Building Blocks
Heavenly Stems
The ten ordinal symbols, each carrying one element and a yin-yang polarity.
Ten Stems
The Heavenly Stems are a set of ten ordinal symbols (Jia through Gui), each carrying one of the Five Elements and a yin or yang polarity. They pair with the Earthly Branches to form the pillars and the wider sexagenary cycle. The stem of the day pillar is taken as the Day Master, the reference point for the rest of the chart.