How It Works
How Qysmet Calculates Your BaZi
Qysmet computes your BaZi chart with a deterministic, versioned engine — not canned horoscope text. From your birth moment it builds four pillars (eight characters) using True Solar Time, resolves hidden stems, derives the Ten Gods, and calculates Day Master strength. Pillar construction is verified against ground truth, and the engine is guarded by a golden-hash test so calculation output cannot change without an explicit version bump.
Deterministic, not interpretive
A horoscope app generates prose; Qysmet runs a calculation. The engine takes your birth date, time, and place and derives your chart through fixed classical rules — stem–branch assignment, the 60-jiazi cycle, hidden stems, and the Ten Gods. There is no randomness and no template selection at the calculation layer: the same input always resolves to the same eight characters. Interpretation comes later, and separately.
True Solar Time and why it matters
The hour pillar depends on where the sun actually was, not on what a clock read. Civil clock time is set by time-zone boundaries and daylight saving, so it can differ from local sun time by many minutes — sometimes enough to push the Hour pillar into an adjacent Earthly Branch. Qysmet converts your clock time to True Solar Time using your birth longitude before assigning the Hour pillar, so the pillar reflects the real solar position at your birth.
Hidden stems and Ten Gods
Each Earthly Branch conceals one or more Heavenly Stems — the hidden stems — which carry element energy that never appears on the surface of the chart. The engine resolves these hidden stems, then measures every stem in the chart against your Day Master to derive the Ten Gods: the relationships (such as Resource, Output, Wealth, Officer, and Companion) that describe how each element supports, drains, or controls your core self.
Day Master strength
Your Day Master is the Heavenly Stem of your Day pillar — your core self. The engine calculates its strength by weighing seasonal support (which element the birth month favors), the count and position of allies and drains across the pillars, and the influence of hidden stems. That strength reading determines your favorable and unfavorable elements, which is the practical hinge of the whole reading.
How the classical books supply meaning (never the arithmetic)
Qysmet keeps calculation and interpretation strictly separate. The engine produces the numbers; the classical texts supply what they mean. Meaning is layered on top of an already-fixed chart, so the interpretive language can be rich and human without ever altering the deterministic arithmetic underneath. The chart is ground truth; the books are commentary on it.
The facts the engine guarantees
- —8 characters across 4 pillars
- —the 60-jiazi cycle of stem–branch combinations
- —the year pillar flips at Li Chun (立春, ~Feb 4), not January 1 or Chinese New Year
- —the month pillar changes at each solar term (节气)
- —same birth moment → same chart, always
Why this makes readings more trustworthy
Because the calculation is deterministic, verified against ground truth, and locked by a golden-hash test, you can trust that your chart is your chart — reproducible, auditable, and stable over time. It cannot silently drift or be re-rolled into something more flattering. Any change to calculation output requires an explicit, tracked engine version bump, so trust rests on the arithmetic, not on the mood of a generator.
See your Four Pillars
Enter your birth details and Qysmet computes your BaZi chart with the deterministic engine — True Solar Time, hidden stems, Ten Gods, and Day Master strength — instantly and free.
Calculate My BaZi Chart — FreeFrequently Asked Questions
Is BaZi accurate?
BaZi is deterministic: the same birth moment always produces the same chart. Accuracy depends on precise birth data — especially the hour. Qysmet computes the chart with a versioned engine using True Solar Time, hidden stems, the Ten Gods, and Day Master strength, and verifies pillar construction against ground truth.
When does the BaZi year start?
The BaZi year flips at Li Chun (立春, around February 4) — the start of spring in the solar calendar — not January 1 or Chinese New Year. The month pillar changes at each solar term (节气).
Do I need my exact birth time?
The birth hour sets your Hour pillar and sharpens the whole reading. Without it you still get a meaningful Year, Month, and Day analysis, including your Day Master.
What is True Solar Time?
True Solar Time is the local sun-based time at your birth longitude, which can differ from clock time by many minutes because civil clock time is set by time zones and daylight saving rather than the sun. BaZi hour pillars are built from True Solar Time, so Qysmet converts your clock time before assigning the Hour pillar.
Can the calculation change over time?
No — the output is locked by a golden-hash test that fails if any computed chart drifts. The calculation can only change through an explicit engine version bump, which is deliberate and tracked, so a chart you saw before will not silently become a different chart.