Chinese metaphysics, explained properly
Long-form answers to the questions that bring people here. Each one opens with the answer, then earns it.
- Fundamentals
What Is a Day Master? The Reference Point Your Whole Bazi Chart Is Read Against
The heavenly stem of your birth-day pillar, and the point every other character in your chart is read against. What it is, and why a strong day master is not a better one.
9 min read - Comparison
Bazi vs Western Astrology: What Each System Actually Measures
Western astrology reads planets; Bazi reads the calendar. A concrete comparison of what each system measures, why their elements do not map onto each other, and what you learn from holding both.
8 min read - Comparison
Chinese Zodiac vs Bazi: Your Animal Is One Character Out of Eight
Your zodiac animal is the year pillar's earthly branch — one of the eight characters in a Bazi chart, and the one describing background rather than self. What the twelve animals really are, and why your animal may be wrong.
7 min read - Methodology
What Are Luck Pillars? The Ten-Year Cycles at the Centre of Bazi
Luck pillars (大运) divide a life into ten-year periods, each with its own stem and branch. How the sequence is built, why it rarely starts on your birthday, and what actually makes a period favourable.
9 min read - Methodology
Is Bazi Accurate? Separating the Chart from the Reading
Two questions hide inside this one. Whether your chart is computed correctly is a checkable fact — and usually the real problem. Whether the interpretation is true is not settled, and this page says so.
9 min read