The idea for this BaZi Hour Pillar Useful Gods Reference Book series came about as follow up to the BaZi Structures and Structural Useful Gods Reference Series that I wrote last year. While the previous series focused on the BaZi "Structures" overall, this series focuses on the "Hour Pillar" in particular and how it defines the quality of a Bazi Structure. This series is designed to show how each Hour Pillar helps define the selection of the chart's Useful Gods and other favorable elements.

This BaZi Hour Pillar series came out of a further request among my BaZi students for additional study materials. Many of them were keen to learn more about how the various structures in BaZi are derived and how the Hour Pillar influences the chart. I created this series in order to help students learn and absorb the methods and techniques used to understand how each Hour Pillar of the Day shapes the quality of a BaZi Structure. The descriptions of each Hour Pillar's effect on a particular chart have been largely transliterated from classical texts and therefore tend to present or come out of a somewhat traditional (or conventional) standpoint.

My initial idea was to develop one BaZi Hour Pillar Useful Gods book to accommodate all 10 Heavenly Stems (Day Masters). But yet again, I discovered that it would not be a book that could reasonably be used by anyone - because if the book were to include illustrations of each BaZi Hour Pillar as well, then the book's total sum pages would likely have reached 1750! This, no doubt, would have perplexed my aforementioned students and readers more than it would have soothed them! So I decided to break it apart into five different books, with each one corresponding to each Element.

There are many traditional sources available on the BaZi Structures and Hour Pillars. One of the more well-known texts is the Qiong Tong Bao Jian 窮通寶鑑, written by a famous master, Xu Le Wu 徐樂吾. Another popular BaZi scholar of recent past who contributed a lot to mainstream BaZi theories, especially those relating to structures, is Wei Qian Li 韋千里.

No doubt, it's difficult for most students to have access to this information and make sense of it because it's scattered about in various old texts and ancient documents, and also because all of it is available only in Chinese! It was my intention, therefore, to compile this information into one convenient source, and to present the transliterated version of these traditional texts for the modern, English-speaking practitioner and student without losing the essence of the original.

To derive a Useful Gods and the Favorable Elements in BaZi and to ascertain the quality of a chart, one must know and understand the Day Master and the month of birth, and the 12 Hour Pillar variations in a BaZi Chart. There are both traditional methods and newer (modern) methods on how this is interpreted.

Because of this, different practitioners and teachers tend to have different methods and formats to analyze the BaZi Structures and Hour Pillars. In using the techniques outlined in this book, it is suggested that you proceed with due diligence and thought. As always, there is much merit in using traditional practices, but students who are learning BaZi should use this under the supervision of a qualified and experienced teacher in order to better understand the subject. A good teacher will help you understand the different ways of interpreting these traditional texts.

Always keep in mind that these methods are merely transliterated text from old classics. You need to use your wisdom and judgment to use the information in this book when reading BaZi Charts, and your wisdom and judgment will be better honed under experienced guidance and tutoring.

Therefore, it will be important to bear in mind as well that these texts should not be taken literally. Different masters may agree or disagree with the classical commentaries included here, and as a student, it's important for you to know the reasons why. It becomes absolutely crucial for you, as a student and/or learner of BaZi, to know and understand those reasons and then go on to form your own conclusions, based on your understanding of the various interpretations.

As such, this book is largely designed to be a reference accompaniment for the students of my BaZi Mastery™ training programs, where you'll be able to get the guidance you need in interpreting these traditional texts and methods. I encourage you to take a class because it will help to place this material in context and give you the added knowledge you need to help you make the most of the information contained within this book. Each and every Hour Pillar in this book could be its own chapter, because it exerts tremendous influence on the quality of a BaZi Chart.

Bulk Purchases Schools and/or Independent Teachers/Practitioners who would like to purchase this book (or other books under the Chinese Metaphysics Reference Series) as text books or teaching aids for their students may contact us for Bulk Purchase rates.

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