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Find your Five Elements Bureau
Your Five Elements Bureau decides two things: which square Zi Wei lands in, and the age your first 10-year period starts. Enter your birth date and hour to find it.
The five bureaus and when your first period starts
The number in each bureau is the age, counted the traditional way, at which your first 10-year period starts: Water 2 starts at 2, Fire 6 at 6. A new period begins every ten years after that.
| Bureau | First 10-year period | Second |
|---|---|---|
| Water 2 Bureau | ages 2–11 | ages 12–21 |
| Wood 3 Bureau | ages 3–12 | ages 13–22 |
| Metal 4 Bureau | ages 4–13 | ages 14–23 |
| Earth 5 Bureau | ages 5–14 | ages 15–24 |
| Fire 6 Bureau | ages 6–15 | ages 16–25 |
How the bureau is worked out
Place the Life Palace first, then take its stem and branch and look up their Na Yin element. For example, a Life Palace of Ding Hai has the Na Yin "earth on the roof", which makes Earth 5. The numbers are fixed: Water 2, Wood 3, Metal 4, Earth 5, Fire 6.
| Bureau | Life Palace stem and branch |
|---|---|
| Water 2 Bureau | Bing Zi, Ding Chou, Jia Shen, Yi You, Ren Chen, Gui Si, Bing Wu, Ding Wei, Jia Yin, Yi Mao, Ren Xu, Gui Hai |
| Wood 3 Bureau | Wu Chen, Ji Si, Ren Wu, Gui Wei, Geng Yin, Xin Mao, Wu Xu, Ji Hai, Ren Zi, Gui Chou, Geng Shen, Xin You |
| Metal 4 Bureau | Jia Zi, Yi Chou, Ren Shen, Gui You, Geng Chen, Xin Si, Jia Wu, Yi Wei, Ren Yin, Gui Mao, Geng Xu, Xin Hai |
| Earth 5 Bureau | Geng Wu, Xin Wei, Wu Yin, Ji Mao, Bing Xu, Ding Hai, Geng Zi, Xin Chou, Wu Shen, Ji You, Bing Chen, Ding Si |
| Fire 6 Bureau | Bing Yin, Ding Mao, Jia Xu, Yi Hai, Wu Zi, Ji Chou, Bing Shen, Ding You, Jia Chen, Yi Si, Wu Wu, Ji Wei |
Your bureau is not "the element you lack"
A common mix-up: the bureau has nothing to do with the five-element balance in Ba Zi, and it does not mean you lack an element or need to add one. It is a setting used to cast the chart, fixing where Zi Wei goes and when the 10-year periods begin. No bureau is better than another.
FAQ
Is the bureau the same as my Ba Zi element?
No. The bureau comes from the Na Yin of your Life Palace stem and branch and is used to cast a Zi Wei chart. Ba Zi elements come from the four pillars of year, month, day and hour. They are separate systems.
Are the ages counted the traditional way?
Yes. Zi Wei Dou Shu counts ages from 1 at birth and adds a year at each Lunar New Year, so your Western age is usually one or two less.
Does my bureau make my luck better or worse?
No. It only sets where Zi Wei sits and when your periods start. How things go is read from the main stars, the transformations and the San Fang Si Zheng.
More free tools
This is the general reading. On your own chart it shifts with the stars' brightness, the San Fang Si Zheng and the year you are in.
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