甲 Jia — Yang Wood
Jia is the first of the ten Heavenly Stems, Yang Wood. If it's your day stem, BaZi sees you as a tall tree: straightforwardness, growth and strong principles.
Image
In the Di Tian Sui, the verse on the Jia stem begins: “甲木參天，脫胎要火” — “Jia wood reaches the sky; to break out of its shell, it needs fire.”
Jia is a big tree: a trunk that grows straight up and holds up the crown. The tree is strong in itself, but it only comes into its own when it has somewhere to direct its growth.
Personality
Jia means straightforwardness and principle. Jia people reach upward: they like to start things, build from scratch and lead the way. They keep their word and expect the same from others; scheming and maneuvering don't come easily to them. In a group, a Jia person is the one everyone leans on, and the one whose mind is hardest to change.
Strengths: reliability and keeping their word, a drive to grow and develop, a knack for starting things and leading people, honesty and directness.
Weak points: stubbornness (the tree would sooner break than bend), difficulty with compromise, a bluntness that people mistake for rudeness.
What Supports Jia
Classical texts give Jia wood three images of help: water feeds the roots, the sun lets it grow and open up, and moist earth holds it firm. The Di Tian Sui adds that in spring, its own season, the tree can't bear the axe of metal, while in autumn it struggles in dry earth. When “the earth is moist and the heavens are at peace,” the tree “stands for a thousand years.”
Each element has its own season: wood is strongest in spring, fire in summer, metal in autumn, water in winter, and earth in the transitional months between the seasons. Tradition sees a Day Master born in its own season as confident, and one born out of season as needing support; how much this matters is decided by an analysis of the whole chart.
At Work and in Relationships
At work, Jia does well wherever there is something to build, grow and take responsibility for: leadership, education, a business of one's own. In relationships, Jia brings loyalty and directness and values respect and a shared direction.
This is an image, not a verdict: the rest of the chart — the Ten Gods, the Luck Pillars, the balance of elements — can shift the picture considerably.
Frequently asked questions
Which stem does Jia combine with?
With Ji (己, Yin Earth). This pair produces the Earth element. In a chart, it's a sign of attraction and alliance; if the Day Masters of two people form this pair, tradition sees a natural attraction between them.
Which stem does Jia clash with?
With Geng (庚, Yang Metal): the two stems stand opposite each other in the cycle, and the element of one suppresses the element of the other. In a chart, this is a conflict of goals between the areas of life of the two pillars.
Where can I find out what my Day Master is?
In the BaZi calculator: the Day Master is the stem of the day pillar, and it's marked separately in the chart table. You need your exact date of birth, and if you were born around midnight, your birth time as well.