Luck Pillars and Annual Pillars: The Decade Sets the Background, the Year Adds On Top
You cannot tell how a year will go from the annual pillar alone. The luck pillar is the background for ten years, and the annual pillar is the layer laid on top each year. A bad year over a good background is usually a minor setback; a good year over a hard background is a welcome breather. The terms most often used to frighten people, sui yun bing lin, fu yin, fan yin, all describe special ways these two layers stack.
Four ways the layers stack
| Luck pillar | Annual pillar | How it tends to feel |
|---|---|---|
| Favorable | Favorable | A year with the current behind you; good for pushing important things forward |
| Favorable | Unfavorable | Smooth overall, but this year has sticking points; do not overreach |
| Unfavorable | Favorable | A welcome breather; good for dealing with things long put off |
| Unfavorable | Unfavorable | A year to hold ground: stay steady, take fewer risks, look after your health |
Some special combinations
| Term | What it is | A closer reading | In our sample |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sui yun bing lin | The annual pillar exactly matches the luck pillar | One set of elements doubled: very good if favorable, very testing if not | 97.4% meet one within eight pillars |
| Fu yin | A luck pillar (or year) identical to the day pillar | The same issues come round again: old matters resurfacing, a sense of going in circles | 13.3% meet one in a lifetime |
| Fan yin | A luck pillar (or year) whose stem controls and branch clashes the day pillar | Reversal and change: a relationship or your surroundings change direction | 26.6% meet one in a lifetime |
| Clashing the month branch | The luck pillar's branch clashes the month branch | A big change in your living situation or the stage you work on | Everyone meets it in their sixth luck pillar |
| Clashing the day branch | The luck pillar's branch clashes the day branch (Spouse Palace) | A period of adjustment in a close relationship or where you live | 66.6% meet one in a lifetime |
How we counted: our engine cast one chart for every day from 1960 to 2005 (birth hour drawn by a fixed-seed random sample) and read each once as a man and once as a woman, 33,604 people in all, looking at the first eight luck pillars only. This describes how chart structures are distributed; it says nothing about anyone's fortune.
Clashing the month branch follows a pattern few people notice. Luck pillars start from the month pillar and move one branch per step, so the sixth step always lands on the branch that clashes the month branch. In other words, everyone's sixth luck pillar clashes the month command, roughly fifty years after the luck pillars start. It is not a bad omen but a natural change of scenery on life's stage, and it often falls right around retirement or a shift in what life centers on.
"When the year and the luck pillar coincide, if you do not die, someone close to you will"
This is the most widely repeated and most frightening line in Chinese fortune-telling. In our sample about 97.4% of people meet at least one such year within their first eight luck pillars. If the saying held literally, almost no one would be spared, which plainly does not make sense.
A more reasonable reading: that year, the luck pillar and the annual pillar are the same stem and branch, so the force of that set of elements is doubled. If those elements are favorable for you, it is a year to ride upward; if they are unfavorable, it is a year for extra care and a steady pace. Sayings such as "fan yin and fu yin bring tears in torrents" work the same way, blowing tension up into disaster.
A woman who meets two repeating years
Born July 10, 1990, Wu hour, female (favorable Wood and Fire, unfavorable Metal and Water)
- 2001, Xin-Si: she was then in her Xin-Si luck pillar (ages 12–21), and the year was also Xin-Si. Xin Metal is unfavorable and Si Fire favorable, so one favorable and one unfavorable force were both doubled, and both were especially noticeable that year.
- 2056, Bing-Zi: this one arrives during her Bing-Zi luck pillar (ages 62–71). Bing-Zi is also identical to her day pillar, Bing-Zi, which makes that whole luck pillar a fu yin. Bing Fire is favorable and Zi Water unfavorable, so recurring issues and the push-and-pull between them stand out more that year.
- Also: her first luck pillar, Ren-Wu, has its stem controlling and its branch clashing her Bing-Zi day pillar, a fan yin; her sixth, Ding-Chou, clashes the Wei month branch. All of this shows in the lookup results, and all of it is a hint about rhythm, not a script.
Look up your luck pillars: direction, start age, and whether each decade is favorable
Enter your Gregorian birth date and sex (the direction of the luck pillars depends on sex and on whether the year stem is yin or yang) to list your eight luck pillars, the Ten God and favorability grade of each, and special combinations such as fu yin, fan yin and years that repeat the luck pillar. Everything is calculated in your browser; nothing is uploaded.
Uses your Gregorian birth date, with the day changing at 11 p.m. Ages are counted the traditional way, with birth as age 1. Without a birth hour, the start age is only approximate.
A straight word: a luck pillar is the weather, not the script
A luck pillar tells you roughly whether the next ten years lean toward sun or rain: in a smooth stretch things move more easily, and in a hard one it pays to hold steady and build up. But in the same weather, some people go out and some stay in; in the same unfavorable decade, some hold their ground and some charge ahead regardless. A chart describes tendencies, not events that must happen, and everything on this site is for reference and entertainment.
Find your repeating years, fu yin and fan yin
Enter your birth date and sex; the lookup marks the special combinations in each luck pillar and the years that repeat it.
Luck pillars and annual pillars FAQ
How do you read a luck pillar and an annual pillar together?
The luck pillar governs ten years and sets the background; the annual pillar governs one year and adds or subtracts on top. Check whether the luck pillar is favorable, then whether the year is: favorable on favorable is a year to push ahead, unfavorable on unfavorable a year to hold ground, and one of each a year with both smooth patches and sticking points.
What is sui yun bing lin, and is it always bad?
It is a year whose stem and branch exactly match your current luck pillar, doubling that set of elements. It is not always bad: if the elements are favorable, it is a year to ride; only if they are unfavorable does it call for caution. In our sample about 97.4% of people meet one within their first eight luck pillars.
What do fu yin and fan yin mean?
Fu yin is a luck pillar or year identical to your day pillar, often read as the same issues coming round again. Fan yin is one whose stem controls and whose branch clashes your day pillar, often read as reversal and change. Both are hints about rhythm, not forecasts of disaster.
What does it mean when a luck pillar clashes the month branch?
The luck pillar's branch clashes your month branch, signaling a big change of scenery in your surroundings or the stage you work on. Because luck pillars move one branch per step, everyone's sixth luck pillar clashes the month branch, roughly fifty years after the luck pillars start.