Ba Zi Terms and Explanations
This glossary gathers recurring concepts that support chart reading but do not fit neatly into a single foundational or interpretive system. It is designed for quick lookup while you read Ba Zi articles, pattern entries, or classical explanations.
Core terms
- Yin and Yang: the basic polarity behind movement, stillness, form, and function.
- Five Elements: the elemental language used across Ba Zi interpretation.
- Punishment, Clash, Combination, and Union: branch relationships that change how a chart moves.
- Strong and Weak Day Master: a key idea for judging balance and usable forces.
- Favorable and Useful Elements: the concepts used to identify helpful energies in a chart.
- Seasonal Regulation: the logic of temperature, climate, and adjustment.
- Day Pillar Ranking: a reference layer for Day Pillar quality and symbolic status.
- Early and Late Zi Hour: the time-boundary distinction used in traditional chart calculation.
- Chinese Zodiac: the twelve-animal cycle and its cultural shorthand.
- Tai Sui: the annual authority and its traditional timing implications.
- Three Cycles and Nine Periods: a long-cycle framework used in traditional timing.
- Daylight Saving Time: a modern calendar issue that may affect time conversion.