Breaking Tai Sui: Existing Arrangements Taken Apart and Redone
A break is the lightest of the five types and the one most often left out. It is not an impact but a taking apart: what was agreed has to be agreed again, and an arrangement gets scattered. Put back together afterward, it often fits better than it did before.
The Six Breaks
| Break | Other relations between the same pair |
|---|---|
| Zi-You | — |
| Wu-Mao | — |
| Chen-Chou | — |
| Si-Shen | Six Combinations and punishment: combine, punish and break at once |
| Yin-Hai | Six Combinations: combine and break at once |
| Xu-Wei | Punishment: punish and break at once |
Si-Shen and Yin-Hai are also Six Combinations, so for these signs the same year is "drawing closer while coming apart": a partnership or relationship often takes a step forward while its old form has to be renegotiated. Xu-Wei is also a punishment, so the force along that line is more tangled; the Dog in the 2027 Ding-Wei year is exactly this case.
How a break year tends to feel
- Appointments and trips moved, contracts renegotiated, teams reorganized.
- Small things breaking down and needing replacement: phones, computers, appliances.
- Habits interrupted: your routine or rhythm needs rearranging.
How to use a break year
Since things are going to come apart, do the sorting yourself: take out the arrangements that no longer fit and renegotiate them, rather than waiting for them to fall apart on their own. Put important agreements in writing and leave some slack in your schedule.
Under each of the twelve Tai Sui branches, which sign is it?
| Tai Sui branch | Year of the | Signs that break Tai Sui |
|---|---|---|
| Zi 子 | Rat | Rooster |
| Chou 丑 | Ox | Dragon |
| Yin 寅 | Tiger | Pig |
| Mao 卯 | Rabbit | Horse |
| Chen 辰 | Dragon | Ox |
| Si 巳 | Snake | Monkey |
| Wu 午 | Horse | Rabbit |
| Wei 未 | Goat | Dog |
| Shen 申 | Monkey | Snake |
| You 酉 | Rooster | Rat |
| Xu 戌 | Dog | Goat |
| Hai 亥 | Pig | Tiger |
Breaking Tai Sui: the signs for 2026 to 2037
| Year | Tai Sui | Breaking Tai Sui |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Bing-Wu 丙午 (Horse) | Rabbit |
| 2027 | Ding-Wei 丁未 (Goat) | Dog |
| 2028 | Wu-Shen 戊申 (Monkey) | Snake |
| 2029 | Ji-You 己酉 (Rooster) | Rat |
| 2030 | Geng-Xu 庚戌 (Dog) | Goat |
| 2031 | Xin-Hai 辛亥 (Pig) | Tiger |
| 2032 | Ren-Zi 壬子 (Rat) | Rooster |
| 2033 | Gui-Chou 癸丑 (Ox) | Dragon |
| 2034 | Jia-Yin 甲寅 (Tiger) | Pig |
| 2035 | Yi-Mao 乙卯 (Rabbit) | Horse |
| 2036 | Bing-Chen 丙辰 (Dragon) | Ox |
| 2037 | Ding-Si 丁巳 (Snake) | Monkey |
Calculated by our engine from the table of branch relations, with the year changing at Li Chun. In our sample, in any given year about 8.3% of people have a sign in this column.
Reading it in BaZi
Your zodiac sign is only the year branch. If the same relation falls on your month branch, what moves is work and your surroundings; on your day branch, yourself, your partner and where you live; on your hour branch, children and younger people, and long-term plans. Then look at whether the element of Tai Sui's branch is favorable or unfavorable for you: the same break from a favorable Tai Sui is a push, and only an unfavorable one is the kind of resistance that needs more care. For the full method see annual clashes and combinations.
Which years do you offend Tai Sui? Your zodiac sign and your whole chart
Enter your Gregorian birth date (the hour is optional). For each of the next twelve years you will see whether your zodiac sign offends Tai Sui and in which way, whether Tai Sui touches the branches of your other three pillars, and whether the element of Tai Sui's branch is favorable or unfavorable for you. Everything is calculated in your browser; nothing is uploaded.
Uses your Gregorian birth date. Your zodiac sign changes at Li Chun (Start of Spring); if you were born between late January and early February, the result also notes where the Chinese New Year count would differ.
A straight word: offending Tai Sui is a branch relation, not a verdict
Offending Tai Sui only says which cell your birth-year branch and this year's branch land on in the table of twelve branch relations. It can tell you that a line in your life will be touched this year; it cannot tell you what happens once it is touched. That depends on the role the branch plays in your chart and on whether the year's element is favorable or unfavorable for you. Everything on this site is for reference and entertainment.
Which years do you break Tai Sui?
Enter your birth date to list, for each of the next twelve years, whether Tai Sui touches your zodiac sign or your other pillars, and whether its element is favorable for you.
Breaking Tai Sui FAQ
What does breaking Tai Sui mean?
Your zodiac branch and the year's branch form one of the Six Breaks: Zi-You, Wu-Mao, Si-Shen, Yin-Hai, Chen-Chou or Xu-Wei. It often reads as existing arrangements being taken apart and reorganized, with less force than a clash.
Why do Si and Shen both combine and break?
Si-Shen is at once a Six Combination, a punishment and a break, the pair with the most relations among the twelve branches. It reads as drawing closer while coming apart: the relationship moves forward, but its form has to be renegotiated.
Is breaking Tai Sui serious?
Of the five types, a break is usually considered the lightest. It is more like an existing arrangement being scattered and needing to be rebuilt than a head-on collision.
What should I watch in a year that breaks Tai Sui?
Put important agreements in writing and leave slack in your schedule. Arrangements that no longer fit are better renegotiated on your own initiative than left to fall apart.