Six Harmonies versus Five Stem Combinations (六合與天干五合)
Compare Earthly Branch Six Harmonies with Heavenly Stem Five Combinations by participants, topology, hidden stems, competition, damage, and transformation rules.
Overview
Six Harmonies and Five Stem Combinations are separate relation systems. 五合 uses five fixed Heavenly Stem pairs among visible stems; 六合 uses six fixed Earthly Branch pairs whose hidden stems and group memberships add complexity. Both require presence, force, interference, and transformation to be judged separately, but their topology and evidence must not be merged.
At a glance
- Five Stem Combinations
- Five exact pairs of visible Heavenly Stems
- Six Harmonies
- Six exact pairs of Earthly Branches
- Branch complexity
- Hidden stems, trines, meetings, clashes, harms, and breaks
- Shared boundary
- A pair is not automatic transformation
- Shared step
- Detect the fixed pair before testing effective force
- Key difference
- Stems act visibly; branches also carry hidden stems and overlapping networks
Separate visible stems from composite branches
五合 acts between Heavenly Stems and preserves their polarity, roots, and Ten-God roles.
六合 acts between branches that contain hidden stems and can join larger branch groups.
- Identify the correct layer.
- Do not transfer one pair table to the other.
Use the right competition and overlap tests
Stem combinations emphasize distance, rival partners, clashes, and Day-Master implications.
Branch harmonies also compete with trines, meetings, punishment, harm, break, and branch clashes.
- Apply layer-specific overlaps.
- Keep all relations auditable.
Test conversion separately in both systems
Each system needs a declared target phase and sufficient seasonal, rooted, continuous support.
A transformation judgment in one layer does not automatically convert the other layer.
- Name the target phase.
- Return separate statuses.
Choose the system before interpreting meaning
Do not use “combination” as one undifferentiated favorable label.
Neither 五合 nor 六合 alone proves cooperation, marriage, wealth, health, or an event.
- Use precise terminology.
- No favorable stereotype.
Sources and editorial basis
- 《三命通會》 (Sanming Tonghui)《三命通會》卷二分列十干配合與支元六合：兩套固定表、作用層級和化氣條件各自成立A historical compilation covering stems and branches, Ten Gods, Nayin, Shen Sha, and multiple classical pattern systems.
- 《子平真詮》 (True Explanations of Ziping)《子平真詮評註》十干合與地支配置諸例：干的顯性作用和支的根氣藏干不可用同一規則互換A major reference for month-command, structure, and contextual Bazi interpretation.
- OpenFate Editorial Methodology六合與天干五合比較頁逐欄對照符號層、固定配對、距離、重疊關係和合化，不合併成泛稱「合」OpenFate separates deterministic chart calculation, traditional interpretation, and modern editorial explanation.