The Ba Zi

I never fail to be astonished by Richard’s relentless and dedicated quest to unravel the secrets of the Ba Zi. His researches have taken him to many parts of the globe to learn from traditional masters and in turn to share his discoveries. Few, if any, Western teachers would surpass his knowledge of this particular field of Chinese traditional culture.

Derek Walters
author of The Complete Guide to Chinese Astrology

Ba Zi – a window into the soul.

Feng shui is essentially divination; that is trawling time and space for clues as to what is happening in our lives and what to do about it. Feng shui is unique in that it also offers methods of changing any circumstances that may not suit us at any given moment. What feng shui is to space, ba zi is to time. Richard practises and teaches both.

For the diviner, the universe is always offering clues as to what is going on; snatches of music or conversation, voices on the radio and above all what feelings are in the air. What does this moment remind me of? What is this moment telling me? An accurately drafted ba zi like a feng shui survey, is an astonishingly powerful tool in this process. It will tend to tell us a great deal about a person’s strengths, weaknesses, hopes and fears and above all moments of decision. Some of these decisions lead onto heartbreak and some to triumph and who we are is made up of just such crossroads. If we can locate a decision, often we can un-decide.

The ba zi, sometimes melodramatically called the Four Pillars of Destiny, is a snapshot of the prevailing Elements at the moment of birth. It’s our own personal feng shui which we carry around with us regardless of the buildings in which we work or live. Few Chinese Masters would attempt the feng shui of a home or office without calculating the ba zi of those within.

A personal ba zi takes me around four hours to draft because of course there’s a lot more going on than drafting.

As the ba zi is derived from the precise moment of birth, it is sometimes misleadingly called a Chinese Horoscope. It is however written in the language of the Chinese five elements – earth, metal, water, wood and fire – so the ba zi shows not only what a person’s circumstances may be like at any given moment but also what can be done about it.

Ba zi means Eight Images and these images are a snapshot of the chi (or energy) prevalent at our moment of birth. One image is of the animal (or Branch) ruling the year we were born. Those who have scratched the surface of Chinese metaphysics will know already that their year Branch is a Rat or a Snake or whatever. They may even know the element of their year (known as a Stem) and that they are accordingly, an earth Rat or a wood Pig. These two images, Stem and Branch, make up a pillar. Hence Pillars of Destiny.

There are four pillars because the cycles that make a year an earth Rat or a wood Pig apply also to the month, the day and indeed the hour of our birth. Every month, every day and every hour is ruled by a unique pillar. Thus the Four Pillars of a fully-drafted ba zi show the unique chi of our moment and place of birth.

Since the pillars mark a specific point in a cycle, they can be in effect run back and forward to show our likely circumstances, character, preferences, partners and opportunities at any given time in our lives, past, present or future. This means that we can plot when certain types of situation will arise and plan for them. It also means we can deduce when mistakes were made (if indeed such a thing as a mistake is possible) and re-choose. I hand draft all ba zis and aim never to forget that human beings are unique and complex and my position (which there is no need for you to agree with) is that everything is a matter of choice. The value of this is that if we chose we can un-choose. Sometimes I call a ba zi a map of our most likely mistakes.

Over the years I have used ba zis to let me know things about people before I survey a building so as to better serve them. This is precisely what Chinese masters going back millennia, used to do. I have also developed approaches that allow me to use the ba zi freestanding to loosen blocks and maximise choice. This can result in radical change. Contemporary Chinese masters have adapted the ba zi for use as in medical diagnostic and I use it myself, on behalf of business clients, as a tool in personnel selection and compatibility. The possibilities are very wide indeed. To book a ba zi contact us. To study ba zi follow this link to my current Course(s) which are available tailored to your schedule via Zoom.

What is a ba zi consultation like?

“Hypnotherapy and life coaching (had) only touched on the problem whereas as soon as I started answering you I fell apart. The particularly odd thing was that I was aware of talking in a real Yorkshire accent which I had as a young child but which I lost after we moved south. It was just like being in hypnotherapy and talking from my subconscious in trance.” Moya

What is the starter ba zi course like?

Ba Zi is a life’s study. The starter course is often a life-changing experience in itself because students often offer their own charts for interpretation. This of itself can be transformational. Either way what we commit to is that, following diligent completion of 20 (approx) one hour one to one sessions via Zoom with Richard of Discover the Secrets of the Four Pillars of Destiny, students will be able to draft a full ba zi in the appropriate Chinese characters (it’s not actually that hard) and have all the tools necessary for interpretation. (Read More)

PS: Richard is available to draft ba zi’s and will debrief usually via a Zoom session lasting approx one hour. There is a concessionary price for a series of five if you choose to explore your ba zi even further.

Email: sheilaashworthfengshui@gmail.com to book or find out more.

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© Richard Ashworth 2024