The Twelve Stages of Growth in Bát Tự: A Life-Cycle Model of Rise and Decline

Is the Life Cycle in Bát Tự a favorable or unfavorable factor when the self is strong or weak?

The Life Cycle is only a secondary measure for prosperity and decline, so it does not by itself become favorable or unfavorable. When the self is strong, the Life Cycle stage of the Day Master at the branches makes the self even stronger, and at that point it becomes unfavorable if the month order and the structural pattern already lean toward restraint. When the self is weak, that stage becomes a support, and can become favorable if the useful god needs to be generated and assisted. It only becomes the useful god when the element of that stage is itself the element needed to rebalance the chart, for example through mediation, climate adjustment or the remedy. With follow patterns, the conclusion reverses entirely. To grasp this fully, see What is the 'Useful God' (Yong Shen) in BaZi (Four Pillars)? and Strong self, weak self.

What do the twelve stages of the life cycle consist of?

The cycle consists of 12 stages linked in a closed loop. The table below lists the Sino-Vietnamese names, their meanings, and the corresponding energy level.

Note that the "energy level" column is only a three-level convention for ease of reading, not a continuous scale. The assignment of prosperous or declining to each stage differs somewhat among the texts, especially at the middle stages such as Mộc Dục, Quan Đới and Mộ. What is certain is the two ends: Trường Sinh, Lâm Quan and Đế Vượng belong to the prosperous group; Bệnh, Tử and Tuyệt belong to the declining group.

How does the Life Cycle operate?

Each Heavenly Stem among the Ten Stems (Giáp, Ất, Bính, Đinh, Mậu, Kỷ, Canh, Tân, Nhâm, Quý) has its own starting Earthly Branch for Trường Sinh. From that starting point, the cycle moves clockwise through the 12 Earthly Branches for yang stems, and counter-clockwise for yin stems.

For example, Giáp (Yang Wood) has Trường Sinh at Hợi, then proceeds clockwise: Tý is Mộc Dục, Sửu is Quan Đới, Dần is Lâm Quan, Mão is Đế Vượng (the true position of Wood), Thìn is Suy, and so on until the cycle closes. Conversely, Ất (Yin Wood), according to Tử Bình Chân Thuyên (chapter 3) and Uyên Hải Tử Bình, starts Trường Sinh at Ngọ and moves counter-clockwise: Tỵ is Mộc Dục, Thìn is Quan Đới, Mão is Lâm Quan, Dần is Đế Vượng; while the theory that yin and yang are born together and die together has Ất start together with Giáp at Hợi and move clockwise like Giáp.

The opposing directions between yang and yin stems are the most easily confused point when consulting the table. To know whether a stem is prosperous or declining at a specific pillar (Year, Month, Day, Hour), the practitioner matches that stem against the Earthly Branch of the corresponding pillar, then looks up the stage.

The starting table of Trường Sinh for all ten stems according to Uyên Hải Tử Bình

According to the section "On the birth, prosperity, death and extinction of the Heavenly Stems" in Uyên Hải Tử Bình, the yang stems move clockwise and start Trường Sinh as follows: Giáp starts at Hợi, Bính and Mậu start at Dần, Canh starts at Tị, Nhâm starts at Thân. The yin stems move counter-clockwise and start Trường Sinh as follows: Ất starts at Ngọ, Đinh and Kỷ start at Dậu, Tân starts at Tý, Quý starts at Mão.

According to this table, Ất has Trường Sinh at Ngọ, Mộc Dục at Tị, Quan Đới at Thìn, Lâm Quan at Mão, Đế Vượng at Dần, Tử at Hợi. By comparison: Tử Bình Chân Thuyên also has Ất born at Ngọ and moving counter-clockwise, matching Uyên Hải on this passage. The formulation that Ất starts Trường Sinh at Hợi and then moves counter-clockwise (Tuất Mộc Dục, Dậu Quan Đới, Thân Lâm Quan, Mùi Đế Vượng) does not match either of the two works just cited, so it should be discarded.

Why do yang stems move clockwise while yin stems move counter-clockwise?

Chapter 3 of Tử Bình Chân Thuyên explains: yang governs gathering, so it advances; yin governs dispersing, so it retreats. Giáp is the energy of branches and leaves, born at Hợi and dying at Ngọ, because in the month of Ngọ the trees look lush outwardly while the inner life force has already been fully discharged. Ất is the substance of the tree; in the month of Ngọ the branches and leaves are abundant, so it is reckoned as birth, and in the month of Hợi the leaves fall, so it is reckoned as death.

This explanation matches the starting table in the section above: Giáp has Trường Sinh at Hợi and Tử at Ngọ; Ất has Trường Sinh at Ngọ and Tử at Hợi. The two stems share the Wood element yet have opposite positions of birth and death, and this is precisely the consequence of distinguishing energy from substance.

Is there a school that holds that yin and yang are born together and die together?

Yes. This is where the texts disagree, so both sides must be presented.

On the side advocating that yin and yang are born together and die together: Từ Nhạc Ngô, in his commentary on chapter 3 of Tử Bình Chân Thuyên, writes that birth, prosperity, tomb and extinction belong to the five elements and not to the ten stems, and that the yin Trường Sinh has no force. The original commentary of Trích Thiên Tủy raises the question: Ất dies at Hợi, yet Hợi hides Nhâm which generates Ất, so why call it death? Nhâm Thiết Tiều proposes that Ất meeting Ngọ, Kỷ meeting Dậu, Tân meeting Tý, Quý meeting Mão should be reckoned as the Eating God discharging energy, while Ất meeting Hợi and Quý meeting Thân should be reckoned as the Seal.

An illustrative example: the pillars Bính Tý, Kỷ Hợi, Ất Hợi, Bính Tý. If one follows the yin counter-clockwise method, Ất is ill at Tý and dies at Hợi, making it extremely weak; whereas Master Nhâm reads this chart in the direction of water and wood in excess. The two readings give two opposite conclusions on the same chart.

Three ways of starting the cycle for yin stems, in summary: Uyên Hải Tử Bình and the original text of Tử Bình Chân Thuyên have yin stems start separately and move counter-clockwise (Ất born at Ngọ); Từ Nhạc Ngô and Nhâm Thiết Tiều have yin and yang born together and dying together according to the five elements (Ất also born at Hợi but moving clockwise like Giáp). Mixing the two theories into something no text writes is wrong.

There is also a divergence regarding Earth: the Uyên Hải table has Mậu following Bính and starting at Dần, Kỷ following Đinh and starting at Dậu, but the very section "On Birth and Prosperity" in that book writes Mậu at Tị and Kỷ at Ngọ; while Từ Nhạc Ngô rejects the theory that Earth follows Water and is born at Thân.

How does the Life Cycle connect with hidden stems and the four births, four cardinal points and four tombs?

Dần, Thân, Tị and Hợi are where the five elements have their Trường Sinh and Lâm Quan, called the four births. Tý, Ngọ, Mão and Dậu are Đế Vượng, called the four cardinal points. Thìn, Tuất, Sửu and Mùi are tombs, called the four tombs.

Thus Dần hides Giáp (Giáp at Lâm Quan) together with Bính and Mậu (Trường Sinh). Tử Bình Chân Thuyên sums it up: Lộc is at Lâm Quan, defeat is at Mộc Dục, meaning Lâm Quan is precisely the Lộc of the stem.

What is the practical use of the Life Cycle?

Its main use is to measure rootedness. Từ Nhạc Ngô writes that a stem is rooted not only at Lộc and Vượng, but that Trường Sinh, residual energy and the tomb vault are all roots, so Giáp and Ất meeting Hợi, Thìn and Mùi all have roots. Chapter "Prosperity and Decline" of Trích Thiên Tủy says two Stems of the same kind assisting are not equal to one branch of Trường Sinh or Lộc Vượng. Chapter 17 of Tử Bình Chân Thuyên distinguishes the days Nhâm Thìn and Bính Tuất as sitting on a vault with roots, whereas Bính Thìn and Nhâm Tuất are not, and at the same time rejects the theory that the tomb vault must be clashed to activate.

The Life Cycle is used as a supplementary layer of information, combined with the overall assessment of the Day Master's prosperity and decline by season (prosperous, strong, resting, imprisoned, dead) and the relationships of punishment, clash, combination and harm among the branches.

The stages Trường Sinh, Lâm Quan and Đế Vượng are usually regarded as the prosperous group, showing that the stem's energy is abundant. Bệnh, Tử and Tuyệt are the declining group, showing weak energy that needs further support from other factors in the chart. The Mộ stage in particular carries special meaning, often used to discuss storage and accumulation, or in some cases relating to health and funerals, depending on which pillar the Mộ falls in.

The point to hold on to is this cycle's place in the chain: it belongs to the step of measuring prosperity and decline, contributes to the criterion of being well-positioned, and does not replace the overall assessment of the five elements of the whole chart. Using it apart from that chain makes it easy to misuse.

Should the Trường Sinh stages be read mechanically as auspicious or inauspicious?

No. Uyên Hải Tử Bình assigns Trường Sinh, Quan Đới, Lâm Quan and Đế Vượng as auspicious; Mộc Dục, Suy and Bệnh as not auspicious; Tử and Tuyệt as inauspicious; Thai as half auspicious. But that same book, in the section "Further on the auspicious and inauspicious birth, prosperity, decline and extinction of the five elements", warns: the day Bính with the hour Hợi (Bính is extinct at Hợi) often has many noble configurations because Hợi contains Giáp, which is the Seal, while the day Mậu with the hour Tị (Mậu's Lộc is at Tị) does not make an official prominent because Tị generates metal, which is the Hurting Officer.

That is, assigning auspiciousness and inauspiciousness by individual stage is only a reference layer, and it must be set beside the hidden stems and the ten gods to be read correctly. For the same reason, the energy level column in the table above does not replace Uyên Hải's assignment of auspiciousness and inauspiciousness, where Mộc Dục is recorded as not auspicious and Thai as half auspicious.

Is the illustration of the Life Cycle currently in use from Bát Tự?

No. The illustration attached to the article is annotated as starting according to the configuration, moving clockwise or counter-clockwise according to yin and yang and male or female. That is the Tràng Sinh cycle of Tử Vi (Vietnamese astrology), which starts according to the configuration and according to gender. The Life Cycle of Bát Tự differs in that it starts according to each stem, each stem having its own starting point, and it does not use the configuration and is not divided by male or female.

Overview article on the topic: What Is Bazi (Four Pillars of Destiny)? Reading Fate Through Eight Characters