BaZi Calculator · Four Pillars of Destiny
Free online BaZi chart — stems & branches, Ten Gods, hidden stems, NaYin, symbolic stars, luck pillars, element strength and structure
Luck Pillars
Ten years to a pillar · the axis of a life
Luck · Annual Pillars
One pillar a year · the season in command
What is BaZi (the Four Pillars)?
BaZi, the Four Pillars of Destiny, is the core method of classical Chinese astrology. A person's birth year, month, day and hour each form a "pillar" of one Heavenly Stem and one Earthly Branch — eight characters in total. The Day Stem is the Day Master, representing the person; the other seven characters interact with it through the five-element cycle to form a complete natal chart.
A professional Four Pillars chart shows not only the eight characters but also the Ten Gods, hidden stems, NaYin elements, voids, the twelve life stages, symbolic stars, luck pillars, element strength, the Life/Body Palaces and Fetal Origin, plus structure and climatic favourable elements. This tool computes all of them at once, supports solar, lunar and eight-character input with true-solar-time correction, and is free with no sign-up.
How to chart BaZi: four steps to your natal chart
Charting is deterministic calendar computation — these four steps let you read any BaZi chart.
- 1
① Fix the birth time
BaZi rests on an exact hour. For cross-region or boundary Zi-hour (23:00/01:00) births, correct longitude with true solar time first.
- 2
② Lay out the four pillars
Set the month pillar by the 24 solar terms and the hour stem from the day stem to get all eight characters.
- 3
③ Annotate the elements
List the Ten Gods, hidden stems, NaYin, voids, life stages and stars for each pillar, and tally element strength.
- 4
④ Luck pillars & favourable element
Arrange luck pillars by yin/yang direction, compute the start age, then judge the favourable element from structure and climate.
Every step above is automated here — enter your birth details and tap "Chart" to get the full result at once: pillars, Ten Gods, hidden stems, NaYin, stars, luck pillars, element strength and structure.
What a BaZi chart shows: the ten core elements
Understand these ten elements and the whole Four Pillars chart opens up.
- Stems, Branches & the Four Pillars
- Ten Heavenly Stems and twelve Earthly Branches pair into the sixty Jia-Zi. Year, month, day and hour each take one pair — the four pillars, the skeleton of the chart.
- Day Master & the Ten Gods
- The Day Stem is the Day Master. Measured against it, the other characters yield the Ten Gods (Friend, Rob Wealth, Eating God, Hurting Officer, Wealth, Officer, Killings, Resource…), which drive structure and analysis.
- Hidden Stems
- Each branch hides 1–3 stems (primary, middle, residual). The commanding stem of the month branch is decisive for structure and the favourable element.
- NaYin Elements
- Each pair of the sixty Jia-Zi carries a NaYin element (e.g. Gold in the Sea), thirty in all, used in compatibility, date selection and analysis.
- Symbolic Stars (ShenSha)
- Auspicious stars (Nobleman, Academic, Travelling Horse, Peach Blossom…) and inauspicious ones add nuance and warnings alongside structure — treated as secondary in the classics.
- Luck Pillars & Annual Luck
- Luck pillars run from the month pillar, ten years each; the annual pillar interacts with the chart to shape each period. The tool links annual, monthly and daily luck.
- Element Strength & Favourable Element
- Judge the Day Master's strength from the season, roots and stems, then choose the favourable and unfavourable elements by strength, climate and mediation.
- Chart Structure
- The month branch defines normal and special structures (Officer, Killings, Wealth, Eating, Hurting, Resource, Lu, Yang Blade, Follow, Transformation…), whose success sets the chart's level.
- Void & Life Stages
- Voids (two stem-less branches from the day pillar's cycle) weaken forces that land on them; the twelve life stages (Birth, Bath … Peak … Tomb, Death) gauge a stem's state within a branch.
- Life / Body Palace & Fetal Origin
- The Life Palace (month + hour), Body Palace (day + hour) and Fetal Origin form the "seven pillars" with the four pillars — auxiliary coordinates for advanced reading.
- True Solar Time
- China uses one standard time (120°E) yet local solar time can differ by over an hour. Boundary Zi-hour births especially need true-solar-time correction.
- Classical Sources
- Structure follows Zi Ping Zhen Quan and climatic use follows Qiong Tong Bao Jian, with reference to Di Tian Sui, San Ming Tong Hui and Yuan Hai Zi Ping.
Four Pillars (BaZi) Chart — FAQ
延伸阅读
名人命例与流年通览，都可一键回到排盘工具对照。
Related charting tools
Beyond BaZi charting, these tools share the same Four Pillars roots.
Related Reading
Explore the I Ching and traditional Chinese culture
Celestial Stems Unfolding and the Hidden Shield Transformed: A Unified Mathematical-Metaphysical Inquiry into the Information Volume of Bazi and Qimen Dunjia
Starting from the mathematical structure of Taiji, the Two Modes, Four Images, and Eight Trigrams in the Book of Changes, this article systematically explores the information-carrying capacity of Bazi and Qimen Dunjia as divinatory systems. Through analysis of Yin-Yang, the Five Phases, the Hetu and Luoshu, and other classical mathematical foundations, it seeks to provide a unified perspective for measuring and comparing the information volume of these two arts.
An In-Depth Interpretation of Mengzi's 'Ox Mountain' Chapter: The Core of the Theory of Innate Goodness and the Cultivation of Heart-Mind
This article takes as its core text the 'Ox Mountain' chapter from the Gaozi section of the Mengzi, and draws upon a wide range of pre-Qin philosophical sources to analyze the argumentative structure for innate human goodness, the mechanisms by which external forces damage the heart-mind, and the philosophical foundations and cultivation methods of the theory of innate goodness.
An Analysis of 'Shen' and 'Zhi' in the Core Passage of Guanzi: Neiye, and an Inquiry into Pre-Qin Philosophy of Mind and Human Nature
This article offers a deep reading of the core passage in the Guanzi: Neiye — 'That which can transform a single thing is called shen (spirit); that which can adapt to a single affair is called zhi (wisdom)' — systematically tracing the philosophical categories of shen, zhi, jing, qi, and dao in the pre-Qin era, elucidating their pivotal role in the cultivation of mind and character and in the Way of inner sageliness and outer kingliness, striving to recover the original intent of the ancients.
The Profound Principles of the Five Combinations of the Heavenly Stems and Various Scholarly Conjectures: An Age-Old Mystery from the Hetu and Luoshu to Celestial Astronomy
The Five Combinations of the Heavenly Stems (Jia-Ji combining into Earth, Yi-Geng into Metal, Bing-Xin into Water, Ding-Ren into Wood, Wu-Gui into Fire) constitute one of the most fundamental yet mysterious theories in Chinese metaphysical arts. This article delves into the profound principles behind them, analyzing various conjectures and demonstrations of 'combination and transformation of qi' from dimensions including the Hetu numerology, celestial astronomy, and the Five Phases and Six Qi system, revealing the cosmic vision underlying this ancient law.
When Heat Ceases and Coolness Arises: The Wisdom of Knowing When to Stop and the Rites of Returning to the Root at Chushu
This article explores Chushu (End of Heat) from the perspectives of pre-Qin Confucian and Daoist philosophy, etymological origins, and astronomical phenology, revealing the wisdom shared between 'heat ceases at this point' and 'knowing where to stop, one finds stability.' Through analysis of the character chu (to stop), the hawk's ritual offering of birds, the onset of heaven and earth's solemnity, and the grain's ascent as a return to origins, the article illuminates the ancient way of measured restraint and reverent remembrance.
The Essence of the Xici Shangzhuan: A Philosophical Inquiry into the Junzi's Settled Peace and the Order of the Yijing
This article offers a deep reading of the core proposition in the Xici Shangzhuan — 'What the junzi dwells in and finds peace in is the order of the Yi' — integrating the pre-Qin context, the Confucian scholarly lineage, and the structure of the Zhouyi to elucidate how the junzi, by embodying the Way of Heaven and Earth, takes the Yi as the foundation of settled existence, contemplates the images and savors the statements, and ultimately attains the state of 'auspiciousness with nothing unfavorable.'