This is a summary of Chinese Astrology (BaZi and Day Master concepts) as best as I could make it. There is a lot more to it, but I just wanted to explain why your animal/elements are your day ones, and how the system generally works.
Four Pillars (BaZi) => Year, Month, Day, Hour.
Year = ancestors, heritage, environment you were born in.
Month = parents, family, career potential.
Day = you, personality, spouse.
Hour = children, later life, ambitions.
Now, each pillar is divided into:
- Heavenly Stem (Yin and Yang element)
- Earthly Branch (animal, which also has Yin and Yang elements and have a mix of elements, for example, Dragon is Earth, but also has Wood and Water, so if you were born with a Yang Metal Dragon, you have to calculate also the Dragon's branches hidden elements, Earth, Wood and Water).
Each has different characteristics attributed to them. Just as examples, think of it as Yin Water being rain, Yang Water being an ocean. Yin Wood a flower, Yang Wood a tree, Yin Metal a jewel, Yang Metal a sword, Yin Fire a candle flame, Yang Fire a blazing fire, Yin Earth soil, Yang Earth a mountain. And each has different personality attributes to them, this affects how animals are defined too.
Element interaction:
Water makes Wood grow but makes Fire reduce, Wood makes Fire grow but makes Earth reduce, Fire makes Earth grow but makes Metal reduce, Earth makes Metal grow but makes Water reduce, and Metal makes Water grow but makes Wood reduce.
Important:
A birth chart is a starting point. As time goes on, new animals and elements interact with your natal chart, and future luck is calculated based on how they affect your element balance and animal influences. You are not just 10 Water and 10 Wood forever, that's only your natal information. You have to calculate how it changes over time.
Lucky element:
Your lucky element is usually the element you have less in your birth chart. If you lack something, then getting it would make you lucky, because you achieve balance through that.
Note:
Characters (as in Chinese name characters) also have element associations. I have met someone who changed their last name when marrying for better luck.
Planets:
Metal is Venus, Water is Mercury, Wood is Jupiter, Fire is Mars, Earth is Saturn. But the Sun and Moon are also used as symbolic forces in divination and calendars.
10 Gods/ 10 Deities.
They're not literally Gods, they're symbolic roles.
Resource Stars: Direct Resource Star = knowledge, education, parents, protection / Indirect Resource Star = creativity, intuition, spirituality.
Authority Stars: Direct Officer Star = discipline, responsibility (career, rules, boss) / Seven Killings Star = risk, challenge (adventure, rebellion, pressure)
Wealth Stars: Direct Wealth Star = stable, predictable gains (salary) / Indirect Wealth Star = investment, riskier income; may mean luck in opportunities outside of your job.
Output Stars: Eating God Star = talents, fun, how you express yourself to the world. / Hurting Officer Star = unorthodox, self-expression that breaks rules or deviates from convention.
Peer Stars: Friend Star = equals, siblings, colleagues / Rob Wealth Star = usually means rivals who "rob" opportunities, but can also mean ambition.
-
If you read all of this, I hope you enjoyed it, have cookies as a thank you! 🍪