How to Calculate Your Own Bazi Chart: A Step-by-Step Guide

What You Need to Begin

To construct your Bazi chart, you need your birth year, month, day, and hour — the more precise the hour, the more accurate the chart. The Chinese solar calendar differs from the Gregorian calendar, so the first step is converting your birth date to its Chinese calendar equivalent. The year begins not on January 1st but on Li Chun, the Beginning of Spring, which falls around February 4th each year.\n\nThe hour uses the Chinese two-hour system: 11 PM to 1 AM is the Rat hour, 1 AM to 3 AM is the Ox hour, and so on through twelve two-hour periods. Your birth hour determines your Hour Pillar, which governs your children, creative output, and later life.

The Four Pillars Step by Step

The Year Pillar uses the sexagenary cycle of ten Heavenly Stems and twelve Earthly Branches. Each year in the sixty-year cycle has a unique Stem-Branch pair. 2024 is Jia Chen (Yang Wood Dragon), 2025 is Yi Si (Yin Wood Snake), and so on. To find your Year Pillar, look up your birth year in the sexagenary cycle.\n\nThe Month Pillar is determined by the solar month, not the lunar month. The twelve solar months begin at specific points: Li Chun starts the Tiger month around February 4th, Jing Zhe starts the Rabbit month around March 6th, and so on. The Month Stem is derived from the Year Stem through a fixed sequence.\n\nThe Day Pillar is the most complex calculation and typically requires reference tables or software. It uses a continuous sixty-day cycle that has been running for thousands of years. For practical purposes, most people use online calculators or reference tables to find their Day Pillar.\n\nThe Hour Pillar uses the twelve Earthly Branches assigned by birth hour. The Hour Stem is derived from the Day Stem through a fixed sequence, similar to the Month Stem derivation.

Reading Your Chart: The First Steps

Once you have your four pillars, the first analysis step identifies your Day Master — this is the Heavenly Stem of your Day Pillar and represents your core self. Next, count the occurrences of each of the five elements across all eight characters. The element balance reveals your constitutional strengths and weaknesses.\n\nThen identify which Ten Gods appear in your chart by examining how each Stem relates to your Day Master. Direct Officer, Eating God, Direct Wealth, and the other seven Gods each govern specific life domains. Their positions in the four pillars reveal where their influence manifests: in your public life (Year Pillar), your parents and childhood (Month Pillar), your self and marriage (Day Pillar), or your children and later life (Hour Pillar).