Day Master Strength Calculator
Is your Day Master strong or weak? Get a 0–100 score with the season, roots and support behind it, a strength table for every month, and what it means for your favorable elements.
Updated October 17, 2026
Your birth details
Free and instant; nothing is stored on our side. The birth time sharpens the score. Without it the calculator uses three pillars and shows the range for every possible hour.
丁 Ding Fire Day Master: Strong (56.3)
庚午 辛巳 丁丑 丁未
- Very weak0–30
- Weak30–45
- Balanced45–55
- Strong55–70
- Very strong70–100
Your Day Master has more support than drain. It can carry wealth, responsibility and pressure, and does best when that strength has somewhere to go.
56.3 is only 1.3 points from the line at 55. A teacher who weighs the season or the roots a little differently could read this chart as Balanced.
Support vs drain
- Resource1.1%
- Self55.1%
- Output17.2%
- Wealth21.9%
- Power4.6%
Why: the four factors
- Day Master7.7
- Stems7.7
- Month21.4
- Other branches19.5
- Drain (output, wealth, power)43.7
In season (得令)
+21.4巳 month (Fire): Prosperous
the season is its own element
巳- 旺
- 相
- 休
- 囚
- 死
Rooted (得地)
+19.5Roots in 3 of 4 branches
The month branch's points are counted under the season above.
- Hour未Middle qi
- Day丑—
- Month巳Main qi
- Year午Main qi
Supported (得勢)
+7.7Peers or resource: 1 of 3 other stems
- Hour丁Self
- Day丁Day Master
- MonthWealth
- YearWealth
Combination (合局)
+11.9巳午未 Seasonal Combination pulls the branches toward Fire
Points are shares of the chart's weighted qi; the four support parts add up to the score. See the full calculation
Special patterns to check
Peers crowd the chart (比劫重)
Strong + Self ≥ 40%, above resourceYour own element is 55% of the chart. The strength comes from peers, so output (to vent it) and power (to keep it in line) help most, and wealth has to be guarded from rivals (比劫奪財).
Next step: your favorable direction
A summer chart this heavy in Fire needs cooling first: Water, fed by Metal.
What does a strong or weak Day Master mean?
Your Day Master (日主) is the stem of your birth day, the 'self' of the chart. Strong or weak (身強 / 身弱) asks one thing: how much of the chart stands behind it, and how much pulls on it?
The scale for the chart above (丁 Ding Fire): support on the left, drain on the right.
Support: resource and peers
- 木WoodResource1%Produces you (生我): feeds and protectsIndirect Resource, Direct Resource
- 火FireSelf55%Same as you (同我): peers who share the loadFriend, Rob Wealth
Drain: output, wealth and power (克洩耗)
- 土EarthOutput17%You produce it (我生): drains you through expressionEating God, Hurting Officer
- Wealth22%You control it (我剋): costs effort to holdIndirect Wealth, Direct Wealth
- 水WaterPower5%Controls you (剋我): pressure and rulesSeven Killings, Direct Officer
Strong Day Master (身強)
The self has enough backing to carry what the chart asks of it: wealth to manage, pressure to bear, output to give. Strong charts need outlets, so output, wealth and power become helpful.
Weak Day Master (身弱)
The drain side is heavier than the self. Wealth, pressure and output arrive faster than the Day Master can handle, so resource and peers are what help.
Neither is better
Strength is not luck, health or character strength. It is a balance reading that tells you which elements help. Plenty of successful charts are weak and borrow strength well; plenty of strong ones waste theirs.
Background: Generating & Controlling Cycles · The ten gods
How to tell if your Day Master is strong or weak
Classical practice weighs three sources of strength against one source of drain. The calculator does the same thing with numbers.
- 01
Season (得令)
The month branch is the season you were born into and the single heaviest factor. A Day Master in its own season (旺) or a season that feeds it (相) starts with home advantage.
Example: a Jia Wood Day Master born in a Yin or Mao month (spring) is in season; in a Shen or You month (autumn, Metal) it is not.
- 02
Roots (得地)
A branch that hides your element is a root (通根). Main-qi roots hold best; middle and residual qi help less. A Day Master without roots floats, however many stems look like it.
Example: Jia Wood roots firmly in Yin and Mao (main qi), lightly in Hai, Chen and Wei.
- 03
Support (得勢)
Visible stems of your own element (比劫, peers) or the element that produces you (印, resource) stand beside the Day Master and add weight.
Example: Ren or Gui Water on a stem feeds a Wood Day Master; another Jia or Yi stands with it.
- 04
Drain (克洩耗)
The other side of the scale: output drains (洩), wealth spends effort (耗) and power controls (克). Strength is never absolute; it is support measured against these three.
Example: Fire (output), Earth (wealth) and Metal (power) all draw on a Wood Day Master.
Read them in this order: the season first (it counts double), then the roots, then the stems, then weigh the drain. A chart that wins the season and has a main-qi root is rarely weak; a chart that loses the season with no root is rarely strong, whatever the character count says.
No birth time? A four-question self-check
Answer four questions about your year, month and day pillars to get a rough verdict, with the reason for every point. The calculator above gives the exact score.
Day Master strength table: the ten stems through the twelve months
The season is the first test of strength. This table shows the state of every Day Master in every month, from 旺 (strongest) to 死 (weakest). Pick your stem, then click any cell for the reasoning.
| Day Master | 寅立春2/4 | 卯驚蟄3/6 | 辰清明4/5 | 巳立夏5/6 | 午芒種6/6 | 未小暑7/7 | 立秋8/8 | 白露9/8 | 戌寒露10/8 | 亥立冬11/7 | 子大雪12/7 | 丑小寒1/6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 甲 | ||||||||||||
| 乙 | ||||||||||||
| 丙 | ||||||||||||
| 丁 | ||||||||||||
| 戊 | ||||||||||||
| 己 | ||||||||||||
| 壬 | ||||||||||||
| 癸 |
- 旺Same element as the month
- 相The month produces it
- 休It produces the month
- 囚It controls the month
- 死The month controls it
Ding Fire in a 巳 month: Prosperous
巳 is Fire; the Day Master is Fire. Same element as the month. In its own season: strong and confident, at its best when it has an outlet.
巳 hides 丙, 庚, 戊, and 丙 is your element (Main qi), so the month also gives the Day Master a root.
Months start at the solar term shown, not on the 1st. Earth months (辰, 未, 戌, 丑) are read as Earth here, as in the score; some schools instead give Earth the last 18 days of every season (土旺四季).
How the strength score is calculated
Most sites give a verdict without showing the math. Here is ours in full: every weight, the band edges, and a line-by-line ledger of the chart in the calculator.
The weights
| Item | Weight | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Each visible stemStems are visible but have no position bonus; the Day Master counts for itself. | 1 | |
| Hidden stem, main qiThe branch's own element, at full strength. | 1 | |
| Hidden stem, middle qiA secondary qi, about half as strong. | 0.5 | |
| Hidden stem, residual qiA trace left from the previous season. | 0.3 | |
| Month branchThe season (月令) carries the most weight in every classical method. | ×2 | |
| Day branchThe Day Master's own seat, closest to it. | ×1.2 | |
| Complete three-branch combinationHalf of the other qi in those branches moves to the combination's element. | 50% |
Score = (peers + resource) ÷ all weighted qi × 100. A chart without a birth hour is scored on three pillars.
Score and level
- < 30Very weak
- 30–45Weak
- 45–55Balanced
- 55–70Strong
- ≥ 70Very strong
Within 3 points of a band edge the calculator flags the chart as borderline, because schools draw these lines slightly differently.
Worked example: the 丁 Ding Fire chart step by step
This ledger is the chart in the calculator above. Change the birth details and it recalculates. Every stem and hidden stem gets its weight, then lands on the support side or the drain side.
| Pillar | Character | Weight | Family | Support | Drain |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Stem | 1 | Wealth | 1 | |
| 丁Main qi | 1 × 1 = 1 | 火Self | 1 | ||
| 己Middle qi | 0.5 × 1 = 0.50.25 moves to Fire | 土Output | +0.25 | 0.25 | |
| Month | Stem | 1 | Wealth | 1 | |
| 丙Main qi | 1 × 2 = 2 | 火Self | 2 | ||
| Middle qi | 0.5 × 2 = 10.5 moves to Fire | Wealth | +0.5 | 0.5 | |
| 戊Residual qi | 0.3 × 2 = 0.60.3 moves to Fire | 土Output | +0.3 | 0.3 | |
| Day | 丁Day Master | 1 | 火Self | 1 | |
| 己Main qi | 1 × 1.2 = 1.2 | 土Output | 1.2 | ||
| 癸Middle qi | 0.5 × 1.2 = 0.6 | 水Power | 0.6 | ||
| Residual qi | 0.3 × 1.2 = 0.36 | Wealth | 0.36 | ||
| Hour | 丁Stem | 1 | 火Self | 1 | |
| 己Main qi | 1 × 1 = 10.5 moves to Fire | 土Output | +0.5 | 0.5 | |
| 丁Middle qi | 0.5 × 1 = 0.5 | 火Self | 0.5 | ||
| 乙Residual qi | 0.3 × 1 = 0.30.15 moves to Fire | 木Resource | 0.15+0.15 | ||
| Total weighted qi 13.06 | 7.35 | 5.71 | |||
Support 7.35 ÷ total 13.06 = 56.3, which is Strong. Your Day Master has more support than drain. It can carry wealth, responsibility and pressure, and does best when that strength has somewhere to go.
Does more of the same element mean strong? Three ways of counting
Counting characters is the most common shortcut, and the most misleading. Here is the same chart counted three ways:
Count of characters
50.0%
Balanced
Each visible stem and branch counts 1. Fast, but it ignores hidden stems and the season.
With hidden stems
44.1%
Weak
Adds hidden stems (1, 0.5, 0.3), as in the five elements balance. Better, but every position weighs the same.
Strength score
56.3%
Strong
Adds the month ×2, the day branch ×1.2 and combinations. This is the number the verdict uses.
The five strength levels: very weak to very strong
What each level tends to look like, its strengths, what to watch out for and what helps. Your chart's level is marked.
Very weak
Score 0–30Your Day Master holds well under a third of the chart's qi. Output, wealth and power set the tone, so support is the first thing this chart needs, unless it qualifies as a follow chart.
What it looks like
Sensitive to the surroundings, quick to read people, adapts rather than pushes. Often does best inside a strong team, a good organization or alongside a mentor.
Strengths
Flexible, perceptive and cooperative; good at riding a trend rather than fighting it, with little ego friction.
Watch out for
Overcommitting; debts or duties bigger than the base can carry; burning out; letting others set the agenda.
What helps
Resource (印) and peers (比劫): study, credentials, mentors, rest and allies. Luck pillars of these elements feel like a tailwind. If the chart truly follows (從), go with the dominant element instead.
Weak
Score 30–45Your Day Master has less behind it than against it. It can still do plenty, but it carries best with backup: resource to feed it and peers to share the load.
What it looks like
Thoughtful and cooperative, often modest about its abilities; works best with clear support and a sustainable pace.
Strengths
Listens, collaborates and knows when to borrow strength; tends to be careful with risk.
Watch out for
Saying yes to too much; money, deadlines or pressure piling up faster than energy returns; self-doubt.
What helps
The element that produces your Day Master and your own element. Build skills and a network before scaling up: in a weak chart, more wealth or power is pressure, not gain.
Balanced
Score 45–55Support and drain are roughly even. The classics prize this: the chart can take opportunities without being crushed, and the reading turns to climate and flow.
What it looks like
Steady and adaptable, hard to push off course; can switch between leading and supporting as needed.
Strengths
Handles both pressure and comfort; the gentlest swings when luck pillars change.
Watch out for
No clear lean can feel like no clear direction; a luck pillar heavy on one side tips it more than expected.
What helps
Keep the qi moving: the thinnest elements, or climate first when the chart is very hot or cold. The favorable elements calculator picks them for you.
Strong
Score 55–70Your Day Master has more support than drain. It can carry wealth, responsibility and pressure, and does best when that strength has somewhere to go.
What it looks like
Confident, self-directed and resilient; prefers to make its own decisions and recovers quickly from setbacks.
Strengths
Takes on challenges, turns opportunities into results and can carry others.
Watch out for
Stubbornness, impatience and competing with peers over resources; restlessness when there is no outlet.
What helps
Output (食傷) to express it, wealth (財) to put it to work and power (官殺) to give it structure. Which comes first depends on whether the strength comes from peers or from resource.
Very strong
Score 70–100Your Day Master holds more than 70% of the qi. Strength is not the issue; channelling it is. At the far end the chart may follow its own element (從強, 專旺).
What it looks like
A very strong will and self-reliance; independent and determined, sometimes single-minded.
Strengths
Stamina, leadership and the nerve to start something alone.
Watch out for
Rigidity, clashes with authority or partners, ignoring advice; more of the same element in a luck pillar can overload it.
What helps
Outlets first: output to vent the strength and wealth to use it; power only if the chart can take it. If it qualifies as a follow-strong chart, go with the dominant element instead.
Special cases: too much wealth, pressure or output, and follow charts
A plain 'weak' or 'strong' is only half the story: what drains the chart, or what makes it strong, changes the remedy. These are the patterns the calculator checks, with the exact rule it uses.
Wealth overwhelms the self (財多身弱)
Rule: Weak + Wealth ≥ 30%, the largest drain
Wealth is what the Day Master controls, and controlling costs effort. When wealth is the heaviest weight on a weak Day Master, money, partners or projects become burdens: the classic image is a poor man living in a rich house.
What helps: Peers to share the load and resource to build up the self first. Here peers are friends of the chart, the opposite of 比劫奪財 in a strong chart.
Heavy pressure, light self (殺重身輕)
Rule: Weak + Power ≥ 30%, the largest drain
Power (Officer and Seven Killings) controls the Day Master. When it dominates a weak chart, pressure, rules, bosses or rivals outweigh the self. The classics warn that heavy Killings on a light self cause lasting harm.
What helps: Resource first: Killings produce resource and resource produces the self, turning pressure into support (殺印相生). Eating God that tames Killings works when the self has some root.
Drained by output (食傷洩氣)
Rule: Weak + Output ≥ 30%, the largest drain
Output is what the Day Master produces: talent, speech, creativity. Too much of it on a weak Day Master drains it, like a spring that keeps giving with nothing flowing in. This is the 食神格身弱 / 傷官 case many readers ask about.
What helps: Resource to rein output in and refill the self (傷官配印), then peers. Avoid adding wealth, which drains output further.
Peers crowd the chart (比劫重)
In your chartRule: Strong + Self ≥ 40%, above resource
A strong chart built on peers: plenty of drive, but rivals for the same resources. When wealth appears (in the chart or a luck pillar) it gets shared out or fought over (比劫奪財).
What helps: Output to turn competition into production, or power to keep peers in line. Contracts and clear boundaries with money.
Heavy resource (印重)
Rule: Strong + Resource ≥ 30%, above self
A strong chart built on resource: well protected and well taught, but it can become passive, dependent or over-cautious. Too much resource also smothers output (梟神奪食).
What helps: Wealth to check resource (財破印) and output to put learning to use.
Follow charts: follow weak, follow strong and one element (從格, 專旺)
Rule: Score below 15 or above 85, then the conditions
At the extremes the ordinary rule flips. A Day Master with no root and no help can 'follow' the dominant force (從財, 從殺, 從兒); one with overwhelming support and nothing to drain it can follow its own strength (從強) or form a one-element structure (專旺). True follow charts are rare: a single root usually breaks them (假從).
What helps: Go with the dominant force instead of against it. Have the chart checked by a teacher; the calculator only flags the possibility.
Fake strong and fake weak (假強, 假弱)
Rule: Strong without season or main-qi root; weak with both
A score can mislead. Fake strong: many supporting stems, but out of season and without a main-qi root, so the strength has nothing under it. Fake weak: a low share, but the Day Master is in season and rooted in main qi, so it holds up better than the number says.
What helps: Read the score together with the season and roots in the factor card, and watch how luck pillars move it.
Strength and your favorable elements: weak needs support, strong needs outlets
Strength is step one of finding your favorable elements (喜用神). The basic rule is 扶抑: support a weak Day Master, restrain a strong one.
Weak: resource and peers
Resource feeds the Day Master and peers stand with it. Output, wealth and power add to the drain and are usually the ones to go easy on.
Balanced: keep it flowing
Nothing needs propping up or holding down. The thinnest elements keep the cycle moving, and a very hot or cold chart needs climate (調候) first.
Climate first: a summer chart heavy in Fire wants Water (fed by Metal); a winter chart heavy in Water wants Fire (fed by Wood).
Strong: output, wealth and power
Your chartOutput vents the strength, wealth uses it and power gives it shape. Strength from resource is best checked by wealth; strength from peers by output or power.
Strength is not the only test: climate (調候) can come first in summer and winter charts, and follow charts reverse the rule. The favorable elements calculator weighs all of it.
Find my favorable elementsThe five elements
Bazi vs Sanmeigaku: two different meanings of 'weak'
Japanese readers meet 身強 / 身弱 in two systems: Four Pillars (四柱推命, the Bazi on this page) and Sanmeigaku (算命学). The words are the same, the measurement is not.
| Four Pillars / Bazi (四柱推命) | Sanmeigaku (算命学) | |
|---|---|---|
| Based on | The season (month branch), roots in the branches and helping stems, weighed against output, wealth and power. | The three Twelve Great Subordinate Stars (十二大従星), read from the day stem against the year, month and day branches. |
| How it is measured | Here a 0–100 support share in five bands; other Bazi sources use their own weights or judge by eye. | Each star carries a fixed energy, from 1 (天馳星) to 12 (天将星); the stars are grouped as strong, middle and weak stars, and their energies are added up. |
| Extreme cases | Very weak and very strong; at the far ends, possible follow charts (從格, 專旺). | 極身弱 usually means all three stars are weak stars; 最身強 means all three are strong stars. |
| Used for | Choosing the favorable elements and reading luck pillars and years. | Describing temperament, energy level and how a person best uses their strength. |
The two share old roots but are different tools. A Sanmeigaku 極身弱 is not a Bazi 'very weak', and the same birthday can come out differently in each. This calculator follows Four Pillars practice; keep Sanmeigaku terms inside Sanmeigaku.
Day Master strength FAQ
More on the parts of the chart that move strength over time and between people:
Sources and further reading
The classical texts behind the method; the weights are our own documented choice.
- 01《子平真詮》Qing dynasty manual by Shen Xiaozhan: the month branch as the core of the chart, and strength judged through the structure.
- 02《滴天髓》With Ren Tieqiao's commentary: rising and declining strength (衰旺) and true and false follow charts.
- 03《窮通寶鑑》Month-by-month advice for each Day Master; the basis of climate (調候) coming before strength.
- 04《三命通會》Ming encyclopedia by Wan Minying; its chapter on Direct Wealth weighs strong wealth against a weak self.
- 05《淵海子平》The earliest Ziping manual (Song dynasty), source of the 'poor man in a rich house' image for 財多身弱.
See strength in the whole chart
The free Bazi calculator puts your strength next to the ten gods, luck pillars, favorable elements and yearly outlook.
Open the Bazi calculatorMore free tools
- Five Elements CalculatorFind your element, the balance of Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water in your chart, and what is missing.
- Generating & Controlling CyclesThe interactive five elements diagram: what produces and controls what, overacting, insulting and bridge elements.
- Favorable Elements CalculatorFind your useful god, joyful god and taboo elements, plus the colors, directions and years that suit you.
- Bazi CalculatorFour Pillars, ten gods, hidden stems, element balance and luck pillars. Free, and no sign-up.
- The ten godsFriend, Eating God, Seven Killings and the rest: what each of the ten gods means and how to find yours.
- Bazi CompatibilityCompare two charts for love or business.