阴阳
yīn yáng · Yin and Yang
Yin and Yang (阴阳, yīn yáng) is the first division applied to a BaZi chart: five of the ten heavenly stems are yang and five yin, six of the twelve earthly branches are yang and six yin. The split is positional — odd places in each sequence are yang.
It is not decorative. Polarity is what separates a Direct Officer from a Seven Killings, a Direct Wealth from an Indirect Wealth: the elemental relation is the same, and only same-vs-opposite polarity distinguishes the two. It also underlies the direction of the luck cycles and the twelve life stages.
Deep Oracle Editorial Team · 2026-08-07 · 2 min read
Reference tables
| Stem | Element | Polarity |
|---|---|---|
| 甲 | 木 | 阳 |
| 乙 | 木 | 阴 |
| 丙 | 火 | 阳 |
| 丁 | 火 | 阴 |
| 戊 | 土 | 阳 |
| 己 | 土 | 阴 |
| 庚 | 金 | 阳 |
| 辛 | 金 | 阴 |
| 壬 | 水 | 阳 |
| 癸 | 水 | 阴 |
| Branch | Element | Polarity | Hidden stems | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 子 | 水 | 阳 | 癸 | 23:00–01:00 |
| 丑 | 土 | 阴 | 己、癸、辛 | 01:00–03:00 |
| 寅 | 木 | 阳 | 甲、丙、戊 | 03:00–05:00 |
| 卯 | 木 | 阴 | 乙 | 05:00–07:00 |
| 辰 | 土 | 阳 | 戊、乙、癸 | 07:00–09:00 |
| 巳 | 火 | 阴 | 丙、庚、戊 | 09:00–11:00 |
| 午 | 火 | 阳 | 丁、己 | 11:00–13:00 |
| 未 | 土 | 阴 | 己、丁、乙 | 13:00–15:00 |
| 申 | 金 | 阳 | 庚、壬、戊 | 15:00–17:00 |
| 酉 | 金 | 阴 | 辛 | 17:00–19:00 |
| 戌 | 土 | 阳 | 戊、辛、丁 | 19:00–21:00 |
| 亥 | 水 | 阴 | 壬、甲 | 21:00–23:00 |
Worked example
Worked example (solar 1985-01-03 4:00, male, computed by this site's engine):
Pattern: 羊刃格 · Strength: 偏旺 (engine verdicts)
Every one of the eight characters in this chart is yang — what the tradition calls a "pure yang" chart. The engine reads the Day Master as on the strong side, in a Yang Blade pattern. Pure yang is a description of the chart's characters, not a verdict on it: the reading turns on whether that strong water has an outlet, which here it does.
Related terms
Classical sources cited
- 《子平真诠·论十干十二支》
Lookup tables are generated from this site's chart engine; quotations are verified against the cited works.
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