Learn · the ten day stems
The ten day stems are taught with pictures — tree, vine, sun, lamp, mountain, field, blade, jewel, river, rain. Explore them here as a study set, then check yours in the free Element Check. Nothing on this page is a personal reading.
At a glance. A Day Master is the stem of the day pillar, one of ten. It is not a Chinese zodiac animal (that usually comes from the year branch) and it is not a forecast. This page explains the ten teaching images. For a shorter definition, see What is a Day Master?. Last update: 2026-11-12.
In BaZi, every day is written as a stem-and-branch pair. The stem of that day — the Day Master — is the element that stands for “you” when the rest of the chart is described. Teachers have long used images so the ten stems are easier to remember. Those images are study tools. They do not say what will happen to you, and they are not a substitute for a full chart.
Choose a stem. The panel will show the traditional picture and a short English gloss. No birth date is required or stored.
Image: the tall tree. Element: Wood.
Jia is pictured as a tree growing straight up: steady, principled, inclined to grow in one clear direction. The image is a teaching metaphor, not a verdict about anyone's character or future.
This is a traditional teaching image, not a reading of you and not a prediction. To see which day stem a calendar date writes, use the Element Check — your date stays on your device.
Image: the vine and the grass. Element: Wood.
Yi is pictured as grass, vines and flowering plants: flexible, resourceful, good at finding the gap in a wall. The image points to adaptability, not to a prediction.
This is a traditional teaching image, not a reading of you and not a prediction. To see which day stem a calendar date writes, use the Element Check — your date stays on your device.
Image: the sun. Element: Fire.
Bing is pictured as the sun: open, warm, visible to everyone at once. The image is about expression and where warmth lands, not about luck.
This is a traditional teaching image, not a reading of you and not a prediction. To see which day stem a calendar date writes, use the Element Check — your date stays on your device.
Image: the lamp and the candle. Element: Fire.
Ding is pictured as a candle or lamp: focused light in a small space. The image points to attention and care, not to fate.
This is a traditional teaching image, not a reading of you and not a prediction. To see which day stem a calendar date writes, use the Element Check — your date stays on your device.
Image: the mountain. Element: Earth.
Wu is pictured as a mountain or a high wall: stable, slow to move. The image points to holding ground, not to guaranteed outcomes.
This is a traditional teaching image, not a reading of you and not a prediction. To see which day stem a calendar date writes, use the Element Check — your date stays on your device.
Image: the field. Element: Earth.
Ji is pictured as cultivated soil: receptive, quietly productive. The image is about nourishing work, not a promise of harvest.
This is a traditional teaching image, not a reading of you and not a prediction. To see which day stem a calendar date writes, use the Element Check — your date stays on your device.
Image: the blade and the ore. Element: Metal.
Geng is pictured as raw metal or an axe: direct, strongest when tempered. The image points to clarity, not to cutting people down.
This is a traditional teaching image, not a reading of you and not a prediction. To see which day stem a calendar date writes, use the Element Check — your date stays on your device.
Image: the jewel. Element: Metal.
Xin is pictured as jewellery or refined metal: precise, sensitive to quality. The image is about standards, not status or fortune.
This is a traditional teaching image, not a reading of you and not a prediction. To see which day stem a calendar date writes, use the Element Check — your date stays on your device.
Image: the river and the sea. Element: Water.
Ren is pictured as a great river or the ocean: moving, hard to contain. The image points to momentum and the need for banks, not to unstoppable destiny.
This is a traditional teaching image, not a reading of you and not a prediction. To see which day stem a calendar date writes, use the Element Check — your date stays on your device.
Image: rain and mist. Element: Water.
Gui is pictured as rain, dew or mist: subtle, reaching places a river cannot. The image points to quiet influence, not to hidden omens.
This is a traditional teaching image, not a reading of you and not a prediction. To see which day stem a calendar date writes, use the Element Check — your date stays on your device.
The Element Check runs in your browser. Share links use only a stem name such as ?dm=jia-wood — never a birth date.
The ten stems are the yin and yang sides of Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water. A later written reading may talk about how other stems and branches support, output, or constrain that element. That language is a map of relationships in the chart, not a list of events.
If you want to know why a free check might differ from a paid reading at a solar-term or hour boundary, read true solar time and the method page.
