Five Element Theory sees and explains inner and outward world changes according to the five elements’ generating or overcoming relationships. Generating and overcoming are the complementary processes — the yin and yang — of Five Element Theory.

Generating processes promote development, while overcoming processes control development. By promoting and restraining, systems are harmonized and balance is maintained.  Overcoming is also referred to as Power influence in Ba Zi terminology.

Generating Interactions (green arrows on above chart)

The generating interactions of the five elements are like the conception, gestation, birth, and nurture relationship between a mother and a baby. They are called Parent and Child relationships, together they can imply success and luck.

The five generating interactions are fueling, forming, containing, carrying, and feeding:

• Wood fuels fire.
• Fire forms earth (volcanoes, ash).
• Earth consolidates into metal.
• Metal carries water (buckets, pipes, minerals).
• Water feeds wood (trees, plants).

Overcoming Interactions (red arrows on the above chart)

The overcoming interactions of the five elements are opposing sides, like a team game.  They are also called Grandparent and Grandchild relationship.

The five overcoming interactions are melting, penetrating, separating, absorbing, and quenching:

• Fire melts metal
• Metal penetrates wood (chopping, sawing, drilling, nailing, screwing).
• Wood separates earth (tree roots breaking up soil/rock).
• Earth absorbs water.
• Water quenches fire.

Ba Zi

Is a system that helps uncover and bring to light one’s Life Potential by analyzing the blueprint of your personal birth data. The 4 Pillars are composed of the year of birth, month, day, and hour. Each “pillar” holds two words, hence the 8 Characters (Ba).  Most people know their year animal, a more nuanced detail is the Element of that birth year, as well as whether it has a Yin- or Yang+ pair.  It can be used for insight to help with making more discerning decisions.

You can print out your personal BaZi birth chart  HERE.  Marlyna Los has been offering free yearly Chinese New Year forecasts for Healthy Seminars, a popular online learning community for acupuncturists in North America.  Other Ba Zi teachers and readers are Joey Yap and Allen Teo from Singapore.   Below is the general extent of my understanding of Ba Zi, it is miniscule compared to what a professional reader and teacher can provide.

How to start interpreting your Ba Zi Chart:

With the basic chart, you will see a Year column, Month column, Day column, Hour column.

Year column refers to: first impressions, general outlook, community, social circles

Month column refers to: career or boss, performance, parents, older siblings, business connections

Day column refers to: yourself, inner feelings, partner, intimate relationships

Hour column refers to: dreams, children, inner feelings, younger siblings, investments, assets

The place to start is to use your Day column’s Heavenly Stem, this is your Daymaster, of which there are 10 types ( 5 Elements: Fire, Wood, Water, Metal. Earth x2 for Yin and Yang)

5 Element Interactions

Next, find your Daymaster in the Five element graphic.  Start to make note what Element is before and after and which is the Grandparent and Grandchild Elements.

In Ba Zi terminology, the Element prior to the Daymaster is one’s Resource/Parent Element, the Element after is one’s Output/Child Element, two Elements prior (Grandparent) is the Power/Influencing Element, two Elements after (Grandchild) is one’s Wealth Element.  Each Element has a yin and yang archetype, called the 10 Gods.

These are the names of the 10 Gods:

Direct Resource/ The Analyzer:  Parent Element, opposite polarity as your Daymaster.   Represents certifications, credentials, publicly visible resources (house, cars, practical assets)

Indirect Resource/ The Philosopher:  Parent Element, same polarity as your Daymaster.  Represents spiritual support, intangible assets, wisdom teachings, emotional strengths

Hurting Officer/The Performer:  Output/Child Element, opposite polarity as your Daymaster.  Represents creative risk takers, upsets the status quote, innovators, thinking/talking out loud, appears extroverted.

Eating God/The Artist:  Output/Child Element, same polarity as your Daymaster.  Represents the dreamer artist, introverted, learning through imagination.

Direct Officer/ The Diplomat: Grandparent/Power/Influencing Element, opposite polarity as your Daymaster.  Represents consistency, boundaries, linear planning, mentoring.

Seven Killings/ The Warrior:  Grandparent/Power/Influencing Element, same polarity as your Daymaster.  Represents aggressive assertiveness, unpredictability, diligence.

Direct Wealth/ The Director:  Grandchild/Wealth Element, opposite polarity as your Daymaster.  Represents risk averse, stability, predictable wealth.

Indirect Wealth/ The Pioneer:  Grandchild/Wealth Element, same polarity as your Daymaster. Represents opportunistic, risk taking, inconsistent/passive wealth.

Rob Wealth/ The Leader:  Same companion Element as your Daymaster, opposite polarity.  Represents community, collaborators, competitors, outer circles, acquaintances.

Friend:  Same Element, same polarity as your Daymaster.

Write out which Element and polarity correspond to each of the 10 Gods in relationship to your Daymaster, and you’ll be able to start understanding parts of your Ba Zi chart that list the 10 Gods (they are listed with their initials).

In this updated Ba Zi blog post, we are going into the Year of the Yang Fire Horse, so what is Yang Fire in relationship to your Daymaster?  Is it a Parent, Child, Grandparent, Grandchild or Same/Companion Element?   And what association does it then correspond to the 10 Gods? This will then give you some insight into how the general energy of this year will affect your Daymaster.  You can also look at how this year then relates to your Year/Public outlook, your Month/Career, and your Hour/children.

These maybe are useful to know when understanding Chinese Astrology and your personal Ba Zi chart, particularly the Virtues and Representations of each Element.

Astrology Associations