Yi Wood in the Di Tian Sui: "Though Soft," Line by Line
Yi Wood (乙) is yin Wood, usually pictured as flowers, grasses and vines: pliant, resilient plants. The Di Tian Sui gives it eight four-character lines: 乙木雖柔，刲羊解牛，懷丁抱丙，跨鳳乘猴，虛濕之地，騎馬亦憂，藤蘿繫甲，可春可秋。 This page takes the verse apart line by line and tests the lines that set out checkable conditions against real charts. For Yi Wood as you, your personality, career and relationships, see Yi Wood Day Master.
The verse, line by line
| Original | In English | Plain reading |
|---|---|---|
| 乙木雖柔，刲羊解牛 | Yi Wood, though soft, can carve up the Goat and the Ox. | Yi Wood is flowers, grass and vines. It looks frail, yet it can break up the two earths Wei (the Goat) and Chou (the Ox): pliant, but tough. |
| 懷丁抱丙，跨鳳乘猴 | Cradling Ding and embracing Bing, it can straddle the Phoenix and ride the Monkey. | With Bing or Ding Fire at its side, Yi Wood can stand firm even on You (the Phoenix, meaning the Rooster) and Shen (the Monkey), where Metal is strong, because Fire controls Metal. |
| 虛濕之地，騎馬亦憂 | In a hollow, damp place, even riding the Horse it has cause to worry. | Born into damp, cold surroundings with plenty of Water, it cannot warm up even sitting on Wu (the Horse), a Fire branch, and still has cause for concern. |
| 藤蘿繫甲，可春可秋 | A vine tied to Jia does well in spring and in autumn. | A vine climbing the great tree Jia grows safely in spring or autumn: Yi Wood knows how to borrow strength. |
Text follows the Di Tian Sui Chan Wei (滴天髓闡微), the edition with Ren Tieqiao's commentary. Commentators over the centuries have read some lines differently; we follow the more widely accepted reading.
How often the verse's conditions show up in real charts
Some lines set out conditions that can be checked on a chart: the season, whether a certain stem appears, whether an element runs heavy. Of the 16,802 charts our engine cast, about 1,680 have Yi Wood as the day stem. Here is how they fall:
| Line | Condition checked | Share of charts |
|---|---|---|
| 懷丁抱丙 (Cradling Ding and embracing Bing) | Bing or Ding shows on a stem | 55.4% have Fire on a stem; 4.9% have no Bing or Ding at all |
| 跨鳳乘猴 (it can straddle the Phoenix and ride the Monkey) | With Shen or You in the branches, is there Fire? | Shen or You present: 51.7%; with no Fire to control the Metal: 4.2% |
| 虛濕之地 (In a hollow, damp place) | Born in winter with Water running heavy | 5.6% |
| 藤蘿繫甲 (A vine tied to Jia) | Jia in the chart (on a stem or hidden) | 66.0% |
How we counted: our engine cast one chart for every day from 1960 to 2005, with the birth hour drawn at random from a fixed seed, 16,802 charts in all, about 1,680 for each day stem. Each percentage uses that day stem's charts as the base. This describes how chart structures are distributed; it says nothing about anyone's luck.
Yi Wood meets the other nine stems
| Meets | Element | Relationship | Combine / clash |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jia Wood | Wood | Same element, opposite polarity | — |
| Bing Fire | Fire | I produce it | — |
| Ding Fire | Fire | I produce it | — |
| Wu Earth | Earth | I control it | — |
| Ji Earth | Earth | I control it | — |
| Geng Metal | Metal | It controls me | Combine (transforming to Metal) |
| Xin Metal | Metal | It controls me | Clash |
| Ren Water | Water | It produces me | — |
| Gui Water | Water | It produces me | — |
"I" in the table means Yi Wood. For the full rules on stem combinations and clashes, see the Ten Heavenly Stems and stem and branch relations. When Yi Wood is the day stem, these relationships become the Ten Gods; see the Ten Gods.
Yi Wood on the year, month or hour stem
When Yi Wood is not on the day pillar, it speaks about the area of life its position stands for: on the year stem, the vine quality in your family and early surroundings; on the month stem, the vine quality on your stage at work; on the hour stem, later life and long-term plans. Whether it helps or pressures you depends on how it relates to your day stem (the table above) and on your favorable elements.
What Yi Wood needs in each birth month
The Di Tian Sui describes Yi Wood's general nature. The Qiong Tong Bao Jian goes further and sets out, month by month, what Yi Wood takes for climate adjustment in each of the twelve months; see Yi Wood climate by month.
Your day stem in the Di Tian Sui: the verse's conditions, checked one by one
Enter your date of birth (the hour is optional). You will see your day stem's verse, whether each line that sets out a checkable condition holds in your chart, and whether your year, month and hour stems produce, control or combine with your day stem. Everything is calculated in your browser; nothing is uploaded.
Uses your Gregorian birth date, with the day changing at 11 p.m. "On a stem" means it appears on the year, month or hour stem; "hidden in the branches" means it appears among the hidden stems of the branches.
A straight word: an old verse is a point of view, not a verdict
The Di Tian Sui is one of the most respected classical texts on BaZi from the Ming and Qing dynasties, and its section on the ten stems sums up each stem's nature and needs in four-character lines. Its strength is its brevity, and so is its weakness: commentators over the centuries have read the same line in different ways. We test the lines that set out checkable conditions against real charts and present the rest as written, without stretching them into predictions of good or bad fortune. Everything on this site is for reference and entertainment.
Does your chart have what Yi Wood needs?
Enter your birth date to check your day stem's verse conditions one by one on your chart, and see whether your year, month and hour stems produce, control or combine with it.
Yi Wood (Heavenly Stem) FAQ
What is the Di Tian Sui verse on Yi Wood?
乙木雖柔，刲羊解牛，懷丁抱丙，跨鳳乘猴，虛濕之地，騎馬亦憂，藤蘿繫甲，可春可秋。 In English: "Yi Wood, though soft, can carve up the Goat and the Ox. Cradling Ding and embracing Bing, it can straddle the Phoenix and ride the Monkey. In a hollow, damp place, even riding the Horse it has cause to worry. A vine tied to Jia does well in spring and in autumn." Eight lines in all.
What does "Yi Wood, though soft, can carve up the Goat and the Ox" mean?
Yi Wood is flowers, grass and vines. It looks frail, yet it can break up the two earths Wei (the Goat) and Chou (the Ox): pliant, but tough.
What does "Cradling Ding and embracing Bing, it can straddle the Phoenix and ride the Monkey" mean?
With Bing or Ding Fire at its side, Yi Wood can stand firm even on You (the Phoenix, meaning the Rooster) and Shen (the Monkey), where Metal is strong, because Fire controls Metal.
What is the imagery of Yi Wood?
Yi Wood is yin Wood, usually pictured as flowers, grasses and vines: pliant, resilient plants. The other Wood stem is Jia Wood; with the opposite polarity, it behaves quite differently.