Using BaZi to reflect

Think of a friend on a long walk who asks good questions. She doesn't tell you what to do. She asks the one question that makes you stop and think. That's the best way to use BaZi.

Your pillars don't know your life. They know the calendar: which element is strong this month and this year, and how it meets your chart. What they give you is a theme. You bring the rest.

The question on Today

Near the bottom of Today there's a card called To reflect on. It holds one question, and the question changes with the BaZi month. One month it asks, "Care: who do you want to be closer to?" Another month it asks, "Decisions: what is worth adjusting or letting go?"

There are twelve questions, one for each BaZi month. So when the question changes, you know a new month has begun.

Your private note

Under the question there's a box that says "Private note, saved only on this phone". Write a line or two, then tap Save note. The card then shows your note, with Edit to change it and Delete to remove it. The app asks before deleting.

A few honest details:

There's one note per day for each person. Tomorrow the box starts empty again.
Each person has their own note. If you switch to someone else, you'll see their note for the day, not yours.
It stays on your phone, encrypted, like everything else in Pillars. Nobody else can read it.

To read back over the weeks, tap Earlier notes under the box. It lists that person's past notes, newest first, each with a button to delete it. In the calendar, a day's page also shows Your note for this day.

Keeping a journal

You don't need much. A notebook and five minutes are enough.

Once a month. When a new BaZi month starts, read the new question and write whatever comes to mind. In Settings, under Notifications, turn on To reflect on and your phone will bring you the question when each month starts, or every day if you prefer.
Once a year. Around early February the BaZi year changes. Look at the new year in Timeline and jot down its themes. A year later, read them again. What fit? What didn't?
The big days. On a person's screen, Add event lets you save when you met, when you married, or any other event. That day then shows "You told us" in the calendar, and each year the calendar marks the anniversary.

Looking back is where this works best. You start to see your own rhythms: when you tend to rest, when you tend to push, when people matter most to you.

Questions that help

Some questions open a door. Others close it.

Instead of "What's going to happen to me this year?", try "What does this year's theme bring up for me?"
Instead of "Is this a bad month?", try "What's asking more of me lately, and what helps?"
Instead of "Are we compatible?", try "Where do we meet easily, and where do we need patience?"
Instead of "Which day will go well?", try "Where do I want to put my energy?"

When something doesn't fit

Sometimes a theme won't match your life at all. That's fine. Write that down too. The tradition is a lens, not a judge. What you notice about yourself always counts for more than what a chart says.