Ba Zi Calculator (八字)
Four Pillars of Destiny
Ba Zi is Chinese astrology based on your exact date of birth. Enter your date to generate a 4-pillar chart and discover your Day Master — your dominant personality element.
Birth date
We'll determine your sign automatically
The birth hour determines the fourth pillar (時柱). Without it the chart will have 3 pillars.
What are the Four Pillars?
Each pillar corresponds to a different dimension of life: Year (年柱) — roots, ancestors and early childhood; Month (月柱) — parents, career and adulthood; Day (日柱) — yourself and your partner; Hour (時柱) — children and old age.
Each pillar consists of two characters: the Heavenly Stem (天干) — outer energy, and the Earthly Branch (地支) — inner energy. Together they create a picture of the balance of the five elements: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water.
The Day Master (日主) — the Day Stem — is the most important reference point of the entire chart. It describes the core of personality, decision-making style and reactions to the environment.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Ba Zi (八字)?
Ba Zi (八字, "eight characters") is Chinese astrology based on the exact date and time of birth. Each person has 4 pillars (year 年, month 月, day 日, hour 時), and each pillar consists of a Heavenly Stem (天干) and an Earthly Branch (地支) — 8 characters in total. By analyzing the relationships between the five elements (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) in these pillars, one can describe character, talents and life patterns.
What is the Day Master?
The Day Master (日主) is the Heavenly Stem of the day pillar — the most important element of the entire Ba Zi chart. It represents you: your core, personality and way of interacting with the world. All other pillars (year, month, hour) are interpreted in the context of their relationship with the Day Master.
What is the difference between Ba Zi and a zodiac sign?
The zodiac sign (e.g. Rat, Tiger) is only the Earthly Branch of the year pillar — one of 8 characters in the chart. Ba Zi is much more detailed: it takes into account the exact date and time of birth and analyzes the interrelationships of all 4 pillars. Two people born in the same year share the same zodiac sign but have completely different Ba Zi charts.
Why is the birth hour important?
The birth hour creates the fourth pillar (時柱), which in Ba Zi describes old age and descendants. If you do not know the exact birth time, the calculator will omit this pillar. Chinese tradition uses 12 two-hour Shichen (時辰) periods rather than clock hours — hence 12 options instead of 24.