EDITORIAL DESK · 123 entries
Eastern Divination
Learn Bazi, Zi Wei Dou Shu, Liuyao, Yin–Yang, Five Phases, stems, branches, calendars, and hexagrams.
Eastern divination is not one system. Bazi, Zi Wei Dou Shu, Liuyao, and related traditions share vocabulary drawn from calendars, Yin–Yang, the Five Phases, stems, branches, and the Book of Changes, but they organize evidence differently.
Start with the shared foundations, then follow the charting and reading rules of one method before comparing schools.
CHINESE ZODIAC
Meet all twelve animals
Explore birth-year boundaries, Earthly Branches, Five-Phase context, cultural symbolism, and responsible interpretation.
RatMeaning, years & branchOxMeaning, years & branchTigerMeaning, years & branchRabbitMeaning, years & branchDragonMeaning, years & branchSnakeMeaning, years & branchHorseMeaning, years & branchGoatMeaning, years & branchMonkeyMeaning, years & branchRoosterMeaning, years & branchDogMeaning, years & branchPigMeaning, years & branch
Start here
A reading order for newcomers before moving into glossary and case material.
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Definitions, methods, cases, reading guides, and cross-links filed in this desk.
01Chinese Zodiac in Contemporary Design: A Context-First GuideEastern DivinationEnglish↗02How to Read Ganzhi Dates in Historical RecordsEastern DivinationEnglish↗03Chinese Zodiac Goat: Years, Meaning, Element and Wei BranchEastern DivinationEnglish↗04Chinese Zodiac Dragon: Years, Meaning, Element & Chen BranchEastern DivinationEnglish↗05Chinese Zodiac Time Zones, Midnight Boundaries, and Date ConversionEastern DivinationEnglish↗06Chinese Zodiac Directions and Seasons: A Comparative Branch MapEastern DivinationEnglish↗07Chinese Zodiac Birth-Year Lookup: Lunar New Year or Li Chun?Eastern DivinationEnglish↗08Chinese Zodiac Tiger: Years, Meaning, Traits, and ElementsEastern DivinationEnglish↗09Earthly Branches Guide: Order, Months, Hours, and Five PhasesEastern DivinationEnglish↗10Chinese Zodiac Ox: Years, Meaning, Traits, and ElementsEastern DivinationEnglish↗11Chinese Zodiac Rabbit: Years, Meaning, Traits, and ElementsEastern DivinationEnglish↗12Chinese Zodiac Days: What a Day Animal Means and Why Calculators DifferEastern DivinationEnglish↗13Chinese Zodiac Months: Branch Months and Solar-Term BoundariesEastern DivinationEnglish↗14Chinese Zodiac Names in English: Rat or Mouse, Goat or Sheep, Pig or BoarEastern DivinationEnglish↗15Chinese Zodiac Rat: Meaning, Years, Element, and Earthly BranchEastern DivinationEnglish↗16Building a Responsible Chinese Zodiac Study JournalEastern DivinationEnglish↗17Chinese Zodiac Traditions in Migration and Diaspora CommunitiesEastern DivinationEnglish↗18Chinese Zodiac Stamps and Coins: Reading Commemorative Objects CarefullyEastern DivinationEnglish↗19Chinese Zodiac in Public Festivals and Community ParadesEastern DivinationEnglish↗20Learning the Twelve Animals in Order: Branches, Hours, Months, and MnemonicsEastern DivinationEnglish↗21Chinese Zodiac vs Western Zodiac: Different Calendars and Interpretive SystemsEastern DivinationEnglish↗22Tai Sui and the Chinese Zodiac: Tradition, Year Gods, and Interpretive LimitsEastern DivinationEnglish↗23Heavenly Stems Guide: Order, Yin-Yang, Five Phases, and RelationsEastern DivinationEnglish↗24Chinese Zodiac as a Family-History Tool: Interviews, Calendars, and MemoryEastern DivinationEnglish↗25How to Research a Chinese Zodiac Claim: Texts, Museums, Calendars, and SourcesEastern DivinationEnglish↗26Chinese Zodiac Personality Claims: Folklore, Modern Profiles, and EvidenceEastern DivinationEnglish↗27Chinese Zodiac Almanacs: How Popular Year Books Organize TimeEastern DivinationEnglish↗28Chinese Zodiac in Classical Literature, Stories, and IdiomsEastern DivinationEnglish↗29Chinese Zodiac and Lunar New Year: Calendars, Decorations, and Family CustomsEastern DivinationEnglish↗30Chinese Zodiac 60-Year Cycle: Stems, Branches, and AnimalsEastern DivinationEnglish↗31History of the Chinese Zodiac: From Branches to Animal LegendsEastern DivinationEnglish↗322026 Fire Horse Year: Dates, Meaning, and Calendar BoundariesEastern DivinationEnglish↗33Ben Ming Nian: What a Chinese Zodiac Year Return MeansEastern DivinationEnglish↗34Chinese Zodiac Compatibility: Pairings, Triads, and LimitsEastern DivinationEnglish↗35Chinese Zodiac Animals in Art: From Tomb Figures to Jade SetsEastern DivinationEnglish↗36Chinese Zodiac Around Asia: Regional Animal and Calendar VariantsEastern DivinationEnglish↗37Chinese Zodiac Hours: The Twelve Double-Hours ExplainedEastern DivinationEnglish↗38Chinese Zodiac vs Bazi: What a Birth-Year Animal Can Tell YouEastern DivinationEnglish↗39Bazi Hurting Officer Meeting Officer: When Does It Matter?Eastern DivinationEnglish↗40Bazi Hurting Officer Paired with Resource: A Conditional MethodEastern DivinationEnglish↗41Bazi Na Yin: Reading the Sixty Stem-Branch Sound LabelsEastern DivinationEnglish↗42Bazi Timing Evidence and Uncertainty: A Reviewable MethodEastern DivinationEnglish↗43Bazi Void: How Xun Kong Is Calculated and ReadEastern DivinationEnglish↗44Chinese Zodiac Dog: Meaning, Years, Element, and Earthly BranchEastern DivinationEnglish↗45Chinese Zodiac Horse: Meaning, Years, Element, and Earthly BranchEastern DivinationEnglish↗46Chinese Zodiac Monkey: Meaning, Years, Element, and Earthly BranchEastern DivinationEnglish↗47Chinese Zodiac Pig: Meaning, Years, Element, and Earthly BranchEastern DivinationEnglish↗48Chinese Zodiac Rooster: Meaning, Years, Element, and Earthly BranchEastern DivinationEnglish↗49Chinese Zodiac Snake: Meaning, Years, Element, and Earthly BranchEastern DivinationEnglish↗50Qi in East Asian Esoteric Systems: A Practical GuideEastern DivinationEnglish↗51Zi Wei Dou Shu Empty Palaces: A Step-by-Step Reading MethodEastern DivinationEnglish↗52Liu Yao Fu Shen: How to Read a Hidden SignificatorEastern DivinationEnglish↗53Liu Yao Six Spirits: How to Use Liu Shen Without OverreadingEastern DivinationEnglish↗54Zi Wei Dou Shu Star Brightness: Reading Miao and XianEastern DivinationEnglish↗55Zi Wei Dou Shu Auxiliary Stars: A Context-First Reading MethodEastern DivinationEnglish↗56Zi Wei Dou Shu vs Western Astrology: How the Systems DifferEastern DivinationEnglish↗57Bazi Symbolic Stars: Shen Sha and Their LimitsEastern DivinationEnglish↗58Bazi Annual and Luck Pillars Arriving TogetherEastern DivinationEnglish↗59Bazi Luck Pillar Transitions: Reading Jiao Yun CarefullyEastern DivinationEnglish↗60Bazi Time-Layer Hierarchy: Natal, Luck, and Annual EvidenceEastern DivinationEnglish↗61Bazi Six Relations: Mapping Ten Gods with Ethical LimitsEastern DivinationEnglish↗62Bazi Conception Origin, Life Palace, and Body PalaceEastern DivinationEnglish↗63Establishing Prosperity and Month Blade in BaziEastern DivinationEnglish↗64Wealth Nourishing a Weak Seven Killings in BaziEastern DivinationEnglish↗65Eating God Controlling Seven Killings in BaziEastern DivinationEnglish↗66Bazi Repeated and Reversed Echoes: Fu Yin and Fan YinEastern DivinationEnglish↗67Mixed Officer and Seven Killings in BaziEastern DivinationEnglish↗68Bazi Dominant Single-Phase Structures: Testing Zhuan Wang GeEastern DivinationEnglish↗69Bazi Transformation-Qi Structures: Testing Hua Qi ConditionsEastern DivinationEnglish↗70Bazi Following Structures: True and False FollowingEastern DivinationEnglish↗71Bazi Goat Blade: Controls, Conditions, and Reading StepsEastern DivinationEnglish↗72Bazi Indirect Resource Taking Eating God: A Conditional MethodEastern DivinationEnglish↗73Bazi Earthly Branch Combinations: Six, Three, and MeetingsEastern DivinationEnglish↗74Bazi Tombs and Storage: Opening and Closing the Four BranchesEastern DivinationEnglish↗75Bazi Clash, Punishment, Harm, and Break: Reading ConditionsEastern DivinationEnglish↗76Bazi Heavenly Stem Combinations: He Hua and Transformation ConditionsEastern DivinationEnglish↗77Bazi Roots and Rooted Qi: How Tong Gen Supports a ChartEastern DivinationEnglish↗78Bazi Structure and Function: How Ti Yong Organizes a ChartEastern DivinationEnglish↗79Bazi Emptiness and Fullness: Truth, Falsity, and ResponseEastern DivinationEnglish↗80Bazi Stem-Branch Configuration: Reading Gan Zhi ArrangementEastern DivinationEnglish↗81Bazi Upper and Lower Support: Reading Vertical CoherenceEastern DivinationEnglish↗82Bazi Flow and Obstruction: Testing Continuity and BlockageEastern DivinationEnglish↗83Bazi Source and Flow: Tracing Yuan Liu Through a ChartEastern DivinationEnglish↗84Bazi Bridging Obstructed Phases: How Tong Guan Connects a ChartEastern DivinationEnglish↗85Bazi Clarity and Turbidity: Reading Qing ZhuoEastern DivinationEnglish↗86Bazi Illness-and-Remedy: Finding Structural ObstructionsEastern DivinationEnglish↗87Bazi Support and Restraint: A Fu Yi Reading MethodEastern DivinationEnglish↗88Bazi Climate Regulation: Tiao Hou and Seasonal BalanceEastern DivinationEnglish↗89Bazi Seasonal Command: Reading Yue Ling as Qi and ClimateEastern DivinationEnglish↗90Bazi Stem Exposure: When Hidden Stems Become VisibleEastern DivinationEnglish↗91Canggan GlossaryEastern DivinationEnglish↗92Jieqi GlossaryEastern DivinationEnglish↗93Dongyao GlossaryEastern DivinationEnglish↗94Yongshen GlossaryEastern DivinationEnglish↗95Shiying GlossaryEastern DivinationEnglish↗96Sihua GlossaryEastern DivinationEnglish↗97Sanfang Sizheng GlossaryEastern DivinationEnglish↗98Shishen GlossaryEastern DivinationEnglish↗99Yueling GlossaryEastern DivinationEnglish↗100Rizhu GlossaryEastern DivinationEnglish↗101A Guide to Eastern Divination TraditionsEastern DivinationEnglish↗102Zi Wei Reading OrderEastern DivinationEnglish↗103Zi Wei Life And Body PalacesEastern DivinationEnglish↗104Zi Wei Four TransformationsEastern DivinationEnglish↗105Zi Wei Fourteen Main StarsEastern DivinationEnglish↗106Liuyao Strength And RelationsEastern DivinationEnglish↗107Liuyao Time FactorsEastern DivinationEnglish↗108Liuyao Six RelationsEastern DivinationEnglish↗109Liuyao Self And ResponseEastern DivinationEnglish↗110Liuyao Changing LinesEastern DivinationEnglish↗111Bazi Reading OrderEastern DivinationEnglish↗112Bazi Annual TransitsEastern DivinationEnglish↗113Bazi Luck PillarsEastern DivinationEnglish↗114Bazi PatternsEastern DivinationEnglish↗115Bazi Strength DebatesEastern DivinationEnglish↗116Bazi Day Master And MonthEastern DivinationEnglish↗117Bagua BasicsEastern DivinationEnglish↗118Stem Branch RelationsEastern DivinationEnglish↗119Hidden Stems GuideEastern DivinationEnglish↗120Yin Yang BasicsEastern DivinationEnglish↗121Liuyao For BeginnersEastern DivinationEnglish↗122Zi Wei Dou Shu For BeginnersEastern DivinationEnglish↗123Bazi For BeginnersEastern DivinationEnglish↗
Questions readers ask
Short answers to common starting-point questions in this desk.
Is Bazi the same as the Chinese zodiac?
No. The zodiac animal uses the birth year, while Bazi converts the year, month, day, and hour into four stem-branch pillars.
How are Bazi, Zi Wei Dou Shu, and Liuyao different?
Bazi and Zi Wei Dou Shu usually begin with birth data and construct different natal frameworks. Liuyao begins with a specific question and a primary and transformed hexagram.
Do all schools use the same rules?
No. Calendar conventions, chart settings, terminology, and interpretive priorities can differ. A careful reading states which rules it follows.