- Long Story Short about Ba Zi

For those who are (still) lacking patience.

Many people today find themselves intrigued by Feng Shui and the Chinese Horoscope, often hearing phrases like "you’ve ruined my feng shui" in conversations. When they seek to learn more, they turn to the internet or ask questions in various groups. However, the answers they find can often be contradictory, especially regarding Feng Shui, where two different currents—New Age Feng Shui and Traditional Feng Shui—exist. Similarly, when trying to decipher the Chinese horoscope, individuals may become confused about whether the year or month of birth holds more significance. Trying to go farther, they might face a Destiny Chart composed of four pillars filled with strange symbols and inscriptions.

For some, simply receiving a decoded analysis from a practitioner or specialized software like BaZi Advisor is enough. However, many desire to understand how to "read" these Destiny Charts in Ba Zi or what the presence of certain Flying Stars in various sectors of a home means in Feng Shui. We are excited to encourage those individuals to embark on this journey of self-discovery and harmonization with the world around them, as it is one of the pathways to a happy life.

In the following sections, we will guide you through analyzing and understanding a Destiny Chart in Ba Zi. We’ll start by exploring some fundamental principles of traditional Chinese metaphysics that form the foundation of these practices.

Basics of Chinese Metaphysics

In Chinese metaphysics, Tai Ji (also written as Taiji or 太极) represents the concept of the Great Ultimate, which is the origin of all things in the universe. It is the philosophical and cosmological foundation from which Yin and Yang arise, symbolizing the ultimate unity and source of creation.

Key points about Tai Ji:

• Tai Ji is the state of undifferentiated oneness before the separation into Yin and Yang. It's often depicted as a circle, with Yin and Yang represented within it, showing that all things emerge from and return to this singular origin.
• Tai Ji is seen as the beginning of the cosmic process, symbolizing the dynamic balance and cyclical movement of energy in the universe, it represents harmony between opposing forces through movement and stillness.

In Chinese metaphysics, Tai Ji is central to understanding how the universe operates, how energy flows, and how the balance between opposites (Yin and Yang) is maintained in life, nature, and the cosmos. It also forms the basis for many systems like Ba Zi, Feng Shui, and Yi Ching.

In Chinese metaphysics, Ba Zi is used to understand a person's destiny and life path based on their birth date, Feng Shui optimizes the energy flow in living and working spaces to enhance well-being and fortune, and the Yi Ching, also known as the 64 hexagrams, provides guidance for decision-making and understanding the dynamics of change through divination. The Yi Ching serves as the foundation for both Ba Zi and Feng Shui and is always used for deeper understanding, whether decoding a Ba Zi Destiny Chart or performing a Feng Shui audit or prediction.

Yin-Yang Principle and the Eight Trigrams

The Yin-Yang principle is a foundational concept in Chinese philosophy and metaphysics, representing the dual forces that make up all aspects of life and the universe. It emphasizes balance and the idea that opposite forces are interconnected and interdependent.

• Yin represents qualities like darkness, passivity, femininity, coldness, and softness.
• Yang represents qualities like light, activity, masculinity, heat, and strength.

These two forces are not static but constantly interact and transform into each other. For example, night (Yin) turns into day (Yang), and rest (Yin) enables action (Yang). The principle teaches that balance between Yin and Yang is essential for harmony in life, health, and nature.

From the duality of Yin (broken line) and Yang (solid line), the 8 trigrams, also known as the Ba Gua, are created through a process of combination:

• Start with a single Yin or Yang line.
• Add a second line (Yin or Yang), creating four possible combinations (two-line trigrams).
• Add a third line, forming the 8 trigrams (three-line symbols), which represent various natural forces and qualities.

These trigrams form the foundation of the Yi Ching, and from the 8 trigrams, the 64 hexagrams were developed by pairing them in various combinations. Each hexagram, like a binary code of Yin and Yang lines, expresses a different aspect of the universe, similar to the binary system used in informatics, where sequences of 0s and 1s create complex information patterns.

The Cosmic Trinity

Alongside Yin and Yang, another fundamental principle in Chinese metaphysics is the Cosmic Trinity, which refers to the three key forces that equally influence a person's life:

• Heaven Luck: Represents destiny and fate determined by the time and place of a person's birth, often studied through Ba Zi or astrology.
• Earth Luck: Relates to the environment and physical surroundings, shaped by Feng Shui, which affects how energy (Qi) flows in a person's space.
• Man Luck: Refers to human actions, choices, and efforts—what individuals can control through their decisions, behavior, and personal development.

Together, these three elements shape the overall balance and outcome of one's life. Through Ba Zi and Feng Shui, we can gain insight into and somewhat influence our Man Luck and Earth Luck. However, when it comes to Heaven Luck, we can only glimpse a small part of what is destined for us, and that too, only as much as is allowed, through the guidance of the Yi Ching. You can learn more about these in the article The Cosmic Trinity and Yin-Yang Theory.

The Five Elements Principle Explained

After understanding the Cosmic Trinity, we come to another key concept that plays a major role in shaping our lives: the Five Elements. Everything in the universe, whether big or small, has come into being thanks to the influence of these Five Elements. When we talk about elements, we're actually referring to their underlying principles, which we’ll dive into shortly, rather than the physical elements themselves. Think of them as five core energies that are all connected and constantly interacting on both a large and small scale. In the Chinese system, these five energies are symbolized by Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water, forming the basis of what we call the Five Elements Theory.

Each of the Five Elements has two opposing polarities: Yin and Yang, with the differences between them stemming from this fundamental principle. The attributes of these elements are drawn from their physical essence, as we know them:

• Wood represents growth, strength, and flexibility.
• Fire embodies passion, dynamism, and expansiveness.
• Earth symbolizes balance, patience, and stability.
• Metal reflects competence, control, and determination.
• Water is linked to wisdom, introspection, and adaptability.

To make it easier to grasp, imagine Yang Wood as a tall, sturdy tree and Yin Wood as a delicate flower. Yang Fire could be the Sun, while Yin Fire is the gentle flame of a candle. Yang Earth can be seen as a mountain, while Yin Earth is the fertile soil. Yang Metal might be a sword, and Yin Metal a golden ring. Lastly, Yang Water could be a waterfall, and Yin Water a cloud or raindrops. Visualizing these can help you better understand the qualities and characteristics of each of the 10 polar elements (5 x 2), though we won't dive into too much detail here—you can explore more in the article The Theory of the 5 Elements. We encourage you to read it and take some time to reflect on it.

The most important step in understanding Ba Zi and Feng Shui is, once you're familiar with the principles of the elements, to think about how they interact with each other. These interactions, which we’ll cover next, are the key to making sense of everything that has happened, is happening, and will ever happen. Plus, these same interactions form the basis of the remedies we'll discuss at a more advanced level.

There are three main ways the Five Elements interact (as shown in the figure above), each forming its own cycle:

1. Production Cycle: This is how elements nurture one another. It starts with Wood, which burns to create Fire. The fire produces Earth (ash), from which Metal is extracted. Metal, through condensation, generates Water, which then nourishes the wood—and the cycle continues.
2. Consuming Cycle: In this cycle, elements consume each other. Wood absorbs Water, which nourishes it. Metal rusts, slowly consuming itself and weakening the Earth it came from. The earth puts out Fire, which needs Wood to burn. This is also called the Destruction Cycle, as it's the reverse of the Production Cycle.
3. Controlling Cycle: In the controlling cycle, each element keeps another in check. Wood stabilizes Earth (like tree roots), which forms water banks to control Water. Water puts out Fire, which melts Metal, and metal cuts Wood.

An element is strengthened by the same element (support) or the one that produces it, it’s weakened when it uses energy to control or create another element, and it’s completely overpowered by the element that controls it.

Since our focus is on people and their relationship with the universe and the divine, let’s see how these principles reflect within us. First off, each of our personalities can be seen as a mix of the Five Elements in different proportions. Just a reminder: when we talk about elements, we’re referring to their principles and attributes, not the physical elements themselves. Ideally, these five elements should be balanced within us, but since perfection is hard to come by and our lives are often far from perfect, that’s usually not the case. The greater the imbalances, the more complicated our lives tend to be.

The ancient art of Ba Zi can reveal these details to us and offer suggestions for a smoother, more harmonious life. While Ba Zi is especially great for diagnostics, remedies often come from Feng Shui practices. We’ll cover all of this in the upcoming chapters, but first, let's touch on a few crucial points about the elements to give you a solid foundation for understanding these concepts and practices.

About the Elements Strength and Favorability

One important idea to introduce is the Power of the Elements. Each person is linked to a Day Master, simply the Polar Element associated with their Day of birth. The Strengths of the elements are calculated based on the Day Master element, which is a bit complex but primarily depends on the Season of Birth. The season corresponds to the month you were born—spring, summer, autumn, or winter. For those of you whose curiosity has been sparked, we recommend checking out the article Ba Zi Decoding - Day Master Analysis!

Example: During the spring season the Wood is prosperous because it is the season when nature becomes green again. The Wood produces very active Fire which then is considered strong. The wood is produced by the Water which in this case is consumed in excess and becomes weak. It controls the Earth and being prosperous the Earth is too strongly controlled and becomes dead. The wood is controlled by the Metal but in this case, it is too strong to be controlled and the Metal becomes trapped.

No element should be too strong or too weak. That’s why we need to strengthen the weaker elements and tone down the stronger ones. How do we do this? Through interactions with other elements, as mentioned earlier. So, a strong element actually benefits from the ones that weaken it—those that control it—as well as the elements it controls, these elements being considered Favorable. The rest are considered Unfavorable.

On the flip side, weak elements need support, which comes from the elements that generate them or those of the same kind. These are their Favorable elements, while the rest are seen as Unfavorable.

For example, if someone has a strong Yang Water Day Master, then Fire, Wood, and Earth are favorable elements for them, while Water and Metal are unfavorable.

Now that we've covered what the concepts of Strength and Favorability of the elements mean, you have all the fundamental ideas you need to understand the basics of Ba Zi and Feng Shui. We’ll dive deeper into these practices in the upcoming sections!

Ba Zi: Unlocking Your Destiny Chart

The Destiny Chart is made up of Four Pillars that are calculated based on a person's birth date and time. Each pillar consists of three parts: a Heavenly Stem at the top, represented by a Polar Element; an Earthly Branch in the middle, shown as a zodiac animal; and a Hidden Stem at the bottom, which contains one, two, or even three Polar Elements. These hidden elements represent the true energies (Qi) that define each animal in the Earthly Branch.

Although each animal is associated with a visible Polar Element in the Earthly Branch, this only reveals the external, surface-level aspect of its Qi. To truly understand its nature, you need to look deeper into the Hidden Stems. The main Qi, always represented in the middle of the Hidden Stem, defines the animal’s true essence.

If there are two Hidden Stems, the distribution of Qi is usually 70% for the main element and 30% for the secondary one. If there are three, it might be divided as 60%, 20%, and 20% for the main and secondary energies.

As you can see, analyzing each pillar involves looking at the attributes and interactions of the Polar Elements within them. That’s why it’s so important to carefully reflect on the qualities, both positive and negative, of these elements, as we discussed earlier.

In Ba Zi, each of the Four Pillars offers a unique view into different aspects of your life. The Year Pillar, connected to your birth year, gives insight into your relationship with relatives and how larger economic or global events might impact your life path.

Next, the Month Pillar, associated with your birth month, is also known as the Career Pillar. It's the first one we look at when analyzing your professional life. Beyond career insights, it also reflects your outward personality and behavior, while offering a glimpse into your relationship with your parents and the dynamics within that connection. Since our career and profession take up about 70% of our active life, it's no surprise that our job leaves a strong mark on our personality, especially the side we show to the world. That’s why a person’s Profile can be found in the Hidden Stem of this pillar, usually reflected by the Main Qi. The above example is one of the exceptions, the Profile being Hearting Officer (HO) in this case.

The Day Pillar focuses on your true self—your core traits and personal characteristics. It also highlights your connection with your spouse or potential life partner, giving you a sense of how intimate relationships might play out. The Heavenly Stem of this pillar represents you and is called the Day Master (DM), while the Earthly Branch reveals insights about your relationship with your spouse. To get the first glimpse of your personality, you can start by exploring the traits of your corresponding Polar Element (Yang Water in the above example).

Finally, the Hour Pillar, tied to the time you were born, uncovers your deepest goals and desires. It also shows your connection with your children, offering a glimpse into how your relationship with them may develop.

Taken together, these four pillars paint a full picture of your life, covering family ties, behavior, inner nature, and your most meaningful relationships and dreams.

From this point on, based on what we've covered so far, our analysis will focus on the relationships between each of the Five Elements and the Element represented by your Day Master (which stands for you). Through these interactions, we'll now refer to the Elements as Stars. To dive even deeper, we’ll also differentiate these Stars based on their polarity (Yin or Yang), and from that perspective, they’ll be called Gods—but we’ll get into more details about that in the next chapter.

Intro to the Five Stars Concept

When we talk about elements in relation to the Day Master, we like to call them Stars for simplicity. In Ba Zi, the way these five elements interact with your Day Master defines the Five Stars:

• Friends Star (FS): This is the same element as your Day Master, representing fun times, leisure, and even a little friendly competition.
• Resource Star (RS): This element generates your Day Master and is all about your physical and mental well-being. It’s connected to your health, comfort, education, and even your self-esteem—basically, how much you appreciate life.
• Output Star (OS): This star is generated by your Day Master and often relates to how you earn a living and where your wealth comes from.
• Wealth Star (WS): As the name suggests, this element is controlled by your Day Master. If your Day Master is strong, this star indicates a good affinity for money.
• Influence Star (IS): This is the element that controls your Day Master. It reflects qualities like charisma, leadership, and self-discipline. It’s key to achieving a respected role in society.

Taking the Destiny Chart above as an example, the Day Master is Water. The Friend Star is Water as well, the Resource Star is Metal, the Output Star is Wood, the Wealth Star is Fire and the Influence Star is Earth.

Wise folks say that the quality of the Stars in your Destiny Chart is way more important than just counting how many you have. That’s definitely something to keep in mind! Still, we can draw some insights from the number of Stars present. Figuring out the Strength and Quality of these stars can be a bit tricky, but don’t worry—you can find all this info in the Elements Panel on the Profile page of the BaZi Advisor web application!

For those who want to dive deeper, I recommend checking out the article Ba Zi - Five Stars Analysis. It goes into detail about what each Star represents and how to interpret their absence or excess in your Destiny Chart. Plus, it explains how their effects can vary based on how favorable they are for the Day Master!

Intro to the Ten Gods Concept

You’ve probably been wondering what all those abbreviations in your Destiny Chart mean, right? Each one is linked to a specific Polar Element. Well, those abbreviations stand for the names of the Ten Gods associated with those elements. Let’s clear things up a bit more on that!

The Ten Gods in Ba Zi, often called the Shi Shen, help us understand the ins and outs of a person’s Destiny Chart, giving us insights into their traits, behaviors, and how they connect with others.

The idea of the Ten Gods is closely linked to how the Five Elements—Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water—interact with each other and their Yin-Yang qualities. Each element has a way of supporting or controlling the others, forming a network of connections that shape the characteristics of the Gods. While the strength of an element matters a lot, it's not the only thing to consider.

A strong, high-quality God can really influence a Destiny Chart, whereas a weak, low-quality God won’t have much of an impact. In the latter case, it means the Day Master has little connection with what that god represents—like traits, people, places, or situations.

Now, a god is considered "hidden" if it’s found only in the sub-Qi of the branches. To tap into the skills or traits related to a hidden god, a person has to put in some effort. The cool thing is, that being hidden means the god is shielded from the clashes affecting the Pillar.

On the flip side, a god is "revealed" when it appears in the Heavenly Stems. The traits of this kind of god are clear and noticeable to those around the person, especially at first glance.

A God is considered "excessive" when it's really strong and shows up more than four times in a Destiny Chart. In these cases, the god can shift to its opposite; for example, Friends can turn into Rob Wealth, Direct Officer can become Seven Killings, Direct Resource can change to Indirect Resource, and Eating God can switch to Hurting Officer. Unfortunately, when this happens, the god will only show the negative sides of its opposite.

Here, I’ll just show you who the Ten Gods are and how they’re derived from the corresponding Stars. To dive deeper into what they mean and the roles they can play, just click on their names in the "Gods Panel" of the BaZi Advisor page, and you’ll get all the info you need right there, on the fly.

Derived from the Friends Star are The Friend (F) - opposite polarity with DM, and Rob Wealth (RW) with the same polarity.

Derived from the Output Star are Hurting Officer (HO) - opposite polarity with DM, and Eating God (EG) with the same polarity.

Derived from the Wealth Star are Indirect Wealth (IW) - opposite polarity with DM, and Direct Wealth (DW) with the same polarity.

Derived from the Resource Star are Indirect Resource (IR) - opposite polarity with DM, and Direct Resource (DR) with the same polarity.

Derived from the Influence Star are Seven Killings (7K) - opposite polarity with DM, and Direct Officer (DO) with the same polarity.

You can find more details about these Gods in the article "Unraveling Destiny: Exploring the Ten Gods in Ba Zi Analysis."

If you want to understand how to determine their power and quality, which is super important, check out the article Evaluating the Quality of the Ten Gods in Ba Zi.

About Auxiliary Stars

Throughout our lives, we are constantly surrounded by energies, or Qi bodies, which are often referred to as Stars in Chinese Metaphysics for convenience.

In Ba Zi, Auxiliary Stars bring an extra layer of depth to the analysis. Their influence was first identified by Dong de Zhang, a famous astrologer from the Ming dynasty, who devoted his life to studying them. There are many auxiliary stars, each with its unique characteristics and effects, and they play an important role, especially when selecting favorable dates for various activities.

Some well-known auxiliary stars include the Peach Blossom Star, Noble Man Star, and Sky Horse Star. Whether these stars appear in certain pillars of your Destiny Chart can offer extra clues about your relationships, career, and even travel opportunities.

The influence of auxiliary stars shows up throughout your life, often becoming more noticeable during the period associated with the pillar they’re in. These stars are calculated based on the Earthly Branches or Celestial Stems in your Destiny Chart and are displayed as colorful rectangles under each pillar. You can easily see their effects by clicking on their names.

For more details, check out the article 27 Ba Zi Auxiliary Stars Revealed.

Before We Wrap Up

Throughout this article, you've learned about the key elements that form the foundation of interpreting a Destiny Chart. This is just the first step on your journey toward a fulfilled and harmonious life if you choose to explore this path further. There's still so much more to discover as you continue to master these basic concepts.

The next stage is to dive deeper into the interactions between the pillars, whether these are interactions within your Destiny Chart or between your chart and the Luck Pillars, as well as the temporary pillars of the current day, month, or year, which you’ll find in your Horoscope.

We recommend checking out the following articles to continue your learning: Heavenly Stems & Earthly Branches Interactions in Ba Zi, where you'll explore all the possible interactions and their effects, and Ba Zi - Destiny Chart and Luck Pillars, where you'll get to know what the Luck Pillars are all about.

Using the BaZi Advisor web app gives you the perfect opportunity to put your newly gained knowledge into practice right away. You can compare your own interpretations with the detailed insights provided by the app’s analysis. It’s a great way to see how your understanding stacks up against the decoded information and helps refine your skills along the way. Good luck on your journey of discovery!