八字 BaZi - The Eight Characters
What is BāZì (八字)?
| 八字 BāZì: The eight characters. “八 Ba” means eight, and “子 Zi” means character. The eight Chinese characters are derived from a lunisolar calendar, which is known as “夏曆 XiàLì Summer/Solar Calendar, the 萬年曆 WànNiánLì Ten Thousand Year Calendar, or "Farming Calendar,” which indicates the season’s transition time and planetary cycles at a given time. The 夏曆 XiàLì calendar is based on a sexagenary cycle (六十花甲 LiùShí HuāJiǎ) also called (干支 GānZhī) the Stem-Branch cycle. Aligning the (Shí TiānGān 十天干) 10 Heavenly Stems cycle with the (Shí'èrDìzhī 十二地支) 12 Earthly Branches cycle in a specific order results in 60 cycle combinations. Each of the 60 cycles is recorded in a stack of two characters; the upper character is taken from the 天干 10 Heavenly Stems cycle, and the lower character is taken from the 地支 12 Earthly Branches cycle. These stacked characters for the four-time units; year, month, day, and hour—are known as the four pillars. Since each time unit or pillar consists of two characters, the total of the four pillars consists of eight characters; therefore, this system for timekeeping is called 八字 BāZì the eight characters. |
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BāZì, in fact, is primarily a time-keeping system (calendar) to predict meteorological events based on astronomical cycles. The realization of the meteorological effect on the body and mind led to the development of different methods to control time (the use of knowledge of cycles and their effects in a way to achieve expected outcomes).
BaZi, with its applied methods, is a time-based decision-making assistance tool.
師傅 SiFu - The Master of
What is a SiFu (師傅)?
| 師傅, 師父 or 师傅, 师父 while there is a minor nuance between Shīfù and SiFu, but both are used interchangeably. Sifu is often translated as teacher in reference to martial arts instructors; however, it refers to a skilled person who may teach, but SiFu actually means master of. 八字 BāZì combined with 師傅 SiFu means the eight-character master or someone who has mastered the eight-character system. Occasionally, BāZì SiFus are also known as Ying Yang Masters; calling these scholars solely SiFu seems to be sufficient. The BāZì SiFu domain name doesn’t refer to me as the author of this domain content but rather to a system/calculator who assists BāZì SiFus/Ying Yang Masters, also called practitioners. The traditional/manual way to plot an eight-character chart for non-astronomers required either counting the palm/fingers method or using the Xia/Ten-thousand-year calendar as a reference. Both methods are not only prone to errors but also quite cumbersome; therefore, a precise calculator that automates the deciphering and interpretation process can be truly considered a BāZì SiFus assistant. |
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If you by chance landed on this page in a quest for a cheat code for a game, then rest assured, BaZi is not a game; it can only be grasped and utilized, but never cheated. BaZi represents time and phase changes. Sifu is one who grasped, immersed, and mastered the when and where. 八字師傅 BāZì SiFu the master of space and timing.
陰陽 Yin Yang - Two Polarities
What are Yin and Yáng (陰陽)?
Straight to the point, Yang and Yin mean day and night or sun and moon, nothing more, nothing less. However, Yang and Yin are reused with many attributes, such as Yang being considered male, strong, or white, and Ying being female, weak, or black, as an expression of duality or polarity.| Almost always, the Yin Yang is associated with a circle divided by a snake “S” image, which is known as (太極 TàiJí: The supreme pole). The snake in the middle of the circle, which divides the circle into two parts, represents the big snake known as the Dragon (Draco) constellation. (太極 TàiJí) the supreme pole at (Draco), the heart of the dragon was indeed used as the pole star in the (伏羲 FúXī) Early Heaven system before the change of the ecliptic axis and shift to the Dipper/Polaris asterism (後天八卦 Later Heaven system). Often overlooked is the fact that the heart of the dragon is still the ecliptic and not the celestial supreme north pole. |
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Gazing at the night sky while the earth is rotating around the pole star, one would realize that one part of the earth would be night and the other part day; therefore, the part of the TaiJi circle that represents night (Yin) is painted black while the other part is kept white as a reference to day (Yang). This system of day and night around the pole star is called (兩儀 Liǎng yí) the two modes and means Yang/Day and Yin/Night.
From here, the development of the two (Yin and Yang/ Night and Day), the four (the correlation of the four moon phases with the four seasons), the division of the sky into four images (四象 Sì Xiàng) and the eight phases of the moon, which divide the sky into eight sectors or eight directions (八卦; BaGua) belong to different chapters.
四象 Si Xiang – Four Images
What are the four images Sì Xiàng (四象)?
(四象 Sì Xiàng) doesn’t mean four elephants or shapes, but it refers to four Chinese giant astronomical constellations that divide the sky (celestial equator) into four equal sectors, also called quadrants.The two equinoxes and two solstices are indicators of the beginning of the four seasons in a year. Four phases of the moon and four stars at the ecliptic mark the two equinoxes and two solstices, which divide the sky into four seasons and four sectors. Each of the sectors covers one constellation, namely:
東方青龍 Eastern Azure Dragon for the spring equinox (between March 19 and 21),
南方朱雀 Southern Vermilion Bird for the summer solstice (between June 20–22),
西方白虎 Western White Tiger for the autumn equinox (between September 21 and 24) and
北方玄武 Northern Black Tortoise for the winter solstice (between December 20 and 23).
Only one constellation can be entirely seen in any given season. The four constellations bear the asterisms of the (十天干 Shi Tian Gan) the 10 Heavenly Stems, (十二地支 Shí'èr dìzhī) the 12 Earthly Branches, and (二十八宿 Èr shí bā xiù) the 28 Lunar Mansions.
What are the 28 Lunar Mansions (二十八宿 Èr shí bā xiù)?
On average, the period of revolution of the moon around the earth in reference to a fixed star is almost 28 days (27 days, 7 hours, and 43 minutes of mean solar time).
Each of the four quadrants or sectors consists of an unevenly distributed 7 and, in total, 28 asterisms (star clusters). These 28 sectors, which are passed by the moon along the ecliptic, are called 二十八宿 (Ershi Ba Xiu), the 28 Lunar Mansions or Lodgings.
五行 Wu Xing - The Five Phases
What is Wǔ-Xìng (五行)?
五行/ 五星 Wǔ-Xìng the five stars/ planets or their movement of it are the fundamental parts of (八字 BāZì) the eight-character system as 命理 Mìng Lǐ, the knowledge of life, or 命術 Mìng Shù, the technique of life.五行 Wǔ-Xìng not to be mixed with (無形 wú xíng - invisible or 悟性 wù xìng – comprehension which sounds similar) is often translated as Five Elements or interchangeable as Five Planets/Stars and are labelled as Wood for Jupiter, Fire for Mars, Earth for Saturn, Metal for Venus and Water for Mercury therefore a planet tracing system is assumed however not the planets/stars/sun/moon but their movement (in their phases) in our solar system are 五行 Wǔ-Xìng which would be best described as the transitional changes of phases, in short the five phases.
Big-Dipper the cosmic 24-hour clock
The asterism Big Dipper as a cosmic clock circles about the pole once every twenty-four hours. We may consider an imaginary line between the pointer star of the big dipper and Polaris as the hour hand of the clock. Nighttime can be estimated by the position of the hour hand; a 24-direction compass (式盤 Shì pán) was used as a night clock. To estimate the daytime, the sun's shadow (sundale) is used as a day clock.
What are the five phases of the day?
A day is divided into five uneven phases, namely dawn, noon, afternoon, dusk, and night.
The length of the days and its five phases varies every month; therefore, to address the temporal time issue twice a year at the equinoxes, when the day and night are almost equal in length, these five phases, which divide the sky into five sectors (360°/5) are aligned to specific asterisms (star clusters) along the ecliptic as a baseline. These five phases are also known as the five agents or, more often, the five elements.
What are the five phases of the year?
As for the days, the big dipper/pole star is also used as a cosmic calendar. However, in this case, the four moon phases were taken to divide the sky into four sectors; these sectors are known as the four images (四象Sì Xiàng) and can be used as the starting point of phases for the year.
The four seasons' winter, spring, summer, and autumn are commonly referred to as the cold, dry, hot, and wet seasons. Colors and attributes are associated with each season: black for cold/winter, green for dry/spring, red for hot/summer, and grey/white for wet/autumn. Because the central star apparently does not move but is fixed to the earth, brown, ochre, or yellow earth colors are associated with the central star. Nowadays, the Confucian rather than an astronomical (climatic) perspective is used, which defines the five phases as water (水 shui), fire (火 huo), wood (木 mu), metal (金 jin), and earth (土 tu) as an abstraction layer.
A day moves a bit more around one degree every 24 hours. A solar year is completed in around 366 days. The divisions of 366 days, or 360° in five, are the five phases of the year. When the five phases are further divided into two, each sector roughly covers the ten heavenly stems for the year.
The month (28 days) and the hour (120 minutes/ double hours) do not have any (五行 Wǔ-Xìng) five phases; however, an artificial construct is used to get the month phases from the year stem and the hour phases from the day.
Specific attributes are associated with each of the five phases; the characteristics and interactions of these phases/ elements can be used to grasp the momentum and flow of natural forces. Properly utilized, one can take advantage of these phases/ elements to improve circumstances.
The table below shows what the five elements generally represent:
| Element | Wood | Fire | Earth | Metal | Water |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Planet 行星 xing xing |
Jupiter 木 mù |
Mars 火 huǒ |
Saturn 土 tǔ |
Venus 金 jīn |
Mercury 水 shuǐ |
| Compass 羅盤 luópán |
East 東 dōng |
South 南 nán |
Center 中央 zhōngyāng |
West 西方 xīfāng |
North 北 běi |
| Quadrant 象限 xiàngxiàn |
Green Dragon 青龍 qīng lóng |
Red Bird 朱雀 zhū què |
Yellow Phoenix 黃龍 huáng lóng |
White Tiger 白虎 bái hǔ |
Turtle-Snake 玄武 xuán wǔ |
| Seasons 四季 sìjì |
Spring 春季 tánhuáng |
Summer 夏季 xiàjì |
Replenishing 補養 bǔyǎng |
Autumn 秋季 qiūjì |
Winter 冬季 dōngjì |
| Climates 氣候 qìhòu |
Windy 有風 yǒu fēng |
Heat 熱 rè |
Damp 潮濕 cháoshī |
Dry 干 gàn |
Cold 冷 lěng |
| Stages 階段 jiēduàn |
Birth 分娩 fēnmiǎn |
Growth 发發展 fāzhǎn |
Transformation 轉型 zhuǎnxíng |
Harvest 收成 shōuchéng |
Storage 存儲 cúnchú |
| Colors 顏色 yan Se |
Green 綠 luu |
Red 紅 hong |
Yellow/Brown 黃 huang |
White/Golden 白 bai |
Black/Blue 黑藍 hei Lan |
| Action 行動 xíngdòng |
Crushing 崩 bēng |
Exploding 炮 Pào |
Crossing 橫 héng |
Splitting 劈 pǐ |
Drilling 鑽 zūan |
| Five Virtues 五常 wŭ cháng |
Benevolence 仁 rén |
Propriety 禮 lĭ |
Sincerity 信 xìn |
Righteousness 義 yì |
Wisdom 智 zhì |
| Peoples 人們 rénmen |
Mongol 蒙 měng |
Han 漢 hàn |
Manchurian 滿 mǎn |
Tibetan 藏 zàng |
Turks 回 huí |
Anatomy 解剖學 Jiěpōu xué |
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| Yin Organs |
Liver 肝Gān |
Heart 心 Xīn |
Spleen 脾 Pí |
Lungs 肺 Fèi |
Kidneys 腎 Shèn |
| Yang Organs |
Gall Bladder 膽 Dǎn |
Small Intestine 小腸 Xiǎo Cháng |
Stomach 胃 Wèi |
Large Intestine 大腸 Dà Cháng |
Bladder 胱 Guāng |
五材 Wu Cai - Five Elements
What is Wu Cai (五材)?
五材 Wǔ-Cái literally means five materials or elements. The difference between (五行 Wǔ-Xìng) five phases/agents and (五材 Wǔ-Cái) is that the latter refers to the materialization of the five phases/agents.The five phases (五行 WǔXīng) are often mixed with the five planets, which have different sizes, masses, speeds, and electromagnetic fields. They resonate and vibrate at different frequencies. Depending on their position and distance, their gravity and frequencies interact with each other in a producing, weakening, and controlling cycle.
Yet the effects of the interactions are the same for the five phases. The materialization of the five phases effects are the five elements (五材 Wǔ-Cái) or subtle forces perceived as five forces (五德 Wu-De).
The Five Phases Interactions
The different effects (materialization of the forces) of the five phases (cycles) are:(生 Shēng) generating: one cycle generates or amplifies another cycle’s energy.
(勝 Shèng) weakening: one cycle drains another cycle’s energy.
(克 Kè) overcoming: one cycle absorbs another cycle’s energy.
(制 Zhì) restricting the overcoming cycle impact by the weakening cycle’s energy.
(化 Huà) dissolving the impact of the overcoming cycle by the generating cycle’s energy.
| The Five Elements Interactions | ||
|---|---|---|
| The generating cycle | The weakening cycle | The overcoming cycle |
| Wood generates fire | Wood weakens water | Wood overcomes earth |
| Fire generates earth | Fire weakens wood | Fire overcomes metal |
| Earth generates metal | Earth weakens fire | Earth overcomes water |
| Metal generates water | Metal weakens earth | Metal overcomes wood |
| Water generates wood | Water weakens metal | Water overcomes fire |
| Impacts on Overcoming Elements | ||
|---|---|---|
| The overcoming cycle | Overcoming is restricted | Overcoming is dissolved |
| Wood overcomes earth | Metal restricts wood | Fire dissolves wood |
| Fire overcomes metal | Water restricts fire | Earth dissolves fire |
| Earth overcomes water | Wood restricts earth | Metal dissolves earth |
| Metal overcomes wood | Fire restricts metal | Water dissolves metal |
| Water overcomes fire | Earth restricts water | Wood dissolves water |
The above-mentioned rules reflect only the generic concept of the five-phases/element interactions. Quite often overlooked when solely one element meets another, this does not mean that the producing, weakening, or controlling cycle will be triggered. The when and where defines the element strength, which is the key factor to control or trigger a new cycle; therefore, it is of utmost importance that one must master the unit before the absolute.
Relationship of the elements based on the 日主 Day Master
The characteristics and state of the elements are based on the 日主 Day Master. The Day Master is the upper character of day pillars which are based on the day's 10 Heavenly Stems.The element that is overcome by the Day Master is the wealth element.
The element that overcomes the Day Master is the influence element.
The element that the Day Master generates is the output element.
The element that generates the Day Master is the resource element.
The element that is equal to the Day Master is the companion element.