At a glance
- Count
- Ten
- Order
- Jia through Gui, repeating
Definition and terminology
The sequence is Jia, Yi, Bing, Ding, Wu, Ji, Geng, Xin, Ren and Gui, returning to Jia after Gui. These first function as ordered signs. The Observatory provides calendrical tables for their use in years, months, days and hours. Personality interpretations add a separate, tradition-specific layer.
Structure and rules
Common natal assignments give each phase two stems: wood Jia/Yi, fire Bing/Ding, earth Wu/Ji, metal Geng/Xin and water Ren/Gui, alternating yang and yin. Traditional stem pairings are Jia–Ji, Yi–Geng, Bing–Xin, Ding–Ren and Wu–Gui. A pairing does not automatically establish a transformation under every school.
Worked reading
Counting four places from Jia gives Jia, Yi, Bing and Ding. In a hypothetical natal chart with Jia as Day Stem and Bing elsewhere, wood generates fire and both are yang, producing the traditional Food God label. The calculation and naming are reproducible conventions, distinct from evidence about a person.
Context and limits
Stem cycles are not independently restarted at Jia for every chart component. Month stems depend on year stems; hour stems depend on day stems, and day sequences require a reliable calendar. Other systems use stems differently. Recording the original date, time zone and conversion rules is essential for reproducibility.
References & further reading
Historical sources document ideas and rules of their time, not empirical proof of predictive accuracy. Source notes identify the nature and scope of each reference.
- Hong Kong Observatory: Heavenly Stems and Earthly BranchesInstitutional / reference source
Official calendar reference for sequences and double hours; does not validate natal divination.
- 《三命通会》卷五：论印食官财名义Primary / tradition source
Public-domain text explaining Day Stem relations, resource, output, office, wealth and patterns.