Conventional format

Whether you use Chinese characters or western symbols to take down the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches in a Four Pillars structure, this chart is pretty much what you will end up with in a Four Pillars horoscope.

Building a chart like this may require basic knowledge and effort, but is not much of a problem at all. The method is quite straighforward. Building a chart is not the real problem. Interpreting the chart is, and this is where the new system will prove quite helpful.

Building a chart as shown above has been the standard for a good reason.
Every Four Pillars practitioner knows that this format is not just used as one out of many possible alternatives, but most interpretations come from the position of the elements in relation to the Day Master or Self-Element. The format shows aspects of time and flow of Qi that would not be revealed were we to use any alternative.

I am excited to offer a new style of charting, as an extension to the conventional method. There will be some pro’s and con’s to the conventional system, as well as to the additional format presented here. Let us first consider pro’s and con’s of the traditional format and then show you the newly proposed style.

Some pro’s of this format

• It can show chronology from right pillar to left pillar.

• It shows function and origin of environment: friends, spouse parents, children, money et cetera.

• It shows timeliness and untimeliness of all elements involved.

• It shows upper body in the upper segments, lower body in lower segments of the pillars.

• It shows the environment of the Day Master, which elements are closer or farther away.

• It shows ‘root’ and ‘fruit’.

• It can show Qi flow throughout the structure.

• It shows the exact location and function of the hidden elements.

• It is quite easy to locate the combinations, pairings, clashes et cetera.

 Some con’s of this format

• Locating and remembering implications of all relations between elements is quite time-consuming and demanding on one’s memory.

• Even if all this is not a problem and you return to the same chart after three days, you shall have to build up your understanding of a chart almost from scratch.

• It is quite difficult to work on two or more charts simultaneously, both as a teacher in front of a class as as a consultant in comparing two charts during a Life Reading.

• Students will likely fall into coma already after having gone through two or three of their teacher’s explanations and interpretations, having to go back and forth between all the diffferent sections in the pillars and all their implications.

• All needs to be stored and fixed in your head, it is demanding because you would need to make many cross-references as to Five Transformations function, strength, Ten Gods and so forth.

• Useful God, Helpful God, Hostile God, Annoying God: you need to look for them continuously.

• You need to remember strength of chart and individual elements.

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