How to read the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches?

The Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches are not a back table, but two different sets of expression levels. The heavenly stems are more like surface movements, and the earthly branches are more like underlying containers.

• ·Heavenly Stem often looks at external expression, explicit relationships and direct presentation.
• ·Earthly branches often look at the environment, internal structure and actual undertaking.
• ·The same power has different meanings when it is revealed and hidden in the earthly branches.

The Zanggan tells you what is hidden in the earthly branches, the Tonggan tells you whether it has a bottom, and the Toukan tells you whether it has really shown up. Only by combining the three can we know whether the five elements exist in name or are actually powerful.

The most common mistake is to recite the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches as nouns, resulting in the failure to see the upper-lower relationship between them. Let’s first distinguish between “explicitness” and “carrying”, which will make it easier to read later.

If you don't study separately, you will easily mistake "seeing a word" for "understanding a layer of power." After separation, the Heavenly Stem is responsible for watching actions and expressions, and the Earthly Branches are responsible for watching the succession and environment. Finally, when the two sides are connected, you will know whether this force is really present or just passing by.

Since the Heavenly Stem is above, it is easier to see, so it is often used to look at explicit expressions, external actions and direct relationships. When a Ten Shen is in the Heavenly Stem, it is usually easier to enter into people's behavior, language, choices and external impressions. But being exposed does not necessarily mean it is powerful. It still depends on whether it has roots, whether it is contained, and whether it is restrained.

The earthly branch is at the bottom and often represents the environment, root energy, inheritance and inner structure. A lot of power is not revealed, but it is hidden in the earthly branches and will still affect the board. The difficulty with Earthly Branches is that it is not a single word, but Tibetan stems, punishments and conflicts, and seasonal climates working together.

If the same heavenly stem sits on different earthly branches, its expression will be different; if different heavenly stems appear on the same earthly branch, it will also show different appearances. For example, a certain force is obvious in the heavenly stems, but has no roots in the earthly branches, so it may be powerful but weak in impact; conversely, the root Qi of the earthly branches may be very thick but not transparent, and may be internally powerful but not necessarily directly expressed.

If you memorize each of the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches into a fixed character, you will quickly encounter conflicts. The stems and branches are not personality stickers, but structural symbols. They are to be read in terms of seasons, positions, sun masters, deities and combinations. Without context, any statement of "what is Jiamu like, how is Zishui" can only be regarded as a very crude hint.

The heavenly stems are like exposed expressions, and the earthly branches are like underlying carriers. The power emerging from the Heavenly Stems may not be stable, and the power hidden in the Earthly Branches may not be unimportant. Only by looking at the two together can you know whether a certain signal is superficial, underlying, or consistent internally and externally.

Combining and opposing punishments mostly occur at the earth branch level, and often affect the real environment, relationships, foundation and long-term status. Looking only at the Heavenly Stem will miss many hidden clues, especially intimate relationships, family, body rhythms and subsequent development.

Whether a heavenly stem has earthly branches and whether an earthly branch or Tibetan stem is exposed determines whether the power can move from the bottom to the surface. Reading the stems and branches is not about memorizing sixty years, but looking at the connections between explicit and implicit.

The heavenly stems can be translated into visible manifestations, public behaviors, and external choices; the earthly branches can be translated into underlying states, environments, inertia, and inheritance. When the inside and outside are consistent, the judgment will be more stable; when the inside and outside are inconsistent, the article should contain contradictions.