Five elements and the Four Pillars, from the basics
Yin-yang, the five elements, stems and branches, the sixty cycle and how each pillar is worked out, with real calculated examples.
What is BaZi (Four Pillars of Destiny)? - the Eastern birth chart explainedBaZi, the Four Pillars, turns a birth moment into eight calendar characters. See how it differs from Western astrology and follow one real chart.Yin-Yang and the Five Elements: The FoundationWhat yin-yang and the five elements mean in the East Asian calendar, how ten stems and twelve branches are sorted by them, and how a chart is counted.The Generating and Controlling Cycles of the Five ElementsHow the five elements feed one another in the generating cycle and keep one another in check in the controlling cycle, with two real days worked out.The Ten Heavenly Stems: Names, Elements and ImagesA guide to the ten heavenly stems from 甲 to 癸: their Korean and Chinese names, element, yin or yang, natural image, and how to find a year's stem.The Twelve Earthly Branches: Animals, Hours and MonthsThe twelve earthly branches from 子 to 亥 with their animals, elements, seasons, two-hour periods and lunar months, plus how to find a year's animal.Hidden Stems: What Each Earthly Branch Holds InsideEach earthly branch holds one to three hidden stems, shared out over a 30-day month. See the full table with day counts and a chart worked out step by stepThe Sixty Cycle: How Stems and Branches Pair UpWhy the stem and branch cycle has exactly 60 pairs, how to find any year's pair with two simple remainders, and the full table from 甲子 to 癸亥.The Year Pillar: Why the Year Turns at LichunThe year pillar changes at 立春, the Start of Spring, not on 1 January or Lunar New Year. Exact lichun times for 2020-2030 and a birth on each side.The Month Pillar: Solar Months and the Five Tigers RuleMonth pillars change at the twelve jie solar terms, and the year stem sets their stems via the five tigers rule (五虎遁). With 2026's exact boundaries.The Day Pillar: An Unbroken Sixty-Day CountThe day pillar comes from a sixty-day count that never resets for months, years or leap years. How the haru engine computes it, checked on 2026 dates.The Hour Pillar: Double Hours and the Five Rats RuleHow the day splits into twelve double hours, how the day stem sets each hour's stem via the five rats rule (五鼠遁), and how the late rat hour works.True Solar Time: Why the Sun's Clock Differs From YoursHow longitude and the equation of time shift the sun's own clock, with Seoul's month-by-month table and summer-time and city examples.The Ten Gods: How Every Stem Relates to the Day MasterThe ten relationships of the Four Pillars, worked out from element and yin-yang with one short formula, plus a lookup table and a real chart.Branch Harmonies: Six Pairs, Four Trios and Half HarmoniesHow the twelve earthly branches join: the six harmony pairs, the four three-harmony trios, half harmonies, and how the app checks them each day.Clashes and Punishments: Reading Tension Between BranchesThe six clashes, the punishments and self punishment among the earthly branches, read as signs of movement and friction rather than misfortune.Day Master Strength: Strong, Balanced or Weak, Step by StepHow the app weighs a chart's elements, adds or takes 8 points for the season, and uses the 55 and 40 lines to call a day master strong, balanced or weak.The Useful Element: How a Chart Finds Its BalanceWhat the useful element means in the Four Pillars, the five simple rules haru uses to pick it, and seven worked charts that show each rule step by step.Reading the Day Pillar: One Day, Ten Different DaysEvery date has one day pillar, yet the tradition reads it through your day master. See how 2026-09-30 (丁未) becomes ten different themes for ten stems.Almanacs and the Manseryeok: From Printed Tables to CodeWhat an East Asian almanac and a Korean manseryeok are, what one line of them holds, and how haru computes the same data from the sun and moon instead.The Lunar Calendar and Leap Months, ExplainedHow the Korean lunar calendar starts each month at the new moon, why month 11 must hold the winter solstice, and how leap months like 2033's leap 11 arise.The Trigram of the Day: A Prompt from Today's ElementsHow haru weighs the day, month and year pillars into five element scores, picks one of the eight trigrams from the strongest, and offers it for reflection.Four Pillars glossary: stems, branches, ten gods and more45 Four Pillars terms - stems, branches, five elements, ten gods, harmonies, clashes, useful element and solar terms - in hanja, pinyin and Korean.