Ba Zi/Life Cycle

12-Stage Life Cycle Of The Self Element The Self Element is the Heavenly Stem of the Day Pillar. The Self Element is combined with the Earthly Branch of each of the Pillars (Year, Month, Day, Hour), and the intersection of these gives the Life Stage as depicted in the chart below: H10H8H6H4H2H9H7H5H3H112 Life StagesStatus/StrengthE4E1E10E10E7E9E6E3E3E12BirthStrongE3E12E9E9E6E10E7E4E4E1BathWeakE2E11E8E8E5E11E8E5E5E2AttireWeakE1E10E7E7E4E12E9E6E6E3Coming-of-AgeStrongE12E9E6E6E3E1E10E7E7E4Prosperity PeakStrongE11E8E5E5E2E2E11E8E8E5AgeingAverageE10E7E4E4E1E3E12E9E9E6SicknessWeakE9E6E3E3E12E4E1E10E10E7DeathWeakE8E5E2E2E11E5E2E11E11E8GraveAverageE7E4E1E1E10E6E3E12E12E9ReposeWeakE6E3E12E12E9E7E4E1E1E10ConceptionWeakE5E2E11E11E8E8E5E2E2E11NurtureWeak For example, if the Month Pillar is H3~E4, then the Self Element is H3. If the Year Pillar is H10~E1, then the Life Stage for the Year Pillar is H3~E1, and from the above table, it is depicted as "Conception" which is bestowed with a "Weak" status. This process of obtaining the Life Stage is then repeated for each of the four pillars.