What A Good
BaZi Report Looks Like

Dear Client,

Thank you so much for being patient and waiting the full 15 working days. I've changed how I write reports over the years, so this will be a completely fresh one. I've accumulated a lot more experience since your last consultation with me — and if you hear anything different this time, the current report supersedes whatever I said previously.

How this will work: I'll break down your chart so you have some understanding of it. I'll bring in your partner's chart in the later part of the report, but please note it will feel shorter — I won't be repeating foundational concepts.

Some parts of the report are templated — those are the sections meant to prime you to understand the thought process behind the chart. The parts unique to your specific chart are where my knowledge and experience come in. Please don't worry about me making things up.

The charts will be in Chinese. You are not expected to understand them. Focus on my input. I'll point out where to look when I reference any technical detail. Treat this as a conversation — we will be exchanging a number of emails in the coming days or weeks.

Techniques Used

• The report is primarily framed through BaZi — it is the most accessible technique for laypeople to follow.
• Zi Wei Dou Shu (紫微斗數) will be introduced where it adds depth or clarifies root causes — at my discretion.
• Qi Men Dun Jia (奇門遁甲) will be applied for short-term tactical or situational questions — also at my discretion.
• All three methods will point in the same direction, even if they express it differently. Don't worry about which one I'm using at any given point.

Some parts may feel technical. That is intentional — the technicalities are included to demonstrate that the analysis is rigorous and traceable to theory, not to require you to understand them.

BaZi is essentially a timekeeping system. The Four Pillars represent the Year, Month, Day, and Hour of your birth. The top row is the Heavenly Stems (天干); the bottom row is the Earthly Branches (地支). These eight characters — your 八字 — form the natal chart.

Your natal chart represents your foundation and what you were born with: your family, character, flaws, and talents. Your Luck Pillars (大運) and Annual Phases (流年運) are shown in the horizontal rows below the natal chart — these describe how your life unfolds from that foundation.

Of the eight characters in your natal chart, your Day Master represents you as a person. The surrounding seven characters represent other aspects of your life — each position has an associated element that manifests as a 'god' with its own traits and characteristics.

Your Day Master is 戊土 Yang Earth born during autumn in the month of 申 where Metal is dominant.

Four Steps of Chart Analysis

1. Ensuring the Day Master is balanced — neither too weak nor too strong (中和為貴). The strength of your Day Master cannot be artificially altered. It describes how your life unfolds; it is fixed.
2. Ensuring favourable elements that uphold the chart structure (格局) continue to do so, and that unfavourable elements are controlled by the Elemental Phases you move through.
3. Paying attention to the season of birth and whether the environmental conditions are balanced — a chart cannot be too 'hot'/'cold' or 'dry'/'wet' (調候法).
4. Recognising that your Elemental Phases form part of your chart. The remedies to your natal chart's imbalances must often be found within the Phases themselves.

All four must be considered concurrently. No single criterion overrides the others.

Every chart has a structure determined by the season of birth and the dominant element or 'god' present. Some charts have a 'broken structure' (破格) — meaning the chart's beneficial elements are being harmed by its own composition. This is a mark of a lower-quality natal chart.

A strong Day Master does not necessarily mean a good chart; a weak Day Master does not mean a bad one. The chart must always be read holistically.

For Earth Day Masters, earth — like soil — must be in the right condition. It cannot be too dry and compact, nor too wet and washed away. The right conditions for Earth usually revolve around the correct proportion of Wood and Water relative to Earth's strength, which is governed by Fire and Earth itself.

Despite being born in an Earth month where Metal's strength is already waning, your Day Master is considered strong-sided due to the significant Earth presence throughout your natal chart. We therefore need your Day Master to weaken. The question is: which element, and where does it appear in the chart?

Every chart has one critical element — the 用神 (Yong Shen). Its role is to balance the chart and ensure smooth elemental flow. It is the lynchpin that upholds the entire structure.

The critical element must be encountered for meaningful progress to occur. It must be accompanied by a supporting element — 喜神 (Xi Shen) — whose role is to protect and reinforce the critical element. The order matters: the critical element must be established before the supporting element can function properly. All remaining elements are typically either destructive (忌神) or neutral (閒神).

The fact that the Month Branch is a Metal Branch is a distinctly positive trait — the Month Branch exerts the strongest elemental influence of all four pillars. Having your most critical element positioned there is a genuine structural advantage.

Destructive elements: Fire and Earth. They serve no constructive purpose in this chart and will only drag down its overall quality and balance. Wood is more neutral — its effects vary depending on its relative strength.

10-Year Phases (大運) vs Annual Phases (流年運)

Your 10-Year Elemental Phase (大運) is the long-term, macro view of your life — your macro-environment, the new chapter you're in, and how you fit into everything around you. It sets the stage and context for everything else.

Your Annual Phase (流年運) acts as enhancer, mitigator, or trigger within that context. Note that the Annual Phase is universal — everyone in the same year experiences the same Annual Phase element (e.g. 2020 was 庚子, 2021 was 辛丑). What differs is how that Annual Phase interacts with your specific natal chart.

If the Elemental Phases are challenging, it suggests not only an adverse environment but also that the chart-holder is not developing as a person — character flaws go unaddressed, or worsen. On the flip side, favourable Phases indicate that your environment and your actions are in a virtuous, complementary relationship. Progress becomes possible in a way that is genuinely sustained.

Metaphysics is not about predicting arbitrary random events. It is a description of cause and effect. The word "luck" is a poor translation of 運 — it implies things happen to us arbitrarily, which is not what the system describes.

Her Day Master is 庚金 Yang Metal born in summer in the month of 巳 where Fire is dominant. Yang Metal differs fundamentally from Yin Metal — Yang Metal is the kind forged into weapons and tools; Yin Metal is for ornaments. The elements required to bring out the best in each are entirely different.

For Yang Metal, Yin Fire (丁) and Yang Wood (甲) are essential — they drive the forging process. Even without her birth time, we can confidently conclude her Day Master is weak-sided and needs strengthening. The best approach is Earth to protect the Day Master from the excessive Fire in her chart, followed by Water to bring the summertime Earth into a state where it can productively generate Metal. Destructive elements for her are Wood and Fire.

Now that both charts' critical elements are identified, we can assess the relationship:

• The main issue in your chart is that Earth is extremely strong, creating a constant risk of Earth overrunning Water — your Spouse Element. Your actual Spouse Element is Yin Water 癸水, whose only appearance is in your Day Branch 辰.
• Fortunately, your 辰 does not get clashed outright. The last time a significant clash occurred was 2018 (戌 year, forming 辰戌冲), which also removed the 空亡 in your Year Pillar. The Metal flow in the Month Branch acts as a buffer — Earth → Metal → Water keeps Earth from directly overwhelming Water.
• However, if anything disrupts Metal — such as 巳申刑 — Earth is unprotected and relationship issues will surface.

Looking at 2022–2023

• 2021 saw you enter your 壬子 10-Year Phase — a very strong Water phase that directly benefits your chart. Water is also your Spouse Element.
• 2022 is 壬寅 — 壬 here is your 偏財 (Indirect Wealth), not your 正財 (Direct Wealth). Whether the person you are currently dating will become your wife remains an open question.
• 2023 is 癸卯 — 癸 Water is your 正財 (actual Spouse Element), and it sits on 卯 which is a 桃花 (Peach Blossom) Branch. Both 癸 and 卯 interact directly with your Day Pillar. The signs of a committed partner entering your life are strong for 2023.

Let me apply Qi Men Dun Jia to assess the specific person you are currently dating. You don't need to understand the mechanics — follow my breakdown.

You are represented by 壬 Water in the 坤 Earth sector (top-right). She is represented by 庚 Metal in the 艮 Earth sector (bottom-left).

Both of you are currently in Earth sectors — no signs that one party is secretly uninterested or significantly more invested than the other. Both are willing to explore. If you both want this to become official, it can.

However, projecting forward tells a different story. She moves to the 乾 sector (bottom-right) containing 丁壬 — in relationship readings, 苟合 (being together without a genuine reason; a union of convenience). You end up in the 巽 sector (top-left) containing 戊庚 with 值符飛宮 and 天馬, indicating a desire to move or leave. The presence of 辛 Metal there — the Yin counterpart of her 庚 — raises a further question.

To be direct: if you want to get together with her, it will happen. Whether it will lead to lasting happiness — I don't see strong indicators of that from either the QMDJ or the BaZi.