Bazi 101: The Beginner’s Guide

Credits: Unsplash

Bazi (八字）is an ancient Chinese metaphysics practice that can be applied to all aspects of life. Read on to learn how you can use it to decipher your destiny!

Have you ever wondered “what do you want out of life?” That could be the reason why you are working so hard now, or perhaps you are still searching for your seemingly elusive life purpose. At different phases of our lives, we are bound to have questions regarding life, i.e. “How can we make a better sense of life?”, “How do we lead a more fulfilling life?”, etc. The answer lies in your Bazi (八字）and destiny.

What is Bazi?

Bazi, also known as the Eight Characters or Four Pillars of Destiny, is a form of Chinese astrology that looks into the unique set of characteristics surrounding the date and hour of one’s birth, so as to interpret people, situations and objects in one’s life. 

Looking into the year, month, day and hour of one’s birth, Bazi can reveal an individual’s innate personality, health conditions, family ties, romantic relationships, etc. It also reflects an individual’s destiny, which explains why Bazi is often labelled as a destiny code. 

To decipher the ups and downs in an individual’s life, one can refer to the luck cycle chart within one’s Bazi, deciphered yearly from the time that one is born, and in every 10 years. 

Tip: Fast-track your knowledge on Bazi in our upcoming Bazi Course 2023 by Way Academy. Message us via WhatsApp for more information.

Why Bazi reading?

You are probably familiar with the saying, “If you want to solve a problem, go to the source”. However, many of us are also guilty of solving symptoms of our problems (what we see and feel) because it’s usually faster and easier to do so. 

For example, an unhappy employee can solve his or her problem simply by changing to a new job (symptomatic solution). However, he or she may start getting restless again after some time if he or she settled for a random new job that didn’t address the root of his or her problem at the previous employment, e.g. company culture, job scope. 

Gain greater self-understanding 

A Bazi reading comes in handy in such a situation as it can provide insights into an individual’s strengths, weaknesses, likes and dislikes, etc. With greater self-understanding, you can improve your character through self-cultivation and formulate a suitable strategy to thrive in your chosen career and all aspects of life, including relationships, health and in business.

Make informed decisions

Since ancient times, the Chinese have believed that people’s fortunes vary in different periods and this ‘luck’ changes every 10 years. The 10-year luck pillar in one’s Bazi chart reflects the good and bad luck in each period of one’s life and can be used as a guide to make informed decisions. 

While destiny cannot be changed, you can be prepared to leverage on opportunities or minimise potential sufferings. 

For example, you plan to visit your relatives in the United States during the year end holidays despite being aware that winter is flu season. Since you are unlikely to postpone your trip, you can be better prepared by taking a flu jab and getting travel insurance prior to travelling.  

Similarly, if you are aware that the upcoming luck period presents potential obstacles in your family relationships, you may want to make greater effort to maintain family harmony starting from now.

How to read a Bazi chart?

Prior to reading a Bazi chart, you need to understand what the chart comprises. Also known as the Four-Pillar Chart, a Bazi chart typically lays out the date and time of birth under 4 pillars (as shown below), namely the ‘year pillar’, ‘month pillar’, ‘day pillar’ and ‘hour pillar’.

At the core of Bazi lies the ‘Day Master’, which represents the owner of the Bazi chart. This ‘Day Master’ reflects an individual’s personality, characteristics, traits and attributes, in correspondence to the relevant heavenly stem. The strength or frailty of this Day stem will decide one’s life story.

Tip: Beginners can plot their Bazi chart with Way Fengshui here (it’s complimentary!) and construct a personality assessment profile with your date and time of birth. 

Now let’s take a closer look at Mr Zhang’s Bazi chart.

Mr Zhang’s Bazi chart revealed his Day Master to be Wu Earth [戊], the heavenly stem that is associated with rocks and boulders. Earth hides many resources in his belly, which indicates magnanimity. This suggests that Mr. Zhang is friendly and sentimental. He would readily assist others or become their confidante. 

As Earth and boulders do not transform overnight, this implies that those whose Day Master belongs to Wu Earth work progressively. Groundwork is always laid out before any other development can proceed, indicating missed opportunities. This does not affect Mr Zhang as he is more concerned with the tasks on hand.

He can be extremely stubborn and lacks room for compromise, just like a hard rock. Nonetheless, he is a trustworthy individual. 

Of course, Bazi beginner learners should note that analysing the Day Master is just the first part of reading a Bazi chart. This does not represent how a Bazi chart should be read in its entirety. Interested to learn more? Check out Bazi Course 2023 by Way Academy or enquire now.

In the next section, we will explain further on the 10 Day Masters, and how you can use it to start reading a Bazi chart. 

What are the 10 Day Masters?

As mentioned earlier, the Day Master reveals a person’s character when we’re looking at their Bazi chart. It also tells us what element of their chart affects other aspects. There’s a corresponding element and Yin-Yang pair of each Day Master, in relevance to the Five Elements. Here’s a summary of the 10 Day Masters and their personalities.

Bazi beginners must bear in mind that a Bazi chart reflects one’s destiny – equivalent to the basic foundation of a person’s life. What’s really important is how one develops your foundation and makes the best out of it. 

Some people may be born with a silver spoon but that doesn’t guarantee a good life. Similarly, even if you have not been dealt good cards from the start, you can work on your strengths to help you to improve your life. 

If you are interested in learning more about Bazi and how it works, stay tuned for more articles here or sign up for our Bazi Course 2023 now! For more information, message us via WhatsApp.