Bazi (chinese astrology)

airseabattle

Anyone else here familiar with the form of Chinese astrology known as Bazi/ Four Pillars? I've been studying it for a good 6 months or so and seem to have hit a roadblock as far as finding more in depth material in English (i.e. I know how to determine the character of the spouse...but don't fully understand the aspects of how one arrives to that conclusion).

AJ

I spent a lot of time this spring doing Four Pillars readings, I'm thinking of making Chinese/Oriental astrology my primary focus this year. I changed/tweaked a number of things in my life based on what the reading for myself suddenly clarified for me.

That said, I don't quite understand your question. I'm not living at home or I'd list the books I've found. Some of the books that are in English are quite comprehensive...in other words way over my head

What I work with is The Tibetan Oracle Pack by Stephen Skinner
http://www.amazon.com/Tibetan-Oracle-Pack-Book-Cards/dp/190476004X/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_6

If I were going to go professional Four Pillars is what I'd offer...but I'd charge the earth

quite time consuming but totally fun to do.

airseabattle

AJ said:
I spent a lot of time this spring doing Four Pillars readings, I'm thinking of making Chinese/Oriental astrology my primary focus this year. I changed/tweaked a number of things in my life based on what the reading for myself suddenly clarified for me.

That said, I don't quite understand your question. I'm not living at home or I'd list the books I've found. Some of the books that are in English are quite comprehensive...in other words way over my head

What I work with is The Tibetan Oracle Pack by Stephen Skinner
http://www.amazon.com/Tibetan-Oracle-Pack-Book-Cards/dp/190476004X/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_6

If I were going to go professional Four Pillars is what I'd offer...but I'd charge the earth quite time consuming but totally fun to do.

I realize what I said was worded in a somewhat awkward way. I guess the best way to explain it would be through an example. My four pillars are as follows :

gui gui jia wu current lp: ren
hai mao zi chen xu

So as a gui water day master, my direct officer and therefore spouse (I'm a chick) is represented by Wu earth as it controls Gui water. Wu earth being my spouse star, along with its placement in my chart can be read to describe the personality and the type of relationship with him in my chart.
Now, I know a little bit about clashes...so I know the mao-zi clash present in my chart does not bode well. And that the gui- hai meaning I won't be able to get along well with my inlaws.
But I'm just very confused about how some readers are able to say things like your spouse will be good looking/ smart/ intimidating/ whatever. Like, I've been told that my spouse will be from a place far away from me or a foreigner. I don't understand what exactly would cause them to conclude this as I don't have a horse star present in my 4p? I'm just having a hard time determining someone elses personality as represented in my chart.

AJ

Ah..
I think sometimes what a reader will tell us is based on many years of using their tools of choice, whether it is cards or dice or runes or astrology, and reading for a wide variety of individuals.

I've been quilting for 40 years and I can look at a quilt block someone is having problems with and tell them instantly where it went wrong.
An experienced cook can taste a complicated dish and know what was in it without having to review the recipe.

And sometimes....reader are full of hot air and just yak along to fill in time and make it seem like you are getting your money's worth. Part of life is developing that inner ear that tells us when someone is piling on the bullpucky. And recognizing that our future is in our own hands. It is nice to have some tips, but we have to make life happen.

Or have I still missed the point

?

airseabattle

No, you got it there. I feel like some of it is just pattern recognition like you said.
But I do feel the other thing is true as well. Sometimes I feel like people are just BSing it. I've only had a small amount of input on my chart from others as I've never had the money to get a full reading done. One day...
On a different note though....I'm still having some difficulty with luck cycles. Looking through my luck cycles, it seems like the ones that should be good for me are usually terrible. Especially anything to do with fire. Which I just don't get...as my chart has none of it so it should help balance things out a little.

AJ

I know what you mean. I was SHOCKED at no water in my life, so have actively introduced it in small ways.

But perhaps it was really meant there should be no water in my life (or flame in yours) so bringing water brings problems?

I've never had a paid reading of any kind and with the four pillars I think we do a far better job than a stranger can however experienced they may be. And it is something we can review each year and with additional knowledge and skill we can better re-interpret it?

You sound like you know a lot more about it than I, but perhaps we could exchange a reading, maybe something would pop up we've not thought about?

airseabattle

AJ said:
I know what you mean. I was SHOCKED at no water in my life, so have actively introduced it in small ways.

But perhaps it was really meant there should be no water in my life (or flame in yours) so bringing water brings problems?

I've never had a paid reading of any kind and with the four pillars I think we do a far better job than a stranger can however experienced they may be. And it is something we can review each year and with additional knowledge and skill we can better re-interpret it?

You sound like you know a lot more about it than I, but perhaps we could exchange a reading, maybe something would pop up we've not thought about?

I'm actually missing two elements....metal and fire. I've got way too much water, care to have some of mine? Or maybe some earth? This year has been killing me. How have your results been with introducing water?
Yes, it gets a little frustrating when some practitioners I've exchanged with on forums just won't get in my experience fire is bad, bad, bad. Because it's not supposed to work that way. But why is it every time fire comes round on a year or month pillar someone dies, major medical issues pop up, or I have a breakup?
I'd love to do an exchange. It always helps to have a fresh pair of eyes....I feel like it's so easy to overlook things in Bazi.

Yvresse

Do you know of any good resources online that I could look at? I'd like to get an understanding of bazi before splashing out on a book or set from Amazon. Preferably in English, of course

though I might be able to handle some more basic Chinese sites.

airseabattle

Yvresse said:
Do you know of any good resources online that I could look at? I'd like to get an understanding of bazi before splashing out on a book or set from Amazon. Preferably in English, of course though I might be able to handle some more basic Chinese sites.

Even with basic knowledge of Chinese, you'll have a huge advantage especially if you can read traditional characters ( a lot of info I come across seems to come from Taiwan). A lot of more in depth information hasn't even been published into English, or the translations are so awkward they're practically unintelligible.
Best resources for information I've came across:
http://www.mybazi.com/plotchart/4p.php- The best free calculator available online in my humble opinion. Made by a guy from the Five Arts Forum listed below
http://www.fivearts.net - Gives you a lot of info you'll find in the books. People are generally quite helpful, but I find it intimidating at times simply because many posters are professionals. Also, lack of a PM function makes it hard to delineate certain aspects of the chart that I'd be uncomfortable doing on a public forum. It will probably be your number one source for information.
Fun sites:
http://baziqueen.com/ Blog of a professional consultant, she's very witty and makes interesting points about gender in Bazi, chauvinistic consultants, and making bazi relevant in today's world. When I can afford a professional consultation, I plan to get it from her.
http://en.superfate.com/ Kind of like an astro.com for bazi, lots of free goodies especially if you can read Chinese. The interpretation is small and because its automated there is the risk of it not being so accurate, but it could be helpful to get a feel for your chart.
On books, I've heard Joey Yap's are wonderful but they are out of my budget. From what I've seen they are probably the most comprehensive thing published in English, but don't get as in depth as I like. Apparently this will be remedied later this year with the publication of some new books.

If you'd like, we could exchange charts. I'm always up for practice.

Yvresse

Hi airseabattle!

Thank you for the list; it's a great place to start. I'll have to wait till the weekend to take a proper look at them though; my eyes feel like they're about to fall out after spending the whole day at work looking into a comoputer screen