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Each element (upper stem) and animal sign (lower branch) is strategically placed in one of eight

locations to tell the story of your destiny. Using information gathered from the time and date of yourbirth, a Chinese astrologer is then able to draw up a blueprint or map of your karma and life, andadvise you accordingly.

This earliest of Chinese divination systems uses the five element placements in an individual's birth

chart, especially the element of the birth day, or daymaster, to examine and compare each pillar tothe others. Forecasting is accomplished by comparing your birth chart to any given time, date, orperson. The individual pillars are examined for harmony and conflict, balance and imbalance.

Through these basic interactions and distinct patterns, each person can view his or her potential anddetermine his/her best days, months, years, and companions.

The five elements are Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water. These five types of qi (life force) also

have their yin and yang attributes. Each element is expressed once in its negative, feminine yin form,and once in it's positive, masculine yang form. Yin is more subtle, and Yang is more active. Each

element is produced and subsequently destroyed by another element in a delicate yet perfectlybalanced cycle:

O The producing, enhancing cycle: Water 4 Wood 4 Fire 4 Earth - Metal

O The controlling cycle: Water 4 Fire 4 Metal 4 Wood - Earth

O The weakening cycle: Water 4 Metal 4 Earth 4 Fire - Wood

The five elements in their yin and yang expressions create 10 types of element qi, or the "10heavenly stems." The 12 animal signs, alternating between yin and yang, are called the "12 earthly

branches." Each energy interacts in a specific way with the others, just as we do with differentpeople.

O Yang Wood Jia is like a tall tree, sturdy and growing upward.

O Yin Wood Yi is like a shrub, grass, or graceful plant.

O Yang Fire Bing is like a forest fire-hot, raging, and quick.

O Yin Fire Ding is like a candle flame, flickering and burning slowly.

O Yang Earth Wu is the tallest mountain, crusty soil, and parched desert.

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O Yin Earth Ji is akin to garden soil, loamy and rich in nutrients.

O Yang Metal Geng is like a sharp sword, piercing and strong.

O Yin Metal Xin is like intricate jewelry that clasps and creates structure.

O Yang Water Ren is like the deep ocean with its tempests and waves.

O Yin Water Gui is like a lake or pool, calm on the surface.We will discuss the various manifestations of each element and its effect on a chart further in Chapter

4.

Life qi also comes in combinations of the 12 earthly branches or animal signs. The 12 animal

branches are: Rat (Zi), Ox (Chou), Tiger (Yin), Rabbit (Mao), Dragon (Chen), Snake (Si,) Horse(Wu), Goat (Wei), Monkey (Shen), Rooster (You), Dog (Xu), and Pig (Hai).

Once the chart is cast, the four pillars are examined for several salient features. Some of the questionsan astrologer will ask are as follows: Are the pillar elements and signs within your chart harmonious

with one another? Is there a certain element in the pillar that is supported or destroyed by any of theother elements? Are any of the five elements too "heavy" or too "light" in your chart? Is there anelement that is absent? The CD-ROM included with this book will calculate your four pillars for you

and make answering these questions easy.

The first and most important aspect of any chart is the balance of the elements contained within eachpillar. The Chinese use various "cures" for elemental imbalances. If an element is light or weakenedin a birth chart, that element becomes lucky when supplemented. If an element is heavy or

overpowering the others in a birth chart, that element becomes unlucky and should be minimized.This is an important aspect of this art which, with practice, will become a revealing window into yourdestiny. The various remedies for each elemental imbalance will be addressed further in Chapter 8.

As mentioned previously, there are four pillars in the Ba Zi chart. Each pillar has an animal sign

branch at the bottom and one of the five element stems (in either yin or yang expression) on the top.The first pillar is calculated on the year of birth, so it is called the year pillar. The second pillar is

calculated on the month of birth, so it is called the month pillar. The third pillar is calculated on theday of birth, so it is called the day pillar (or "daymaster"). The fourth pillar is calculated on the hourof birth, so it is called the hour pillar. (It is important to adjust the time of birth to true local time-for

example, if daylight saving time was in effect, this must be taken into account.) The year pillar iscalculated using the Chinese solar year calendar (rather than the Chinese lunar calendar, which

begins anywhere from mid-January to mid-February on a different date each year), which is based onthe return of the sun and the subsequent cycles of the sun's orbit. The Chinese solar year begins onFebruary 4 or 5, so if you were born in January in 1959, you would do your year pillar calculations

based on 1958, an Earth Dog year. The four pillars can show family background; relationship withparents, grandparents, children; marriage and

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romances; and relationships with bosses, peers, partners, and subordinates. In each pillar, life qicombines, clashes, strengthens, weakens, assists, and controls in a complex tango of energies.

The most important pillar is the day pillar, or daymaster. The top element stem represents you-yourspirit and your qi. The bottom animal sign branch is your marriage/partnership branch. It will tell youthe quality of your intimate relationships. The month pillar, also called the parents pillar, reveals your

early childhood and your relationship with your parents and children. The hour pillar, also called thechildren pillar, reveals your career, your relationships with your children, and old age. The year pillarreveals your karma, your family background, your ancestors, your grandparents, and the society inwhich you live. It also reveals your level of career achievement.

After evaluating the element harmonies and clashes in the pillars, the next important step is to look atthe compatibility between the branches, or animal signs, in the chart. Are they compatible, in

opposition, conflicted, or enhanced? Do the animal signs form any particular pattern? In Chapter 6we will delve into these various patterns.

Depending on the month (season) in which someone is born, the daymaster element will be rated asstrong or weak. This has nothing to do with the strength or weakness of character. In certain months

(seasons), some elements will be strong and others weak. Elements that are weak become the lucky

elements when supplemented. Usually what is weak in a chart is most desirable and what is strong(overpowering) is least desirable. In Chinese metaphysics, whether it is feng shui, traditional Chinese

medicine, or the four pillars of destiny, when we talk about seasons and five elements we are talking

about universal energy, both tangible and intangible. When we talk about strength and weakness ofdaymasters, therefore, we are not talking about local climate. When it is said that someone is born inthe summer season, it means they were born in a month when the universal elemental energy of Fireand Earth was strong. It has nothing to do with the actual locale of the birth.

The elements go through 12 stages of life, so it is important to know at what stage the variouselements were during birth, because this has an impact on one's life. If your daymaster element is

Wood, it is strongest if you were born in the spring, and weakest in the fall. If your daymasterelement is Fire, it is strongest if you were born in the summer, and weakest in the winter. If your

daymaster element is Earth, it is strongest if you were born between seasons or during late summer,and weakest during the winter-spring transition. If your daymaster element is Metal, it is strongest if

you were born in the fall, and weakest during the spring. If your daymaster element is Water, it isstrongest if you were born in the winter, and weakest during the summer.

With the help of the four pillars chart, we can examine and analyze our inherent strengths andweaknesses, and set our life sails to catch the wind in just the right direction.

Pages 18-19: The binomial 60-year cycle. Chinese years are classified according to 10 heavenly

stems and 12 earthly branches. The succession of stems and branches produces a 60-year calendar,

or sexagenary cycle. Each year, each month, each day, and each 2-hour period of the day is assigned

one stem and one branch, a paring that is called a ganzhi. This sexagenary cycle has been used in

some form for almost five millennia.