庚辰 is the 17th combination in the 60 Jiazi (六十甲子) sexagenary cycle, pairing the Heavenly Stem 庚 (Yang Metal) with the Earthly Branch 辰 (the Dragon). Each Jiazi carries a fixed elemental character and reads differently depending on where it sits in a BaZi chart and what Day Master it is being interpreted against.
庚辰 (Yang Metal Dragon) summary: position 17 of 60 in the sexagenary cycle. Heavenly Stem 庚 = Yang Metal. Earthly Branch 辰 = Dragon, primary element Earth. Hidden stems: 戊 (Yang Earth), 乙 (Yin Wood), 癸 (Yin Water). Stem-on-branch relationship from the stem’s perspective: resource (branch produces stem).
About 庚辰 (Yang Metal Dragon)
In the 60 Jiazi sexagenary cycle, 庚辰 (Yang Metal Dragon) sits at position 17 of 60. It pairs the Heavenly Stem 庚 — the Yang expression of Metal, covered in depth in the Yang Metal Day Master entry — with the Earthly Branch 辰 (the Dragon), whose primary element is Earth and which secondarily holds the hidden stems 戊 (Yang Earth), 乙 (Yin Wood), 癸 (Yin Water).
The classical character of any Jiazi comes from two structural questions: what relationship the branch element has to the stem element above it, and whether the stem has a “root” in any of the branch’s hidden stems. Both are deterministic and apply consistently wherever this Jiazi appears in a chart — Year, Month, Day, or Hour pillar — though the practical implication shifts with position.
How 庚 sits on 辰
The branch’s element produces the stem. 辰 feeds 庚 — in BaZi terms, the branch acts as resource (印). 庚辰 is nourished and supported from below; the stem has natural backing without having to earn it. This is read as an “auspicious” structural pairing only when the chart actually needs more of Metal; an over-resourced chart reads differently.
庚 is unrooted in this Jiazi: none of the hidden stems in 辰 share Metal, so the visible stem floats on a foreign element. The stem’s strength comes from elsewhere in the chart (other pillars carrying Metal); without that support, the stem is read as “weak” or unstable.
Hidden stems within 辰
辰 carries 戊 (Yang Earth), 乙 (Yin Wood), 癸 (Yin Water) as hidden stems. In BaZi these are latent influences: they only surface when the rest of the chart triggers them — through combinations involving 辰, through clashes that crack open the branch, or through transformations during specific Luck Pillars.
From 庚’s perspective, the hidden stems represent the following Ten God relationships: 戊 as 偏印 Indirect Resource; 乙 as 正財 Direct Wealth; 癸 as 傷官 Hurting Officer. These determine what kinds of opportunity, pressure, or support emerge from 辰 when it is activated.
Nayin classification: 白蜡金 (White-Wax Gold)
In the classical Nayin (納音) system, every pair of consecutive Jiazis maps to one of 30 named “sounding elements” — an alternative elemental classification used alongside the standard Five Phases. 庚辰 is classified as 白蜡金 (Bái là jīn, “White-Wax Gold”), with an underlying element of Metal.
Nayin is read as a poetic, descriptive layer rather than a structural one: the imagery of the name (“White-Wax Gold”) implies how the Jiazi’s elemental quality manifests in practice. 庚辰 shares its Nayin with one other Jiazi: 辛巳 (Yin Metal Snake). Together, this pair forms the 白蜡金 Nayin set.
Combinations & clashes for 辰
Every Earthly Branch has exactly one combination partner (六合) and one clash partner (六沖). When a chart contains both members of a pair, the relationship transforms or destabilises that pillar. 辰’s pairings:
In BaZi, the twelve Earthly Branches form four 3-Harmony groups (三合): trios that, when all three branches appear together in a chart, combine to produce a single elemental phase. 辰 belongs to the 申+子+辰 group, which combines into Water. The other two branches in this group are 申 and 子.
When 辰 appears with both partner branches, the resulting elemental transformation can dominate the chart’s reading. Even a partial harmony (two of the three branches) creates a noticeable pull toward Water. Other Jiazis carrying the partner branches: 甲子, 壬申, 丙子, 甲申, 戊子, 丙申, 庚子, 戊申, 壬子, 庚申.
Direction set: Spring (寅+卯+辰)
The four direction sets (三會) group the twelve Earthly Branches by season and cardinal direction: 辰 belongs to 寅+卯+辰 — the Spring group, associated with East and the Wood element.
Direction sets carry a “seasonal weight” that complements the 3-Harmony grouping. Where 3-Harmony combines distant branches into one element, direction sets combine three sequential branches representing the early/middle/late phase of one season. Other Jiazis sharing this direction set: 丙寅, 丁卯, 戊寅, 己卯, 庚寅, 辛卯, 壬寅, 癸卯, 甲寅, 乙卯.
How 庚辰’s Year Stem reads against each Day Master
When 庚辰 sits at the Year Pillar, its stem (庚) takes on a different Ten God meaning depending on the chart owner’s Day Master. Each row below is computed deterministically from the elemental and polarity relationship.
The 60 Jiazi cycle repeats every 60 years, so 庚辰 appears at fixed intervals. Within the 1900–2030 reference range, the years carrying 庚辰 are below. Each links to a full reference page for that calendar year.
庚辰 is the 17th of 60 stem-branch combinations in the Chinese sexagenary cycle. It pairs the Heavenly Stem 庚 with the Earthly Branch 辰 (Dragon). The cycle repeats every 60 years, so years carrying 庚辰 appear at fixed intervals.
What years are 庚辰 years?
Within 1900–2030, the years carrying 庚辰 are: 1940, 2000. Each is exactly 60 years apart. For example, someone born in 1940 and someone born in 2000 share the same Year Pillar (庚辰) but lead different lives shaped by their individual Day Pillars and Luck Pillars.
Is 庚辰 a good Jiazi?
BaZi doesn’t classify Jiazis as universally good or bad. 庚辰 carries a specific elemental and structural character (resource (branch produces stem)) that reads as helpful for some Day Masters and challenging for others. Whether it’s welcome in a particular chart depends on that chart’s overall composition and what elements the Day Master needs.
What is the difference between Jiazi and Day Master?
Day Master refers specifically to the Heavenly Stem in the Day Pillar — one of four stems in a chart. Jiazi refers to the entire stem-branch pair in any pillar (Year, Month, Day, or Hour). When 庚辰 appears at the Day Pillar, the 庚 stem becomes that person’s Day Master; in any other pillar, 庚辰 is read as a contextual influence around the Day Master.
Further reading from the blog
Selected posts from Master Sean Chan’s blog that cover this topic or closely related ones in practice:
庚辰’s meaning depends entirely on which pillar it occupies in your chart and how it interacts with the other three pillars. Book a one-on-one BaZi consultation with Master Sean Chan ($588–$788) for a rigorous, personalised analysis.
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