Plain-English Interpretation · Worked Example
A Bazi chart is just eight characters until you know how to read it. This page takes one fixed example chart and walks through the four layers of a real reading — Day Master, Five Elements, Ten Archetypes, and your current Life Chapter — so you can see exactly how characters turn into meaning.
Worked example · Updated August 25, 2026
Worked example: a chart for June 15, 1990 at 12:00 in Beijing, China. This is a generated example, not a real person. The sections below interpret it layer by layer.
The same chart is published as case 07 of the public calculation benchmark suite, which shows the historical daylight-saving offset behind its 10:45 true solar time.
Your result
1990年6月15日 10:45:36 · Male · Bazi year: Horse
农历庚午年五月廿三癸巳时
Your life pattern
A story before the terminology
A Metal Day Master chart whose main structure resolves to 七杀格 — the reading leans on pressure, competition, and driving forward under constraint.
What gives you momentum
Momentum builds when Earth, Metal are present and working — that is the chart's favourable direction (用神).
What tends to drain you
The visible weights read balanced (中和); pressure tends to pile up through Wood, Fire — the chart's risky direction (忌神).
The useful move
Use the current chapter as context for choices, not as a verdict: prepare, observe and review rather than wait on dates.
Chart facts: the month command and visible stems are fixed by the chart. Rule applied: 月支午本气丁（七杀）未透干，以本气取七杀格。 Therefore this chart reads best as the 七杀格 structure with a theme of pressure, competition, and driving forward under constraint. This is a structural reading — not an event forecast and not a ranking of worth.
Core energy
Balanced — Your core energy is well-proportioned — adaptable across many situations.
Chart level
Mid grade (provisional)
The Warrior Pattern — A structural support reading, not a ranking.
Current window
2017–2026
Ages 28–37 · A broad chapter theme
The questions behind the chart
Build steadily from your chart's existing strengths
No Wealth Star appears among the visible stems; value themes run indirectly through output and effort. The preview does not isolate one single money year.
Try this: Turn the signal into preparation: strengthen skills, resources, partners or cash-flow discipline before trying to scale.
No single money window is isolatedLook for connection, not a fate date
The chart can describe relationship themes, but this preview does not determine a single romance date or relationship outcome.
Try this: Use the signal to notice communication, boundaries and readiness rather than waiting for fate to make the decision.
No single relationship date is determinedThe next five years
A quick view of the existing annual signals. Supportive means the chart has more alignment; cautious means more friction. Neither is a fixed prediction.
Make it yours
These are prompts for reflection, not claims about events you have not told us happened.
The structure
The visible pillars and the calculation choices behind them.
Eight Characters · 八字
庚午 壬午 辛亥 癸巳
Year
年柱
A fierce competitor who turns obstacles into fuel.
Month
月柱
You see what others can't — unconventional thinking is a gift.
Day
日柱
Day Master · 日主
Hour
时柱
Your analytical creativity is your greatest asset.
True solar time: 1990-06-15 10:45. Total correction -74.4 min, including the historical 60 min DST offset. How this correction works
The interpretation
Start with the strongest conclusions, then inspect the element evidence and advanced relationships.
The patterns
The Challenger
劫财
A fierce competitor who turns obstacles into fuel.
Appears in: Year
The Rebel Visionary
伤官
You see what others can't — unconventional thinking is a gift.
Appears in: Month
The Creative Mind
食神
Your analytical creativity is your greatest asset.
Appears in: Hour
The structure
The Warrior Pattern
七杀格
Mid grade (provisional) · 中等格局（暂定评级）格局定为七杀格 (The Warrior Pattern) — the dominant structure derived from the month command. 月支午本气丁（七杀）未透干，以本气取七杀格。 格局层次: 中等格局（暂定评级） (Mid grade (provisional)). The favorable element is present but faces some friction — workable with awareness. This tier is a provisional rating from the current rule set — a simplified check of how strongly the favorable element is rooted and whether it takes a clash — not a classical pattern verdict, and never a ranking of personal worth or a promise of wealth.
The balance
Favorable · 用神
Manage with care · 忌神
Your Day Master 辛 (Metal (金)) reads as receptive (身弱). Climate data for 辛 in month 午 is pending — using the strength-based favorable element as fallback. Favorable elements (to support you): Earth (土), Metal (金). Risky elements to manage: Wood (木), Fire (火).
日主强弱
Balanced中和
Your core energy is well-proportioned — adaptable across many situations.
Few extreme risks. Lean on whichever element the moment calls for.
This is an indicative reading from your chart's element balance. A full strength analysis also weighs the birth season and element roots.
How your chart's energy is distributed across Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water.
Open any term for its interpretation.
Benefactors appear at your lowest moments — help always comes.
An innate lucky streak — blessings tend to find you when you stay authentic.
Natural authority — people follow you instinctively.
Heavenly protection that smooths your path through difficulties.
Goodwill amplified through closeness — your trusted bonds carry a steady, protective warmth.
Philosophical depth — you grasp the balance of opposites.
A natural gift for learning, writing, and intellectual pursuits.
A mark of comfort and material ease.
Natural fortune in livelihood and provision.
A gift for articulate expression — your words carry weight and persuade.
Trials that forge resilience — each loss secretly tempers you for bigger wins.
An area of latent potential — energy not absent, but dormant and awaiting activation.
An untamed, independent heart — you love deeply but never lose yourself.
A wise, intuitive spirit — you sense the unseen and understand things before they're spoken.
An aura of official authority and trust.
Refined character that earns lasting respect.
A contemplative, behind-the-scenes mind — you see moves others miss.
A gift for care, medicine, and restoring balance.
Your destiny involves movement — travel, relocation, global connections.
A pure, childlike wonder that never fades — you approach life with curiosity and openness.
刑冲合会
The tensions and harmonies between your pillars — these shape the flow of your life across its chapters.
Friction刑Year ↔ Month(Branch)
An internal tension between Ancestry & Social Environment and Parents & Career Direction that drives deep self-awareness (午午相刑)
Secret Alignment暗合Year ↔ Day(Branch)
A natural harmony between Ancestry & Social Environment and Self & Intimate Relationships — these energies amplify each other (午亥暗合)
Friction刑Month ↔ Year(Branch)
An internal tension between Parents & Career Direction and Ancestry & Social Environment that drives deep self-awareness (午午相刑)
Secret Alignment暗合Month ↔ Day(Branch)
A natural harmony between Parents & Career Direction and Self & Intimate Relationships — these energies amplify each other (午亥暗合)
Secret Alignment暗合Day ↔ Year(Branch)
A natural harmony between Self & Intimate Relationships and Ancestry & Social Environment — these energies amplify each other (亥午暗合)
Secret Alignment暗合Day ↔ Month(Branch)
A natural harmony between Self & Intimate Relationships and Parents & Career Direction — these energies amplify each other (亥午暗合)
Collision冲Day ↔ Hour(Branch)
A dramatic tension between Self & Intimate Relationships and Aspirations & Later Life — this creates sudden changes that force growth (亥巳相冲)
Collision冲Hour ↔ Day(Branch)
A dramatic tension between Aspirations & Later Life and Self & Intimate Relationships — this creates sudden changes that force growth (巳亥相冲)
The timeline
Read the current chapter first, then the decade timeline, past phases and the next five years.
The current chapter
乙酉
Wood (木)
Ages 28–37 · 2017–2026
You're currently in the 乙酉 Life Chapter (roughly ages 28–37). The chapter carries Wood (木) energy, which tends to emphasize growth, vision, initiative during this decade. Its leading archetype is The Opportunity Magnet (偏财) — money finds you through unexpected channels.
Life Chapter · 大运
Each chapter lasts roughly 10 years, shifting your core energy and focus. Your first chapter begins at age 8 (1997-11-16).
Provider rule: 3 interval days = 1 start-age year; finer units are 6 hours = 1 month, 12 minutes = 1 day, 30 seconds = 1 hour, and each remaining second = 2 minutes.
The converted interval is an elapsed offset. The integer age shown on the decade timeline follows the provider's year-based age label.
Read the full Da Yun starting-age formula and worked example or review the public calculation benchmarks.
The Creative Mind食神
1997–2006
The Wealth Builder正财
2007–2016
The Opportunity Magnet偏财
2017–2026
The Authority正官
2027–2036
The Warrior Spirit七杀
2037–2046
The Nurturing Wisdom正印
2047–2056
The Intuitive Scholar偏印
2057–2066
The Rebel Visionary伤官
2087–2096
The backstory
癸未
Ages 8–17
Ages 8–17 (癸未, roughly 1997–2006). This decade was shaped by The Creative Mind (食神) energy — your analytical creativity is your greatest asset.
甲申
Ages 18–27
Ages 18–27 (甲申, roughly 2007–2016). This decade was shaped by The Wealth Builder (正财) energy — your path to security is steady, disciplined, and reliable.
The horizon
2026
丙午
CautiousThis year carries Fire (火), a risky element for you — the climate rubs against your chart's preference, so pace plans accordingly; A Three-Penalty pattern appears — the theme is friction and strain; slow down on agreements, obligations and health routines, and double-check the details.
2027
丁未
CautiousThis year carries Fire (火), a risky element for you — the climate rubs against your chart's preference, so pace plans accordingly; A Three-Penalty pattern appears — the theme is friction and strain; slow down on agreements, obligations and health routines, and double-check the details.
2028
戊申
SteadyThis year carries Earth (土), one of your favorable elements — the climate aligns with you; A Three-Penalty pattern appears — the theme is friction and strain; slow down on agreements, obligations and health routines, and double-check the details.
2029
己酉
SteadyThis year carries Earth (土), one of your favorable elements — the climate aligns with you; A clash surfaces — the theme is change (relocations, role shifts and personnel turnover are the classic associations); change carries both openings and disruption.
2030
庚戌
SteadyThis year carries Metal (金), one of your favorable elements — the climate aligns with you; A clash surfaces — the theme is change (relocations, role shifts and personnel turnover are the classic associations); change carries both openings and disruption.
Every reading starts with the Day Master: the heavenly stem of your Day Pillar. It is the protagonist of the chart — the answer to who am I, fundamentally? Everything else in the reading is read in relation to this one stem.
In the example, the Day Master is 辛 (Xin) — Yin Metal. Metal is the element of structure, precision, and refinement, and its Yin polarity gives it a quieter, more inward quality than Yang Metal. So the core temperament here leans toward discipline, clarity, and a taste for getting things right rather than loud.
Next, judge whether the Day Master is strong or receptive — that is, whether the rest of the chart feeds it or drains it. This example is relatively even rather than dominated by one element: Fire leads the weighted tally, Water is close behind, and Metal gives the Day Master some support. The Fire-heavy month puts pressure on Metal, while the Water stems carry energy outward. Read this as an indicative balance, not a fixed verdict — a fuller strength judgment also weighs season and roots.
How to read your own: find the Day Stem, learn its element and polarity, then count how many pillars support it (same element, or the element that generates it) versus drain it (the element it generates into, or the one that controls it). That ratio is the backbone of the whole reading. Read the full Day Master guide →
The five elements — Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water — are not materials but energy types, and a chart is a snapshot of how those five are distributed. Two questions unlock the reading: which element is heaviest, and do your heavy elements feed each other (smooth flow) or control each other (friction)?
Fire is the largest share in the example — about 34%, represented by three Fire branches — with Water close behind at about 32%, represented by two Water stems and the Water branch. Metal contributes about 23%, including the Year stem 庚 and the Day Master 辛. Earth and Wood are comparatively light in the visible chart. The headline tension is the Fire–Water pair: Fire brings passion, visibility, and expression; Water brings depth, intelligence, and adaptability, while Water controls Fire in the traditional cycle. That creates contrast between outward drive and inward reflection.
A missing element is not a flaw. It simply means that energy is not innate and tends to show up through other people, partners, or deliberate effort — often becoming a real area of growth.
How to read your own: tally the elements across all eight characters, note the strongest and the missing one, then check whether your strongest elements generate or control each other — the interaction matters more than the count. Read the full Five Elements guide →
The Ten Gods (十神) are the relationship of each stem to your Day Master. There are ten of them — five element-relationships times two polarities — and we reframe them as modern archetypes so they read like inner drives rather than opaque terms. The archetypes that appear most often in your pillars are your dominant patterns.
The example surfaces three archetypes, each in a different pillar:
The Challenger (劫财)· Year pillar
A fierce competitor who turns obstacles into fuel.
The Rebel Visionary (伤官)· Month pillar
You see what others can't — unconventional thinking is a gift.
The Creative Mind (食神)· Hour pillar
Your analytical creativity is your greatest asset.
Notice they cluster around competitiveness, unconventional vision, and analytical creativity — three different expressions of mental sharpness, spread across the Year, Month, and Hour pillars. That spread is itself information: the drive shows up in different life areas (roots/family, career, and late-life output) rather than concentrating in just one.
How to read your own: identify which archetypes repeat across your pillars and which are absent. The repeating ones are your defaults; the absent ones are energies you will tend to find in partners or cultivate deliberately. Read the full Ten Archetypes guide →
A natal chart is static, but your life is not. The Da Yun (大运) — Luck Pillars — divide your life into roughly ten-year chapters, each carrying its own stem-and-branch and therefore its own element and archetype. Read the current chapter the same way you read a pillar: how does its element interact with your Day Master?
The example is currently in the 乙酉 chapter (ages 28–37, 2017–2026). It carries Wood (木) energy, and its leading archetype is The Opportunity Magnet (偏财). money finds you through unexpected channels.
A chapter whose element generates your Day Master tends to feel supportive; one that controls it asks for discipline and tends to sharpen you; one of the same element amplifies your core traits. A challenging chapter is not a warning — some of the most transformative decades come from chapters that push against the natal chart.
How to read your own: once you know your Day Master, find the current ten-year chapter and note its element and archetype — that pair is the background weather for this decade of your life. Read the full Life Chapters guide →
Continue by layer
This page owns the finished worked example. The Learn guides below explain the reusable method and the individual concepts in more depth; the glossary remains the quick definition reference.
Looking up a term while you read? Open the Bazi glossary →
Want a reading of your own chart?
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