Richard Ashworth | Imperial Feng Shui

Just what is a Ba Zi?

The ba zi sometimes melodramatically called the Four Pillars of Destiny, is our own personal feng shui which we carry around with us regardless of the buildings in which we work or live. Few Chinese Masters would attempt the feng shui of a home or office without calculating the ba zi of those within.

As the ba zi is derived from the precise moment of birth, it is sometimes misleadingly called a Chinese Horoscope. It is written in the language of the Chinese five elements – earth, metal, water, wood and fire – so the ba zi shows not only what a person’s circumstances may be like at any given moment but also what can be done about it.

Ba zi means Eight Images and these images are a snapshot of the chi (or energy) prevalent at our moment of birth. One image is of the animal (or branch) ruling the year we were born. Those who have scratched the surface of Chinese metaphysics will know already that their year branch is a Rat or a Snake or whatever. They may even know the element of their year (known as a stem) and that they are accordingly, an earth Rat or a wood Pig. These two images, stem and branch, make up a pillar. Hence Pillars of Destiny.

There are four pillars because the cycles that make a year an earth Rat or a wood Pig apply also to the month, the day and indeed the hour of our birth. The Four Pillars of a fully-drafted ba zi show the unique chi of our moment and place of birth.

Since these pillars mark a specific point in a cycle, they can be in effect run back and forward to show our likely circumstances, character, preferences, partners and opportunities at any given time in our lives, past, present or future. This means that we can plot when certain types of situation will arise and plan for them. It also means we can deduce when mistakes were made (if indeed such a thing as a mistake is possible) and re-choose. I aim never to forget that human beings are unique and complex and my position (which there is no need for you to agree with) is that everything is a matter of choice. The value of this is that if we chose we can un-choose. Sometimes I call a ba zi a map of our most likely mistakes.

Over the years I have used ba zis to let me know things about people before I meet them so as to better serve them. This is precisely what Chinese masters going back millennia, used to do. I have also developed approaches that allow me to use the ba zi freestanding to loosen blocks and maximise choice. This can lead to radical change. Contemporary Chinese masters have adapted the ba zi to use as a medical diagnostic and I use it myself, on behalf of business clients, as a tool in personnel selection and compatibility. The possibilities are very wide indeed

My recent workshops draw on my experience in interpersonal transformational work going back over two-and-a half decades and use the ba zi as the focus. It is intended that by the end of each workshop, the participant will possess a fully-drafted ba zi, the knowledge to make some sense of it and the experience of my interpretation in relation to their own circumstances. We limit numbers so that everyone will be individually served but in the event of anyone not being satisfied in these respects, I will make this up one-to-one.

These workshops, of which there are four this year, may not only be unique in the world but also are intended to respect the spirit of the long line of Chinese geniuses who gave us this remarkable tool.

PS: Richard is available to draft ba zi's by appointment either at the Holistic Centre in Godalming Surrey (01483.418103) or at Harley Street (01428 658900). Sessions last one hour with a concessionary price for a series of five. Sessions can also be over the phone or via email.

Photo taken from the Golden Temple at the summit of Wudang Shan
by Carlo-Amedeo Reyneri di Lagnasco (c) 2005