Free tool
Five Elements Calculator
This five-elements calculator counts wood, fire, earth, metal and water in your chart and tells you exactly what was counted. It also shows the month command, because season matters more than raw counts.
Open the calculator →Calculator
Enter a birth date
No sign-up required. Core chart calculation is free.
01
About the Five Elements Calculator
Many "element percentage" charts online mix visible and hidden stems with undisclosed weights. Here the visible count is shown on its own and hidden stems are listed separately, so you can apply whichever weighting your book uses.
A "missing" element in the count may still be present as a hidden stem, or arrive in a luck pillar. Missing is not the same as needed.
02
How to use it
- Calculate your chart.
- Read the element bar: visible stems and branches only.
- Read the hidden-stem list beneath for latent elements.
- Check the month branch's season.
- Compare with the strong/weak guides for your Day Master's element.
03
What the result shows
- Four pillars with stems, branches, pinyin and element colours.
- Hidden stems under each branch, with Ten Gods.
- Five-element count of visible characters, hidden stems listed separately.
- Combinations, clashes, harms and punishments found in the chart.
- Luck pillars with direction, exact starting age and calendar years.
- Annual pillar for any year, plus time-zone and solar-time details.
04
How to read the result
An element in season counts for more. Wood in a 寅 or 卯 month, for example, is prosperous even if only two characters show it.
Balance is relative to the Day Master: the same count can be "too much fire" for one chart and "just right" for another.
For a deeper explanation, see the guides.
05
Example output
| Year | Month | Day | Hour |
|---|---|---|---|
Direct Resource 正印庚gēngMetal午wǔFire Hidden stems
| Indirect Resource 偏印辛xīnMetal巳sìFire Hidden stems
| Day Master癸guǐWater未wèiEarth Hidden stems
| Indirect Wealth 偏财丁dīngFire巳sìFire Hidden stems
|
06
Settings explained
All BaZi tools on this site share one calculation engine and the same settings, so results match across pages. These are the settings that can change a result:
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Time mode | True solar time (default) or local clock time. |
| Day boundary | 23:00 (default) or 00:00 for the Zi hour. |
| Birth city | Sets the historical time zone, daylight saving and longitude. |
| Unknown time | Shows hour candidates instead of guessing. |
| Gender option | Used only for luck-pillar direction. |
| Saving | Optional: on this device or, after Google sign-in, in your account. |
Charts on this site use the published rule set: true solar time by default, the year changes at 立春 (Start of Spring), months change at the 12 节 solar terms and the day changes at 23:00. Example charts below are computed live by the same engine.
07
Key terms
- Five ElementsThe five elements (五行, wu xing — better translated "five phases") are wood, fire, earth, metal and water.
- Seasonal StrengthSeasonal strength rates each element by the month: the element of the season is prosperous (旺), the one it generates is strengthening (相), the one that generated it rests (休), the one controlling it is confined (囚) and the one it controls is dead (死).
- Hidden StemsHidden stems (藏干 or 人元) are the stems stored inside each earthly branch: a main qi and up to two residual qi.
- Useful ElementThe useful element (用神) is the element that best brings the chart toward balance or serves its structure.
08
Practising with Five Elements Calculator
The fastest way to understand Five Elements Calculator is to look at real charts rather than memorise rules. Enter a birth date, time and city in the BaZi Calculator, then locate where Five Elements Calculator appears: in a visible stem, hidden inside a branch, in the current luck pillar or in this year's annual pillar. Note the position, because the year pillar is usually read as background and early life, the month pillar as environment and career setting, the day pillar as the self and close partner, and the hour pillar as later life and output.
- Compare two or three charts where Five Elements Calculator is prominent and two where it is absent; write down what differs in the overall balance.
- Check the month branch first: seasonal strength changes how much any factor matters.
- Use the hidden-stems and Ten Gods tables in the calculator output instead of guessing.
- Treat single factors as clues, never as verdicts; classical texts always weigh the whole chart.
Different schools describe Five Elements Calculator with slightly different emphasis. This site follows widely used conventions (solar-term months, true solar time optional, Zi hour setting configurable) and states them openly so you can compare results with a book or another calculator.
09
A suggested study path
Five Elements Calculator is one piece of a larger system. If you are learning BaZi from scratch, the order below builds each idea on the previous one, and every step links to free reference pages on this site.
- Calculate a chart and confirm the four pillars are correct (checklist).
- Learn the ten heavenly stems and twelve earthly branches.
- Find your Day Master and judge its strength with the five elements.
- Read the Ten Gods in context.
- Move on to timing with luck and annual pillars.
- Use the glossary whenever a term is unfamiliar.
10
Scope
BaZi is a traditional cultural system. This page explains how the symbols are defined and read; it does not make scientific claims or predictions about your health, money or relationships.
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