Tell me when and where you were born, and I'll lay out your chart.
Your four pillars (year, month, day and hour) are worked out from the exact moment you were born: your city's time zone and daylight saving on that day, then local solar time. The chart shows the ten gods, hidden stems, Na Yin, the twelve life stages and your ten-year luck pillars, with a reading of your Day Master and of 2027, the year of the Fire Goat.
Free, no sign-in. Your birth details are only used to work out the chart and are not stored.
Bazi (八字, "eight characters"), also called the Four Pillars of Destiny, is the Chinese way of reading a birth chart. The year, month, day and hour you were born each become a pillar of two characters: a heavenly stem on top and an earthly branch below. The stem of your day pillar is your Day Master, the element that stands for you; how the other seven characters relate to it (the ten gods) describes money, work, love, family and the way you move through the world.
The year and month follow the solar terms, not the calendar. A Bazi year begins at Li Chun, around February 4, and each month at its solar term. If you were born in January or early February, your year pillar is the previous year's, and your Chinese zodiac sign may differ from the one you expected.
A woman born at 12:30 on May 21, 1995 in New York City (a made-up example).
Sample chart
May 21, 1995 · Pig
| Hour | Day | Month | Year | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ten God | Indirect Wealth | Day Master | Direct Resource | Hurting Officer |
| Stem | 丙Bing | 壬Ren | Xin | 乙Yi |
| Branch | 午Wu | 子Zi | 巳Si | 亥Hai |
| Hidden | 丁 Direct Wealth己 Direct Officer | 癸 Rob Wealth | 丙 Indirect Wealth庚 Indirect Resource戊 Seven Killings | 壬 Friend甲 Eating God |
| Na Yin | Sky River Water | Mulberry Wood | Wax Metal | Hilltop Fire |
| Stage | Embryo | Peak | Extinction | Thriving |
Five Elements
Luck Pillars · forward · start at 5 years 1 months
2027, Fire Goat year · Direct Wealth / Direct Officer
How it's worked out: the year begins at Li Chun (the start of spring) and each month at its solar term, by the exact moment. Your birth time becomes that moment through your city's time zone and daylight saving on that day, then local solar time by its longitude; the day changes at midnight. Hidden stems list the main one first. Luck pillars count three days from birth to the nearest solar term as one year.
The heavenly stem of your day pillar is your Day Master. Each of the ten has its own nature.
Like a tree growing toward the light, once you set a goal you keep pushing forward. You value reason and principle, and in a group you often end up out in front without trying. A straight tree doesn't bend easily, so changing direction when things don't go your way can be hard.
Like grass that keeps its roots in the wind, you're soft yet remarkably resilient. You read a situation quickly, fit in naturally and find the practical way through. Because you adapt to others so much, your own opinion often comes last.
Bright and open, you don't hide your thoughts or feelings; they show. Standing in front of people comes naturally, and a room warms up quickly around you. You start with plenty of heat; keeping it going to the finish is the part to look after.
Calm on the outside with a quiet heat inside, you go deep with the people and things you trust. You notice what others miss and take good care of those around you. A flame that burns long is also easily stirred and easily tired.
You have a steadiness that doesn't shake easily, and people lean on you. You can hold different sides together and see through whatever is put in your hands. The flip side: you're slow to react to change, and once you've made up your mind it's hard to move.
Like a field that can take in anything and help it grow, you look after people and details and keep an eye on the practical side. You plan well and manage carefully, so others trust you with things. You think a lot, small worries pile up, and you can be too hard on yourself.
Quick to decide and clear about what needs saying, you have a firm, straight character. Loyal to the core, you stand by the people you count as your own and are good at sorting out a mess. Your directness can sound sharper than you mean, which leads to clashes.
Like a polished gem, you have a strong sense of beauty and clear standards of your own. You catch fine differences and bring work to a high finish. Proud and sensitive to hurt, you often say you're fine while holding onto it for a long time.
You think big and wide, see the overall direction and look far ahead. You dislike being boxed in and love moving freely and trying new things. With so many interests, your energy scatters easily; practise focusing it in one place.
Like rain soaking quietly into the soil, you're not showy, but you influence those around you. Clever and perceptive, you read people and moods and act once you've thought things through. Thinking deeply also means worrying deeply, and you can spend a long time sinking into it alone.
Your date of birth, the time on the clock where you were born, your gender and your city of birth. Without a birth time you still get the year, month and day pillars.
Your city gives the time zone and daylight saving that applied on your birthday, which turn your clock time into the exact moment you were born, and its longitude, which turns that moment into local solar time. The day and hour pillars follow local solar time.
This calculator changes the day at midnight local solar time. Schools that start the day at 11 pm (the early and late Rat hour) would give a different day pillar and hour stem.
A Bazi year starts at Li Chun, around February 4, not at Chinese New Year. If you were born between New Year's Day and Li Chun, your year pillar belongs to the year before.
The pillars usually match. Differences come from whether local solar time is used, how the hour after 11 pm is handled, daylight saving history, and how the start age of the luck pillars is rounded. This calculator's rules are written under the chart.
It's free and needs no sign-in, and your birth details are not stored. Your chart only goes into a conversation if you choose to take it to Maevera's room.
A Bazi chart shows tendencies, not certainties. It is good for knowing yourself and sorting through a question; for important decisions, weigh your real circumstances too.