Luck Pillars in BaZi
Luck Pillars are the decades of life, each with its own stem and branch. The birth chart doesn't change, while the Luck Pillars show which themes come to it in turn.
Where They Come From
Luck Pillars (大運, da yun) continue from the month pillar: each one is the next stem–branch pair in the sexagenary cycle, going forward or backward. For example, after the month 癸酉, the forward sequence is 甲戌, 乙亥, 丙子…, and the backward one is 壬申, 辛未, 庚午…
Forward or Backward
| Man | Woman | |
|---|---|---|
| Yang year (甲 丙 戊 庚 壬) | forward | backward |
| Yin year (乙 丁 己 辛 癸) | backward | forward |
The polarity of the year is set by the stem of the year pillar. That's why a brother and sister born in the same year have Luck Pillars that run in opposite directions.
Starting Age
Count the days from birth to the nearest jie solar term: to the next one if the pillars run forward, to the previous one if they run backward. Three days count as one year, one day as four months, two hours as ten days. If the result is 7 years 6 months, the first pillar begins at about age 7.5, and each following one ten years later.
Practitioners usually round the age to whole years and give as the starting year the one in which that age is reached. Our calculator does the same and shows the exact moment on a separate line. Childhood before the first pillar is read from the month pillar.
How to Read a Decade
The key is the god of the decade's stem: it sets the theme. Many practitioners believe the stem is felt more strongly in the first five years and the branch in the second five. It also matters how the decade's branch interacts with the branches of the chart: a clash with the day branch, for example, is read as years of change in your personal life or of moving house.
- Friend — a time of independence: more reliance on yourself and your peers.
- Rob Wealth — a time of competition and drive: more energy and more rivals.
- Eating God — a time of calm self-expression: creativity and enjoying your work.
- Hurting Officer — a time of change through self-expression: bold ideas, breaking the mold.
- Indirect Wealth — a time of opportunity: deals, money in motion, new connections.
- Direct Wealth — a time of earning: steady income, savings, household affairs.
- Seven Killings — a time of trials and strength: pressure, challenges, decisive steps.
- Direct Officer — a time of status and responsibility: career, recognition, obligations.
- Indirect Resource — a time of unconventional knowledge: a change of course, learning for its own sake.
- Direct Resource — a time of support and learning: education, documents, help from elders.
More on each god is on the Ten Gods page.
Annual Pillars
Each year has its own pillar too: 2026 is 丙午, 2027 is 丁未. It's read the same way, but against the background of the current decade: the year sets the events, and the decade is the backdrop against which they happen.
Solar or Lunar Calendar
If the chart is built on the lunar calendar, the month pillar may turn out different, and then the whole sequence of Luck Pillars shifts by one decade, although the starting age stays the same. If the year changes as well, that is, the person was born between Lichun and Chinese New Year, the Luck Pillars always run in the other direction: adjacent years have opposite polarity. More on the two traditions is on the BaZi calculator page.
Frequently asked questions
What happens before the first Luck Pillar?
Childhood before the first pillar is read from the month pillar; it's a kind of “decade zero.”
Is the change of pillar an abrupt turning point?
Usually not: the change is felt gradually, over a year or two. That's why a rounded age is enough in practice.
Why did another site give a different starting age?
Most often because of rounding or the birth time: a two-hour difference shifts the age by ten days, and a whole day shifts it by four months. Another reason is using the lunar calendar instead of the solar one.