Finding Your Year Code – the Chinese 60 Year Cycle

We just have to admit that some of us are luckier than others. Could it be that they have the Heavenly Eminence star helping them along? All of us can do with some help and support to help, if not just prod us along, don’t we? Here and in future writes, I will try to put up some charts and tables to help find whether this fortunate star (and others) is in your horoscope.

There are advantages in knowing our BaZi or Eight Characters and better still if you can map out the stages that you will encounter. Like Sun Tzu in the “Art of War” says, if you know yourself, you will not come to harm even if you face a thousand perils. This is so heartening. Unarguably, knowing our own strengths and weakness gives us an added advantage.

But first, you may need to know something about how the Chinese calendar works. I hope to make those mass of strange characters comprehensible.

The Chinese calendar is both a lunar and a solar calendar. It also combines both astronomical and the unique system of branches and stems.

One of the most interesting aspects is the use of branches and stems. We could guess its use is very practical, logical and representative of our world. Just as a tree has roots, trunk, branches, stems and flowers and fruits, likewise, we are born of parents, blessed with talents both mundane and heavenly, grows to maturity and the fruits we realize are a result of our efforts and the influence of time and society.

The hexagenary (60) cycle is a combination of ten branches and twelve stems. They are given names and these names themselves carries meanings too. Their meanings aside, what is more important are their association with the five elements of metal, wood, water, fire and earth. This association with the five elements is very important in the Eight Character Horoscope.

For easy use, I am presenting the branches and stems using letters of the alphabet and numerals. The table shows the letter-number code for the relevant years.

The Eight Characters are said to tell someone his fortunes. It is said to lay out his life telling him what is in store for him in terms of his wealth, career, health, love and a few other things. It helps him plan his moves and to use timing correctly. Armed with the Eight Characters, he has a map of his life and the fate to come. If you have another person’s details, you can understand what makes him tick. You may also know whether people can make suitable partners or whether someone is suitable as a husband.

Believable or not, the personal details were once (maybe still are) secretly guarded for fear of the bad ones who may have other unfriendly use for them.

If you are keen to know your Eight Characters, we begin by looking up your character for the year you were born. Remember though that the year begins at or about 4^th February and not the usual day where we do our countdown.

For example, if you were born in 1976, your year code is C5.

Another example, if you were born in 1954, your year code is A7

And so it goes…

In case you are curious, C5 stands for fire dragon.

A7 stands for Wood Horse.

Look for your year code from the tabulation here:

Tagged as: BaZi, chinese horoscope, Eight Characters