Ding Chou Day Pillar 丁丑

The Day Pillar is the two characters of the day you were born: a Heavenly Stem on top (your Day Master, the “you” of a Saju chart) and an Earthly Branch below (your inner self and spouse palace). In Ding Chou (丁丑), the Day Master is Ding Fire (a candle lighting the dark) sitting on the Ox branch, whose element is Earth.

You sit on the earth of expression (Eating God), calm and very patient. You quietly build skill and come into your light late, and making a living resolves steadily.

Ding Fire is like a candle or lantern that quietly lights its surroundings. You hold your place steadily rather than showing off. Sensitive and good at sensing other people’s hearts, you make a good adviser and companion. You tend to keep feelings to yourself, so it is wise to have an outlet where you can express them.

What makes Ding Chou different from the other five Ding Fire Day Pillars is the branch it sits on, covered below.

With Chou beneath your Day Master, you are weighty inside and strongly responsible. There is the energy of the earth in your spouse seat, so you tend to meet diligent, dependable partners. Even if your expression is clumsy, the longer it goes the deeper the relationship becomes. Remember that an occasional corny show of affection is a gift too.

The energy of ease and expression (Eating God) sits in your spouse seat, so you tend to meet warm, easygoing partners. Everyday life of eating and enjoying things together becomes the vitality of the relationship.

Ding Fire loves softly and devotedly like candlelight. When you give your heart, you give it deeply and for a long time, noticing even small changes. You keep feelings, jealousy and hurt inside, which can leave you alone with them; put them into words.

Eating God here means: Eating God (Shi Shen) stands for ease, expression and the power to use talent naturally. Many people with it have a smooth flow without big trouble in making a living, and it is the energy often seen in people who work happily using a hobby or specialty. A relaxed, optimistic nature puts people at ease, but you need the balance of keeping yourself in check so ease doesn’t turn into laziness.

Tomb (Mu): the energy of storing and putting away. Strong in gathering, whether wealth or thoughts, and deep inside.

Hidden inside the Ox branch: Gui (Water, 9 days), Xin (Metal, 3 days), Ji (Earth, 18 days). These quieter energies show up in private, under stress or later in life.

Areas to look after: heart, small intestine, blood vessels, blood pressure and tongue.

Too much Fire energy sends heat upward, with insomnia, palpitations, higher blood pressure and a hasty temper standing out. Cut caffeine, late-night eating and spicy food, and try breathing meditation before sleep.

Too little Fire energy leaves the body cold and circulation slow, and enthusiasm cools easily. Raise your body’s temperature with warm food, aerobic exercise and walks in the sun.

• Six Harmony: the Ox pairs with the Rat. People with a Rat Day Branch often feel an easy pull toward you.
• Three Harmony: the Ox · Rooster · Snake form a Metal team, so those animals tend to bring out your best.
• Clash: the Ox clashes with the Goat. It is not doom, only a spot where friction and change come easily.
• Perfect match on stem and branch: Ren Zi (壬子) combines with Ding Chou on both the stem and the branch.
• Opposite pillar (most friction): Gui Wei (癸未): its stem is Seven Killings to you and its branch clashes with yours.

Day Pillars are one part of compatibility. For a full comparison of two charts, try the compatibility reading.

Your Day Pillar depends on your birth date, not your birth year. Enter your date of birth in the Day Pillar finder or get a complete chart with the free Saju calculator, which also gives your Day Master strength, Useful God and Luck Cycles.