Chinese Zodiac Calculator — Four Pillars (BaZi) of Destiny

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Enter your date and time of birth. The Chinese solar calendar starts each year at Lichun (立春) and each month at a solar term, so we use the Sun's exact position to build your Year, Month, Day and Hour pillars.

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Date of Birth

Time of Birth

I don't know my birth time (skip the Hour pillar)

Enter your birth details and tap Reveal my Four Pillars.

About the Chinese Zodiac & the Four Pillars (BaZi)

The Chinese Zodiac is far richer than the single animal of your birth year. In the Four Pillars of Destiny (BaZi, 八字 — "eight characters"), your birth moment is written as four pillars — Year, Month, Day and Hour — each made of a Heavenly Stem (天干) and an Earthly Branch (地支). That is eight characters in all, every one carrying one of the five elements and a yin or yang polarity.

How the pillars are built

Year pillar — your zodiac animal and its element. The Chinese solar year begins at Lichun (立春, "start of spring", around 4 February), not on 1 January, so people born in January or early February belong to the previous animal year.
Month pillar — set by the 24 solar terms, i.e. the Sun's exact position, not the calendar month.
Day pillar — drawn from the continuous 60-day sexagenary cycle. Its Heavenly Stem is your Day Master, the core of the whole chart.
Hour pillar — one of twelve two-hour periods, so an accurate birth time matters.

The five elements

Every chart blends Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water. Counting them shows which energies are strong and which are scarce — the foundation of a BaZi reading. This calculator computes the pillars astronomically from the solar calendar; for a full personal reading, consult a qualified BaZi practitioner.