Conception (胎) in BaZi

At a glance

Group

Twelve Life Stages · stage 11

Life-cycle image

Being conceived, starting to form

Keywords

potential, plans, curiosity, novelty, not yet formed

Strength

Weak: strength just starting to sprout

Related ideas

The life stage Conception and the Conception Pillar (胎元) are two different ideas

How to find the Conception

Count from the Day Master: Yang stems forward from Birth, Yin stems backward. Jia's Birth is Hai, so ten steps forward, You, is Jia's Conception; Yi's Birth is Wu, so ten steps backward, Shen, is Yi's Conception. The table shows the Conception branch for each of the ten Day Masters.

What Conception means traditionally

Conception is the start of a new cycle: everything is still brewing, full of possibility but not yet formed. A Day Master sitting on Conception is traditionally described as curious, optimistic and imaginative, fond of planning and trying new things, but with more ideas than follow-through, needing time for plans to mature.

Its strength is slight, but it stands for hope. Meeting Conception in a chart is often read as something in gestation: not to be rushed, best nurtured patiently.

How to read it in a chart

Day branch

a Day Master sitting on Conception (e.g. Bing Zi, Ren Wu, Ding Hai, Gui Si) is traditionally read as young at heart and curious, liking freshness in relationships but also needing security.

Month branch

meeting Conception in the month means very little seasonal support, so the Day Master usually leans weak.

Year and hour pillars

Conception there is often read as a phase of gestation, or with questions of children coming to the fore.

Luck pillars and years

a Conception period is traditionally good for sowing, planning and learning, with results showing in later stages.

Related ideas

Conception vs. the Conception Pillar

the Conception Pillar (胎元) is a stem-branch pair derived from the month pillar (month stem plus one, month branch plus three), used to add detail about one's innate makeup. The life stage Conception is the Day Master's state at a branch; the two should not be mixed up.

Termination, Conception, Nurture

Termination ends the old, Conception begins the new, Nurture grows it in the womb, and then comes Birth.

Common misconceptions

• “Conception” in a chart does not mean pregnancy or childbirth; it is the metaphorical name of a life stage.
• Conception is not the Conception Pillar; they are found and used differently.
• The life stages alone cannot tell you the Day Master's strength; read them with the month, the balance of the phases and the structure.