Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. Generating your Four Pillars chart is completely free, with no login required. Optional AI-powered readings are available for those who want deeper insight.

Our calculator uses the tyme4ts calendar library for chart generation and applies a documented true solar time method based on the historical UTC offset, birth-city longitude, and the Equation of Time. Results still depend on the birth record, historical data, coordinates, and Bazi boundary convention. Read the true solar time method.

Select "I don't know my exact birth time" to see the Year, Month, and Day pillars as a reference. The Hour Pillar, exact solar-time correction, precise Luck Pillar start, and Life Chapter and annual timing are not shown because they require a known birth time. A noon reference is used internally, not treated as your birth time. Near a solar-term or day boundary, the other three pillars may also need verification. See an unknown-time boundary example.

Bazi (八字), also known as the Four Pillars of Destiny, is a classical Chinese system of destiny analysis. It translates the exact time and date of your birth into eight characters drawn from the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, then interprets the balance of the five elements (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) at the moment you were born.

Not quite. The Chinese zodiac (the animal of your birth year, such as Dragon or Rabbit) is just one small piece of Bazi. A full Bazi chart includes the year, month, day, and hour pillars, giving a much richer and more personalized reading than the zodiac animal alone.

First compare the same recorded local date and time, birth city, and historical time zone. Calculators can use different longitude corrections, day-boundary conventions, solar-term boundaries, and Luck Pillar start methods. A small difference can change a pillar near a boundary. Compare the calculation rules before assuming one chart is wrong. Work through the calculator comparison guide.

The birth-date field expects a Gregorian date. If your record gives a Chinese lunar date, confirm the corresponding Gregorian date, including whether the lunar month was a leap month, before entering it. Do not enter a lunar month and day as if they were Gregorian. Our calendar lets you check a candidate Gregorian date against its Chinese lunar date. Check the date in the Chinese calendar.

Use the recorded local time and actual birth city, and check whether the record was rounded or affected by daylight saving. True solar time can cross a two-hour branch or day boundary; a birth near a solar term can also affect the year or month pillar. If the plausible time range crosses a boundary, keep that uncertainty rather than choosing the chart you prefer. Select unknown time when you cannot establish a usable birth time. Review the time correction and its limits.

Bazi builds four pillars — year, month, day, and hour — from your birth information using true solar time. Each pillar contains one Heavenly Stem and one Earthly Branch. Relationships such as clashes, combinations, and generating cycles between the stems, branches, and elements are then read to reveal patterns in personality, career, relationships, and life cycles.

Enter your Gregorian birth date, recorded local birth time as accurately as available, gender for this site's Luck Pillar direction convention, and birth city selected from the search results. The city provides longitude and historical time-zone context for true solar time correction. If the time is unknown, select that option instead of guessing; the result will show the three-pillar reference and its limits.

Bazi is best understood as a framework for understanding tendencies and timing rather than a fixed prediction of events. It highlights strengths, challenges, and recurring patterns, and it shows which elements and phases are emphasized at different points in your life. How you act on those insights is always up to you.