How a chart shows temperament
In Four Pillars of Destiny (BaZi), temperament is read from how the five elements combine across the whole chart, not from the Day Master alone. Elements in harmony tend toward a balanced temperament; a one-sided or turbid chart, or a strongest current that is provoked, tends toward a contrary one. A fitting element or decade phase that contains and channels that energy eases the temperament.
By Sheng Pin Kai·Last updated
Temperament is read from the whole chart, not the Day Master
In its chapter on temperament, Dripping Heavenly Marrow (滴天髓) reads every kind of temperament from how the five elements combine across the whole chart. The original notes say that all these are differences of temperament and of likes and dislikes, and are not to be judged by the Day Master. They go on to say that every chart has its own temperament: from the temperament a person shows, you can tell how they act.
Each of the five elements stands for one virtue in a person. Dripping Heavenly Marrow Elucidated (滴天髓阐微; Qing dynasty, 19th century) pairs them like this:
| Element | In a person |
|---|---|
| Wood | Benevolence |
| Fire | Propriety |
| Metal | Righteousness |
| Water | Wisdom |
| Earth | Trustworthiness |
The book says benevolence, righteousness, propriety and wisdom cannot be fulfilled without trustworthiness, which is why Earth stands for trustworthiness. Each structure taken from the month also has the temperament the books give it, taught in that structure’s own lesson; for a table of them, see the lesson on the ten relationships.
Dripping Heavenly Marrow · Temperament, original notes; Dripping Heavenly Marrow Elucidated · Temperament
Balanced elements, balanced temperament
五气不戾，性情中和；浊乱偏枯，性情乖逆。Our translation: When the five energies are not at odds, temperament is balanced; when they are turbid and disordered, one-sided and withered, temperament is contrary.
In a chart, not at odds means the five elements do not clash or battle; turbid means muddled and mixed; one-sided means one element in excess and another falling short. Marrow Elucidated says a balanced, pure chart gives compassion, deference and sincerity; a one-sided, turbid chart, with too much or too little, gives contentiousness, contrariness and arrogance. How to judge whether a chart is clear or turbid is taught in the lesson on structure quality. A clear Hurting Officer structure makes a person modest and amiable, a turbid one hard and fierce; see the lesson on the Hurting Officer structure.
Dripping Heavenly Marrow · Temperament; Dripping Heavenly Marrow Elucidated · Temperament
The strongest current: gentle when followed, harder when provoked
The Marrow describes four energies at their extreme. In all four, going with the strong current and containing it makes the temperament gentler; going against it and provoking it makes it harder.
| Current at its extreme | Followed and contained | Opposed and provoked |
|---|---|---|
| Fierce Fire: strong Fire, hot and impatient by nature | Followed, it is open and upright; the damp Earth of the Ox and the Dragon moistens it and contains its fierceness, so it knows propriety and becomes kind and caring | Provoked by Metal or Water: rash and hard to control; the Fire burns fiercer, and propriety is lost |
| Fire of the east: Fire with Wood’s momentum behind it, its flames rising | Damp Earth contains it, and its fierceness turns into kindness; without Earth, Fire and Wood decade phases that go with its momentum still keep it kind, yielding and compassionate | Running into the Water of the north instead: harsh, violent and without propriety |
| Rushing Water: Water at its extreme | Metal goes with its momentum and Wood clears its blockages: the temperament turns gentle, bright and capable, keeping benevolence and righteousness | Fire clashing with it or Earth provoking it: harder still |
| Water of the west: fed by Metal, its source long and its flow strong | Wood takes it in: the wisdom of Water works through benevolence | Earth checking it without meeting its nature: it rushes all the more and stays stubborn; running into the Fire of the south instead: unusually stubborn, with no benevolence or propriety at all |
Dripping Heavenly Marrow · Temperament; Dripping Heavenly Marrow · Temperament, original notes; Dripping Heavenly Marrow Elucidated · Temperament
Temperament when Wood drains into Fire or Metal into Water
Wood rushing south. Wood’s energy pours into Fire, and the south is the place of Fire. The original notes say that when Wood meets Fire, benevolence works through propriety and the temperament is soft and timid; pushed too far, it turns indulgent and fussy. Marrow Elucidated says that when Wood drains too much, a chart with Metal needs Water to carry the flow, so the Fire is not fierce; a chart without Metal needs the Earth of the Dragon to contain the Fire’s energy. With that balance, the person is respectful and courteous, amiable and measured. With neither Water to adjust the flow nor Earth to dim the Fire, the drain goes too far: the person is clever but self-satisfied, often changeable, and their kindness becomes what the book calls a woman’s kindness: soft-hearted and indulgent.
Metal meeting Water. Metal is square and strong by nature, able to take on great tasks and settle great plans. The original notes say that when Metal meets Water, righteousness works through wisdom, and the energy flows without sticking. Marrow Elucidated says strong Metal meeting Water is the proper form: the person is square within and rounded without, knows how to adapt, and deals with the world without losing integrity or generosity. Weak Metal with strong Water is the lopsided form: the person acts recklessly, says one thing and means another, and treats others with scheming intent.
Dripping Heavenly Marrow · Temperament; Dripping Heavenly Marrow · Temperament, original notes; Dripping Heavenly Marrow Elucidated · Temperament
When the order of generation is cut: a striking element makes a person defiant
When Wood generates Fire and Fire generates Earth, the energy follows the order of generation, and the temperament is naturally calm. The original notes say that when something along the way cuts off this flow, which the book calls a striking element, the person becomes defiant, impatient and fierce. Marrow Elucidated calls the flow from an element into what it generates forward, and the flow into it from what generates it backward. It says the strong should go forward and the weak backward; then the nature is upright and the feelings at peace.
Strong Wood wants Fire to carry its energy on and Earth to keep it moving, not Metal or Water striking it; weak Wood wants Water to generate it and Metal to help the Water, not Fire or Earth striking it. On a chart, first settle Day Master strength: a strong one should be drained, a weak one generated and supported, the same principle as support and restraint. A striking element makes the strong rash and the weak timid.
A person with a Yang Blade structure that meets battle likes to show their force, and one with a weak Blade shies away from trouble; see the lesson on the Yang Blade structure. In a very strong or very weak chart, a stem or branch that breaks its order tends to make the very strong reckless and fierce and the very weak indulgent; see the lesson on following structures.
Dripping Heavenly Marrow · Temperament; Dripping Heavenly Marrow · Temperament, original notes; Dripping Heavenly Marrow Elucidated · Temperament
Metal hidden in Fire, Fire hidden in Water: gloom and sluggishness
Bright yang meeting Metal. The Tiger, Horse and Dog form a three harmony Fire combination, which the book calls bright yang; its energy is naturally open. If damp Earth in the combination hides Metal, the Fire cannot control the Metal and the Metal cannot generate Water, so the person is gloomy and fretful, heavy-hearted and dispirited. Marrow Elucidated says the chart needs a run of Metal and Water decade phases, the turbid yin, to free the Metal and Water energy.
Turbid yin hiding Fire. The Rooster, Ox and Pig are what the book calls turbid yin; their energy finds it hard to rise. If damp Wood among them hides Fire, the yin is too heavy for the Fire to rise, and the person is sluggish: the mind wants speed but the will cannot keep up, they equivocate and seldom decide, and they are prone to doubt. Marrow Elucidated says the chart needs a run of Wood and Fire decade phases, the bright yang, to free the Wood and Fire energy; then the person opens up and sees clearly.
Dripping Heavenly Marrow · Temperament; Dripping Heavenly Marrow · Temperament, original notes; Dripping Heavenly Marrow Elucidated · Temperament
Many useful elements and a withered hour branch: inconstancy and weak finishes
The Marrow says that with many useful elements, the temperament is inconstant; with a withered hour branch, a strong start ends weakly. The useful element here is the element the chart favors and relies on, not the structural pivot taken from the month; see the lesson on roles in the chart. Marrow Elucidated says that with many useful elements, the person has little lasting resolve and a mind given to change; with a withered hour branch, they are doubtful and indecisive, diligent at first and slack in the end.
Dripping Heavenly Marrow · Temperament; Dripping Heavenly Marrow Elucidated · Temperament
Decade and annual phases can change temperament
Marrow Elucidated says that even a chart whose order runs smoothly, with a naturally calm temperament, can turn too forceful or too weak when a decade phase or annual phase brings a striking element. A phase is read by the same method as the chart; see the lesson on decade phases. Check whether the phase’s stem and branch go with the chart’s strongest current and free trapped energy, or provoke it and cut it off.
Dripping Heavenly Marrow Elucidated · Temperament
Try it on your chart
- Look at the five elements across the chart: is any one in excess or short, and is the structure clear or turbid?
- Find the strongest current and check it against the table above: is it followed and contained, or provoked?
- Settle the Day Master’s strength, and look for a striking element in the four pillars that cuts the order of generation.
- See whether Metal is hidden among the Tiger, Horse and Dog, or Fire among the Rooster, Ox and Pig; then count the useful elements and see whether the hour branch is withered.
- Find the decade phase you are in now, and see whether it contains and frees that current, or provokes it and cuts it off.
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