Free BaZi Calculator

What is BaZi (Eight Characters)?

BaZi literally means eight characters — the four pairs of Chinese signs derived from your birth year, month, day and hour. Each pair is called a pillar and is made of one Heavenly Stem (天干) above one Earthly Branch (地支). Because a birth time is cut into two-hour "double hours", a single day yields twelve possible hour pillars — which is why the hour matters.

What each pillar represents

• Year Pillar — ancestry, early environment, grandparents and the outer "big picture" of your life.
• Month Pillar — parents, career direction, and the season your Day Master was born into. This is the strongest single influence on your inner strength.
• Day Pillar — you. Its Heavenly Stem, the Day Master, is the reference point for the whole reading; its Branch reveals your spouse, home and intimate side.
• Hour Pillar — children, late life and your most private wishes.

Day Master, strength, and favorable elements

Every reading starts by asking how strong is the Day Master? BaZi counts how many of the chart's stems and branches support your element (yourself plus your element's "mother") versus drain it (the elements that control it, that it controls, and that it generates). If the supportive side wins, the chart is strong; otherwise it is weak. Traditional practice then recommends a favorable element to rebalance the flow — this is the 喜用神 (Xiyongshen) our calculator shows.

The five elements inside every chart

Every stem and branch carries one of the five elements — Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water — in the eternal generating cycle (Water feeds Wood, Wood feeds Fire, Fire creates Earth, Earth yields Metal, Metal melts to Water) and the controlling cycle (Water controls Fire, Fire melts Metal, Metal chops Wood, Wood parts Earth, Earth dams Water). The mix of these elements across your four pillars is your elemental profile.