六害 (Branch Harms, Liù Hài) — “Six Harms”. Six pairs of branches that produce passive friction when present together. The 六害 register indicates ongoing low-grade obstruction, missed opportunities, and the slow erosion of progress.
BaZi 六害: classical interaction patterns
Branch harms (六害) describe six pairs of earthly branches that produce passive friction when present together in a chart. Unlike clashes (forced volatility) or penalties (self-imposed harm), harms are about ongoing low-grade obstruction — patterns of missed opportunities, plans that don't quite come together, or the slow erosion of progress through accumulated small frictions. Classical doctrine reads harms as the mildest of the four 'difficulty' registers, but also the most-pervasive — they often lurk in charts that otherwise read favourably.
The branch harms register is one of five classical interaction patterns (沖合刑害) that BaZi practitioners look for when reading a chart. The other four are clashes (沖), trines (三合), hexes (六合), penalties (三刑), and harms (六害). A complete chart reading identifies all activated configurations across the four pillars and reads them in the context of the Day Master, the Useful God, and the luck-pillar transitions.
Frequently asked questions
What are BaZi branch harms?
Six pairs of branches that produce passive friction when present together. The 六害 register indicates ongoing low-grade obstruction, missed opportunities, and the slow erosion of progress. The classical 六害 register is one of the five branch-interaction patterns BaZi practitioners look for when reading a chart's four pillars (year, month, day, hour).
How many branch harms are there?
6 classical branch harms are recognised in the standard BaZi doctrine. Each is listed above with its branch combination, classical register, and link to the dedicated reference page.
Are branch harms always bad?
No. The default register is passive friction, but the actual impact on a chart depends on which elements are involved, where in the chart they appear, what the Day Master needs, and which luck pillar is currently operating. Chart-aware reading is the only way to know whether a specific configuration helps or harms a specific chart.
BAZI 1:1 CONSULTATION
Get a chart-aware BaZi reading for your specific question.
Master Sean Chan’s BaZi consultation reads your full four-pillar chart against your specific question — including which branch clashes, trines, hexes, penalties, and harms are activating in your chart, and what they mean for the issue you’re working through.
Master Sean Chan’s free BaZi Calculator plots your full four-pillar chart from your birth date and time. Use it to see which branches are present in your chart and identify the interactions that may be activating.
Master Sean Chan’s BaZi Bootcamp covers the full doctrine of branch interactions — clashes, trines, hexes, penalties, harms — and how they activate in luck-pillar transitions. Teaches the methodology these reference pages deliberately omit.