood.
- Month pillar: the season you were born in. It weighs most when judging which elements are strong.
- Day pillar: the day you were born. Its stem is your day master, the character that stands for you; its branch is called the spouse palace.
- Hour pillar: the two-hour period of your birth, traditionally linked to later life and children.
Three things that are easy to get wrong
- The year starts at 立春 (Start of Spring), not at Chinese New Year. In 2027 that is 09:46 on 4 February, Malaysia and Singapore time. Born in January or early February? Your BaZi year may not match the animal you grew up with.
- Months change at the solar terms, such as 惊蛰 (Awakening of Insects) and 清明 (Clear and Bright), to the minute, not on the first day of a lunar month.
- The hour pillar uses true solar time. The day has twelve double hours; 子 runs from 23:00 to 01:00. Malaysia keeps UTC+8, but the sun runs behind the clock, by about 70 minutes in Kuala Lumpur. 12:30 on the clock is about 11:20 by the sun there, still the 午 hour.
Born between 23:00 and midnight? Schools differ on whether your day pillar is that day or the next. riffos counts the next day by default and tells you so.
No birth time?
You can still work out three pillars (year, month and day) and read your day master, the rough element mix and the year ahead. Without the hour pillar the element balance is incomplete, and riffos marks the chart as three pillars.
What to read once the chart is drawn
- Day master: which of the ten stems you are. See Day master.
- Five elements: how much wood, fire, earth, metal and water your eight characters hold. See Five elements.
- Ten gods: how the other seven characters relate to your day master: wealth, officer, resource and so on. See Ten gods.
- Luck pillars and the year ahead: the ten-year luck pillars, and how each year meets your chart. See Luck pillars, years and months.
Enter your birth date and gender on the riffos home page to see your four pillars, elements and day master. It is worked out in your browser and nothing is sent to us. Get your free chart