Stage of Life
The phase of strength or weakness of the Day Master at a specific Earthly Branch, with twelve stages: Long Life, Bathing, Crown, Official, Emperor's Vigor, Decline, Illness, Death, Tomb, Extinction, Embryo, and Nourishment.
Also known as the Twelve Stages of Life, this describes the phase of strength or weakness the Day Master is in at a particular Earthly Branch. The sequence is:
Long Life, Bathing, Crown, Official, Emperor's Vigor, Decline, Illness, Death, Tomb, Extinction, Embryo, and Nourishment.
It borrows the analogy of a human life to illustrate the waxing and waning of the Five Elements, from birth to peak and then decline, before starting anew.
⚠️ Yang stems follow the forward cycle, while Yin stems follow the reverse cycle. However, opinions differ among schools on whether 'Yin stems also use this system'— some schools argue that Yin stems do not have a separate Long Life stage. This site presents the results without endorsing any particular school as correct.