The Twelve Life Stages (十二運星)

The Twelve Life Stages compare how strong your Day Master is on each earthly branch to the stages of a human life: born at Birth, strongest at Peak, resting through Tomb and Extinction, and preparing again at Conception and Nurture.

Birth長生
A newborn baby. A clear, gentle stage full of the strength to grow.
Bath沐浴
The time the baby is bathed. A stage like adolescence, with a sense of style and a weakness for temptation.
Crown冠帶
The rite of adulthood, putting on the cap and sash. A confident, hard-driving stage of youth.
Coming of Age建祿
Rising to office and drawing a salary. The stage of independence, earning your own living.
Peak帝旺
Energy at its summit, like an emperor. The strongest stage, and so the easiest to break.
Decline衰
Past the summit and a step down. A seasoned, calm stage that seeks stability.
Sickness病
The time of falling ill. A stage where the heart, more than the body, is sensitive, with a deep gift for understanding people.
Death死
The time energy stops. A stage with little movement, but one that digs deep into a single thing.
Tomb墓
The time of resting in the tomb. The power to gather and keep, the stage of the storehouse.
Extinction絕
The time energy is cut off. An empty stage, and so one that can hold anything new.
Conception胎
The time new life takes hold. A stage still fragile, where hope and possibility grow.
Nurture養
The time of being nurtured in the womb. A stage of being cared for while preparing to enter the world.

The cycle

Birth, Bath (adolescence), Crown (coming of age), Coming of Age (independence), Peak, Decline, Sickness, Death, Tomb, Extinction, Conception, Nurture, and back to Birth. Yang Day Masters move forward through the branches, yin Day Masters move backwards.

Stage by Day Master and branch

Rows are your Day Master, columns are the earthly branches. Each cell shows the stage in Chinese characters; the list above gives their names.

	子	丑	寅	卯	辰	巳	午	未	申	酉	戌	亥
甲Gap	沐浴	冠帶	建祿	帝旺	衰	病	死	墓	絕	胎	養	長生
乙Eul	病	衰	帝旺	建祿	冠帶	沐浴	長生	養	胎	絕	墓	死
丙Byeong	胎	養	長生	沐浴	冠帶	建祿	帝旺	衰	病	死	墓	絕
丁Jeong	絕	墓	死	病	衰	帝旺	建祿	冠帶	沐浴	長生	養	胎
戊Mu	胎	養	長生	沐浴	冠帶	建祿	帝旺	衰	病	死	墓	絕
己Gi	絕	墓	死	病	衰	帝旺	建祿	冠帶	沐浴	長生	養	胎
庚Gyeong	死	墓	絕	胎	養	長生	沐浴	冠帶	建祿	帝旺	衰	病
辛Sin	長生	養	胎	絕	墓	死	病	衰	帝旺	建祿	冠帶	沐浴
壬Im	帝旺	衰	病	死	墓	絕	胎	養	長生	沐浴	冠帶	建祿
癸Gye	建祿	冠帶	沐浴	長生	養	胎	絕	墓	死	病	衰	帝旺

See the stages in your own chart

Enter your birthday and the chart table shows the stage of each pillar. The stage on your Day Branch is the stage of your Day Pillar. The Ten Gods and Void appear in the same table.

Find my twelve stages by birthday

The readings follow traditional interpretation and were written with help from AI. Read them just for fun.