BaZi Astrology

What Is BaZi (Four Pillars of Destiny)?

BaZi, also known as the Four Pillars of Destiny, is a traditional Chinese method of destiny analysis. It is commonly called BaZi reading and is widely used to understand a person’s life path, personality, and future trends.

In traditional Chinese metaphysics, there are Five Major Disciplines—Mountain, Medicine, Destiny, Divination, and Physiognomy. BaZi belongs to Destiny Studies and is one of the most practical and popular systems.

BaZi was first developed during the Tang Dynasty by the scholar Li Xuzhong, who analyzed destiny using three birth elements: year, month, and day. Later, in the Song Dynasty, the master Xu Ziping improved the system by adding the birth hour, forming the complete four pillars—year, month, day, and hour.

Each pillar consists of two symbols known as the Heavenly Stem and Earthly Branch, creating a total of eight characters, which is why the system is called BaZi. By analyzing these eight characters, BaZi reveals insights into a person’s strengths, challenges, major life events, and overall fortune.

This system has been passed down for hundreds of years and is still widely used today. Because of Xu Ziping’s contribution, BaZi is also known as Ziping Astrology.