Twelve Life Stages十二长生
From Birth to Tomb and Extinction — the twelve energy states
What is Twelve Life Stages?
The Twelve Life Stages — Birth, Bath, Cap and Sash, Office, Emperor, Decline, Illness, Death, Tomb, Extinction, Conception and Nurture — model the waxing and waning of an element across the twelve branches as a cycle running from emergence through dissolution to renewal.
How it is used in a BaZi reading
Starting the cycle from the Day Master or from a particular Ten God, its state in each pillar's branch quantifies how strong that force is at that point — supporting the judgement of Day Master strength, and of how effective a given god will be during a specific luck pillar or annual year.
Interpretive limits
The Twelve Life Stages are a figurative scale for elemental strength. "Death", "Tomb" and "Extinction" are names for energy states and have nothing to do with life events; they must not be read literally.
All articles in this topic
Knowledge-base articles are written in Chinese, the source language of these classical texts.
- Chang Sheng (Long Life): Vitality and Growth in Destiny Analysis
- Bath: Unveiling the Stage of Life's First Awakening in BaZi
- Guan Dai: Growth and Glory in Destiny Analysis
- Lin Guan: A Pivotal Moment for Life Transitions and Soaring Careers
- Di Wang (Emperor's Strength): The Secret of Life's Pinnacle
- Decline (Shuai): Energy Transitions and Life Wisdom in Destiny Analysis
- Illness: Decline and Imbalance in Destiny Analysis
- Death of the Twelve Life Stages
- Grave
- Jue
- Embryo — A Detailed Guide to an Important Stage in the Twelve Life Stages of BaZi
- Analyzing Yang (Nourishment): The Mystery of Life's Gestation
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