Your Day Master is the Heavenly Stem of your day pillar. There are ten possibilities: Jia, Yi, Bing, Ding, Wu, Ji, Geng, Xin, Ren and Gui. In BaZi, the Day Master is treated as the core of your chart: it stands for you, and the other seven characters are read in relation to it.
This guide lists all ten Day Masters with their element, polarity and the traits traditionally attached to each.
What is a Day Master?
BaZi (the Four Pillars of Destiny) writes your birth moment as four pillars: year, month, day and hour. Each pillar has a Heavenly Stem on top and an Earthly Branch below. The stem of the day pillar, called the Day Master (日干, rì gān), is the one given the most weight. It indicates your basic temperament and the way you tend to approach life.
Each of the ten stems combines one of the Five Elements (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) with Yin or Yang. If you are new to the system, BaZi and the Four Pillars explained covers the background.
The 10 Day Masters at a glance
| Day Master | Pinyin | Element | Yin/Yang | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 甲 | Jia | Wood | Yang | Large tree |
| 乙 | Yi | Wood | Yin | Grass, flowers and vines |
| 丙 | Bing | Fire | Yang | The sun |
| 丁 | Ding | Fire | Yin | Candle flame |
| 戊 | Wu | Earth | Yang | Mountain |
| 己 | Ji | Earth | Yin | Cultivated field |
| 庚 | Geng | Metal | Yang | Steel, a blade |
| 辛 | Xin | Metal | Yin | Jewelry, fine metal |
| 壬 | Ren | Water | Yang | River, ocean |
| 癸 | Gui | Water | Yin | Mist, fine rain |
Traits of each Day Master
These are traditional descriptions. Real people mix several influences, so read them as themes to consider, not as labels.
Jia (甲): Yang Wood, the large tree
Upright and ambitious, with a strong drive to grow. Honest, proud and good at leading. The same firmness can show up as stubbornness or difficulty taking in other opinions. Often drawn to planning, teaching and sport.
Yi (乙): Yin Wood, grass and vines
Flexible and sociable, and attentive to harmony with others. Calm on the surface, with a steady will underneath. Strong at building relationships. The flip side can be indecision or trouble saying no. Often drawn to service, design and counseling.
Bing (丙): Yang Fire, the sun
Bright, open and noticeable, the kind of person who lifts the mood of a room. Has a natural magnetism. Can be self-assertive and quick to lose interest. Often drawn to sales, public relations, entertainment and hospitality.
Ding (丁): Yin Fire, the candle flame
Gentle on the outside, with strong feeling and conviction inside. Sensitive, perceptive and artistic. Emotions can run in waves, and perfectionism is common. Often drawn to the arts, music, writing and psychology.
Wu (戊): Yang Earth, the mountain
Steady, trustworthy and broad-minded. People tend to rely on you because you don't rattle easily. Can resist change and move slowly. Often drawn to management, real estate, agriculture and medicine.
Ji (己): Yin Earth, the cultivated field
Attentive to detail and committed to harmony. The person who supports a team or family from behind the scenes. Can overthink or find it hard to speak up for themselves. Often drawn to administration, education, welfare and cooking.
Geng (庚): Yang Metal, steel and the blade
Firm-willed and decisive, with a strong sense of principle. Direct judgment that cuts through hard situations. May come across as cold, and can be inflexible. Often drawn to law, finance, IT and business.
Xin (辛): Yin Metal, jewelry
Refined, with a fine aesthetic sense and sharp insight. A perfectionist who values quality in surroundings and appearance. Can be easily hurt, and holds very specific standards. Often drawn to fashion, beauty, the arts, criticism and diplomacy.
Ren (壬): Yang Water, the river and ocean
Broad-minded, curious and thinks on a large scale. Has a relaxed composure. Can be moody, loose with details and easily swept along. Often drawn to research, travel, trade and philosophy.
Gui (癸): Yin Water, mist and fine rain
Intuitive and sensitive, with a thoughtful, inward side that sees the heart of a matter. Quiet on the surface. Can be indecisive and prone to worry. Often drawn to research, writing, counseling and psychology.
How Day Masters relate to each other
Day Masters interact through the Five Element cycles. Elements in the generating relationship (Wood feeds Fire, Fire creates Earth, Earth bears Metal, Metal carries Water, Water nourishes Wood) tend to support each other. Elements in the controlling relationship (such as Water quenching Fire) tend to create friction that can be stimulating or difficult depending on the people involved.
This is only a starting point. The balance of the whole chart matters, so a Day Master pairing alone does not decide how two people get along.
Day Master vs. your Western sun sign
A Western sun sign is based on the Sun's position on your birthday, and it is the same for everyone born in that month. Your Day Master is based on the day pillar, which is one of four pillars in your BaZi chart. It is determined by the specific day you were born on, not by the month. Two people born in the same month usually have different Day Masters, and someone with the same sun sign as you can have any of the ten.
Your Chinese zodiac animal is a different piece again: it is the branch of your year pillar. See The 12 Chinese zodiac signs.
How to find your Day Master
The day pillar cycles through 60 stem-branch pairs, so you cannot work out your Day Master from your birth year alone. You need a BaZi calculator or a stem-branch calendar and your birth date. Birth time matters too: in the traditional system, the day is often counted as changing near 11 pm, so a late-evening birth can land on a different day pillar depending on the convention used.
FAQ
What is a Day Master in BaZi?
It is the Heavenly Stem of your day pillar. It represents your core self in the chart, and the rest of the chart is read in relation to it.
How many Day Masters are there?
Ten, one for each Heavenly Stem: Jia, Yi, Bing, Ding, Wu, Ji, Geng, Xin, Ren and Gui.
Is my Day Master the same as my Chinese zodiac animal?
No. The zodiac animal is the Earthly Branch of your year pillar. The Day Master is a Heavenly Stem from your day pillar, so they come from different parts of the chart.
Can I find my Day Master without knowing my birth time?
Usually yes, because the day pillar depends on the date. The exception is a birth close to the day boundary, around 11 pm, where the convention used can shift the day.
What does Yin or Yang mean for a Day Master?
Within each element, Yang stems are described as larger and more outward (the tree, the sun, the mountain), and Yin stems as finer and more inward (grass, a candle, a field).
Does my Day Master decide whether I will get along with someone?
Not by itself. Day Master relationships give a general tendency, but the whole chart and the people involved matter far more.