Configuration
巳酉丑三合金 involves the following branches:
- 巳 Snake
- 酉 Rooster
- 丑 Ox
Combined element: metal
Classical register
The three branches forming a metal trine: 巳 (Snake, yang fire) generates metal → 酉 (Rooster, peak yin metal, mid-autumn) holds metal → 丑 (Ox, late-winter storehouse) stores metal. The combined configuration carries strong metal-element register: refined precision, articulate craftsmanship, structural authority, the kind of incisive judgment that metal-element cooperation supports. Particularly favourable for careers requiring precision (medicine, law, fine craftsmanship), authority roles, and the kind of clear discrimination that metal classically governs.
How to read 巳酉丑三合金 in a chart
The 巳酉丑三合金 configuration activates when the involved branches appear together in the four pillars of a BaZi chart (year, month, day, or hour pillar). Practitioners read the configuration's register against where in the chart it appears: a clash between year and month pillars often relates to the family of origin and early-life environment; between day and hour, to spouse / offspring matters; in the luck-pillar transitions, to the timing of the configuration's activation across decades. Beyond presence-or-absence, the configuration's strength depends on the chart's broader elemental balance and the Day Master's structural needs.
Why generic Snake-Rooster-Ox Metal Trine interpretation fails
The 巳酉丑三合金 register is one structural feature of a BaZi chart, not the whole chart. Whether the configuration helps or hurts a specific consultant depends on their Day Master, the chart's elemental balance, the Useful God, and the luck pillar currently operating. The same configuration can be highly favourable for one chart (e.g., a clash that releases stuck energy) and challenging for another (e.g., a clash that destabilises a needed pillar). Master Sean Chan’s BaZi consultation reads the full chart against your specific question.