Eight Characters - Ba Zi Introduction

Created on January 4, 2008

| Feng Shui Introduction | Feng Shui Resources |

This is the traditional chinese character for the number 8. In Mandarin, it's pronounced as "ba".

This is the traditional chinese character for "word" or "character". In Mandarin, it's pronounced as "zi".

Together these two symbols form the word "ba zi" which literally translates into Eight Characters in English.

Since ancient times, astrologers can tell by the time of day when a powerful ruler will be born. In Chinese astrology, this is the 8 characters chart.

The reason it's called 8 Characters is because when a person is born: the hour, day, month, and year of the birth literally generates 8 Chinese Characters.

4 of those characters make up the heavenly stem of the chart. The other 4 makes up the earthly stem of the chart.

In a chart, the 8 Characters form into 4 columns called Pillars. One pillar for hour, one pillar for day, one pillar for month, and one pillar for year.

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Otherwise, here's my super quick introduction into 8 Characters:

4 Pillars Introduction

So if you're Bill Gates, your 8 Characters Chart will look like this after being plugged into a 4-Pillar Calculator (thank goodness for technology!):

You can calculate your own by using Wofs.com 4 Pillar Calculator.

Or you can use Geomancy.Net Ba Zi Calculator.

Or you can use ChineseFortuneCalendar.com.

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Now at the Lillian Too Wofs.com 4 Pillar Calculator, it looks like this:

I don't know what those extra 4 characters are? Some 4 Pillar Calculators have them, some don't.

The 4 Pillars represent 1/3 of your luck in your life. (Per FengShuiWorld Magazine January/February 2008 Issue)

The 4 Pillars is also used to calculate your Birth Element.

Based on Geomancy.Net, Bill Gates Birth Element is:

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The 4 Pillars is also used to calculate the special stars in one's life. There are many stars and depending on which expert you consult they will specialize in the ability to calculate different stars.

Based on Lillian's Too's Eight Characters book, Bill Gates has:

1) Star of Prospect - possess the competitive edge in any field of endeavour you decide to carve a name out for yourself in.

2) War Star - suggests a person of high intellect with great ability in planning and strategic dfense.

3) Mentor Star - indicates that you will always have someone powerful to help you succeed, and during times of danger there will always be someone there to help you.

Based on Geomancy.Net, Bill Gates has:

1) Rooster Bone - You are charming and frank and you should use it to your advantage. Yet, you can be persuasive and able to carry forward your views and ideas successfully.

2) Your Twelve Creatures - Sparrow - You are adaptable and flexible and fits well in a dynamic changing environment.

3) Your Career Star - Prosperity Star - Creative work in the areas of art, fashion, design and writing.This is governed by the Prosperity Star.

So depending on who and what you consult, there's many possibilities here.

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Luck Pillars Introduction

The other 1/3 is by the sum of luck generated by your Luck Pillars. The Decade Luck Pillar can be generated by 4 Pillar Calculators.

You can calculate your own by using Wofs.com 4 Pillar Calculator.

Or you can use Geomancy.Net Ba Zi Calculator.

Or you can use ChineseFortuneCalendar.com.

The Luck Pillars is broken down into the following.

1) Decade Pillars - what you are given when you are born. Everyone has different Decade Pillars. The Decade Pillars carries the most weight and thus the most influence out of all the Luck Pillars.

2) Year Pillar - Depending on the current year. Everyone shares the same Year Pillar. For 2008, everyone's Decade Pillar will feel the affects of the Earth Rat Year Pillar. Here's a list of Year Pillar from ChineseFortuneCalendar.com for the next 10 years.

3) Month Pillar - Depending on the current month. Everyone shares the same Month Pillar.

4) Day Pillar - Depending on the current day. Everyone shares the same Day Pillar.

5) Hour Pillar - Depending on the current hour. Everyone shares the same Hour Pillar.

Technically, you can calculate which hour is most auspicious for you based on the alignment of the stars supporting you in that hour. In life, it's one thing someone has the ability to succeed, it's another thing that the lucky stars are in their favor!

Often times I see many people with great ability but they never seem to have any luck in what they do. They might succeed in something, but they gain no recognition for it. Instead someone else who doesn't have the ability ends up taking the credit for their work! This scenario is what being in the right place at the right time can do for you! Or better known as "luck"!

This could explain the lucky streaks some people get when they are in Las Vegas!

Generally most people don't calculate past the year pillar. If you are still interested in a very detailed 8 Characters Calculator, you can purchase one from BaZi Ming Pan v2.0Windows version

I will now start using "Eight Characters" instead of "8 Characters"

Now back to the Decade Pillar. Bill Gates Decade Pillar looks like this:

Furthermore the Ten Luck Pillars break down into this:

All the information above is generated by complicated algorithms. Thanks to technology and computers, programmers have been able to plug in the ancient chinese Eight Characters algorithms online. But I still check different websites to make sure the calculations are the same.

The Ten Luck Pillars cycles every 60 years. But the meaning of the elements is different for each person. So for a single human being to have the same identical Ten Luck Pillars with the same identical elements with the same identical 4 Pillars happens once every ... maybe a thousand year??

As of 2008, Bill Gates is in his 46 to 55 decade cycle. The reason is because he'll be 53 to 54 years old in 2008.

Since 2008 is the year of Rat, and his decade cycle right now is in the year of the Snake, Bill Gates luck appears fine. However, this is the year of the Earth Rat. So all these factors must be taken into calculations as one figures out Bill Gates Luck for 2008.

I'm no expert in this area, so I won't even try. But at least you've got an idea about how complex Eight Characters can get.

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Summary - the last 1/3 of your luck/fate in life

In summary, 2/3 of one's LUCK/FATE IN LIFE is already pre-determined.

Here's a quick recap:

1/3 is based on the 4-Pillars, which contains Eight Characters.

1/3 is based on Luck Pillars. The Decade Pillar is determined at birth, but the other Luck Pillars are shared by everyone.

So could there be someone out there that starts out the same as you? Yes!

This is especially true with twins! If the twin is born in the same exact hour as each other, they will start life with the same luck! This only applies to twins of the same gender. But each of them do still have their own free will to control the last 1/3 of their own destiny/fate/luck.

Now some twins lead totally different lives. This is most likely due to twins who are born in different hours. See chart below:

Remember the last 1/3 of your luck in life is up to you! You have the power to change your own destiny luck chart with the last 1/3 of your self-generated luck.

The last 1/3 is your day-to-day karmic deeds, your education, your understanding of the world, the friends you surround yourself with, the list is endless! If you can control it, it'll affect 1/3 of your luck in life. This 1/3 can easily be the final factor why some people are able to survive and win against impossible odds, while others just fall under the pressure of their own destiny.

Of course Feng Shui can also play a role in shaping how this last 1/3 of the luck can impact your life. Think of Feng Shui as "the cure" for not being pre-destined with super good luck.

Added January 23, 2008: In one of Joey Yap's DVDs, he mentioned that if you are born with a super balanced and auspicious Eight Characters chart, you automatically are gravitated toward lucky people, a lucky house, a lucky job, and lucky everything. Unfortunately, most of us have weaknesses in our Eight Characters Chart. So Feng Shui was developed to aid the majority of the populartion to gain an advantage over their personal luck.

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Why do some start off luckier than others?

Some might start wondering how can God give someone a better start in life than others? Isn't everyone created equal? Well no, if we were all created equal, we'd all be identical clones of each other. That's a scary thought.

All of us are unique individuals. Each Eight Characters Chart is so unique, that it would take hundreds if not thousands of years just to repeat itself. So who gets what Eight Characters Chart when we're born? Well, the belief of reincarnation comes into the equation. Depending on each of our previous karmic deeds, our previous life experiences, our previous lifestyles, our previous personalities, etc., all these play a factor into what Eight Characters Chart we get in our current life.

Instead of thinking that one has no control over one's previous life, think about the life you're living now. Whatever you do now will be a deciding factor in what you get in your next life! That's a lot of control and power!

Many people want only the good stars or lucky combinations that comes with Eight Characters, but not the bad. Unfortuantely, that's not how life works. In life, we must take all the good and the bad that comes with it.

For example: Take a look at Britney Spears' life. On the surface, she has everything. Britney Spears is born with good looks, a great body, artistic talent, and a promising career since childhood. What a lucky destiny! Britney was the idol and envy of many girls. Looking at her life now, some may not wish to be her anymore. But yet Britney must continue to live her life even though she's entered into a bad luck period. Most of us would keep a low profile during our bad luck period. But Britney must live her personal life under the public's scrutiny and constant judgement! I think she's a very brave soul to have taken on such a demanding Eight Characters Chart.

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Bold Predictions!

According to the January/February 2008 Edition of FengShuiWorld Magazine published by Lillian Too, she made two very bold predictions using Eight Characters / Ba Zi.

Lillian looked at the presidential candidates for the upcoming 2008 US elections and she read the Luck Pillars and 4 Pillars of each candidate, and Lillian predicted that Hillary Clinton will win!!! Added 07/23/2008 - Lillian is wrong! Makes me think twice about reading her books regarding BaZi.

Lillian also looked at Camilla Parker-Bowles Luck Pillars and 4 Pillars and predicted that she could become the next Queen of England in 2014!!!

Those are some predictions! I don't know if they'll come true or not, but that sure is bold!

This is another reason why I'm writing this on my website today! I want to see if what Lillian Too says will come true.

If you have comments/questions about anything you've read, you can always post a comment on my forum!

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Lillian Too vs. Joey Yap Controversies

Lillian Too and Joey Yap are two of the biggest names when it comes to Feng Shui and Eight Characters. Joey Yap probably is more famous for his Eight Characters skills than Lillian Too.

I personally have been to two Lillian Too Feng Shui seminars and I find her to be very entertaining and kind. She always mentions that she graduated from Harvard Business School. I even purchased Lillian's Eight Characters book. There's quite a bit of spelling errors and concepts that doesn't make sense. There's even times when she contradicts her own information in both her own Feng Shui AND Eight Characters books. But those errors might only be in her first editions, since all my Lillian Too books are her 1st editions.

I have yet to meet Joey Yap in person. I have purchased books and DVDs through Joey Yap's website and found them to be quite informative and detailed.

So are these two Feng Shui masters in it for the money? Or do they really know what they're talking about?? Well, like all controversies, I'll let everyone judge for themselves.

Here's an interesting article from SimonTalks.com.

You are also welcome to add in your own comments about Lilliano Too and Joey Yap on your own blogs or websites and I will link to your sections as well. Just let me know!

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Last Edited: July 23, 2008 7:06 PM PST