Four pillar divination, also known as Four pillar divination or Eight character divination, is a type of numerology that originated from traditional Chinese culture. The following is a detailed analysis of the four pillar numerology prediction:

1、 Basic concepts
Definition: Four Pillar Destiny Prediction is the study of predicting a person’s fate and personality based on the year, month, day, and hour of their birth, using the heavenly stems and earthly branches of each time as the four basic elements (represented by one heavenly stem and one earthly branch, totaling eight characters, respectively referred to as the year pillar, month pillar, day pillar, and hour pillar).
Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches: There are ten Heavenly Stems, namely Jia, Yi, C, Ding, Wu, Ji, Geng, Xin, Ren, and Gui; There are twelve earthly branches, namely Zi, Chou, Yin, Mao, Chen, Si, Wu, Wei, Shen, You, Xu, and Hai. Each Earthly Branch also contains one to three Heavenly Stems, known as Zanggan.

2、 Core principle
The core of Four Pillar Destiny is to analyze the combination of heavenly stems and earthly branches, as well as the relationship between their five elements (metal, wood, water, fire, and earth) to infer a person’s good or bad fortune.
Japanese Yen: The heavenly stems in the solar column are called the Japanese Yen, representing an individual’s main five elements. The relationship between the Japanese Yen and other heavenly stems and earthly branches forms the pattern of destiny.

3、 Prediction method
Four Pillar Destiny Prediction uses various methods and techniques to predict an individual’s fate, including but not limited to:

The Ten Divine Laws: Based on the restraining relationship between the Yin Yang and Five Elements of the Japanese yen and other heavenly stems and earthly branches, ten proprietary terms are established, including “matching shoulders”, “robbing wealth”, “injuring officials”, “eating gods”, “legitimate wealth”, “illegitimate wealth”, “legitimate officials”, “seven killings”, “legitimate seals”, and “illegitimate seals”, with a focus on personnel analysis.
The method of happiness and taboos: specifically for the primitive happiness and taboos of the solar stem body, it is mainly used to analyze the five elements and ten divine configurations of the solar stem nature.
Combination method: Based on the combination characteristics of the Five Elements, Ten Gods, and Pattern of Destiny, analyze the surplus and deficiency of Destiny, matching characteristics, and the path of birth and death.
Conjugation method: Based on the rules of restraining the Five Elements, analyze the merging or interlocking phenomenon of the main branches of destiny, great fortune, and flowing years with another main branch, and then judge the auspiciousness or inauspiciousness based on the daily stem’s likes and dislikes.
Shengzhu Fa: A certain ten gods have a Shengzhu effect on another “ten gods” or daily routine, and judge the auspiciousness or inauspiciousness based on the fate.
Transformation and Release Method: One of the Ten Gods transforms and releases another “Ten Gods” or solar stems, and judges good or bad based on the likes and dislikes of the solar stems.
Restraint method: A certain ten gods restrain another ten gods or daily stems, and judge the auspiciousness or inauspiciousness based on the auspiciousness or inauspiciousness of the daily stems.
In addition, there are various methods such as the clash method, the punishment method, the five elements method, the tomb storage method, the actual space method, the light and dark method, the distance method, the palace position method, the prosperity and decline method, and the reverse judgment method.

4、 Origin and Development
In ancient times, the embryonic form of the Four Pillars Destiny can be traced back to ancient times, when people had already begun to observe natural phenomena, explore the laws of the universe, develop calendars, and invent writing. The most representative ones are the Hetu and Luoshu, which have been passed down from the periods of Fuxi and Dayu, and are considered the source of Yin Yang and Five Elements numerology.
Xia Dynasty: People began to use heavenly stems and earthly branches to record time, forming the earliest dating method in ancient China, the Sixty Jiazi, which is also the basic symbol used in the Four Pillars of Destiny.
Shang Dynasty: Divination was prevalent, and merchants recorded their divination on turtle shells or cow bones, burned them with fire, and predicted the results by identifying the shape of cracks that appeared in them. This method is called “burning bones for divination”. The content of oracle bone inscriptions also includes some information about birth time, fate, personality, and other aspects, reflecting the initial exploration and attempts of the Shang Dynasty towards numerology.
Zhou Dynasty: the most developed period of Yi learning and numerology. King Wen of Zhou created the Book of Changes, and books on numerology and numerology were officially positioned as important classics.
From the Han Dynasty to the Three Kingdoms period, the study of destiny further developed, and many books and experts on destiny emerged, such as Wang Chong’s “Lun Heng”, Zhu Jianping, Zhou Xuan, Guan Yu, and others.
Jin Dynasty: Guo Pu’s “Yuzhao Dingzhen Jing” is considered the pioneering work of the four pillar numerology, proposing a method of inferring a person’s lifespan, status, fortune, marriage, children, and other aspects based on the four pillars of year, month, day, and hour.

5、 Precautions
When making predictions based on the Four Pillars of Destiny, it is necessary to comprehensively consider multiple factors, including the combination of heavenly stems and earthly branches, the relationship between the Five Elements’ generation and restraint, and the configuration of the Ten Gods.
The predicted results are not absolute, as human destiny is influenced by various factors, including personal efforts, social environment, etc.
We should maintain a rational and objective attitude, and avoid excessive superstition or reliance on the four pillar numerology prediction.

The Four Pillar Destiny Prediction is a mathematical question originating from traditional Chinese culture, which predicts a person’s fate and personality by analyzing the relationship between the heavenly stems, earthly branches, and the Five Elements. Although it has certain reference value, the predicted results are not absolute and require comprehensive consideration of multiple factors while maintaining a rational and objective attitude.