What is the Eight Characters of Birth?

The Eight Characters of Birth is a concept in traditional Chinese numerology, referring to the combination of Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches corresponding to the year, month, day, and hour of a person's birth, with a total of eight characters. Therefore, it is called the "Eight Characters" or "The Eight Characters of Birth". It originates from the ancient theory of Yin-Yang and the Five Elements and is often used to infer an individual's destiny, personality, fortune, and so on.

Core Components

1. Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches
   o Heavenly Stems: Jia, Yi, Bing, Ding, Wu, Ji, Geng, Xin, Ren, Gui (a total of 10).
   o Earthly Branches: Zi, Chou, Yin, Mao, Chen, Si, Wu, Wei, Shen, You, Xu, Hai (a total of 12).
   o The Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches are combined in pairs in order to form "Ganzhi", such as Jiazi, Yichou, etc. There is a cycle every 60 years (known as the "Sixty Jiazi").
2. Four Pillars
   The Eight Characters of Birth are composed of four groups of Ganzhi, corresponding to the four dimensions of the birth time respectively:
   o The Year Pillar: The Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches of the birth year (for example, 2023 is "Guimao").
   o The Month Pillar: The Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches of the birth month (which needs to be calculated in combination with the solar terms).
   o The Day Pillar: The Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches of the birth day (the Ganzhi of the day needs to be checked in the perpetual calendar).
   o The Hour Pillar: The Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches of the birth hour (every 2 hours is an hour period, for example, the "Zi Hour" is from 23:00 to 1:00).

Purposes and Cultural Significance

1. Numerological Analysis
   Through the relationship of generation and restriction among the Five Elements (Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth) in the Eight Characters, analyze an individual's personality, health, career, marriage, etc. For example, if an element is lacking in the Five Elements, it may be considered that it needs to be remedied.
2. Fortune Prediction
   Combined with the concepts of the Grand Epoch and the Annual Luck, infer the auspiciousness, inauspiciousness, smoothness, and adversity in different stages of life.
3. Traditional Customs
   o Marriage Matching: Judge the suitability of marriage by whether the Eight Characters of a man and a woman are "compatible" (commonly known as "matching the Eight Characters").
   o Name Choosing: According to the deficiency of the Five Elements in the Eight Characters, select characters with corresponding attributes to make up for it.
   o Choosing an Auspicious Day: For important events (such as weddings and business openings), choose a day that is compatible with the Eight Characters.