BaZi Relations Terms: Combine, Meet, Clash, Punish, Harm, Break and Stem Combinations
Stems act on stems and branches on branches: they combine, clash, punish and harm. This group sorts out the names of those relationships and what each one means.
Index of this group
- Seven Branch relations
- Combination
- Meeting
- Arch
- Clash
- Punishment
- Self-Punishment (Chen, Wu, You, Hai)
- Harm
- Break
- Five Stem Combinations
- Four Stem Clashes
- Fu Yin and Fan Yin
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12 terms
- Seven Branch relations 刑沖破害合會拱
- The seven Branch relations are how BaZi sorts the ways Earthly Branches interact: combination and meeting are alliances, clash and punishment are collision and grinding, break and harm are small damage and hidden injury, and the arch summons an absent branch. More on Seven Branch relations →
- Combination 合
- In BaZi, Combination is attraction, alliance, binding. Five Stem combinations: Jia-Ji, Yi-Geng, Bing-Xin, Ding-Ren, Wu-Gui. Tendency: closeness, alliance (good or bad depends on who gets combined away, and whether it transforms). More on Combination →
- Meeting 會
- In BaZi, Meeting is Directional Meeting (same-direction qi gathering). Four bureaus: Yin-Mao-Chen → East Wood, Si-Wu-Wei → South Fire, Shen-You-Xu → West Metal, Hai-Zi-Chou → North Water. Tendency: one element surges, rewriting the chart’s strength balance. More on Meeting →
- Arch 拱
- In BaZi, Arch is empty-spirit distant combination, something from nothing. Two kinds: arch-combination (arching a bureau’s peak) and arch-embrace (arching a Noble / Prosperity star). Timing: it pays off the year a Luck Pillar or year “fills it in”. More on Arch →
- Clash 沖
- In BaZi, Clash is the six Branch clashes (head-on collision). Six pairs: Zi-Wu, Chou-Wei, Yin-Shen, Mao-You, Chen-Xu, Si-Hai. Tendency: turbulence, change, drive (not all bad). More on Clash →
- Punishment 刑
- In BaZi, Punishment is tangling, attrition. Three Punishments: Yin-Si-Shen (Ingratitude), Chou-Xu-Wei (Bullying), Zi-Mao (Discourtesy). Tendency: disputes, litigation, friction with those close, inner attrition (hidden wounds). More on Punishment →
- Self-Punishment (Chen, Wu, You, Hai) 自刑（辰午酉亥）
- In BaZi, Self-Punishment (Chen, Wu, You, Hai) is a Punishment (self-punishment). Four kinds: Chen-Chen, Wu-Wu, You-You, Hai-Hai. Tendency: overthinking, circling worries, self-consumption. More on Self-Punishment (Chen, Wu, You, Hai) →
- Harm 害（穿）
- In BaZi, Harm is also called piercing. Six pairs: Zi-Wei, Chou-Wu, Yin-Si, Mao-Chen, Shen-Hai, You-Xu. Tendency: hidden wounds, suspicion, kin discord, backstabbers. More on Harm →
- Break 破
- In BaZi, Break is small damage, flawed success. Six pairs: Zi-You, Mao-Wu, Si-Shen, Yin-Hai, Chou-Chen, Xu-Wei. Tendency: small damage, a hitch midway, close then part. More on Break →
- Five Stem Combinations 天干五合
- The Five Stem Combinations pair each yang stem with the yin stem five places on: Jia-Ji make Earth, Yi-Geng Metal, Bing-Xin Water, Ding-Ren Wood, Wu-Gui Fire. A pair truly transforms only when the month and the whole chart support it. More on Five Stem Combinations →
- Four Stem Clashes 天干四沖
- The Four Stem Clashes set stems of the same polarity whose elements control each other: Jia-Geng, Yi-Xin, Bing-Ren and Ding-Gui. Wu and Ji Earth sit in the center and do not clash. A clash reads as a pull between ideas or directions. More on Four Stem Clashes →
- Fu Yin and Fan Yin 伏吟
- Fu Yin is when a luck pillar or year repeats one of your natal pillars exactly, often read as the same lesson coming round again. Its opposite, Fan Yin, where stem controls stem and branch clashes branch, often reads as a reversal. More on Fu Yin and Fan Yin →
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About this glossary
Every definition is taken from the one-line definition on the matching page of this site, so when a page is updated, the glossary follows; only terms without their own page are written here. Usage varies a little between schools; this site follows the Zi Ping BaZi usage common in Taiwan. Everything here is for reference and entertainment only.
Find these terms on your own chart
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BaZi stem & branch relations terms FAQ
What does “Seven Branch relations” mean in BaZi?
The seven Branch relations are how BaZi sorts the ways Earthly Branches interact: combination and meeting are alliances, clash and punishment are collision and grinding, break and harm are small damage and hidden injury, and the arch summons an absent branch.
What does “Combination” mean in BaZi?
In BaZi, Combination is attraction, alliance, binding. Five Stem combinations: Jia-Ji, Yi-Geng, Bing-Xin, Ding-Ren, Wu-Gui. Tendency: closeness, alliance (good or bad depends on who gets combined away, and whether it transforms).
What does “Meeting” mean in BaZi?
In BaZi, Meeting is Directional Meeting (same-direction qi gathering). Four bureaus: Yin-Mao-Chen → East Wood, Si-Wu-Wei → South Fire, Shen-You-Xu → West Metal, Hai-Zi-Chou → North Water. Tendency: one element surges, rewriting the chart’s strength balance.
What does “Arch” mean in BaZi?
In BaZi, Arch is empty-spirit distant combination, something from nothing. Two kinds: arch-combination (arching a bureau’s peak) and arch-embrace (arching a Noble / Prosperity star). Timing: it pays off the year a Luck Pillar or year “fills it in”.