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Reference

The chart, term by term.

Keep this reference beside a chart. Start with the day stem, then identify the branches and hidden stems, and finally look up how they relate to the Day Master. The same explanations are available inside Truenoon's chart view.

Read term definitions as Markdown

A reading order for your first chart

  1. 1.Find the day column. Its upper character is the Day Master.
  2. 2.Read a lower character as a branch, then look up the stems assigned to it.
  3. 3.Compare those stems with the Day Master to understand their ten-god labels.
Compare the ten Day Masters

Core concepts

Day Master
The heavenly stem at the top of the day column. Other stems receive their ten-god labels by comparing their element and polarity with this reference.
Heavenly Stem
Stems are the ten surface characters of the Chinese calendar. Each carries a polarity (yin/yang) and an element. The Day Stem is the Day Master.
Earthly Branch
The lower character in each pillar, selected from twelve calendar symbols. Each has a traditional element and hidden-stem mapping; the month branch also indicates the solar-term season.
Ten Gods
Ten names for five element relationships to the Day Master, each split by matching or opposite polarity: peers, output, wealth, authority, and resource. The names describe chart relationships.
Hidden Stems
A traditional mapping assigns one to three stems to each branch. Truenoon includes these stems in its element score and labels their relationships to the Day Master.
Life Stage
Twelve symbolic stages assigned to the Day Master in each branch. Names such as Growth, Peak, and Ailing belong to this traditional cycle; they do not describe a person's actual age or health.
Na Yin
Thirty traditional names assigned to the sixty stem-branch pairs, with two pairs sharing each name. This classification is separate from the Day Master's element.
Element balance
A relative score of Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water under Truenoon's chart rules, including hidden stems. It is not a personality percentage, and it does not by itself identify a favorable element.

The five elements

木

Wood

Traditionally associated with growth and extension. In the generation cycle, Water generates Wood and Wood generates Fire.

火

Fire

Traditionally associated with light and warmth. Wood generates Fire, and Fire generates Earth.

土

Earth

Traditionally associated with receiving and supporting. Fire generates Earth, and Earth generates Metal.

金

Metal

Traditionally associated with form and cutting. Earth generates Metal, and Metal generates Water.

水

Water

Traditionally associated with flow and moisture. Metal generates Water, and Water generates Wood.

The Ten Gods

Five element relationships split into ten labels because matching and opposite polarity are distinguished. The same stem can have a different label when the Day Master changes.

Example: with 甲 (Yang Wood) as the Day Master

甲 → 甲Peer / 比肩
Same element, same polarity.
乙 → 甲Rival Wealth / 劫财
Same element, opposite polarity.
丙 → 甲Output (Gentle) / 食神
Wood generates Fire; both stems have yang polarity.
日主Day Master
The day stem, used as the reference for the other ten-god labels.
比肩Peer
Same element and polarity as the Day Master. Traditional interpretation associates this relationship with peers and acting independently.
劫财Rival Wealth
Same element, opposite polarity to the Day Master. Traditional themes include sharing and competition; the name does not mean that money will be taken away.
食神Output (Gentle)
An element produced by the Day Master, with matching polarity. A traditional output category, often discussed through expression and craft.
伤官Output (Sharp)
An element produced by the Day Master, with opposite polarity. Traditional interpretation often connects this output category with questioning and direct expression.
偏财Indirect Wealth
An element controlled by the Day Master, with matching polarity. One of the two traditional wealth categories; it is not a forecast of income or investment returns.
正财Direct Wealth
An element controlled by the Day Master, with opposite polarity. Traditional writing relates it to resources and exchange; the label does not measure actual wealth.
七杀Pressure
An element that controls the Day Master, with matching polarity. Pressure and challenge are traditional themes for this relationship, not a statement that danger is coming.
正官Authority
An element that controls the Day Master, with opposite polarity. Traditional themes include rules, duties, and formal roles.
偏印Indirect Resource
An element that generates the Day Master, with matching polarity. Traditional interpretation links it with learning and less conventional forms of support.
正印Direct Resource
An element that generates the Day Master, with opposite polarity. Traditional themes include care, teaching, and support; it does not establish a person's education or family history.

The twelve life stages

  1. 01长生GrowthThe cycle's growth image: the beginning of development in the traditional sequence.
  2. 02沐浴BathingThe bathing image follows Growth, traditionally illustrating an early, still-forming stage.
  3. 03冠带Coming of ageThe image of putting on a cap and sash: taking shape and preparing for a role in the traditional cycle.
  4. 04临官Taking officeThe image of taking office, conventionally placed before Peak in the twelve-stage sequence.
  5. 05帝旺PeakThe peak image in the traditional cycle, followed by Waning. It is a symbolic stage label.
  6. 06衰WaningThe waning image after Peak: a shift from expansion toward withdrawal in the symbolic sequence.
  7. 07病AilingA traditional stage name between Waning and Dormant. The word is not a medical assessment.
  8. 08死DormantThe dormant image in the cycle, followed by Storage. It does not predict a death.
  9. 09墓StorageThe storage image: gathering inward in the traditional sequence.
  10. 10绝VoidA transition image between Storage and Conception, conventionally marking a break before a new cycle.
  11. 11胎ConceptionThe conception image for the start of a new symbolic cycle, not a pregnancy prediction.
  12. 12养NurtureThe nurture image before the sequence returns to Growth.

The thirty Na Yin

Two stem-branch pairs share each of these thirty traditional names. A Na Yin element and a Day Master element belong to different classifications; compare them by name rather than treating one as a replacement for the other.

Terms make more sense on your own chart.

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