Bazi Basics: Your Bazi Element

The concept of 5 element

The 5 elements (Wu Xing 五行) in Chinese Metaphysics is a fundamental concept used widely in many schools of thought. The five elements are Water, Wood, Fire, Earth, and Metal. These 5 elements interact and affect each other in different ways, thus resulting in the 5 different cycles. These cycles explain how each element interacts with one another and are very much closely tied to daily observations by the ancestors in ancient Chinese civilisation.

For example, the productive cycle is whereby one element produces the other. Wood will produce fire; hence, more wood will make the flames stronger and bigger. That being said, wood will make the fire element stronger. For detailed concepts, please read the 5 Elements Feng Shui article to appreciate the theory behind each cycle. For ease of understanding, I have attached the diagram here.

Producing Cycle (Left), Destruction Cycle (Right)

Exhaustion Cycle (Left), Deficiency Cycle (Right)

Bazi - Your Birth Profile

Bazi itself cannot be amended or altered. The Bazi birth chart is primarily determined by four key aspects: the birth year, birth month, birth dates, and the hour of birth. Each information will have a heavenly stem (天干) and an earthly branch (地支). So, these four pieces of birth information will translate to eight separate information, which results in the more commonly known terminology of Bazi (八字).

There are 10 different heavenly stems and 12 different earthly branches.

10 Heavenly Stem are represented by - 甲乙丙丁戊己庚辛壬癸

12 Earthly Branches are represented by the 12 Zodiac - 子丑寅卯辰巳午未申酉戌亥

Each Heavenly stem will be represented by an element, so 甲乙 is wood , 丙丁 is Fire ，戊己 is Earth, 庚辛 is Metal, and 壬癸 is Water.

The same goes for the 12 Zodiac, 子亥 is Water, 丑辰未戌 is Earth, 寅卯 is wood, 巳午 is Fire, and 申酉 is metal.

Confused? Don't worry—most Bazi Calculators already do the job for you by having colour codes. A person's Bazi chart should look something like this.

Example of a Bazi Chart

Bazi Reading - Daymaster Element

Does your Bazi Chart look like an artist's paint palette? Don't worry; most of the time, a good online tool or Bazi mobile app today will help you decipher and make your Bazi learning journey less taxing.

The standard format for most Chinese birth reading bazi charts will comprise a chart of at least 4 columns of 2 rows. The 4 columns each represent the birth year, birth month, birth date, and time of birth, while the 2 rows represent the heavenly stems and earthly branches. (For now, we will ignore things like Na yin or Hidden heavenly stem. They are important, and many important concepts will take us to discuss in detail. For simplicity's sake, we will only cover the fundamentals, the most basic theory.) This bazi charts will provide a detailed analysis if read in conjunction with other information I will not mention for now. The focus is to identify your daymaster element.

It is surprising that some of my clients were actually told the wrong day master. Some are under the misconception that their year of birth determines their self-element.

Your daymaster element is the element in the heavenly stem of your Day column. That means you are that element. So if your day pillar heavenly stem is 甲 , you are a wood person. If your day pillar heavenly stem is 壬, then you are a water person.

Strength of your Daymaster

Knowing your Daymaster element is insufficient. The complexity here is understanding how each other 7 elements affect your day element. Let's use the following birth profile as an example. A male born on 14 June 1946, 1054am.

His day master is 己, which is the earth element.

Bazi Chart of a male born on 14 June 1946, 1054 am

In his hour pillar, there is 己巳, with 己 being the Heavenly stem and 巳 being the earthly branch. 己 is also an earth, so earth and earth just make earth stronger. 巳 is fire; if you recall the five-element production cycle, fire produces earth. So 巳, fire will make the daymaster of earth an even stronger earth element.

In his monthly pillar, 甲午 with 甲 being the heavenly stem and 午 being the earthly branch. 甲 is a wood, and wood will weaken earth in the destruction cycle. However, 午 is a fire that will produce earth making earth stronger.

In the year pillar, it is 丙戌 with 丙 being a fire element and 戌 an earth element. Both will make the daymaster stronger.

From the plain glance of this Bazi Chart, this person's daymaster is a strong earth element. We also address such as 身强 suggesting that this person's daymaster is strong. In an extreme example, if the Hour, month, and year pillars are full of wood and water elements, then this person will likely be a weak earth element and thus known as 身弱 (Weak Daymaster).

Let us reiterate, this is a general way to establish if one is a strong or weak daymaster. It does not consider the effect of Tong Gen 通根, neither does it consider the combination effect (天干合克冲 & 地支合冲刑破害) of the heavenly stem or earthly branches, and it also does not consider Na Yin 纳音, Yin and Yang, Hidden Stem, Various weightage of the pillar, 神煞etc. So, there is way, way more to the interpretation of a Bazi Chart.

There are decent calculators in the market that incorporate the strength of Daymaster and return it as a percentage. Using it will tell you your Daymaster and also whether you are a strong or weak Daymaster. However, it's best not to overrely on it.

Help! I am a weak element!

After knowing your daymaster's Feng Shui five-element and their strengths of it, some may be worried. The common misconception is that a person with a strong water element as their daymaster is more auspicious than someone who has a daymaster of a weak water element. This is totally untrue. Whether you have a strong earth element, strong fire element, or strong water element, the word "strong" is not supposed to have any positive connotation.

For Bazi purposes and Feng Shui principles at large, it is about achieving a balanced flow of energy. Think of it as achieving equilibrium. If you have been reading some of our Residential or Office Feng Shui articles, we usually encourage a balanced flow of energy rather than something overpowering. For Bazi and the five elements, it is essential to move towards equilibrium. That said, if your daymaster is a strong fire element, your beneficial element would be water, earth, and metal. These 3 elements are generally counteracting elements with water destroy fire (destruction cycle), Earth Exhaust Fire (Exhaustion cycle), and Metal causes deficiency in Fire (Deficiency cycle). These 3 elements will weaken the fire element, thus moving it to equilibrium.

(Do note that the destruction cycle is sometimes known as the control cycle. The terminology for these cycles may vary due to translation loss, so we use our preferred terminology consistently throughout all articles to minimize confusion.)

Continuing the same example, if your day master is a strong fire element, the beneficial element will be water, earth, and metal since it "moves" you towards equilibrium by making you "less" strong. Hence, the water element, earth element, and metal element are all considered your lucky elements. On the other hand, the wood and fire elements will make you stronger and away from equilibrium; thus, they are your unlucky elements.

Knowing your self-element, i.e., strong or weak, tells you what elements favor you.  This relies on the principle of the five elements and their cycles of production and destruction.  The guideline is that when our self-element is weak, we are said to lack the energy/chi of our self-element.  The people that we mix or interact with are also susceptible to the concept of the 5 elements. Being with someone with a complimenting element may benefit both parties.

In addition, the concept of 5 elements is also reflected in the way we dress, the make-up we use, and the environment we are in. If you have control over your space or environment, Feng Shui is the perfect way to ensure that the energy is in your favour.

Element interactions are critical to establishing the effect of a person's elemental needs. Amateurs will then identify lucky numbers, lucky colours, and auspicious ornaments. Ever heard of some seller claiming that water is your lucky element or your critical element? They may have done a quick Bazi computation prior to promoting you a particular product.

Is my Bazi Auspicious?

Knowing the above is just fundamental. More information will be required to determine if you have an auspicious element chart. Bazi is more than just the interaction of elements, and the reason for introducing this concept in this article boils down to the following 2 points:

1) Introducing a palatable concept for interested amateurs

2) It offers clues on how elements are used in Chinese metaphysics, such as Bazi and Feng Shui.

An accurate analysis of your Bazi will be able to reveal your phases of life.  This may include the year you meet your spouse and children, the relationships within your family, ordeals, illnesses, and deaths. A well-versed Bazi master will likely grasp and incorporate many core concepts during a Bazi reading. However, it is safe to say that no two Bazi masters or Feng Shui Masters will have the exact same interpretation. The reason? Certain metrics are not conclusive but rather suggestive, while certain masters are more inclined towards a particular school of thought after accumulating feedback and experience over the years.

Bazi and Feng Shui

Both Bazi and Feng Shui are important Chinese Metaphysics concepts. At Moon FengShui, we incorporate the Bazi reading as part of our Feng Shui consultation and analysis. We believe that Feng Shui consultation should always be viewed in tandem with the person's Bazi, and every session should be highly personalised. Should you wish to find out how Feng Shui can bring positive and dynamic energy to your residence and workplace, contact us now for Feng Shui Consultation!

Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and should not be considered as professional Feng Shui advice. Feng Shui practices and interpretations can vary, and their effectiveness may differ based on individual circumstances and specific locations. For personalized guidance, it is strongly recommended to consult with a qualified Feng Shui Master or professional consultant who can assess your unique situation. The author and company are not responsible for any outcomes resulting from the application of Feng Shui principles described in this article. Always use caution and discretion when implementing any Feng Shui methods.