Hour Stem and Hour Branch in Bazi (時干與時支)
Distinguish the Day-Stem-derived Hour Stem from the birth-time Hour Branch and read their hidden stems, roots, interactions, and limits.
Overview
The Hour Branch comes from the resolved local birth-time segment, while the Hour Stem is derived from the Day Stem through the standard Five Rats sequence. Together they form one sexagenary pair. The Branch contains hidden stems and the Stem is directly visible, but neither character justifies a fixed prediction about children, projects, later life, or private ambitions.
At a glance
- Upper symbol
- Hour Stem
- Lower symbol
- Hour Branch
- Branch input
- Resolved birth-time segment
- Stem dependency
- Derived from the Day Stem
- Limit
- No fixed child or later-life outcome
- Calculation rule
- Resolve the time segment before deriving the Hour Stem
Resolve time before deriving the pair
Convert the recorded civil time under the chosen time-zone, daylight-saving, and solar-time policy, then determine the double-hour Branch. Use the resolved Day Stem to derive the Hour Stem.
Near a boundary, a small input or policy change can produce a different Hour Pillar. Preserve both candidates when evidence cannot decide between them.
- Document the effective birth time.
- Do not hide boundary uncertainty.
Separate the visible Stem from Branch contents
The Hour Stem receives a visible Ten God relation to the Day Master. The Hour Branch contains one or more hidden stems that may root or complicate that visible relation.
An unrooted visible stem and a strong hidden relation carry different evidence. Visibility, rooting, and usefulness should remain separate fields.
- Calculate visible and hidden Ten Gods.
- Do not equate visibility with strength.
Compare the Hour pair with Day and wider chart
Inspect the same-pillar Five Phase relationship, the Hour Stem’s cross-stem contacts, and the Hour Branch’s combinations or clashes. The adjacent Day Pillar often provides important context.
Season, distance, and competing relations determine emphasis. A named contact does not automatically transform or create an event.
- Name all participants and conditions.
- Separate contact from result.
Avoid deterministic future and family claims
The pair cannot prove fertility, a child’s traits, project success, retirement, lifespan, or private desires. Palace associations are traditional prompts, not factual records.
Use direct evidence and appropriate professional support for medical, family, educational, legal, or financial decisions.
- No child or lifespan prediction.
- Protect third-party privacy.
Sources and editorial basis
- 《三命通會》 (Sanming Tonghui)卷二日上起時法先依出生時段定時支，再由已知日干以五鼠遁推時干，並合看支中藏氣與全局A historical compilation covering stems and branches, Ten Gods, Nayin, Shen Sha, and multiple classical pattern systems.
- Hong Kong Observatory: Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches香港天文台列出十二時辰地支及干支循環基礎，支持時支與由日干推得的時干共同構成完整時柱An official modern reference for the canonical stem and branch orders, the sexagenary cycle, and calendrical use.
- OpenFate Editorial Methodology時干、時支、有效出生時間、日干依賴與邊界不確定性分欄，不由時柱推斷子女、壽命、退休或專案結果OpenFate separates deterministic chart calculation, traditional interpretation, and modern editorial explanation.