Astrology glossary
Heavenly Stem & Earthly Branch
Ten Stems and twelve Branches — the elemental building blocks of Chinese cosmology, combining into 60 pairs for BaZi.
Meaning
The Heavenly Stems (天干, Tiāngān) and Earthly Branches (地支, Dìzhī) form the foundational binary of classical Chinese cosmology and calendar. The ten Heavenly Stems represent the five elements (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) in both Yin and Yang polarity: Jia (甲) Yang Wood, Yi (乙) Yin Wood, Bing (丙) Yang Fire, Ding (丁) Yin Fire, Wu (戊) Yang Earth, Ji (己) Yin Earth, Geng (庚) Yang Metal, Xin (辛) Yin Metal, Ren (壬) Yang Water, Gui (癸) Yin Water. The twelve Earthly Branches correspond to the twelve Chinese zodiac animals and their associated months and hours: Zi (子, Rat), Chou (丑, Ox), Yin (寅, Tiger), Mao (卯, Rabbit), Chen (辰, Dragon), Si (巳, Snake), Wu (午, Horse), Wei (未, Goat), Shen (申, Monkey), You (酉, Rooster), Xu (戌, Dog), Hai (亥, Pig). These two cycles combine to produce 60 unique Stem-Branch pairings (the sexagenary cycle), which have governed Chinese calendar reckoning since the Shang Dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BCE). In BaZi, Joey Yap (BaZi — The Destiny Code, 2006) explains each stem carries an elemental archetype: Jia Wood is the great tree; Bing Fire is the sun. Raymond Lo (Feng Shui and Destiny, 1995) uses these archetypes as the primary language for reading a BaZi chart's elemental balance and the relationships between its eight characters.
Why it matters
Stems and branches are the alphabet of BaZi and Chinese zodiac — understanding their elemental meanings allows you to read the dynamic interplay of any chart.
Sources
- Yap, Joey, BaZi — The Destiny Code (2006)
- Lo, Raymond, Feng Shui and Destiny (1995)