Reference
BaZi Glossary
Every term used in your reading, explained in plain English - from Day Master to Goat Blade.
Ten Gods
- The PeerFriend (Bi Jian)The archetype of self-reliance, peer alliance, independent determination, and steadfast resilience.
- Day MasterDay Master (Self Element)The Heavenly Stem of your birth day, representing your core self, conscious spirit, and intrinsic essence in Four Pillars calculus.
- The CompetitorRob Wealth (Jie Cai)The archetype of competitive drive, passionate charisma, aggressive ambition, and communal risk-sharing.
- The Venture SeekerIndirect Wealth (Pian Cai)The archetype of entrepreneurial vision, investment resourcefulness, opportunity capture, and dynamic risk-adjusted returns.
- The IntuitiveIndirect Resource (Pian Yin)The archetype of esoteric insight, unorthodox philosophy, strategic solitude, and unconventional mastery.
- The ChallengerSeven Killings (Qi Sha)A fierce Ten Gods archetype of disruptive courage, crisis management, tactical bravery, and boundary-pushing ambition.
- The PerformerHurting Officer (Shang Guan)The archetype of brilliant innovation, non-conformist genius, expressive eloquence, and revolutionary creativity.
- The MakerEating God (Shi Shen)The archetype of refined artistic expression, gourmet living, peaceful diplomacy, and the original spring of wealth creation.
- The Steady EarnerDirect Wealth (Zheng Cai)The archetype of consistent wealth generation, prudent asset stewardship, systematic enterprise, and reliable cash flow.
- The StewardDirect Officer (Zheng Guan)A revered Ten Gods archetype of ethical leadership, structural discipline, organizational authority, and lawful prestige.
- The ScholarDirect Resource (Zheng Yin)The archetype of academic wisdom, motherly protection, cultural depth, reputation, and spiritual shelter.
Five Elements
- WoodFive Elements (Wu Xing)The five dynamic phases of universal energy (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) whose mutual generation and control govern all cosmic and psychological patterns.
- Yin and YangYin and YangThe complementary polarities of cosmic Qi: Yang embodies movement, radiance, and expansion; Yin embodies stillness, depth, and receptivity.
Stems and Branches
- Earthly Branches (Di Zhi)Earthly Branches (Di Zhi)The twelve terrestrial roots (Zi through Hai) holding hidden elemental stems, governing seasons, emotional roots, and tangible timing.
- Heavenly Stems (Tian Gan)Heavenly Stems (Tian Gan)The ten celestial energy archetypes (Jia through Gui) on the top tier of a chart, governing outward talent, social visibility, and conscious projection.
- Hidden Stems (Cang Gan)Hidden Stems (Cang Gan)The primary and secondary Heavenly Stems concealed within Earthly Branches, revealing latent human talents, subconscious motives, and subtle resources.
- ClashSix Clashes (Liu Chong)Direct 180-degree oppositional tension between opposite Earthly Branches, prompting dynamic shifts, movement, and breakthrough.
- TriangleThree Harmonies (San He)The triangular celestial alliance of three Earthly Branches (e.g., Shen-Zi-Chen Water) forming an invincible elemental tide.
- Five Elements of the Sixty JiaziFive Elements of the Sixty JiaziThe sixty-term cycle of stems and branches, each with an assigned element, used to date and to grade the quality of a given year or month.
Structures and Patterns
- 10-Year Luck Cycle (Da Yun)10-Year Luck Cycle (Da Yun)The decennial climate of energetic influences that successively activates hidden potentials and challenges across life.
- Four Pillars of Destiny (BaZi)Four Pillars of Destiny (BaZi)The energetic blueprint calculated from your exact Year, Month, Day, and Hour of birth, consisting of four stem-branch pairs.
- Chart Structure (Ge Ju)Chart Structure (Ge Ju)The overall structural pattern of a chart, named after the dominant ten-god configuration that organises the whole destiny.
- Assisting God (Xiang Shen)Assisting God (Xiang Shen)The indispensable guardian element that protects and assists the Useful God, ensuring the realization of chart structure.
- Useful God (Yong Shen)Useful God (Yong Shen)The pivotal focal element that resolves chart imbalance, governs life success, and unlocks your highest potential.
Symbolic Stars
- Heavenly and Lunar VirtueHeavenly and Lunar VirtueTwo benefic stars whose direction shifts with the month. Repairs begun under them are traditionally held to convert ill fortune into good.
- The EdgeYang Blade (Yang Ren)The extreme peak of Yang vitality and elemental sharpness, granting immense power, courage, and leadership when mastered.
Feng Shui
- Eight Mansions (Ba Zhai)Eight Mansions (Ba Zhai)The school that judges a dwelling by its sitting trigram and maps eight life-areas around it. 《黄帝宅经》 is its shared ancestor.
- East Four HousesEast Four HousesThe four sitting trigrams (Kan, Li, Zhen, Xun) that share the East group. A house here favours people of the matching East group.
- Twenty-Four DirectionsTwenty-Four DirectionsThe compass divided into twenty-four seats — eight trigrams each split into three — used to locate every feature of a site.
- Feng Shui SchoolsFeng Shui SchoolsThe main lineages of Chinese siting theory — chiefly the Form school (landscape shapes) and the Compass school (directions and trigrams), with Eight Mansions belonging to the latter.
- Fortune Seat (Fu De)Fortune Seat (Fu De)The compass seat that supports wealth and well-being for a given house. Doors, beds and stoves placed here are considered favoured.
- Fu Wei (Seated Position)Fu Wei (Seated Position)The star that coincides with the house's own trigram — where the dwelling 'sits'. It is stable and neutral: neither a cure nor a threat.
- Huo Hai (Mishap)Huo Hai (Mishap)The mildest of the inauspicious stars — small setbacks and friction rather than serious harm.
- Jue Ming (Severed Fate)Jue Ming (Severed Fate)The most adverse of the eight stars. The classical remedy is repair and re-arrangement — not abandoning the house.
- Liu Sha (Six Killers)Liu Sha (Six Killers)The star of emotional entanglement and drain. Traditionally avoided for a main door or a bed.
- Dragon VeinDragon VeinThe continuous line of terrain from which a site draws its vitality — the ridge-and-valley run that a dwelling should sit against, not sever.
- Door, Master Room and StoveDoor, Master Room and StoveThe three positions that decide a house's practical fortune: the entrance, the head of the household's room, and the cooking place.
- Personal Trigram (Ming Gua)Personal Trigram (Ming Gua)The trigram derived from one's birth year and sex, used to match a person to a house and to their best sleeping and working directions.
- Sheng Qi (Life Energy)Sheng Qi (Life Energy)The most auspicious of the eight roaming stars. Where it falls, wealth and vitality gather — the seat preferred for doors, bedrooms and stoves.
- Tian Yi (Heavenly Doctor)Tian Yi (Heavenly Doctor)The star of health and helpful people. Traditionally chosen for a sickroom or a room for recovery, and for turning to a mentor.
- Wu Gui (Five Ghosts)Wu Gui (Five Ghosts)The star of conflict, fire risk and disputes. It calls for care with stoves and wiring rather than for fear.
- Five Deficiencies and Five AbundancesFive Deficiencies and Five Abundances《黄帝宅经》's best-known set of tests: five proportions that drain a household and five that enrich it. All are ratios of people to space — no compass needed.
- West Four HousesWest Four HousesThe four sitting trigrams (Qian, Kun, Gen, Dui) that share the West group. A house here favours people of the matching West group.
- Calamity Seat (Xing Huo)Calamity Seat (Xing Huo)The compass seat that works against a given house. It need not be feared — the classical remedy is repair and adjustment, not abandonment.
- Yan Nian (Longevity)Yan Nian (Longevity)The star of harmony in relationships and steady gain. Favoured for a couple's bedroom and for long-term plans.
- Yang Dwelling (House for the Living)Yang Dwelling (House for the Living)A dwelling built for the living — an ordinary home. Its siting and layout are judged for the health and fortune of the people inside.
- Yin Dwelling (Burial Site)Yin Dwelling (Burial Site)A burial site, judged by the same principles as a house but for the repose of the dead and the fortune of descendants.
- Roaming Year Stars (Da You Nian)Roaming Year Stars (Da You Nian)The method of flying the eight stars around the nine palaces from the house's seated position, to read each direction's fortune.
- House Trigram (Zhai Gua)House Trigram (Zhai Gua)The trigram assigned to a building from its facing direction. It fixes the sitting direction and decides which of the eight life-areas are auspicious for that house.
- House Classic (Zhai Jing)House Classic (Zhai Jing)The genre of classical texts devoted to dwellings. 《黄帝宅经》 is the oldest surviving example and the shared ancestor of later schools.
- Dwelling Vitality (Zhai Qi)Dwelling Vitality (Zhai Qi)The living quality of a house — the sense of whether it is settled or restless. It is maintained by upkeep rather than fixed once at construction.