The Chinese Four Pillars of Destiny is a very old astrological technique. It has been in continuous use in China for nearly 1,400 years and has developed throughout the ages, specifically the Tang, Song and later Ming imperial dynasties. According to Derek Walters, Chinese astrologer and author of numerous Chinese astrology books and Shelly Wu, a Chinese astrologer and Chinese astrology author, the most authoritative work on the technique is the San Ming Tong Hui written by Wan Yu Wu of the Ming dynasty (this work contained instructions for face reading and other means of divination as well as explained by Walters). The technique that we recognize today was developed prior to this, however, in the Song Dynasty by the famous Xu Zi Ping or Tzu Ping after which the Four Pillars are sometimes named after, i.e., “Tzu Ping Astrology.”
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Much has been written about the Chinese animal signs. Many of us recognize them mainly from the red and white gold lined place mats that we get at some Chinese restaurants and while there is a grain of truth in those one-sentence descriptions, they truly leave much to be desired in the way of explaining what the signs are, how they behave and what they are meant to do. In short, the animal signs are markers of time, there are twelve of them and they function through the minutes, hours, days, months and years. Along with the five elements, they create a cycle of 60 (12 X 5), also known as the sexagenary cycle, through the aformentioned units of time (minutes, hours, days, etc.). Similar to the way in which the five elements were labeled in relation to their core meaning as universal cosmic energy transformations, the animal signs represent something more fundamental and basic as well, the 12 earthly branches, which serve as receptors to the heavenly stems. They are akin to living, moving, more physical representations…the Chinese animals themselves.
The Chinese Animal Sign Zodiac
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Five element theory is one of the most fascinating aspects of Chinese and Asian astrology and is arguably the most essential concept to understanding astrology in the East, aside from the underlying philosophical principle of Yin and Yang or the active and passive principles of Life. The five elements, along with the 12 branches or Chinese animal signs, form one of the best known divination methods, The Four Pillars of Destiny, or Ba Zi, Chinese for “Eight Characters.” The five elements provide a philosophical framework as well and are included in other systems such as Chinese medicine, acupuncture, martial arts, feng shui, etc. They are sometimes known and can be thought of as “spirits” and take on a larger personality and role within Four Pillar analysis. For example, the Day Master is the stem of the day pillar in Four Pillar analysis and is the “self” of the person in question. That element, whether yin or yang, describes the essential nature of the person. In Eastern astrology in general, the five elements are not limited to just Four Pillar analysis but are included in several other systems, such as the astrology of Tibet and Japan, which varies considerably in many areas from Chinese methods. However, the five elements maintain their basic characteristics and qualities throughout these divergent systems in Asia.
The Five Elements
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