BaZi glossary · Na Yin
What is Spring Water (泉中水)?
The Na Yin of 甲申 and 乙酉
Short answer
Spring Water (Quan Zhong Shui, 泉中水) is one of the thirty Na Yin of the sixty-pillar cycle. Its image is clear water welling up from a spring; it belongs to the 甲申 (Jia Shen) and 乙酉 (Yi You) pillars, and its Na Yin element is Water. People with either as their year pillar are often said to have a Spring Water life.
At a glance
- Group
- Na Yin · Water
- Pillars
- 甲申 Jia Shen, 乙酉 Yi You
- Image
- clear water welling up from a spring
- Na Yin element
- Water
- Other Water Na Yin
- Ravine Water, Long-Flowing Water, Heavenly River Water, Great Stream Water, Ocean Water
How to find the Spring Water
The Na Yin pair up the sixty stem-branch pillars into thirty names; 甲申 and 乙酉 share Spring Water. The Na Yin of the year pillar is often called one's life Na Yin, so people with a 甲申 or 乙酉 year pillar are said to have a Spring Water life. BaZi years change at Lichun (around 4 February), so anyone born in January or early February uses the previous year's pillar.
| Pillar | Years (1900–2099) |
|---|---|
| 甲申 | 1944, 2004, 2064 |
| 乙酉 | 1945, 2005, 2065 |
The image and meaning of Spring Water
Spring Water wells up from underground: clear, sweet and never-ending. Traditionally it describes clear-headed, pure-hearted people from whom knowledge and ideas keep flowing.
A spring may not be large, but it never dries up, so this Na Yin is often read as slow and steady: standing on accumulated knowledge and expertise, best kept by protecting its source and continuing to improve.
How to read it in a chart
- Year pillar
- the year pillar's Na Yin is the “life” Na Yin, traditionally used for a person's general temperament and, in compatibility matching, for comparing two people's Na Yin.
- Day pillar
- the day pillar's Na Yin is seen as closer to the self; some schools use it to add detail on temperament.
- Other pillars
- the Na Yin of the month and hour pillars, luck pillars and years are usually read only as background, not as good or bad on their own.
Spring Water and the regular Five Phases
- Na Yin element
- Spring Water's Na Yin element is Water, taken from the 甲申–乙酉 pair as a whole.
- 甲申 (Jia Shen)
- the stem 甲 is Wood, the branch 申 is Metal.
- 乙酉 (Yi You)
- the stem 乙 is Wood, the branch 酉 is Metal.
Common misconceptions
- Na Yin cannot decide good or bad fortune on its own. BaZi analysis rests on the regular Five Phases and the Ten Gods; Na Yin is a supporting symbol.
- A Spring Water life refers to the year pillar's Na Yin only; it does not make the whole chart Water.
- Clashing Na Yin in compatibility matching does not mean a poor match; modern readings weigh how the two whole charts fit together.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have a Spring Water life?
Look at your year pillar: if it is 甲申 or 乙酉, yes. You can use the years in the table, but if your birthday is before Lichun (around 4 February), use the previous year. The surest way is to check the year pillar's Na Yin in the free calculator.
Is Spring Water's element just Water?
Its Na Yin element is Water, which is not the same as the regular Five Phases used in BaZi. Judging the Day Master's strength and useful god uses the regular elements of the stems and branches, not the Na Yin.
How important is Na Yin in BaZi?
Na Yin is an older supporting system, used for the “life” element of the year and in traditional compatibility matching. Modern BaZi analysis rests on the regular Five Phases, the Ten Gods and the chart's structure, so Na Yin is best read as a symbolic reference.
Find the Na Yin of your year pillar
The free calculator lists the Na Yin of every pillar and changes the year at Lichun, so your year pillar's Na Yin is always right.
For cultural learning, self-reflection, and entertainment. AI interpretations may be incomplete or inaccurate and are not professional advice.