Combinations, clashes, harms and punishments
Picture your four pillars as four people sitting at one table. Some lean in and talk like old friends. Some sit across from each other and pull in opposite directions. Most simply share the meal. BaZi has old names for these ways of getting along, and the app looks for them for you.
Combinations (合)
A combination is two characters that draw together, like two hands clasping. The tradition reads it as closeness, union or a strong bond.
- Between stems, five pairs embrace: 甲 with 己, 乙 with 庚, 丙 with 辛, 丁 with 壬, and 戊 with 癸. Each pair is linked to an element.
- Between branches, there are six pairs (六合): Rat and Ox, Tiger and Pig, Rabbit and Dog, Dragon and Rooster, Snake and Monkey, Horse and Goat.
- Groups of three (三合) gather around one element: Monkey, Rat and Dragon around Water; Pig, Rabbit and Goat around Wood; Tiger, Horse and Dog around Fire; Snake, Rooster and Ox around Metal. With only two of the three, it's a meeting point, not a full group.
- Seasonal groups (三會) are the three animals of one season, like Tiger, Rabbit and Dragon in spring.
Some schools say a combination turns one element into another. The app doesn't change any element or any count because of it. It just notes the bond and the element it's linked to.
Clashes (沖)
A clash is two branches that sit opposite each other on the circle of twelve, like north and south: Rat and Horse, Ox and Goat, Tiger and Monkey, Rabbit and Rooster, Dragon and Dog, Snake and Pig.
Think of two windows open on opposite walls, with a breeze running through the room. The tradition reads a clash as movement, tension or change. It isn't bad luck. Plenty of people move house, change jobs or shake up their routine under a clash, and many of those changes are welcome.
Stems can clash too: 甲 and 庚, 乙 and 辛, 丙 and 壬, 丁 and 癸.
Harms (害)
A harm is a quieter friction, like a pebble in your shoe. There are six pairs: Rat and Goat, Ox and Horse, Tiger and Snake, Rabbit and Dragon, Monkey and Pig, Rooster and Dog. The tradition reads it as small misunderstandings. A talk in good time usually sorts them out.
Punishments (刑)
The name sounds harsh, but think of a knot in a shoelace: it asks for patience, not force.
- Tiger, Snake and Monkey.
- Ox, Dog and Goat.
- Rat and Rabbit.
- Self-punishment: two of the same Dragon, Horse, Rooster or Pig. It's a bit like being your own toughest critic.
The tradition gives the most weight to a full trio.
Where the app shows them
- In your own chart: the full reading has a card called "How your pillars get along".
- With time: every decade, year, month and day brings its own pillar, and it can combine or clash with yours. The readings in Timeline mention it. The app model also nudges the rating a little: up for a combination with your Day pillar or a Nobleman, down for a clash with your Day or Month pillar, a punishment or a harm.
- Between two people: on "See together", in the "Harmonies" and "Friction points" lists.
How to take them
A chart with many clashes isn't a hard life, and one full of combinations isn't an easy one. They show where things tend to pull together and where they tend to move. Ask yourself: where in my life do I feel that pull, and what would help it flow?