BaZi Essentials – Master Elements (Day Masters)

This is the second post in our BaZi Essentials series. The first one is here.

In BaZi, Master Elements (also known as ME or Day Masters) are the best-known and probably the easiest way to begin analyzing a person. Master Elements are essential because they serve as the central point of reference for studying the remainder of the BaZi Chart.

The fundamental character traits of Master Elements

We often hear people say that they cannot recognize themselves in the description of their Master Element; therefore, they begin to think that BaZi analysis is flawed. The thing is, human beings are highly complex, and assuming that we could categorize each of us in one of those ten Master Elements is wrong right from the start.

For example, a Yang Fire Master Element is often described as a magnanimous person who prefers to be in the center of attention. This description is correct if the Yang Fire is balanced and there are no excessive elements which could push Chart towards extreme. If this Yang Fire person has an inordinate amount of Water Element, public life might be pretty challenging for them, and they might act submissive, self-deprecating, which is quite the opposite of being magnanimous and craving for attention. In this case, a Yang Fire person may exhibit many Yang Water or Yin Water traits, so these must also be incorporated.

When one reads the description of each Master Element, we have to take this information with a grain of salt and combine it with other layers of information, like Five Elements, Character Components, Talents, and Supertalents. Once we put these layers on top of each other, the picture gets more complex. These layers often contradict one another, and that is the strength of BaZi. Humans are not black-and-white or two-dimensional; we frequently have traits that are in total contradiction, all within one person. Understanding these contradictions and how they manifest in practice is key to successful Chart analysis.

What we do at Talent Hero, we present all these information and then it’s up to each user to put the puzzle together, because no software can analyze the complexity of human character in its fullness, although, our goal is to bring it rather close 🙂

Weak vs strong Master Element

Another source of confusion we often see is the emphasis on the strength of the Master Element. People naturally believe that Master Element should be strong and that a weak Master Element is not good. This kind of logic does not apply to all Charts, and it often fails the reality test. Again, we have to look at the entire Chart and see is there good flow between Elements. We observed many strong Charts in which Master Element was fragile, but the rest of the Chart performed well, so the strength of the ME became irrelevant. For example, Yang Metal and Yin Metal often work rather well without any support from Earth Element, because too much Earth might bury them, so they become useless.

A strong Master Element typically denotes strong physical characteristics and the ability to handle Wealth and Power. Still, if Master Element is unable to do this on its own, another part of the Chart might act as a replacement.

We also have to consider the combinations. If Master Element creates, for example, a direct combination with Wealth or Power Character Component, it might need less power to utilize it.

Combinations are a more elegant way to attain Wealth and Power because they usually indicate that the person has strong connections, so others do things for them without their direct involvement. For those in positions of power, Chart connections are key; without them, they may have a weak impact on others.

However, that is another topic; combinations of Components will be covered in a separate post.