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Four Pillars · Month column

Month Stem and Month Branch in Bazi (月干與月支)

Separate the Month Stem from the season-defining Month Branch and learn how roots, hidden stems, Ten Gods, and interactions connect them.

Simplified Chinese
月干与月支
Traditional Chinese
月干與月支
Pinyin
Yuègān yǔ Yuèzhī
Also known as
Month Pillar stem and branch · month upper and lower characters

Editorially reviewed:

Overview

The Month Pillar contains a visible Month Stem and a Month Branch determined by the solar-term month. The Branch supplies the Month Command and contains hidden stems; the Month Stem is derived from the Year Stem under the standard sequence. Both receive relational meaning from the Day Master, but Month Command, Month Branch, and complete Month Pillar are not interchangeable terms.

At a glance

Upper symbol
Month Stem
Lower symbol
Month Branch
Seasonal role
Month Branch supplies the Month Command
Stem dependency
Derived from Year Stem and month sequence
Limit
Month Command is not the whole Month Pillar
Calculation rule
Solar-term month first, Five Tigers stem second

Calculate the two characters through different dependencies

Resolve the applicable solar-term interval to identify the Month Branch. Then use the declared Five Tigers sequence from the Year Stem to derive the Month Stem.

A lunar month label or fixed Gregorian date cannot silently replace the solar-term boundary. Record the exact instant when a birth is close to entry into a new month.

  • Resolve the Month Branch first.
  • Derive the Month Stem from the Year Stem.

Give the Branch its seasonal role without erasing the Stem

The Month Branch supplies primary seasonal evidence and contains hidden stems that can root visible qi. This makes it structurally distinctive, not simply one of four equal branches.

The Month Stem remains a visible Ten God relation with its own roots and interactions. Seasonal importance does not turn the two characters into one object.

  • Keep season and visibility distinct.
  • Trace the Month Stem to its roots.

Read same-pillar and cross-pillar connections

Compare the Month Stem with the Branch’s main and hidden qi, then map its relations with the Year, Day, and Hour Stems. Separately inspect branch assemblies, clashes, and other contacts.

A pair may contain mixed support and control. State which symbols and conditions support each reading rather than assigning one slogan to the Month Pillar.

  • Map stem and branch relations separately.
  • Preserve mixed evidence.

Do not infer parents or career from one character

Traditional palace context can raise family, education, or work questions, but neither the Month Stem nor Month Branch proves a parent’s conduct, schooling, job, status, or outcome.

Use whole-chart evidence for cultural interpretation and current information for real family, education, and employment decisions.

  • No one-symbol social conclusion.
  • Separate interpretive context from real facts.

Sources and editorial basis

  1. 《三命通會》 (Sanming Tonghui)
    卷二論月令與年上起月法：先由節令定月支，再按年干以五虎遁推月干，兩字計算依賴不同A historical compilation covering stems and branches, Ten Gods, Nayin, Shen Sha, and multiple classical pattern systems.
  2. 《淵海子平》 (Yuanhai Ziping)
    「看命入式」以月令、日主和四柱干支合參，月支季節權重不能抹除月干的透出、根氣及十神關係A foundational Ziping reference for branch months, hidden stems, roots, and stem-branch relationships.
  3. OpenFate Editorial Methodology
    月干、月支、月令與完整月柱使用不同資料欄，且不由一字推斷父母、教育、工作或社會地位OpenFate separates deterministic chart calculation, traditional interpretation, and modern editorial explanation.
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