Start with the shared cultural foundations

Eastern arts of divination are not a single system. Yin–yang, the Five Phases, the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, the trigrams and traditional calendars form a shared vocabulary for many methods, but the same term can serve a different function in each tradition. Learn the concepts first, then study the charting rules of a specific system.

Bazi (八字, bāzì): reading the Four Pillars

Bazi, also called the Four Pillars, converts the year, month, day and hour of birth into four pairs of stems and branches. Different authors may use “Bazi,” “Eight Characters,” “Four Pillars,” or “Four Pillars of Destiny”; these labels reflect translation choices and do not make all schools identical. Analysis commonly considers the Day Master, rìzhǔ (日主), the Ten Gods or Ten Relations, shíshén (十神), Five-Phase strength, stem–branch relationships, and major and annual cycles. It is best understood as a traditional method for using time structures to discuss life themes and changing rhythms.

Zi Wei Dou Shu (紫微斗数, zǐwēi dòushù): reading stars through twelve palaces

Zi Wei Dou Shu is commonly translated as Purple Star Astrology, while some authors retain “Zi Wei Dou Shu.” It organizes a chart into twelve palaces and places principal stars, supporting stars and other symbols within them. A reading considers more than one star: palaces, opposite palaces, the Three Directions and Four Uprights, sānfāng sìzhèng (三方四正), and different time layers all matter. The Four Transformations, sìhuà (四化), the weighting of stars and the method of inference can differ substantially among schools, so the chosen convention should be stated.

Liuyao (六爻, liùyáo): building a hexagram around a specific question

Liuyao, often called Six Lines or Six-Yao divination, usually begins with a clearly stated question. A casting produces the primary hexagram, changing lines and transformed hexagram, which are then considered with the Self and Response positions, shìyìng (世应), the Six Relations, liùqīn (六亲), and month and day factors. Unlike birth-data systems, it places greater emphasis on the relationship among the question, the time and the event.

Do not equate the systems too quickly

Bazi’s Ten Relations, Zi Wei Dou Shu’s stars and Liuyao’s Six Relations may all discuss relationships, resources or action, but they cannot be matched one for one. A better cross-system study compares what information each method collects, how it organizes that information and which rules turn it into an interpretation.

Understand a tradition in its own language first; compare systems only after looking for structural similarities and differences.

A basic learning path