Guides

On the surface the Chou–Wei clash is Earth against Earth, but underneath it is wet Earth hitting dry Earth and a Metal storehouse hitting a Wood storehouse — the hidden stems inside, Chou's Gui Water and Xin Metal against Wei's Ding Fire and Yi Wood, fight each other, and both storehouse doors get knocked open. If what sits in the storehouse is favorable, wealth and honor arrive; if it is unfavorable, money is lost and trouble follows. This guide breaks the clash from three angles — the nature of the five elements, its place in the four pillars, and its link to the useful god — then gives the remedies: Metal to bridge, and combinations to dissolve the clash, so you can read this collision of storehouses.

Mao and You clash, Metal battles Wood. Mao is Yi Wood at its peak, You is Xin Metal at its prosperity. Both sit at full strength, evenly matched, so the clash runs hottest. Metal conquers Wood, so Mao Wood takes the blow and You Metal gains — unless Wood is strong and Metal weak, in which case Metal gets chipped. A clash in the year or hour pillar means home and household shifts; in the month or day pillar, marriage upheaval. First check whether it clashes with your useful god or harmful god, then judge good from bad. Water bridges the gap, and combinations break the clash — Mao-Xu and Chen-You both restrain it.

Si and Hai clash, Water battles Fire. Si is Bing Fire's prosperity, Hai is Ren Water's prosperity — two peaks face off. Water conquers Fire, so Si Fire takes the first blow. Si holds Bing, Wu, and Geng; Hai holds Ren and Jia — their hidden stems fight, making this the most tangled of the six clashes. Si and Hai are also Traveling Horse branches, so the clash means rushing, moving, and long journeys. A clash in the month or day pillar means marriage with long separations. Check whether it clashes with your useful god or harmful god; Wood bridges the gap, and Si-Shen and Yin-Hai combinations resolve it.

The Yin–Shen clash is the fiercest Metal-Wood battle among the Earthly Branch clashes — Yin is Yang Wood hiding Jia, Bing, and Wu; Shen is Yang Metal hiding Geng, Ren, and Wu. Shen Metal conquers Yin Wood and Geng Metal conquers Jia Wood, head-on with no buffer. Yin and Shen are also both Traveling Horses, so the Yin–Shen clash often means rushing and change — travel, moving house, changing jobs. This guide breaks the clash from three angles — the nature of the five elements, its place in the four pillars, and its link to the useful god — then gives the remedies: Water to bridge, and combinations to dissolve the clash, so you can read the Metal-Wood battle in practice.

The Zi–Wu clash is the purest of the six Earthly Branch clashes — due-north pure Water hits due-south pure Fire. Water wants to put out the Fire, and Fire wants to boil off the Water, with no buffer between them. Wu Fire gets hurt and Zi Water takes the wealth; in a summer month, Wu Fire is strong and Zi Water gets boiled dry instead. This guide breaks the clash from three angles — the nature of the five elements, its place in the four pillars, and its link to the useful god — then gives the remedies: Wood to bridge, and combinations to dissolve the clash, so you can read the Water-Fire battle in practice.

Hai Zi Chou form the North Water frame — the strongest water configuration among the directional frames. Hai is water at Lin Guan, Zi is water at Di Wang, and Chou is water at decline with wet earth; all three branches sit in the north and belong to winter. When all three appear together, they consolidate into a single water force, stronger and purer than a Three Harmony combination. A directional frame cannot form halfway — one missing branch breaks it. This guide covers san hui transformation, how it differs from san he, the conditions for the frame to form, and its impact across career, relationships, personality, and health.

Shen You Xu form the West Metal frame — the strongest metal configuration among the directional frames. Shen is metal at Lin Guan, You is metal at Di Wang, and Xu is metal at decline; all three branches sit in the west and belong to autumn. When all three appear together, they consolidate into a single metal force, stronger and purer than a Three Harmony combination. A directional frame cannot form halfway — one missing branch breaks it. This guide covers san hui transformation, how it differs from san he, the conditions for the frame to form, and its impact across career, relationships, personality, and health.

The Si Wu Wei San Hui gathers the Southern Fire region: Si, Wu, and Wei all sit in the south and belong to Fire. Together they transform into Fire. San Hui carries the greatest force, but only when all three branches are present; missing one, nothing transforms. Unlike San He, San Hui gathers qi by direction, not by the growth-peak-tomb cycle. The meeting completes when summer Fire is strong and Bing or Ding shows in the heavenly stems. Fire governs courtesy and civilization; once formed, the meeting shapes career and wealth, love, personality, and health. First, check whether all three branches are present.

The Yin Mao Chen San Hui gathers the Eastern Wood region: Yin, Mao, and Chen all sit in the east and belong to Wood. Together they transform into Wood. San Hui carries the greatest force, but only when all three branches are present; missing one, nothing transforms. Unlike San He, San Hui gathers qi by direction, not by the growth-peak-tomb cycle. The meeting completes when spring Wood is strong and Jia or Yi shows in the heavenly stems. Wood governs kindness and growth; once formed, the meeting shapes career and wealth, love, personality, and health. First, check whether all three branches are present.

The Hai Mao Wei Three Harmony forms a Wood combination. Hai (Water), Mao (Wood), and Wei (Earth) join and transform into Wood. Mao is the central branch at peak strength, Hai is the Growth stage, and Wei is the Wood storage. With all three present the Wood combination forms; missing one leaves a half or arch combination with weaker force, needing the season and a Wood-revealing Heavenly Stem to trigger it. A Wood combination governs growth, benevolence, and development. Once formed, it shapes career and wealth, love and marriage, personality, and health. To read the combination, first check whether the central branch Mao is present.

The Shen Zi Chen Three Harmony forms a Water combination. Shen (Metal), Zi (Water), and Chen (Earth) join and transform into Water. Zi is the central branch at peak strength, Shen is the Growth stage, and Chen is the Water storage. With all three present the Water combination forms; missing one leaves a half or arch combination with weaker force, needing the season and a Water-revealing Heavenly Stem to trigger it. A Water combination governs wisdom, flow, and emotion. Once formed, it shapes career and wealth, love and marriage, personality, and health. To read the combination, first check whether the central branch Zi is present.

The Si-You-Chou Three Harmony is the purest Metal combination among the twelve Earthly Branches. Si is Metal's Growth, You its Peak, Chou its Tomb. When all three appear, they combine into Metal that runs through the Growth, Peak, and Tomb palaces. Can two branches still combine? A half-combination needs the center branch You Metal present — Si and Chou without You can only arch toward Metal. This guide covers the transformative qi, when a full combination forms, the center branch's role, and its impact on career, love, personality, and health.

The Yin-Wu-Xu Three Harmony is the purest Fire combination among the twelve Earthly Branches. Yin is Fire's Growth, Wu its Peak, Xu its Tomb. When all three appear, they combine into Fire that runs through the Growth, Peak, and Tomb palaces. Can two branches still combine? A half-combination needs the center branch Wu Fire present — Yin and Xu without Wu can only arch toward Fire. This guide covers the transformative qi, when a full combination forms, the center branch's role, and its impact on career, love, personality, and health.

The Bing-Ren clash is one of the four Heavenly Stem clashes. Bing is yang fire, the fire of the sun; Ren is yang water, the water of rivers and seas. Yang fire hits yang water and the two churn, signaling change, movement, and competition. This guide explains the five-element nature of the clash, who is hurt and who gains, what it means in each of the four pillars, how it relates to your favorable element, and how to resolve it through Wood and through combination. See Bing and Ren in a chart, judge strength first, then judge fortune.

Chen-You is the 'generating combination' of the six Earthly Branch combinations — Chen Earth generates You Metal, Chen is the Water storehouse, and You Metal drains the Gui Water dry, multiplying Metal qi many times over. This guide breaks down the three conditions for Chen-You to transform into Metal (adjacency, month command, and transformation spirit exposed in the stems), the essential difference between binding and transformation, the changes in the Chen-You hidden stems, and their impact on career and wealth, love and relationships, personality, and health, plus practical rules for reading them.

The Ding-Gui clash is one of the four Heavenly Stem clashes. Ding is yin fire, the fire of a lamp or candle; Gui is yin water, the water of rain and dew. Yin fire strikes yin water — a quiet undercurrent rather than a loud fight, signaling mood swings and inner drain. This guide explains the five-element nature of the clash, who is hurt and who gains, what it means in each of the four pillars, how it relates to your favorable element, and how to resolve it through Wood and through combination. See Ding and Gui in a chart, judge strength first, then judge fortune.

Eating God and Hurting Officer are both stars your Day Master produces. Placed in the Year, Month, Day, and Hour pillars, each position brings a different fortune. This guide breaks down what each pillar position means, its fortune tendency, and its effect on the chart: the Year for early talent, the Month for career roots, the Day for marriage and temperament, the Hour for later-life blessings. See how your talent converts and whether old age brings ease — check each pillar against your own chart.

Friend and Rob Wealth are the two stars of the same kind as your Day Master. Placed in the Year, Month, Day, and Hour pillars, each position brings a different fortune. This guide breaks down what each pillar position means, its fortune tendency, and its effect on the chart: the Year for family means, the Month for friends gathering and parting, the Day for marriage equality, the Hour for old age. See how wealth gathers or scatters and how to settle your later years — check each pillar against your own chart.

Jia–Geng is the sharpest of the four direct stem clashes. Yang wood stands tall, Yang metal swings the axe; same polarity, head-on force, the fiercest of the metal-wood battles. Jia wood gets felled, Geng metal takes wealth; when metal is weak and wood strong, wood insults metal back. This guide breaks the clash from three angles — the five elements, its place in the chart, and its link to the useful god — then gives the remedies: water to bridge, fire to hold the metal.

Mao-Xu combines into Fire, one of the Earthly Branch Six Combinations: Mao Wood and Xu Earth merge, transforming into Fire. Mao hides Yi; Xu hides Wu, Xin, and Ding. Yi Wood inside Mao feeds Ding Fire inside Xu, a controlling combination that transforms into Fire. The transformation needs Fire strong or Bing/Ding Fire exposed in the stems to trigger it; when Fire qi is weak, it combines without transforming, and Wood and Earth contend — a bind. This guide covers the transformed element, transformation conditions, binding vs transformation, hidden-stem changes, and the impact on career, love, personality, and health.