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BaZi Day Pillars: The Complete Guide

In BaZi (Four Pillars of Destiny), the day pillar is the pillar of the self. Because heavenly stems and earthly branches pair by yin-yang parity, exactly sixty combinations exist: from Jia Zi (甲子) to Gui Hai (癸亥). Every day pillar gets its own page below, generated from the classical tables: stem, branch, hidden stems and nayin.

What the day pillar tells you

The heavenly stem of your birth day is your day master: the element that represents you, against which every other character in the chart is judged. The earthly branch under it is the ground you stand on: your inner life, and in traditional reading, the marriage palace. Knowing just this one pair already sketches a person, which is why the 60 pillars are the most-asked-about topic in Chinese astrology.

Not sure which pillar is yours? The free BaZi calculator computes your four pillars, hidden stems and ten gods locally in your browser, no sign-up.

All 60 day pillars

甲子jia ziGold in the Sea 甲寅jia yinWater of the Great Torrent 甲辰jia chenLamp Fire 甲午jia wuGold in the Sand 甲申jia shenWater in the Spring 甲戌jia xuFire on the Hilltop 乙丑yi chouGold in the Sea 乙卯yi maoWater of the Great Torrent 乙巳yi siLamp Fire 乙未yi weiGold in the Sand 乙酉yi youWater in the Spring 乙亥yi haiFire on the Hilltop 丙子bing ziWater beneath the Stream 丙寅bing yinFire in the Furnace 丙辰bing chenEarth in the Sand 丙午bing wuWater of the Heavenly River 丙申bing shenFire at the Foot of the Hill 丙戌bing xuEarth on the Roof 丁丑ding chouWater beneath the Stream 丁卯ding maoFire in the Furnace 丁巳ding siEarth in the Sand 丁未ding weiWater of the Heavenly River 丁酉ding youFire at the Foot of the Hill 丁亥ding haiEarth on the Roof 戊子wu ziThunderbolt Fire 戊寅wu yinEarth atop the City Wall 戊辰wu chenWood of the Great Forest 戊午wu wuFire in the Sky 戊申wu shenEarth of the Great Post Road 戊戌wu xuWood of the Plain 己丑ji chouThunderbolt Fire 己卯ji maoEarth atop the City Wall 己巳ji siWood of the Great Forest 己未ji weiFire in the Sky 己酉ji youEarth of the Great Post Road 己亥ji haiWood of the Plain 庚子geng ziEarth on the Wall 庚寅geng yinPine and Cypress Wood 庚辰geng chenWhite Wax Metal 庚午geng wuEarth by the Roadside 庚申geng shenPomegranate Wood 庚戌geng xuHairpin and Bracelet Metal 辛丑xin chouEarth on the Wall 辛卯xin maoPine and Cypress Wood 辛巳xin siWhite Wax Metal 辛未xin weiEarth by the Roadside 辛酉xin youPomegranate Wood 辛亥xin haiHairpin and Bracelet Metal 壬子ren ziMulberry Wood 壬寅ren yinGold Foil 壬辰ren chenWater of the Long Stream 壬午ren wuWillow Wood 壬申ren shenEdge of the Sword 壬戌ren xuWater of the Great Sea 癸丑gui chouMulberry Wood 癸卯gui maoGold Foil 癸巳gui siWater of the Long Stream 癸未gui weiWillow Wood 癸酉gui youEdge of the Sword 癸亥gui haiWater of the Great Sea

How to read your day pillar

Start with the stem: it names your day master and its element. Then read the branch underneath it — the support, drain, control or echo it applies to the stem — and finish with the nayin image, which the classical verse tradition uses as a summary. Each of the sixty pages below does this in the same order, so once you have read one day pillar properly you can read any of them. If your pair is not on your mind but a family member's or partner's pillar is, the same method applies: their day pillar is the one built from their birth date.

How the sixty combinations arise

Ten heavenly stems (five elements, each in a yang and a yin form) pair with twelve earthly branches, but only same-polarity pairs occur: yang stems always meet yang branches. Ten stems cycling against twelve branches give a greatest common cycle of sixty, the sexagenary cycle used for days, years and hours across Chinese calendrics. Day count is unbroken: the cycle has run without interruption for millennia.