Cornerstones for learning BaZi Astrology
Unlike Western astrology, BaZi does not just study the stars or the houses in the sky, it analyses the relationship between the heaven, the earth, and the people.
Imagine thousands of years ago an ancient sage stands on the ground looking at the boundless sky. It seems the sky impacts to the earth. The day is alternating with the night like a windmill that never stops. Clouds cast over the clear sky and move away. We feel flows of breeze. It rains often. It thunders once in a while. People even build houses as a shelter against the forces of nature, the impact from the sky. But looking down at all the creatures on earth, the earth is also responding the sky! Rain drizzles down from the sky and provides moisture to the forests, but the river also journeys from the land to the sky through evaporation. That is why the ancient sage believes ‘the union of heaven and earth is the origin of the whole of nature.’ If there is no sky or earth, there will be no more lives. All the creatures on this planet are supported by the earth and grow in sunshine and dew, in different ways, including we human beings.
BaZi Astrology is the study of both the sky and the earth and the energy that flows in between. A pillar consists of a Heavenly Stem and an Earthy Branch. The Heavenly Stem represents the sky, which is about acting. The Earthy Branch represents the earth, which is about receiving and reacting.
A pillar can be imagined as a tree with roots underneath and towering leaves above. The Earthly Branch is like the root that lies below the surface of the soil. It is the foundation of a tree. It is hidden but receives all the moisture and nutrients and flows of energies. The Earthly Branch is also the foundation of a pillar. The Heavenly Stem is the visible part of a tree above the ground, presenting itself in action. The Heavenly Stem is also the visible part of a pillar.
Heavenly Stem
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Earthly Branch
There are four cornerstones for learning BaZi Astrology, and the knowledge of these can be applied to almost every area in your journey of learning. It also provides the foundation to understanding other studies of Chinese Metaphysics, including Yi-Jing (I-Ching) and Traditional Chinese Medicine. Each concept will be expanded in later chapters.
The four cornerstones are:
Yin-Yang
Five Elements
Heavenly Stems
Earthy Branches