Roots: heavy and light

In Four Pillars of Destiny (BaZi), the Day Master is rooted in any branch whose hidden stems hold its own element. A root is heavy on the Day Master’s arrival or peak stage, on a yang Day Master’s birth stage, and, for an Earth Day Master, in the Dragon, Dog, Ox and Goat; other roots are light. Stems of the Day Master’s element on the stems above are helpers, not roots.

What a root is

The Day Master is the stem of the day pillar, and its roots are in the branches, not the stems. Using the two tables in the lesson on hidden stems, write down what each of your four branches holds. Wherever a hidden stem shares the Day Master’s element, whether as the main stem, middle stem, residual stem or storage, the Day Master has a root in that branch. A Yang Wood Day Master meeting the Tiger has a root, since the Tiger holds Yang Wood. Meeting the Dragon, it also has one: the Dragon holds Yin Wood, which is Wood too.

The Friend and Rob Wealth on the stems share the Day Master’s element too, but they are helpers, not roots. The True Interpretation of Ziping (子平真诠; Qing dynasty, 18th century) explains the difference with an image: Peers are like friends who lend a hand, while a root is like a home to live in, so many stems are no match for a heavy root. However many helpers stand on the stems, a Day Master with no root in the branches has no footing. So look at the roots first when weighing the Day Master; the helpers on the stems belong with its allies, in the next lesson.

The True Interpretation of Ziping · On Stems in Season Yet Not Strong, Out of Season Yet Not Weak; Commentary on the True Interpretation of Ziping · On Stems in Season Yet Not Strong, Out of Season Yet Not Weak

Heavy roots and light roots

A root’s weight depends on which of the Day Master’s twelve life stages the branch is:

长生禄旺，根之重者也；墓库余气，根之轻者也。

Our translation: The birth, arrival and peak stages are heavy roots; the stored stage and the residual stem are light roots.

On its arrival and peak stages, the branch holds the Day Master’s element at its fullest, so the root is heaviest. The stored stage is where the element is gathered in and kept, and a residual stem is energy left over from the season before; both hold the Day Master’s element, but only faintly. Dripping Heavenly Marrow Elucidated (滴天髓阐微; Qing dynasty, 19th century), on strong and weak, says the same.

The True Interpretation of Ziping · On Stems in Season Yet Not Strong, Out of Season Yet Not Weak; Dripping Heavenly Marrow Elucidated · Strong and Weak

This line lists the birth stage among heavy roots without separating yang and yin stems. The birth stage is a heavy root only for a yang Day Master. A yang stem’s birth stage holds that very stem: the Pig holds Yang Wood, the Tiger Yang Fire and Yang Earth, the Snake Yang Metal, and the Monkey Yang Water. A yin stem’s birth stage does not hold its element: Yin Wood is born in the Horse, which holds no Wood. So the book goes straight on to say that a yin stem’s birth stage is not a heavy root, but it still counts as a root, as heavy as one residual stem.

The stored stage also differs between yang and yin. A yang Day Master on its own stored stage has a light root, since the storage holds its element. A yin Day Master on its own stored stage, Yin Wood meeting the Dog, Yin Fire the Ox, Yin Metal the Dragon or Yin Water the Goat, has no root there, since that storage does not hold its element.

One more case: a yin Day Master meeting the birth stage of the yang stem of its element, as Yin Wood meets the Pig, Yin Fire the Tiger, Yin Metal the Snake and Yin Water the Monkey. The branch holds the yang stem of the same element, so it is a root. But it is the yang stem’s birth stage, not the yin stem’s, so for the yin Day Master it is a light root.

The True Interpretation of Ziping · On Stems in Season Yet Not Strong, Out of Season Yet Not Weak; The True Interpretation of Ziping · On the Rise and Fall of Yin and Yang

See also: The twelve life stages

The roots of the ten stems

Put together, these rules give each of the ten stems the following roots:

Earth Day Masters need a separate look. The Dragon, Dog, Ox and Goat hold Earth as their main stem; they are Earth’s own ground, so for a Yang or Yin Earth Day Master they are all heavy roots. When the book calls storage a light root, it means Wood, Fire, Metal and Water meeting the Dragon, Dog, Ox and Goat, not Earth. The Snake and the Horse are the arrival and peak stages of Yang and Yin Earth, and the Tiger is Yang Earth’s birth stage, so these are heavy roots too. Yin Earth meeting the Tiger, and Yang or Yin Earth meeting the Monkey, find Earth in the branch, but not on an arrival, peak or yang birth stage, so these are light roots. Yin Earth’s birth stage is the Rooster, which holds no Earth; as with the other yin stems, it still counts as a light root.

Commentary on the True Interpretation of Ziping · On the Rise and Fall of Yin and Yang; Dripping Heavenly Marrow Elucidated · Earthly Branches

An example: a Yin Wood Day Master with a Dragon year branch, a Rabbit month branch, a Goat day branch and a Horse hour branch. The Rabbit is Yin Wood’s arrival stage, a heavy root, and it sits on the month branch. The Dragon holds Yin Wood as its residual stem and the Goat holds it as storage, so both are light roots. The Horse is Yin Wood’s birth stage, so it counts as a light root as well. If the hour branch were the Dog instead, that is Yin Wood’s stored stage, but the Dog holds no Wood, so it is not a root.

The month branch weighs most

Of all roots, one on the month branch weighs most, because the month branch is the chart’s frame. A root can also be clashed: if the clashed branch is the weaker side, the root is uprooted and no longer counts; if it is the stronger side, the root stands. How to weigh a clash is covered in the lesson on weighing a clash.

Commentary on the True Interpretation of Ziping · On Stems in Season Yet Not Strong, Out of Season Yet Not Weak; Dripping Heavenly Marrow Elucidated · Earthly Branches

Try it on your chart

1. Write down the hidden stems of your four branches, and circle each one that shares the Day Master’s element. Each circle is a root.
2. Using the table above, mark each root heavy or light. For a yin Day Master: its own birth stage holds none of its element but still counts as a light root; its own stored stage does not count as a root.
3. See whether the month branch holds a root. A root on the month branch weighs most.
4. Mark the Friend and Rob Wealth on the stems as helpers, not roots.
5. Check whether any branch holding a root is clashed, and weigh the clash in the lesson on weighing a clash.

See also: Hidden stems: what each branch holds

See also: In season, allies and opponents

See also: Weighing a clash: uprooted or unharmed, and the storage branches

See also: Day Master strength: five grades from very strong to very weak