Why ten stems?
Each of the five elements appears twice in the stems — once in its Yang (male, bright, outward) form and once in its Yin (female, inward, receptive) form. Wood gives 甲 and 乙, Fire gives 丙 and 丁, and so on. So the ten stems are really five elements seen through two lenses. Paired with the twelve Earthly Branches, they spin the famous 60-year cycle.
The stems at a glance
| Stem | Pinyin | Element | Tone | Classic image | Personality flavour |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 甲 | Jiǎ | Wood | Yang | A tall tree | Upright, pioneering, protective, loves growth and leadership. |
| 乙 | Yǐ | Wood | Yin | A flower or vine | Adaptable, graceful, cooperative, quietly persistent. |
| 丙 | Bǐng | Fire | Yang | The sun | Bright, generous, charismatic, naturally warms a room. |
| 丁 | Dīng | Fire | Yin | Candlelight | Gentle, refined, emotionally warm, burns close to people. |
| 戊 | Wù | Earth | Yang | A great mountain | Solid, dependable, calm under pressure, protective of others. |
| 己 | Jǐ | Earth | Yin | Fertile field soil | Nurturing, practical, detail-loving, quietly influential. |
| 庚 | Gēng | Metal | Yang | Steel and sword | Decisive, principled, action-oriented, values justice. |
| 辛 | Xīn | Metal | Yin | Fine jewellery | Keen, aesthetic, sensitive to quality, sharp yet refined. |
| 壬 | Rén | Water | Yang | The great river | Adventurous, strategic, free-flowing, hard to pin down. |
| 癸 | Guǐ | Water | Yin | Rain and dew | Intuitive, deep, imaginative, receptive and mysterious. |
How stems show up in your chart
Your chart has a stem on top of each of the four pillars: the Year Stem, Month Stem, Day Stem and Hour Stem. The Day Stem is your Day Master — the single most important character in BaZi.
Two stems next to each other can also clash, combine or mutate each other, which readers weigh for timing and relationship clues:
- Combinations (合): 甲＋己, 乙＋庚, 丙＋辛, 丁＋壬, 戊＋癸 — friendly pairs that merge into an element.
- Clashes (冲): 甲↔庚, 乙↔辛, 丙↔壬, 丁↔癸 — the same element in opposite phases fighting.
Stems, seasons and your favorable element
A stem "in season" is strong. 甲 and 乙 (Wood) peak in spring; 丙 and 丁 (Fire) in summer; 庚 and 辛 (Metal) in autumn; 壬 and 癸 (Water) in winter; 戊 and 己 (Earth) at the turn of each season. That is why the Month Pillar matters so much: it tells you how much the elements were "in season" at your birth.