Bazi Glossary
A comprehensive guide to Chinese astrology terminology
Five Elements (Wu Xing)
The Five Elements are the fundamental forces that govern all energy interactions in Chinese metaphysics.
Wood
Represents growth, expansion, and vitality. Associated with spring, new beginnings, and the liver.
Fire
Represents passion, transformation, and illumination. Associated with summer, joy, and the heart.
Earth
Represents stability, nourishment, and grounding. Associated with seasonal transitions and the spleen.
Water
Represents wisdom, adaptability, and depth. Associated with winter, introspection, and the kidneys.
Ten Gods (Shi Shen)
The Ten Gods describe the relationships between elements in your chart, revealing personality traits and life patterns.
Peer Star
Same element, same polarity. Represents independence, self-reliance, and competition with equals.
Competitor Star
Same element, opposite polarity. Represents rivalry, ambition, and potential conflicts over resources.
Eating God
Element you produce, same polarity. Represents creativity, enjoyment, and artistic expression.
Hurting Officer
Element you produce, opposite polarity. Represents rebellion, unconventional thinking, and challenges to authority.
Direct Wealth
Element you control, opposite polarity. Represents steady income, practical achievements, and material stability.
Indirect Wealth
Element you control, same polarity. Represents windfall gains, investments, and opportunistic wealth.
Direct Officer
Element that controls you, opposite polarity. Represents authority, discipline, and conventional success.
Seven Killings
Element that controls you, same polarity. Represents pressure, challenges, and the drive to overcome obstacles.
Direct Resource
Element that produces you, opposite polarity. Represents support, education, and nurturing influences.
Indirect Resource
Element that produces you, same polarity. Represents unconventional knowledge, intuition, and spiritual insights.
Ten Heavenly Stems (Tian Gan)
The Heavenly Stems represent celestial energy and combine with Earthly Branches to form the pillars of your chart.
Like a towering tree: upright, principled, values integrity.
Like a flexible vine: adaptable, sociable, resilient.
Like the radiant sun: passionate, outgoing, charismatic.
Like a gentle candle: reserved, warm, empathetic.
Like a mountain: steady, reliable, principled.
Like fertile soil: nurturing, patient, organized.
Like a flowing river: intelligent, agile, open-minded.
Like morning dew: sensitive, intuitive, empathetic.
Twelve Earthly Branches (Di Zhi)
The Earthly Branches correspond to the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac and represent terrestrial energy.
Core Concepts
Essential terminology for understanding your Bazi chart and Chinese astrology.
Eight Characters
The foundation of Chinese astrology, consisting of four pairs of Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches representing your birth time.
Four Pillars
The four columns of your chart representing Year, Month, Day, and Hour of birth.
Day Master
The Heavenly Stem of your Day Pillar, representing your core self and personality.
Luck Cycles
Ten-year periods that influence your life journey, derived from your Month Pillar.
Yin & Yang
The fundamental duality of passive and active, feminine and masculine, moon and sun.
Generation & Control
The productive and controlling relationships between the Five Elements.
Branch & Stem Interactions
These describe how the Earthly Branches and Heavenly Stems of two charts (or two pillars) combine, clash, or harmonize with one another.
Three Harmony
A harmonious trio of branches that join forces to strengthen a single element, often signaling deep alignment and mutual support.
Six Harmony
A gentle pairing of two branches that bond warmly together, suggesting attraction, cooperation, and natural rapport.
Six Clash
A direct opposition between two facing branches that pulls in contrary directions, bringing change, tension, or a need for movement.
Punishment
A subtle friction between branches that creates inner pressure or recurring complications, asking for patience and self-awareness.
Harm
A quiet undermining between two branches that can erode trust or wear things down gradually beneath the surface.
Destruction
A breaking or destabilizing influence between branches that disrupts what was settled and invites rebuilding on firmer ground.
Stem Combination
Two Heavenly Stems that attract and combine, often transforming together into a single element and a shared sense of purpose.
Stem Clash
One Heavenly Stem controlling or confronting another, reflecting a dynamic of restraint, challenge, or competing wills.
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