Free BaZi calculator and Four Pillars of Destiny reading

What is BaZi?

BaZi (八字, “eight characters”), also called the Four Pillars of Destiny (四柱命理), is the Chinese art of reading a person’s nature from the moment of birth. The year, month, day and hour of birth each become a pillar made of one Heavenly Stem (天干) and one Earthly Branch (地支). Four pillars of two characters give the eight characters that name the system.

The method took its classical form in the Song dynasty with Xu Ziping (徐子平), which is why BaZi is also known as Ziping (子平) astrology. Instead of treating the zodiac animal as the whole story, BaZi reads all eight characters together, through the cycle of the five elements: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water.

How this BaZi calculator works

A BaZi chart is only as good as its calendar. Many free calculators switch the month on the lunar month or on 1 January, which gives the wrong chart for anyone born near a boundary. Ours does it the traditional way:

• The year starts at Li Chun (立春, the Start of Spring, about 4 February), not at Chinese New Year or 1 January.
• Each month starts at a solar term (节气). We calculate the Sun’s true position with Jean Meeus’s astronomical algorithms, accurate to about 15 minutes for births from 1901 to 2099.
• The hour pillar uses your birth time. If you don’t know it, you still get an accurate three-pillar chart.

Everything runs in your own browser. Your birth details are not sent to a server, and no sign-up is needed.

What your BaZi chart shows

• Day Master (日主): the Heavenly Stem of your day pillar, which stands for you. There are ten, from Jia Wood (甲) to Gui Water (癸), each with its own character.
• Five-element balance: which elements are strong or missing in your chart, and which ones are favourable to bring into your life.
• Ten Gods (十神): how every other character relates to your Day Master: resources, output, wealth, authority and companions.
• Luck pillars (大运): the ten-year periods that colour each stage of life, and the annual pillars (流年) that change every year.
• Lucky colours, numbers, directions and items, drawn from your favourable elements, plus simple ways to look after your wellbeing.

Your 2027 forecast: the Fire Goat year

2027 is a 丁未 (Ding Wei) year: Yin Fire over the Goat. From Li Chun on 4 February 2027, each month brings a new pillar. The calculator compares every month with your own chart and marks it as supportive, steady or take care, with notes for work, money and relationships and the colour and number to favour that month. It is free during the beta.

How to use a BaZi reading well

BaZi is a centuries-old cultural framework, not a scientific test, and no controlled study has shown that it predicts events. Most people find it useful as a mirror: a structured way to reflect on strengths, timing and choices. Read your chart with curiosity, and keep important decisions grounded in facts and good advice.

Common questions