Learn BaZi.
Plain-English guides to reading a Chinese birth chart — from the very basics to the deep mechanics. Start anywhere; every guide links on to the next.
Start here
New to BaZi? Begin with these.
What is a BaZi chart?
The beginner's introduction — what the eight characters are and what your chart actually measures.
How to read a BaZi chart, step by step
The order a real reading follows: Day Master, strength, favorable element, Ten Gods, elements, luck pillars.
Your zodiac animal vs the four pillars
Why your animal is only the year pillar, and what the other three add.
Reading a chart with no birth time
How much of a chart still holds when the birth hour is unknown.
The core concepts
The building blocks every reading uses.
Is your Day Master strong or weak?
The judgment the whole chart turns on — the three tests, and why strength sets your favorable element.
The Ten Gods (十神)
The ten relational roles every character plays toward your Day Master.
The Five Elements (五行)
Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water — the two cycles that link them.
Yin and Yang (阴阳)
The first split that sorts every stem and branch and doubles the Ten Gods.
Heavenly Stems & Earthly Branches (天干地支)
The alphabet of BaZi, and the sixty-year cycle they pair into.
Hidden Stems (藏干)
The stems concealed inside each branch — and why a chart is weighed, not counted.
Luck Pillars (大运)
The ten-year cycles that move over your fixed chart like weather.
How to find your favorable element (用神)
It follows from one thing — whether your Day Master is strong or weak.
The Useful God (用神 Yong Shen)
The element a chart most needs, and the family of terms around it.
Clashes, Combinations & Punishments (刑冲合害)
How the twelve branches clash, combine, and quietly transform each other.
BaZi and health (五行与健康)
The five elements mapped to the body — held lightly, as reflection not medicine.
The ten Day Masters
Read the character that represents you, in depth.
Compare the systems
How BaZi relates to the other charts you may know.
BaZi vs Western astrology
Calendar and five elements versus the planets — and why your Day Master is not your Sun sign.
BaZi vs Zi Wei Dou Shu
Eight characters and five elements versus a hundred stars in twelve palaces.
BaZi vs Saju
The same Four Pillars system under a Chinese and a Korean name.
Zi Wei Dou Shu explained
Purple Star Astrology — twelve palaces and a sky of named stars.
Love, career & the year ahead
What a chart speaks to.
BaZi and love
The Spouse Palace, the Spouse Star, and what kind of partner balances your chart.
BaZi for career and wealth
The Wealth and Officer stars — and whether your Day Master can carry them.
Chinese zodiac compatibility
The harmony trines, the six pairings, the six clashes — and why two charts beat two animals.
Year of the Horse 2026 (丙午 Fire Horse)
What the Fire Horse year means, when it really starts, and why your own chart matters more.
2027: Year of the Fire Goat (丁未)
What the Ding Wei year emphasizes, when it begins, and why your own chart matters more.
The twelve zodiac signs
Each animal's traits, years, and compatibility.