www.sherrymerchant.

com
Mastering the BaZi Basics

SCHEHERAZADE
M E R C H A N T

w w w . s h e r r y m e r c hwww.sherrymerchant.com
ant.com 1  
SCHEHERAZADE
M E R C H A N T
 Understanding the basics

www.sherrymerchant.com
In the course of my teaching journey, I have, time and time again,
prepared many “prep lessons” for my students before they attend any
of my classes, to make life easier for them in class.

This lesson is one of them, condensed for simplicity.

BaZi is a really fascinating topic and is the starting point of any

Metaphysics study. With BaZi comes the understanding of the
elements, which are the foundation upon which every metaphysical
study is based.

This lesson is very flexible, and can be used as a foundation for

whatever field or stream of metaphysics one is planning to further their
studies in as it outlines the essential interaction of the elements, that are
the building blocks of the system.

Once you master this, everything becomes simple to understand.

Of course, in order to interpret a BaZi chart, you need to know a lot

more and if you are interested, you can “attend” my Bazi Bulls Eye, a
comprehensive 6 day long BaZi class, that comes as a video recording
you can watch online over and over again, of the actual class, its
almost like being there in person!

It is accompanied by workbooks, diagrams, short-cut charts and so on.

Email us for a sample of the class recording if you are interested in
following this line.

Meanwhile, enjoy this section!

Sherry Merchant

www.sherrymerchant.com 2  
SCHEHERAZADE
M E R C H A N T
 Understanding the basics

www.sherrymerchant.com
This section contains all the painful reading one must go through and
has probably encountered a million times before, so lets get it out of
the way. I have taken SOME of the information from Joey Yaps website
directly as that is the most accurate and well written source. However, I
have my own little comments at he end. Which you may pay heed to
as well. Please read everything regardless.

What is BaZi?
Your BaZi is a chart that is made using the date and time of ones birth.
This chart outlines events and life-path that are in store for you in the
future. The events are predetermined to some extent but can be
modified by the effects of your environment and your own free will to
some extent.

What is the purpose of BaZi?

If your destiny is fixed, what is the point of knowing? It is very simple. If
you don’t have a map, how do you know or reach your destination. By
having a map, the road may not change, but a map at least gives you
the direction to take , chose the best route as it were. You don’t have
to try and pour water uphill, instead, BaZi advises you how to go along
with the flow and take advantage of it as opposed to fighting your
destiny. It gives you the power to make an INFORMED DECISION.

In simple terms BaZi is all about doing the right thing at the right time
and being in the right place, to make the most of what destiny has in
store for us.
Essential Learning
I. Reading List:
Destiny Code
Destiny Code Revealed, both by Joey Yap
These books will give you a fair idea of the
subject and familiarize you with the terms we
will be using throughout the class.
II. Get yourself access to any BaZi calculator,
Joey Yaps BaZi Ming Pan V2 is my top
favourite. (www.masteryacademy.com)
    Know the characters: I cannot tell you how important this is and
III.
anyone without that knowledge may as well be sitting in the class with
earplugs and an eye mask. Hence the two pages that follow later
should be printed out and practiced on ad nauseum. Even if you can’t
write them at first, at least learn to recognize them. Before you come to
the class, you must be able to identify & write all 27 Chinese characters.

www.sherrymerchant.com 3  
SCHEHERAZADE
M E R C H A N T
 Understanding the basics

www.sherrymerchant.com
There are a few letters you need to learn to at least recognize if not write,
so as to be well acquainted with the Chinese Charts you will read from
time to time. These are the bare minimum. Later you will find some
practice pages as well to help you to write if you so desire.
10 Heavenly Stems 12 Earthly Branches

Chinese Pinyin Element Chinese Pinyin Element

甲 Jia Yang Wood 子 Zi Yang Water

丑 Chou Yin Earth

乙 Yi Yin Wood
寅 Yin Yang wood
丙 Bing Yang Fire
卯 Mao Yin wood
丁 Ding Yin Fire
晨 Chen Yang Earth
戊 Wu Yang Earth 巳 Si Yin Fire

己 Ji Yin Earth 午 Wu Yang Fire

未 Wei Yin Earth

庚 Geng Yang Metal
申 Shen Yang Metal
辛 Xin Yin Metal
酉 You Yin Metal
壬 Ren Yang Water
戌 Xu Yang Earth
癸 Gui Yin Water Hai Yin Water
亥

Five Elements Numbers

Chinese Pinyin Element Chinese English Chinese English

木 Mu Wood 1 1 6 6
水 Shui Water 2 2 7 7
火 Huo Fire 3 3 8 8
金 Jin Metal 4 4 9 9
土 Tu Earth 5 5 10 10

www.sherrymerchant.com 4  
SCHEHERAZADE
M E R C H A N T
 Getting to know the Language – Writing Practice

www.sherrymerchant.com
We need to know a few Chinese characters, 10 stems and 12
branches, that’s all. Learning to say them aloud, and writing them will
help. Use these pages to practice writing them or make flash cards
and keep looking at them while saying the names aloud to familiarize
yourself with these 22 characters. Print multiple pages and keep
practicing...
It is helpful to remember the sequence of the branches and stems, as
they follow a particular cycle known as the production cycle.

The Ten Heavenly Stems

Chinese Pinyin English

Jia Yang
甲 wood 甲 甲 甲
Yi Yin
乙 Wood 乙 乙 乙
Bing Yang
丙 Fire 丙 丙 丙
Ding Yin Fire
丁 丁 丁 丁
Wu Yang
戊 Earth 戊 戊 戊
Ji Yin
己 Earth 己 己 己
Geng Yang
庚 Metal 庚 庚 庚
Xin Yin
辛 Metal 辛 辛 辛
Ren Yang
壬 Water 壬 壬 壬
Gui Yin
癸 Water 癸 癸 癸

www.sherrymerchant.com 5  
SCHEHERAZADE
M E R C H A N T
 Getting to know the Language – Writing Practice

www.sherrymerchant.com
The 12 Earthly Branches

Chinese Pinyin English

Zi Rat
子 子 子 子
Chou Ox
丑 丑 丑 丑
Yin Tiger
寅 寅 寅 寅
Mao Rabbit
卯 卯 卯 卯
Chen Dragon
晨 晨 晨 晨
Si Snake
巳 巳 巳 巳
Wu Horse
午 午 午 午
Wei Goat
未 未 未 未
Shen Monkey
申 申 申 申
You Rooster
酉 酉 酉 酉
Xu Dog
戌 戌 戌 戌
Hai Pig
亥 亥 亥 亥

www.sherrymerchant.com 6  
SCHEHERAZADE
M E R C H A N T
 What a BaZi chart looks like

www.sherrymerchant.com
For those who are familiar with BaZi, skip this bit. For those for whom it
is yet just a four letter word, BaZi is a chart of 8 Chinese characters,
four “stems” stacked upon four “branches” to form four columns of
pairs of stems & branches.

Stems are characters that represent one of 10 simple elements, well

actually the 5 elements (fire, earth, metal, water, wood) in 2 polarities,
Yin and Yang.

You see two charts here, the top one is called the basic natal chart
and tells the story of one’s life, and journey, that begins today, is to
know where to look and how to unlock that world of wisdom
contained in these innocuous little 8 characters.

A BaZi chart looks something like the picture below.

The lower chart is what is called “luck pillars” which represent your life
in ten year stages, each stage is known as a luck pillar.
Now you know what a BaZi chart looks like.

Each column or “pillar” is formed by different aspects, reading from

the right to the left, it’s the Year, Month, Day & Hour of birth. Each of
these points in time are represented by a “pillar” or a “Jia Zi”.
Collectively they form your NATAL chart.

Hour Day Month Year

Pillar Pillar Pillar Pillar

www.sherrymerchant.com 7  
SCHEHERAZADE
M E R C H A N T
 Understanding the basics – Location of Stems & Branches

www.sherrymerchant.com
What is a stem? What is a Branch?

Chinese Pinyin Element Chinese Pinyin Element

Jia Yang Wood Zi Yang Water
Yi Yin Wood Chou Yin Earth
Bing Yang Fire Yin Yang wood
Ding Yin Fire Mao Yin wood
Wu Yang Earth Chen Yang Earth
Ji Yin Earth
Si Yin Fire
Geng Yang Metal
Wu Yang Fire
Xin Yin Metal
Wei Yin Earth
Ren Yang Water
Shen Yang Metal
Gui Yin Water
You Yin Metal
Xu Yang Earth

Hai Yin Water

www.sherrymerchant.com 8  
SCHEHERAZADE
M E R C H A N T
 What is a Jia Zi

www.sherrymerchant.com
One stem pairs with one branch to make a pair known as a Jia Zi, since
the first pair that forms is Jia Zi.
In a Jia Zi, both the stem and branch have the same polarity.
12 stems combine with 10 branches in sequence thereby producing 60
such pairs.

甲子 甲戌 甲申 甲午 甲辰 甲寅
Jia Zi Jia Xu Jia Shen Jia Wu Jia Chen Jia Yin
乙丑 乙亥 乙酉 乙未 乙巳 乙卯
Yi Chou Yi Hai Yi You Yi Wei Yi Si Yi Mao
丙寅 丙子 丙戌 丙申 丙午 丙辰
Bing Yin Bing Zi Bing Xu Bing Shen Bing Wu Bing Chen
丁卯 丁丑 丁亥 丁酉 丁未 丁巳
Ding Mao Ding Chou Ding Hai Ding You Ding Wei Ding Si
戊辰 戊寅 戊子 戊戌 戊申 戊午
Wu Chen Wu Yin Wu Zi Wu Xu Wu Shen Wu Wu
己巳 己卯 己丑 己亥 己酉 己未
Ji Si Ji Mao Ji Chou Ji Hai Ji You Ji Wei
庚午 庚辰 庚寅 庚子 庚戌 庚申
Geng Geng
Geng Wu Geng Yin Geng Zi Geng Xu
Chen Shen
辛未 辛巳 辛卯 辛丑 辛亥 辛酉
Xin Wei Xin Si Xin Mao Xin Chou Xin Hai Xin You
壬申 壬午 壬辰 壬寅 壬子 壬戌
Ren Shen Ren Wu Ren Chen Ren Yin Ren Zi Ren Xu
癸酉 癸未 癸巳 癸卯 癸丑 癸亥
Gui You Gui Wei Gui Si Gui Mao Gui Chou Gui Hai

www.sherrymerchant.com 9  
SCHEHERAZADE
M E R C H A N T
 Understanding the basics - The Cosmic Trinity
Heaven

www.sherrymerchant.com
The
Cosmic
Trinity

Earth MAN

Our life is influenced by three kinds of luck, which form the COSMIC
TRINITY. Roughly a third is influenced by our BaZi, (Heaven Luck),
another third by the influence our environment exerts on us (Feng
Shui aspect) and the last third is Man Luck, which relates to our
conscious decision making power, aspects that WE have control
over.
 
In Feng Shui, yin and yang takes on a different dimension. The
mountain or landscape, which is unmoving and still is classified as
Yin. The rivers, sea or lakes which contains active, moving water, is
classified as Yang. Thus, a general rule for an ideal site would be a
place where the rivers and hills converge harmoniously – a
matrimonial combination of yin and yang. Of course, this goes
further on as we start to analyze the qualities of the mountain (be it
edged, sharp, rocky or undulating) and water (be it rushing, fierce,
loud, calm or still).

Heaven Luck:
The talents that you are born with, potentials and the capacity to
make the most of your potential. Your family background, health
condition and where you are born is also determined by Heaven
Luck.
Man Luck:
The actions that you take to capitalize upon your potential also
opportuneness that may present themselves. Your education,
perseverance, beliefs and principle also from the basis of your man
luck.
Earth Luck:
The area in which you reside This is what is known as Feng Shui. Your
external environment, where you work and where your house is
located all plays a a role in your earth Luck.

www.sherrymerchant.com 10  
SCHEHERAZADE
M E R C H A N T
 Understanding the basics - Yang & Yin

www.sherrymerchant.com
Dark Light
Noisy Quite

Active Passive

Happy Sad

Positive Negative

Male Female

From Joey Yaps article: There exist two opposing and interrelating
forces in our Universe. Yin and Yang are natural forms of energy that
are in a constant state of change, movement and interaction. This
dynamic relationship creates and governs all life. From Birth, Growth,
Sickness and Death, the stages of existence are in constant evolution.
The interaction of Yin and Yang is reflected by Night and Day, Positive
and Negative, Active and Passive, Hard and Soft, Fast and Slow, Male
and Female, Hot and Cold, Anger and Happiness, and so forth. We
can see this interplay in nature in the form of the 4 seasons where
yang is reflected as the peak of summer and yin in the coldness of
winter. Yin and Yang are therefore the two primordial forms of Qi. The
interaction between Yin and Yang subsequently relates to the Five
Phases of Qi. These are later known as the Five Elements.

Where does Yin & Yang come from?

Chinese sages state that the Tao or Tai Ji comes from the Great Void
(Nothingness). The great void is known as the WuJi. The WuJi is the
netherworld of all creation and the pure land of all wisdom and life in
the Universe.

www.sherrymerchant.com 11  
SCHEHERAZADE
M E R C H A N T
 Understanding the basics - Yang & Yin

www.sherrymerchant.com
The WuJi is depicted as a circle. This expression was
meant to Symbolize the all encompassing,
completeness, entirety and all existence. Its picture can
be interpreted as being empty or as a whole. This is the
concept of the WuJi.

Within the WuJi there comes existence and that is

symbolized as the DOT in the circle. Thi is call the
TaiJi – the great limit with the unlimited. The TaiJi is
the boundy that encompasses substance and
matter in the universe.

The TaiJi subsequently produces Yin and Yang, the

Dual forces.

For our purpose, it is important to remember that Yin and Yang do not
represent gender but POLARITY.
Yin is not bad and Yang is not good or vice-versa. It is a difference of
polarity and perception, one is a mirror image of the other, and we
need both.
Throughout all metaphysical studies, the importance of Yin & Yang
cannot be disregarded. It is the tool that brings balance, order,
harmony & equilibrium to any situation. If a chart has a balance of Yin
& Yang, an individual is capable of facing situations much more easily
than someone with chart that is imbalanced. Too Yin or too Yang is
IMBALANCE.

Overly Yin charts turn Yang & Overly Yang charts turn to Yin.

www.sherrymerchant.com 12  
SCHEHERAZADE
M E R C H A N T
 Understanding the basics – Five Elements

www.sherrymerchant.com
The 5 elements
The basis of all metaphysical studies begins with the 5 elements. These
5 elements are like the basic ATOMS in science, and they form
molecules, mixtures, solutions and compounds, so to speak, when
thrown together with each other and result in chemical reactions, so to
speak, and that is what BaZi is all about, the interaction of these basic
5 elements with one another.
These 5 elements are:

Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water

There is a particular order that is always followed as I have set out
above and that is the “Production Cycle”
A short version (long one follows)

Wood burns to produce fire; easy to visualize a log fire? That’s it.
Fire burns to produce earth: Ashes to ashes dust to dust...visualize a
dead body in a crematorium. Turning to dust that returns to the earth.
Like ghoul? At least you wont forget this example!

Earth produces metal: Think of gold mining, exactly that image. Metal
buried in dirt, coming out of the bowels of the earth...and all the effort
that goes with it. (Soon we will discuss the process too, very interesting)

Metal produces water: that’s a tough one to describe, but think of

metal attracting water, when you pour cold water in a metal tumbler
and the tumbler gets beads of sweat on the outside… production?
Not exactly, attraction? Maybe. In any case we now have water
where earlier there was none, so another variety of PRODUCTION.

Water produces wood: so easy, think of watering a plant. So simple…..

No, not that simple, now the first complication:

Each of these 5 elements then are further divided into two polarities,
YIN and Yang. So we have: Yin Fire and Yang Fire, and Yin Earth and
Yang Earth and so on.
Traditional metaphysics does not lay emphasis on the fact that the
Polarity or Yin and Yang of each element makes such a difference to
the character and quality of each element that in fact, they are
actually 10 distinct elements, each with a mind of their own.
Take for example: Yang fire is the Sun. Yin Fire is a candle flame. Now
the common factor is that both generate heat, but see the
differences: The sun does not need a source, but a flame needs wood
to burn, hence one

www.sherrymerchant.com 13  
SCHEHERAZADE
M E R C H A N T
 Understanding the basics – Five Elements

www.sherrymerchant.com
ELEMENT IMAGE COLOUR SHAPE NUMBER
Yang Wood Trees Dark green Log 3
Yin Wood Grass Pale green Log 4
Red, orange,
Yang Fire Sun Triangle 9
purple pink
Candle Red, orange,
Yin Fire Triangle 9
flame purple pink
Yang Earth Mountain Brown Flat 8
Yin Earth Field Brown Flat 2
Yang Metal Axe Black grey Round 6
Yin Metal Gold White silver Round 7
Yang Water Ocean Blue Wavy 1
Yin Water Pond Blue Wavy 1

Fire is totally dependent on resource to exist while the other does

not.....and so on. We will discuss this in detail later in this lesson.
You will now agree that clubbing both the sun (Yang fire) and a flame
(Yin fire) as the element (one of the 5 elements) FIRE is meaningless as
they are so very different. I prefer to refer to them as the 10 elements,
and will do so as we go along.
When we speak about elements, we are not actually referring to the
physical element but energy or Qi that replicates the behavior of
these elements. They are, so to speak, factors that behave like
physical elements, and react to each other as the real physical
element would and produce those very same, for lack of a better
word, VIRTUAL results.

Instead of getting confused, as it will take a while to actually wrap

your head around these very abstract concepts, just learn, Yang
wood is a tree, and its color is green, for the moment. Next we will give
it its Chinese name and character, for now, this is enough.
I will be using color as I feel it makes stuff easier to remember. In
metaphysics, we associate color and shape with each element so I
will add these factors in as well as I like to be flexible with information
and this may be useful to you in other variants like Yi Jing, Feng Shui
etc. The same with numbers so here is a very basic chart that you
need to memorize by heart.
Now in BaZi, only the first two columns matter, the rest in FYI but
recommended to be learnt. This is the first half of 5 elements, and the
rest will follow shortly.
www.sherrymerchant.com 14  
SCHEHERAZADE
M E R C H A N T
 Understanding the basics - The 10 Heavenly Stems

www.sherrymerchant.com
LET ME INTRODUCE YOU TO THE STAR CAST..........
In BaZi, the chart is completely made up of stems, either appearing
solo in the top layer, where they are known as stems, or appearing
under a branch, again either solo, or with one or two other stems,
collectively known as hidden stems. For now, we are dealing with the
10 stems only so if you are confused, we can sort that out in the next
lesson, for now, just 10 stems.

In all branches of Chinese Metaphysics the Ten Stems are of crucial

importance. Even the 12 branches consist of one, two or three of these
stems and, and these stems are represented by fixed directions in
Feng Shui.

Although we don’t
technically use
directions on the 24
mountain ring in BaZi,
viewing the stems on
a 24 mountain ring is
always easy (more
so when we go to
the special
relationships) and
throughout this
course I will be using
the 24 mountain ring
so, it will be good if
you familiarize
yourself with the ring
henceforth.
There are totally 10
stems and they
follow the
production cycle.

Traditionally one begins with JIA 甲 and ends with GUI 癸. However, if
we were to make a circle of eternity then GUI 癸 would automatically
loop and make a production cycle by joining up to Jia 甲.
I assume by now you are all familiar with the Chinese characters for
the 10 stems. If not, this is a great place to begin. Henceforth I will be
adding in the Chinese symbols just to get you slowly used to them.

www.sherrymerchant.com 15  
SCHEHERAZADE
M E R C H A N T
 Understanding the basics - The 10 Heavenly Stems

www.sherrymerchant.com
There are 8 stems on the 24 mountain ring, and they lie on either side of
the four cardinals Wu 午(S2), You 酉(W2), Zi 子(N2), and Mao 卯E2).
I AM COLOUR CODING SO YOU GET IT FASTER:
They go in the order of first yang and next yin if you are looking at it from
the clock wise direction. Do take a look at each of these on the 24
mountain chart so you begin getting familiar with them all.
We have
BING 丙 (yang fire) and DING 丁(yin fire) in the south on either side of
Wu 午(S2) or the horse direction,
GENG 庚(yang metal) and XIN 辛(yin metal) in the west, on either side of
YOU 酉(W2) or the Rooster direction,
REN 壬(yang water) and GUI 癸(yin water) in the north on either side of Zi
子(N2) or the Rat direction and
JIA 甲(yang wood) and YI 乙(yin wood) in the east, on either side of
Mao 卯(E2) or the Rabbit direction.
WHAT ABOUT “EARTH”? In Ba ZI we have ten stems and here we have
accounted only for the eight mentioned, so what about earth?
Remember in the Lo Shu we have 5 in the central palace, (no
direction), well it’s the same in the 24 mountains, we assume that the
earth stems go in the middle and for quick reference we depict it like
this.

Joey Yap says “earth stems

go in the middle”, so that‘s
it.
Wu 戊 is Yang earth （do
not confuse this with the
Wu 午that is the horse and
element Fire）Ji 己is Yin
earth.
Now for some practice, just
to get it right. You may think
this is kindergarten
methodology, but I find it
worked for me, and will
surely work for you.

•  Please highlight the Yin and Yang stems.

•  Do this again and again till you get it right. Use color as much as
possible as it is very helpful in the beginning.
•  Begin at JIA 1甲(Yang Wood). Follow the clockwise order on the 24
mountain chart with the insertion of Wu 戊(Yang Earth) and JI 己(Yin
Earth) which comes in the center between fire and metal.

www.sherrymerchant.com 16  
SCHEHERAZADE
M E R C H A N T
 Heavenly stems in the 24 mountains chart.

www.sherrymerchant.com
You are now going to wonder, that if earth has no direction, then how
does it fit in?
Well it follows the production cycle so lets do this one more time:

•  Wood produces Fire (East clockwise to South)

•  Fire produces Earth. (South detour to the Center)
•  Earth produces Metal (Center to the West)
•  Metal produces Water (West to the North, again clockwise)
•  Water produces Wood (North to the East)

So, tucked between fire and metal on the 24 mountain ring, we take a
slight detour for earth!
Once again, let me remind you that we don’t use the 24 mountains in
BaZi, but I am using it as a tool to help you understand it better, as my
teaching style is a bit different so at this stage, please bear with me.
Now take the time to be sure that you know which the 10 stems are and
where they lie on the 24 mountain ring and all the qualities that we
discussed in the earlier Lesson.
In the next lesson we will discuss the nature of each of the 10 stems so
we end up knowing them like individuals.

www.sherrymerchant.com 17  
SCHEHERAZADE
M E R C H A N T
 Understanding the basics - The 10 Heavenly Stems

www.sherrymerchant.com
YIN STEM YANG STEM

•  The 10 Heavenly Stems are like Clothes and appear on the surface.
Stems appear in the top row of the Ba Zi chart.
•  Stems are visible and obvious, and generally give the impression
that is obvious or what you see at first glance.
•  Stems show the apparent, while branches show what is actual, it’s
the reality.
•  What you see is in the stems, what you get is in the branches.
•  Each rotation of the earth is represented by a stem (day).
The elements are not five but, five into two polarities. That is TEN
elements in reality.
•  Of the ten stems, 5 (YI 乙, DING 丁, JI 己, XIN 辛 GUI 癸) are yin and 5
(JIA 甲, BING 丙, WU 戊, GENG 庚 & REN 壬) are yang.
Yin and yang are only indications of polarity. Yin is not weak and
Yang is not strong. They are equal in strength, just different in the
type of strength each one exudes. Yin and yang only denotes the
NATURE OF THE STRENGTH.
•  Yin is more flexible BUT it is not weaker than yang. If yin is timely, a
yin stem can be stronger than a yang stem.
•  Each stem has qualities that are inborn and indicative of its
strengths and weaknesses. They are visible and have an obvious
character.
•  Stems do not contain time (unless they are rooted). Branches carry
an element of time.

www.sherrymerchant.com 18  
SCHEHERAZADE
M E R C H A N T
 Understanding the basics - The 10 Heavenly Stems

www.sherrymerchant.com
•  1 Stem = 1 day.
•  Stems represent the prevailing Qi.
•  The elements have two polarities, each have their own special
qualities that are different. Selection of the RIGHT element is
important.
•  Problems with stems are temporary.
Chinese is a pictorial language based on characters.
•  In order to know and understand the Ten Heavenly Stems, you must
have an image in your mind. IF you don’t have an image, you will
not be able to understand as well.
•  When you convert Heavenly Stems into pictures, we can see the
quality of a chart. When you look at a Ba Zi chart, it will seem like a
painting and slowly you will see the fine details. At the first look it will
be difficult.
•  Of course you will see the characters. But, unless you convert them
into pictures, give them the elemental values; recognize them as
“individuals” in that chart and know how they present themselves,
then you can start appreciating this art. And that art will explain the
qualities of that person.

www.sherrymerchant.com 19  
SCHEHERAZADE
M E R C H A N T
 Understanding the basics - A brief description of the TEN STEMS

www.sherrymerchant.com
Yang Wood: Big thick wood, large tree trunks, wood pillars,
strong, solid and very sturdy more independent, stubborn,
persistent, deeply rooted.

JIA 甲 Wood requires BING 丙 fire, (the sun) to grow. It grows in North;
its resource (GUI 癸 water, rain). Wood also needs the earth (Ji
3 己) to grow. Wood conquers JI by using it for support. An
appearance of control with JI is harmonious because JIA 甲 + JI
East 1 己 = EARTH.

It also requires XIN 辛 metal (Sentimental) to carve it into an

object of beauty, GENG 庚 is merciless as in the process wood is
destroyed. People of wood Day Master are very versatile.

Yin Wood: Green twigs, leaves, flowers, grass, twine, objects of

beauty. Secretive, grows without you noticing.
YI 乙
These are weak wood and always need support to grow. (No
4 Backbone). Can use fire better hence is more radiant or
prosperous. A twig can catch fire at once.
East 3
Sometimes requires XIN辛 to render it useful. GENG 庚 is overkill.
Will find its way to the sun. also needs GUI 癸 and JI 己。

It has to be seen in the upper stems position.

Should be born in the day time and be there to warm a chart.

A BING 丙 person born in the daytime will have different
qualities from one born at night, as the sun does not shine at
night. Can warm metal and is required to bring warmth to cold
BING 丙 pillars. Eg. If there is too much water in winter (but too much kills
wood).
9
BING 丙cannot produce earth, but can help earth to produce
South 1 metal and can actually nourish the growth of wood. Needs
NOTHING. Cannot be controlled by REN 壬. GUI 癸can control
BING.

Yang Fire: Fire of the Sun.

One SUN is enough. Every chart needs BING 丙, it is required to

render a chart useful.

www.sherrymerchant.com 20  
SCHEHERAZADE
M E R C H A N T
 Understanding the basics - A brief description of the TEN STEMS

www.sherrymerchant.com
Yin Fire: Fire of the cauldron, Candle’s fire, used to forge or
DING 丁   create metal.  
Not useful in the presence of Bing, as in bright sunlight it is of no
9   use. It cannot shine. However, in darkness it can provide light.
Heats/ trains metal. NEEDS resource, but, the wood has to be in
South 3   good condition.  

Yang Earth: Mountain, Boulder, big hard rocks, riverbeds. A dam

makes it usable. Can contain water.  

WU 戊 does not need anything to grow. To become useful, Wu

WU 戊   戊 needs wood to “aerate” it.  
8   Does not need to be produced. Independent people. Fire
hardens earth therefore when there is too much fire, it dries out.
Centre   Can produce metal with great difficulty.  

WU 戊 Day Master cannot be moved. They obstruct others and

expect others to move around them.  

Yin Earth: Soft soil of the earth, sand, mud, paddy fields, is
yielding earth. It does not need anything to grow.  
JI 己   Needs wood to be controlled, in order to make it useful and
productive. JI can produce metal. (When it is not wet) and
2   plants but cannot hold or contain water. It can become
“muddy water” as a result of interaction with water.  
Centre  
For earth people, (2 & 8) and earth Day Master, Fire appears to
produce, or help earth. More fire is more irritation. Only a show.  

GENG 庚   Yang Metal: Raw, unusable metal, machinery, heavy tools,

weapons, axe, sword. Geng 庚 can be used to chop wood.  
6  
This metal cannot be used without being trained or forged. It
West 1   likes to be controlled and NEEDS Ding.  

www.sherrymerchant.com 21  
SCHEHERAZADE
M E R C H A N T
 Understanding the basics - A brief description of the TEN STEMS

www.sherrymerchant.com
XIN 辛 Yin Metal: Jewelry (good for performance) Penknife,
chisel: cannot do hard work, cannot be controlled by Bing
7 丙, need to make use of others.

West 3 This type slowly cutting wood means long term money.

REN 壬 Yang Water: River, sea, lake, big pools of water. Use to
flush out. Cannot be used to grow wood.
1 It needs to be controlled by Wu 戊(Yang Earth).
Will confuse or contaminate Ji 己 (Yin Earth).
North 1
 
Yin Water: Rain, mist, cloud. Use to control fire.

GUI 癸 Cannot be controlled or flush out anything.

1 Used to nourish wood element. Waters plants.

North 3 Yin water (rain) can make the dry earth usable. Can
counter BING 丙.
 

www.sherrymerchant.com 22  
SCHEHERAZADE
M E R C H A N T
 Understanding the basics - The 12 Earthly Branches.

www.sherrymerchant.com
Now that you are familiar with the 24 mountain ring, and hopefully
know where the 10 stems lie, let us locate the 12 branches on the
same ring. This makes it easier to memorize and recollect later on.
Every alternate mountain on the 24 mountain ring consists of an
Earthly Branch. I suppose you have gathered by now that the ring has
24 divisions each called a “mountain”.

In BaZI we refer to the 12 Earthly Branches as another major

component of the chart, and all of then are present in the 24
mountain ring. None in the middle here, just every alternate mountain
and that’s all.

An animal sign – often referred to as the Chinese Zodiac, represents

each of the 12 Branches. The animal’s names are merely
representative and do not indicate or attribute that animal’s quality to
the person or their behavior or attributes.

The animals indicate elements. An animal means nothing. It was used

to help uneducated people understand how to represent and identify
the quality of Qi.

A branch itself has no particular qualities based on its animal name; so

a “pig” is not necessarily a dirty animal, unlike a stem that has very
distinct attributes.

A branch is like a wrapping under which one, two or three STEMS

reside.

Each branch holds 1 to 3 hidden elements (represented by the stems

also known as HIDDEN STEMS because they appear UNDER the branch
in a chart.)

When you say Hai 亥 (Pig) you are actually seeing its hidden stem
Yang WATER , as well as Yang wood. It has absolutely no qualities of an
actual pig, the animal.

Each stem is divided into dominant influences known as main Qi and

gives the branch its primary “flavor” and sub-Qi, and the secondary
and in some cases also the tertiary flavor.

We now understand that each of the 12 Branches carry certain

elemental attributes called “Hidden Stems” which indicate what is
within. It is very important to know the hidden stems because when
you read the pillars, you actually read the hidden stems.

www.sherrymerchant.com 23  
SCHEHERAZADE
M E R C H A N T
 Understanding the basics - The 12 Earthly Branches.

www.sherrymerchant.com
The description by way of the animal is totally meaningless.
The main qi is contained in the “Hidden Stems” of the branches. They
are the feet of the chart.

The hidden element, or Hidden Stem, detail can be found in any

elementary Ba ZI book and we shall look at them for added insight.
In a BaZi chart the stems lie on the top row and indicate what is within,
from the external or superficial aspect. Branches and the hidden
stems actually tell you what is contained within.

A branch contains the quality of time and season and can represent a
Year, Month, Day and Hour. A stem does not have these qualities, they
are simply representative of a singular type of energy.

TRIVIA: Each branch represents an hour of the day (2 normal hours

make one Chinese hour hence; there are 12 hours in a Chinese day).
The revolution of the earth around the sun is divided into 12 phases.
Each Branch also represents a month.

The chart on the following page is a summary of all we need to know.

Locate each of the branches on the 24 mountain ring so you can
remember it. Again I have color coded it so that you can remember
which season each branch belongs to.

You will notice that there is no season of earth, its not a mistake,
explanation in the class on that one.

www.sherrymerchant.com 24  
SCHEHERAZADE
M E R C H A N T
 Understanding the basics – yin & Yang of 12 Earthly Branches.

www.sherrymerchant.com
Animal
Branch Chinese Polarity Element Season Month
Sign
Yin Tiger 寅   Yang Wood February

Mao Rabbit 卯   Yin Wood Spring March

Chen Dragon 辰   Yang Earth April

Si Snake 巳   Yin Fire May

Wu Horse 午   Yang Fire Summer June

Wei Goat 未   Yin Earth July

Shen Monkey 申   Yang Metal August

You Rooster 酉   Yin Metal Autumn September

Xu Dog 戊   Yang Earth October

Hai Pig 亥   Yin Water November

Zi Rat 子   Yang Water Winter December

Chou Ox 丑   Yin Water January

www.sherrymerchant.com 25  
SCHEHERAZADE
M E R C H A N T
 Cardinals – Skyhorses - Graveyards

www.sherrymerchant.com
Now that you are familiar with the 12 Earthly branches, let’s find out
what stems come under each branch. Picture each branch as a
container, with no Qi of its own. Its Qi (quality) comes from its contents.
All branches contain Qi based on a specific pattern. In class I will show
you the pattern, for the moment just try to memorize this pattern.
Get these concepts clear from the start so eventually it all falls into
place.

+  
-­‐   -­‐  
• All branches have a
polarity, they can be either
+   +   Yin or Yang. They alternate in
sequence, Yin-Yang-Yin-Yang
and so on.
Starting with the Tiger who is
-­‐   POLARITY -­‐   Yang polarity, go clockwise
and put the + sign against the
tiger, then – sign against the
rabbit and so on. Now you
+   +   know which branches are yin
and which branches are
Yang.
-­‐   -­‐  
+  

• Each branch belongs to a group: a branch can be one of many

groupings and it is important to remember all these groupings. The
hidden stems are based on these groupings. Once you know the
pattern, you can always calculate the hidden stems of each branch.
The groups are as follows:
1. Cardinal, Sky Horse, Graveyard 2. Seasons
3. Frames
4. Element
The first basic division is the CARDINALS, not to be mistaken for the
aspirer for the Popes position!
The cardinals are the 4 determinants of each quadrant of the 24
mountain ring.
They are also where the pure north, south, east and west reside.
They are the dominant element of each quadrant. Each quadrant can
also be identified by its season, the branches on either side along with
the cardinal makes up a season.

www.sherrymerchant.com 26  
SCHEHERAZADE
M E R C H A N T
 Cardinals – Skyhorses - Graveyards

www.sherrymerchant.com
They are also where the pure
north, south, east and west
reside.

They are the dominant element

of each quadrant. Each
quadrant can also be
Cardinal identified by its season, the
branches on either side along
with the cardinal makes up a
season.

The next category is the sky horse.

These 4 appear in the first month of
each season. They are also known
as the STABLES (storage space of
horses)
These months are:
Sky Horse
Yin 寅(Tiger) February
Si 巳(Snake) May
Shen申(Monkey) August
Hai亥 (Pig) November

The next category is the

Graveyard. These 4 appear in
the last month of each season.
They are also known as the
Graveyard Storages. These months are:
Chen (Dragon) April
Wei (Goat) July
Xu (Dog) October
Chou (Ox) January

www.sherrymerchant.com 27  
SCHEHERAZADE
M E R C H A N T
 Understanding the basics - The Seasons.

www.sherrymerchant.com
The seasons are formed as per the directions so, all 3 branches (Yin,
Mao, Chen) in the East are SPRING, all 3 branches (Si, Wu, Wei) in the
south are SUMMER, all 3 branches (Shen, You, Xu) in the west are
AUTUMN all 3 branches (Hai, Zi, Chou) in the north are WINTER.

HERE WE DISREGARD THE SUB-CARDINAL DIRECTIONS AND ONLY LOOK

AT 4 QUADRANTS, NAMELY North, South, East & West.

We have now accounted for all the 12 branches, and here we can
see clearly color coded, the 4 seasons as they appear in the chart.

SUMMER
SPRING

AUTUMN

SEASON

WINTER

www.sherrymerchant.com 28  
SCHEHERAZADE
M E R C H A N T
 Understanding the basics - The Seasons.

www.sherrymerchant.com
Grouping by the Four Frames:
A branch can also be part of a frame.
There are four frames, each determined by the element of the
cardinal present in that frame.
Each frame is a set containing one each of the cardinal, the sky horse
and the graveyard.
 I have color coded and pictorially represented each of these frames
for you.

WATER
FIRE

METAL WOOD

www.sherrymerchant.com 29  
SCHEHERAZADE
M E R C H A N T
 Understanding the basics - The Seasons.

www.sherrymerchant.com
Season Pinyin Chinese English Name Main Qi Secondary Qi Tertiary Qi
Yin 寅 Tiger 甲 丙 戊
Spring

Mao 卯 Rabbit 乙    
Chen 辰 Dragon 戊 乙 癸
  Autumn   Summer  

Si 巳 Snake 丙 戊  
Wu 午 Horse 丁 己  
Wei 未 Goat 己 丁  
Shen 申 Monkey 庚 乙  
You 酉 Rooster 辛    
Xu 戌 Dog 戊 辛 丁
Hai 亥 Pig 壬 甲  
Winter

Zi 子 Rat 子    
Chou 丑 Ox 己 癸 辛
 "

Element:
Each branch is dominated by an element.
Only 3 branches contain a pure element, all the others contain two or
more elements that which are derived from their HIDDEN STEMS.
Each stem is derived in a different manner depending on whether the
branch is a cardinal, a graveyard or a sky horse.
 
For now, just remember the hidden stems and if you feel up to it, look
for a pattern yourself. If you can’t find it, then just remember them by
heart. Understand each kind of grouping and make sure that you
remember all of them.
 
AND WHAT IS LEFT OUT?
We have accounted for the 10 stems and the 12 branches, we have
24 mountains. So how do we tie it all up?
We have 12 branches, 8 stems (remember the two earth ones don't
actually appear in the 24 mountain ring) so the 4 remaining ones are
the sub cardinals.
They have no hidden element, don't carry time factor like the
branches or any particular characteristic apart from being the anchor
of the 4 Sub Cardinal trigrams.

www.sherrymerchant.com 30  
SCHEHERAZADE
M E R C H A N T
 The irrelevance of Sub-Cardinals in the BaZi context

www.sherrymerchant.com
Sub
Cardinal

In fact they don’t enter any BaZi chart at all. I have specified this so you
don’t get confused while looking at the 24 mountain ring and start
wondering who these imposters are.

For practice, try printing out the following page, make several copies, and
use your color pens to highlight the sets as marked so you get really smart at
this.

Dwell on where the hidden stems come from. Patterns are what make you
see the connections, which make for better assessments quality later on.

In the next lesson, we will go a bit more in detail on the hidden stems.

www.sherrymerchant.com 31  
SCHEHERAZADE
M E R C H A N T
 Practice Page
Make yourself familiar by highlighting the stems & branches based on the central aspect
mentioned, I have done one for you.

www.sherrymerchant.com
Yin Stem Yang Stem

Cardinal Sub cardinal

Sky Horse Graveyard

www.sherrymerchant.com 32  
SCHEHERAZADE
M E R C H A N T
 www.sherrymerchant.com

www.sherrymerchant.com 33  
SCHEHERAZADE
M E R C H A N T