The position of only one heavenly body, the Sun, is used to figure out every-
thing contained in a Four Pillars chart. While the popular methods for working out
the pillars in China involve the lunar calendar, the tables used in those popular meth-
ods are ultimately used to convert the lunar calendar into solar positions.
A Four Pillars chart consists of eight pieces of information in two rows, one
row of four stacked on top of another. The pieces in the row on top are called “Heav-
enly Stems.” The pieces in the row on the bottom are called “Earthly Branches.” Each
of the heavenly stems is named by a yin or a yang polarity and by one of the Taoist five
elements: wood, fire, earth, metal, or water. Since there are five elements and two
polarities, the heavenly stems are ten in number: yang wood, yin wood, yang fire, yin
fire, yang earth, yin earth, yang metal, yin metal, yang water, and yin water. The
earthly branches is the proper name for the Chinese zodiac animals: rat, ox, tiger, rab-
bit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig.
In the Four Pillars chart a person gets one heavenly stem and one earthly
branch for the year of his or her birth, one of each for the birth month, one of each for
THEASTROLOGYBOOK [255]
Four Pillars DivinationThe foundation chart of San Miniato al Monte, cast for sunrise on May 28, 1207. The
chart shows the planets Mercury, Venus, and Saturn as well as the sun and moon in the
constellation Taurus. Reproduced by permission of Fortean Picture Library.