Five Elements Calculator: What Element Am I?

Your BaZi chart writes the year, month, day and hour of birth as two characters each: a Heavenly Stem and an Earthly Branch. Stems 甲乙 are Wood, 丙丁 Fire, 戊己 Earth, 庚辛 Metal, 壬癸 Water; branches 寅卯 are Wood, 巳午 Fire, 辰戌丑未 Earth, 申酉 Metal, 亥子 Water. Count all eight and you get something like Fire 3, Wood 2, Earth 2, Metal 1, Water 0. Many people call the stem of the day pillar their "Day Master" element; this tool shows it as the top character of the day column.

It just means none of your eight characters is Water. That is common: most charts are missing at least one element. Traditional readers look at balance and timing, not a single zero, so a missing element is not a bad sign on its own. The traits shown here are for fun and reflection, not advice about health, money or big decisions, and we do not recommend buying bracelets or charms to "fix" an element.

Choose "Not sure" and the hour pillar (two characters) is left out, so six characters are counted. If you find out your time later, try again: those two extra characters can add an element you seemed to be missing. Born between 11pm and midnight? Pick "Rat (late)": many schools count that hour as the next day, and the tool moves the day pillar for you.

In BaZi the year begins at Lichun, the Start of Spring solar term around February 3 to 5, not on January 1 or Lunar New Year. If you were born in January or early February before Lichun, your year pillar is the previous year. Months work the same way and change at solar terms. This tool calculates the sun position for the exact term (accurate to about 15 minutes) and warns you when you were born on a day the term changes.

It uses your device time zone for the date you enter, which also applies historical daylight saving rules. If you were born somewhere else, the year and month pillars only change when your birthday is a solar term day, and the tool tells you when that happens. The hour pillar comes from the two-hour window you pick, so pick it by the local clock where you were born.

It adds your five counts to a friend’s and shows whether the two of you cover all five elements, for example "I have no Water, but you bring 3". Enter their birthday directly, or send your link: the link carries only your five counts, not your birthday, so your friend just enters their own date.

Small differences come from a few choices: whether hidden stems inside each branch are counted, whether a birth after 11pm counts as the next day, how two-hour windows are aligned, and whether local solar time is used instead of clock time. This tool counts the eight visible characters, treats "Rat (late)" as the next day, and uses your clock time.

No. Everything is calculated in your browser and nothing is sent to a server. There is no sign-up, name or email. The card and share link only contain your characters and element counts.