The Day Master's Own Seat: Which Life Stage Your Day Pillar Sits On
The day pillar is you. Its stem, the Day Master, sits on the day branch, and whether that branch is Birth, Peak or Tomb for the Day Master is its own seat. Of all the life stages in a chart, this is the one people talk about most, because it sits closest to the self and shares a position with the spouse palace.
The own seat of all sixty day pillars
| Own seat | Day pillars | Count |
|---|---|---|
| Birth (長生) | Bing-Yin, Ren-Shen, Wu-Yin, Ding-You, Gui-Mao, Ji-You | 6 |
| Bath (沐浴) | Jia-Zi, Geng-Wu, Yi-Si, Xin-Hai | 4 |
| Cap and Belt (冠帶) | Wu-Chen, Ding-Wei, Gui-Chou, Bing-Chen, Ji-Wei, Ren-Xu | 6 |
| Taking Office (臨官) | Jia-Yin, Yi-Mao, Geng-Shen, Xin-You | 4 |
| Peak (帝旺) | Ji-Si, Bing-Wu, Ren-Zi, Ding-Si, Wu-Wu, Gui-Hai | 6 |
| Decline (衰) | Yi-Chou, Xin-Wei, Jia-Chen, Geng-Xu | 4 |
| Sickness (病) | Ding-Mao, Gui-You, Ji-Mao, Bing-Shen, Ren-Yin, Wu-Shen | 6 |
| Death (死) | Yi-Hai, Xin-Si, Jia-Wu, Geng-Zi | 4 |
| Tomb (墓) | Ding-Chou, Gui-Wei, Bing-Xu, Ji-Chou, Ren-Chen, Wu-Xu | 6 |
| Extinction (絕) | Jia-Shen, Yi-You, Geng-Yin, Xin-Mao | 4 |
| Conception (胎) | Bing-Zi, Ren-Wu, Ding-Hai, Wu-Zi, Gui-Si, Ji-Hai | 6 |
| Nurture (養) | Jia-Xu, Geng-Chen, Yi-Wei, Xin-Chou | 4 |
Uses yang forward, yin backward. Click a day pillar for its full write-up in the sixty jiazi. Because yang stems pair only with yang branches and yin stems only with yin branches, each stem can only ever sit in six of the twelve stages; Jia, for example, only sits in Bath, Taking Office, Decline, Death, Extinction and Nurture.
How to read the own seat
| Own seat | The usual reading |
|---|---|
| Birth, Taking Office, Peak | Qi underfoot; able to hold their own. Peak tends to be forceful and opinionated |
| Cap and Belt | Cares about appearances and principles; does things properly |
| Bath | Emotional, fond of beauty; charm and Peach Blossom stand out |
| Decline, Sickness | Does not push to the front, attentive to detail, benefits from outside support |
| Tomb | Reserved, protective of what they have, good at keeping things to themselves; the day branch is a vault, often read as valuing savings |
| Death, Extinction, Conception, Nurture | Quiet, or a life with more turns; not an omen, only qi that is not on display |
Keep in mind that the own seat is the state of one branch. Whether the Day Master is strong overall depends on the roots and balance across the whole chart; see strong or weak Day Master.
The own seat and the spouse palace
The day branch is also the spouse palace. Some books read sitting in Birth or Taking Office as a supportive partner and sitting in the Tomb as a home-centered marriage. These can serve as images, but what the spouse palace really shows is the Ten God of the day branch's hidden stems and how that branch combines with or clashes against the others; see the four pillar palaces and Peach Blossom and true love.
Look up your twelve life stages
Enter your date of birth to see which stage the Day Master is in at each of the four branches, what each pillar's stem sits on, and which stages your first eight luck pillars pass through. For a yin-stem Day Master both schools are shown side by side. Everything is calculated in your browser; nothing is uploaded.
Uses your Gregorian birth date, with the day changing at 11 p.m. Life stages follow "yang forward, yin backward," the method most chart software uses.
A straight word: the life stages describe, they do not pass judgment
Words like "Death," "Tomb" and "Extinction" sound alarming, but they are only borrowed from the arc of a human life to describe how an element's qi rises and falls over the twelve months. They help you see whether the Day Master is just sprouting or in its prime at a given branch. How strong a person is, and how a period goes, depends on the whole chart and on luck pillars and years; one word cannot settle it. Everything on this site is for reference and entertainment.
What does your day pillar sit on?
Enter your birth date and the tool lists the Day Master's stage at all four branches, plus the own seat of your day pillar.
Day Master own seat FAQ
What is the Day Master's own seat?
The life stage the day stem reaches on its own day branch. Jia-Yin sits in Taking Office, for example, and Jia-Wu sits in Death.
Is a day pillar sitting in Peak good?
Sitting in Peak means qi underfoot, a forceful personality and strong opinions. Whether that helps depends on the whole chart: for a Day Master that is already strong, it points to a need for outlets rather than more support.
What does a day pillar sitting in the Tomb mean?
The day branch is one of Chen, Xu, Chou or Wei and is the Day Master's vault. It is usually read as reserved, protective and good at saving, not as anything unlucky.