Stems & Branches of the Solar Calendar
Image depicted is part of a bazi chart created with fourpillars.net software.
Introduction to Bazi: Foundation Concepts
Begin your Bazi journey by understanding its fundamental components—the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches.
The Heavenly Stems
The 10 Heavenly Stems form the cornerstone of the Chinese sexagenary cycle. According to traditional solar calendar calculations, the year begins with Li Chun (the Start of Spring)—the first solar term occurring between February 4th-18th.
These Heavenly Stems represent cosmic energy flowing downward from Heaven, organized into yin and yang polarities of the five elements: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water. This elegant system provides the framework for understanding how celestial energies influence our lives and destinies.
10 Heavenly Stems & 12 Earthly Branches
Understanding the Color Coded System
The elements in both Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches are color-coded for easy identification:
Green represents Wood elements
Red represents Fire elements
Yellow represents Earth elements
Grey represents Metal elements
Blue represents Water elements
Within each elemental group of the Heavenly Stems, the first listed stem always represents the yang polarity, followed by its yin counterpart.
This color system provides a visual framework to quickly identify the elemental nature of each stem and branch in your Bazi chart.
The Earthly Branches & The Sexagenary Cycle
The Branches & Their Pairings
The Heavenly Stems work in conjunction with the Earthly Branches—12 energies corresponding to the solar months. You may recognize these as the familiar Chinese Zodiac animals associated with your birth year. However, this animal represents just one-eighth of your complete classical Chinese astrological profile.
Like the Heavenly Stems, each Earthly Branch carries both a yin or yang polarity and an elemental association. For instance, if the Rat appears in your year, month, day, or hour pillar, that timeframe carries yang Water energy.
The Cycle of 60
Heavenly Stems always pair with Earthly Branches, creating 60 unique combinations known as the sexagenary cycle. These distinctive energy patterns appear in the year, month, day, and hour.
The cycle completes every 60 years, with identical stem-branch combinations recurring. For example, family members born exactly 60 years apart will share the same year pillar—as seen in my daughter and her grandmother, and my nephew and his grandfather.
2024 was a Jia Chen (Yang Wood Dragon) year, previously occurring in 1964. Similarly, 2025 is a Yi Si (Yin Wood Snake) year, mirroring 1965's energy patterns.
This cyclical pattern extends to smaller timeframes: months repeat every 60 months (5 years), days every 60 days, and hours every 60 hours. By examining past cycles, we can anticipate similar energetic qualities in the present. For instance, the revolutionary spirit of 1965 resonates once again in this Yi Si year.
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