Calculation of the 12 Day Officers

The calculation of the  12 Day Officers (建除十二神, Jian Chu Shi'er Shen) is based on the relationship between the Earthly Branches of the month and the day. To calculate, you first need to determine the Earthly Branch of the Chinese month corresponding to the date in question. The Earthly Branches are better known as the "12 animals of the Chinese zodiac," which we use to name the years when we say "the Year of the Goat," "the Year of the Snake," "the Year of the Dog," and so on. It can be said that the animals are the "nicknames" of the 12 Earthly Branches, meaning the Branch of Sì 巳 is nicknamed Snake, the Branch of Wèi 未 is Goat, and the Branch of Xu 戌 is Dog.

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In the Chinese calendar, the Earthly Branches/animals are used to denote not only years but also months and days. For instance, the year 2020 is the Year of the Rat. Moreover, the eleventh, penultimate month of the Chinese year (appx. from December 8th to January 5th of the following year) is also marked by the Rat. The following is the month of the Ox (appx. from January 5th to February 4th). So, we need these Earthly Branches (animals) for the calculation of the 12 Day Officers.

It's important to note that Chinese months only partially coincide with the Gregorian months we commonly use, and their beginning and end never fall on the 1st or the 30th/31st. For example, if we're interested in a date in February, it's more likely, but not necessarily, to fall within the month of the Tiger (寅 Yín). If we're interested in a date in August, it will match the month of the Monkey (申 Shēn) in about 80% of cases. The following table shows the approximate correspondence between Chinese months and months in the Gregorian calendar.

Correspondence of Chinese Months to the Gregorian Calendar:

To determine the beginning and end of each month more accurately, it's necessary to refer to the Chinese calendar.Alternatively, one can consult the Enable your Personal Chinese Fortune Calendar, where all days and months are marked according to the Chinese tradition.

Next, what we need to know is the Earthly Branch/animal of the day. Here, there isn't even such a rough correlation as with the months. Days follow one another, just like years, in the order of the 12 animals: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, and so forth, as in the table above. Following the last day of the Pig in the cycle, the Rat day comes next, and the count starts anew. Therefore, to determine the Earthly Branch of the day, we need the Chinese calendar. Alternatively, you can also consult our Personal Fortune Calendar to find the animal for any given day.

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When we know the Earthly Branches of the day and the month, we can calculate the Day Officer. The rule is as follows: the Day Officer always refers to the same Earthly Branch as the month when that day falls. In other words, the Establish Day in the month of the Rat will be the day of the Rat, in the month of the Ox — the day of the Ox, in the month of the Rabbit — the day of the Rabbit, and so on.

Thus, the first in the month among the 12 Officers is always the Establish Day, followed by the remaining 12 Officers until the Close Day. The cycle repeats over the next 12 days. Note that every seventh day clashes with the month, so this day is considered a Day Clash.

The cycle of the 12 Day Officers:

1. Establish (建, Jian)
2. Remove (除, Chu)
3. Full (滿, Man)
4. Balance (平, Ping)
5. Stable (定, Ding)
6. Control (執, Zhi)
7. Destruction (破, Po)
8. Danger (危, Wei)
9. Success (成, Cheng)
10. Collect (收, Shou))
11. Open (開, Kai)
12. Close (閉, Bi)

So, in the month of the Rat (approximately from December 8th to January 5th of the following year), all Rat days will be attributed to the Establish Day, the first of the 12 Officers. Then, after the Establish Day, Rat days (in the month of the Rat) will be followed by the Rulers in order: 2. Remove, 3. Full, 4. Balance, and so on, until the last Officer, 12. Close, after which it starts again with 1. Establish, 2. Remove, and so on. Since in the list after the Rat there are the Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, and so on, accordingly, in the month of the Rat, all Ox days will be attributed to 2. Remove; Tiger days to 3. Full, Rabbit days to 4. Balance, and Dragon days to 5. Stable. Then the cycle repeats. In another month, for example, the month of the Rabbit (usually from March 5th to April 5th), Rabbit days will be attributed to 1. Establish, the Dragon days to 2. Remove, the Snake days to 3. Full, Horse days to 4. Balance, Goat days to 5. Stable, and so on.

However, the Establish Day may not coincide with the first day of the month. For example, in 2020, the month of the Rat begins on December 6th, which is the day of the Goat, signifying 8. Danger. And the first Establish Day will be the first Rat day of the month, which is December 11th, 2020. But what about the days preceding the Establish Day up to the beginning of the month? Since the first Rat Day in the month of the Rat will be the Establish Day, all the days preceding it in this month until its start will go in reverse order: the day before the Rat, which is the Pig, will be 12. Close, the day of the Dog will be 11. Open, the day of the Rooster will be 10. Collect, and so on until the day before the start of the month of the Rat. In our example, since the first Establish Day in the month of the Rat is on  December 11th, 2020, consequently, December 10th (Pig) will be the Close Day, December 9th (Dog) will be the Open, December 8th (Rooster) will be the Collect,  December 7th (Monkey) will be the day of Success, and so on in reverse order till the day of the beginning of the month.

Above is the designation of the 12 Day Officers in the Tung Shu, the traditional Chinese almanac

It is also important to understand that this is not a simple cyclic sequence of 12 days. With the arrival of each new month, the cycle is disrupted. For example, the day of the Ox in the month of the Rat (January 5th, 2021) has the Establish indicator 2. Remove. The next day, the Tiger (January 6th, 2021) would have been expected to have the indicator 3. Full. However, the old order is disrupted because January 5th, 2021 marks the beginning of a new month – the Ox. Therefore, the day of the Tiger  (January 6th, 2021) eceives the indicator 2. Remove because the day of the Tiger interacts with the month of the Ox, not the Rat. In other words, both January 5th and 6th, 2021, receive the Establish of Remove. This happens every time at the intersection of two Chinese months: the last day of the previous month and the first day of the next month receive the same Establish Day.

If it is too challenging for you to calculate the days on your own, you can refer to our  Enable your Personal Chinese Fortune Calendar, where the automatic calculation of the 12 Day Officers and much more is provided, including the Personal BaZi Stars. On the main page https://fourpillars.ru, you will see the description of the current day and its Day Officer indicator.