BAZI KNOWLEDGE BASE
How to Read the Twelve Life Stages across Four Pillars: Two Separate Matrices
Chart tools often show two Life-Stage rows. Star Fortune fixes the Day Stem (the upper symbol in the birth-day column) and checks all four branches. Self-sitting uses each pillar's own stem against the branch below it. Different reference stems can give one pillar two different labels.
Example: calculate both rows for a Wu Day Master
Use the synthetic pillars 甲子, 丁卯, 戊辰 and 辛酉; the Day Stem is 戊. Star Fortune keeps 戊 and checks 子, 卯, 辰 and 酉, returning Embryo, Bathing, Crowning and Death. Self-sitting checks 甲子, 丁卯, 戊辰 and 辛酉, returning Bathing, Illness, Crowning and Official.
| Pillar | Complete pillar | Star Fortune: 戊 at branch | Self-sitting: own stem at branch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | 甲子 | Embryo | 甲子: Bathing |
| Month | 丁卯 | Bathing | 丁卯: Illness |
| Day | 戊辰 | Crowning | 戊辰: Crowning |
| Hour | 辛酉 | Death | 辛酉: Official |
Why do both rows match at the Day Pillar?
At Day Pillar (the two-symbol column for the birth day) 戊辰, Star Fortune already uses Day Stem 戊 and self-sitting also uses that pillar's 戊. Both therefore check 戊 against 辰 and return Crowning. The other pillars usually change when their own stems become the reference.
How should positions and repeated labels be handled?
Year, Month, Day and Hour branches keep different positional and direct roles; the Month Branch (the lower symbol in the birth-month column) also carries Month Command (the seasonal conditions represented by the birth month). Two Bathing results establish two matches, not a doubled personality or event.
Save the reference stem, target branch and display layer for each cell before comparing Month Command, roots, Ten Gods (traditional labels for relationships to the birth-day element) and contacts. The original result can then be reproduced under another school or table version.
Can four stages become four life periods?
Not automatically. A named source must explicitly define a pillar-period method before that comparison is made, and even then it is not a timetable for childhood, marriage, old age or death.
Continue reading
- Complete Life-Stage table
Verify Wu against all four branches.
- Forward Yang and reverse Yin
See why changing stems changes results.
- Life Stages versus strength
Continue with Month Command and roots.