Under a BaZi chart you usually see a row of stem-branch pairs that change every ten years, and one pair for each year. These are the luck pillars (da yun) and annual pillars (liu nian).
What is a luck pillar?
The four pillars at birth form the natal chart, a person's basic structure. Luck pillars are derived from the month pillar, and each usually governs ten years. The idea: the seasonal environment you were born into keeps moving, so stepping forward or backward from the month pillar gives a sequence of life phases.
Forward or reverse
- Yang-year males and yin-year females: count forward through the sixty-cycle from the month pillar.
- Yin-year males and yang-year females: count backward.
Yang stems are Jia, Bing, Wu, Geng, Ren; yin stems are Yi, Ding, Ji, Xin, Gui. Example only: a Bing Yin month pillar runs Ding Mao, Wu Chen, Ji Si… forward, or Yi Chou, Jia Zi, Gui Hai… backward.
Starting age
Luck pillars start some time after birth. Count from the birth moment to the next solar term "jie" (forward) or back to the previous one (reverse). Every three days equal one year, so one day is about four months and one double-hour about ten days. That is why some people start at 2 and others at 8. Charting software does this for you.
What is an annual pillar?
It is simply the year's stem and branch, also called Tai Sui — 2026 is Bing Wu. In BaZi the year changes at Lichun, not at Chinese New Year or 1 January. The annual pillar is the same for everyone; its relationship with each chart differs.
Reading them together
A common metaphor: the natal chart is the car, the luck pillar is the road, the year is the weather.
- Which Ten God the luck pillar is to the Day Master — Resource, Wealth or Officer periods describe themes.
- Elemental effect — does it supply what the chart lacks or deepen an imbalance?
- Branch interactions — clashes and combinations are traditionally read as change or connection.
Schools differ on stem versus branch; one popular view gives the stem the first five years and the branch the last five, while others read the pillar as a whole.
Keep it in perspective
Luck pillars express a traditional sense of rhythm in time. Choices, effort and environment shape life just as deeply, so treat them as a reference for reflection, not a fixed timetable.
Summary
Luck pillars come from the month pillar, run forward or backward by yin/yang and sex, change every ten years and start at an age set by the distance to a solar term. Annual pillars are each year's stem-branch, counted from Lichun.
This article is for cultural reference only and is not advice for any decision.