Birth (长生) in BaZi

At a glance

Group

Twelve Life Stages · stage 1

Life-cycle image

Being born

Keywords

beginnings, growth, support, gentleness, staying power

Strength

Leaning strong: rooted, with strength building

Related ideas

Yin, Shen, Si and Hai are the Birth branches of the Yang stems, and the “four growth branches” where the Travelling Horse falls

How to find the Birth

The life stages are counted from the Day Master: Yang stems run forward from their Birth branch, Yin stems run backward (the common method, and the one FateSign's calculator uses). Jia's Birth is at Hai; Yi's Birth is at Wu, counting backward. The table shows the Birth branch for each of the ten Day Masters.

What Birth means traditionally

Birth is the start of a new life: everything is just beginning, full of potential. A Day Master sitting on Birth is traditionally described as gentle, optimistic and approachable, supported by elders and surroundings, with the stamina to grow steadier over time.

Its strength is the strength of something growing, not the peak. Its value is rootedness and continuity: meeting Birth in a chart is often read as a force that has a source and will last.

How to read it in a chart

Day branch

a Day Master sitting on Birth (e.g. Bing Yin, Ren Shen) is traditionally read as rooted and energetic, and often as a supportive, harmonious marriage.

Month branch

meeting Birth in the month means the birth season nourishes the Day Master, so it is unlikely to be too weak.

Year and hour pillars

early environment and later life or children respectively; Birth there is often read as support and fresh openings in that phase.

Luck pillars and years

a Birth period is traditionally seen as a new start, good for launching plans and learning something new.

Related ideas

The four growth branches

Yin, Shen, Si and Hai are the Birth branches of the Yang stems and the starting points of the three-harmony frames (Shen of Shen-Zi-Chen, Yin of Yin-Wu-Xu, and so on).

Travelling Horse

the Travelling Horse star also falls on Yin, Shen, Si or Hai, so Birth branches are often linked with movement and travel.

Life stage vs. self stage

the calculator's life stage row shows the Day Master's stage at each branch; the self stage row shows each pillar's own stem on its own branch. Birth can appear in either.

Common misconceptions

• Birth does not mean long life. It is the “being born” position of the cycle and says nothing about lifespan.
• Birth is not the strongest stage. The peaks are Officialdom and Prosperity; Birth is where strength starts to build.
• Schools differ on the Yin stems: some say Yin and Yang stems share the same Birth and Death. FateSign counts Yin stems backward, like most calculators.