Get the Four Pillars right before reading the chart
A BaZi reading starts with birth time, place, and calendar rules, not a personality sentence. Verify the four pillars first, identify the Day Master, then place the Ten Gods, five phases, and timing cycles back into the same chart.
Create a chart you can checkPrepare the Gregorian birth date, local clock time, and birthplace. If the time is close to an hour, day, or solar-term boundary, keep a record of the calculation rules.Open the BaZi calculator →A three-step reading order
Each step depends on the previous one. Do not interpret downstream fields before the input is settled.
- 01
Verify the birth data and boundaries
Check the date, time, place, time zone, and true-solar-time setting. Compare adjacent results near Li Chun, a solar term, midnight, or a double-hour boundary.
- 02
Find the Four Pillars, Day Master, and month branch
Locate the Year, Month, Day, and Hour pillars. The stem of the Day pillar is the Day Master; the month branch supplies seasonal context. The zodiac animal is a different field.
- 03
Add Ten Gods, five phases, and timing
Read Ten Gods and phase balance as chart relationships. Luck Pillars describe a longer background; annual pillars describe shorter triggers. One label cannot replace the full structure.
Find the Day Master in a 1 January 2026 Shanghai chart
The site example uses 08:00, male, Shanghai, longitude 121.5°E. The checked output is 乙巳, 戊子, 乙亥, 庚辰. The Day pillar is 乙亥, so the Day Master is its upper character 乙, Yi Wood; 亥 is the Day branch and 乙巳 is the Year pillar.
This is a fixed demonstration input, not a customer record or a prediction about a person.Open the full Four Pillars exampleContinue with the field you are checking
These guides cover input, the Day Master, Ten Gods, hidden stems, phase balance, and Luck Pillars. Choose the one that matches the question in your current chart.
Enter the Gregorian birth date, time and birthplace, then compare the Year, Month, Day and Hour pillars. Your Day Master is the stem of the Day pillar. Check these inputs and labels before interpreting Ten Gods, element balance or Luck Pillars.
Read→02How to read a BaZi chart: Day Master, month branch, Ten Gods, and Luck PillarsRead a BaZi chart by confirming the Day Master and month branch, then Ten Gods, element balance, useful structure, and Luck Pillars.
Read→03True solar time in Bazi: longitude correction and hour-pillar boundariesTrue solar time adjusts clock time to the Sun’s position at the birthplace and can change the Bazi hour pillar near boundaries.
Read→04How to read the Ten Gods in Bazi: Officer, Wealth, Eating God, and Seven KillingsThe Ten Gods are 10 relationship types formed by other stems relative to the day master; they are not fixed personality labels.
Read→05What hidden stems mean in Bazi: branches, Ten Gods, and phase rootsHidden stems are heavenly stems contained inside earthly branches; they add root, Ten-God, and five-phase evidence.
Read→06Bazi five-element balance: why missing Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, or Water is not enoughBazi five-element analysis must read structure and season; it is not a simple missing-element checklist.
Read→07How to read Bazi luck pillars: 10-year cycles and annual triggersLuck pillars show a 10-year background, while annual pillars show 1-year triggers; both must be read with the natal chart.
Read→08Unknown birth hour in Bazi: hour boundaries and rectificationWhen the birth hour is uncertain, compare 2 to 3 candidate hour pillars and test them against life events.
Read→Compare the guides with your own chart
Save the four pillars and calculation settings, then return here for the matching field. If the birth time is uncertain, resolve the time window before forcing an Hour pillar.