A birth year carrying a 癸 (Guǐ) heavenly stem fixes the stems of all twelve months in advance. This is the bazi month stem table for gui year charts, produced by the Five Tigers rule (五虎遁 wǔhǔdùn): a 癸 year opens its first month on 甲 (Jiǎ), then each month steps forward one stem. The complete year is set out below.
The 12 month pillars for a Gui 癸 year
Months turn at a major solar term (節 jié), not on a calendar date. Find your birth branch and read across to the pillar.
| Month | Branch | Starts at (solar term) | Month pillar |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Tiger 寅 Yín | Li Chun 立春 (~4 Feb) | 甲寅 Jiǎ Yín |
| 2nd | Rabbit 卯 Mǎo | Jing Zhe 惊蛰 (~6 Mar) | 乙卯 Yǐ Mǎo |
| 3rd | Dragon 辰 Chén | Qing Ming 清明 (~5 Apr) | 丙辰 Bǐng Chén |
| 4th | Snake 巳 Sì | Li Xia 立夏 (~5 May) | 丁巳 Dīng Sì |
| 5th | Horse 午 Wǔ | Mang Zhong 芒种 (~6 Jun) | 戊午 Wù Wǔ |
| 6th | Goat 未 Wèi | Xiao Shu 小暑 (~7 Jul) | 己未 Jǐ Wèi |
| 7th | Monkey 申 Shēn | Li Qiu 立秋 (~7 Aug) | 庚申 Gēng Shēn |
| 8th | Rooster 酉 Yǒu | Bai Lu 白露 (~7 Sep) | 辛酉 Xīn Yǒu |
| 9th | Dog 戌 Xū | Han Lu 寒露 (~8 Oct) | 壬戌 Rén Xū |
| 10th | Pig 亥 Hài | Li Dong 立冬 (~7 Nov) | 癸亥 Guǐ Hài |
| 11th | Rat 子 Zǐ | Da Xue 大雪 (~7 Dec) | 甲子 Jiǎ Zǐ |
| 12th | Ox 丑 Chǒu | Xiao Han 小寒 (~5 Jan) | 乙丑 Yǐ Chǒu |
A 癸 year opens on 甲 wood and reaches its own stem 癸 in the tenth month, the Pig. That 癸亥, water on early-winter water, is the deepest pillar of the year and the marker of the Guǐ column — the same layout a 戊 year uses.
A worked example
Take a birth in the Pig month (亥 Hài) of a 癸 year. The tenth row gives 癸亥 (Guǐ Hài) — the year stem repeating on the month, water over water at the start of winter, about as cold and wet as a pillar gets. The Pig month opens at Li Dong (立冬 lìdōng) around 7 November, so a birth on 5 November of that year is still in the Dog month and reads 壬戌 (Rén Xū) instead. The whole pillar hinges on which side of Li Dong the birth falls, so confirm the solar term before you settle the row. The Pig month page then shows what that branch’s prosperous Water and hidden Wood mean for each Day Master.
Which years take the Gui table
Calendar years ending in 3 carry the 癸 stem: 1993, 2003, 2013, 2023. Apply the Li Chun correction before using it — the Ba Zi year opens at the solar term around 4 February, so January births in a calendar 癸 year still belong to the previous 壬 year and its Ren-year column, while January births of the following calendar year usually remain on this table, in its closing 乙丑 Ox month. Chinese New Year has no role in the month pillar.
What the month pillar governs
The month pillar carries the month palace, read first for career climate and for the parental line. Its deeper weight is structural: the month branch holds the season’s ruling element, and the season sets the baseline temperature of the whole chart. This is why the month branch is so decisive when we judge a strong or weak Day Master — a Day Master born into its own season starts already supported. In a 癸 year the month stems open on wood and climb through fire and earth to metal and water, shaping how the season’s support reaches the Day Master.
The season gate itself is fixed by branch groups — spring 寅卯辰, summer 巳午未, autumn 申酉戌, winter 亥子丑 — and every season hands each Day Master one of the five states (旺相休囚死 wàng xiàng xiū qiú sǐ), from Prosperous to Dormant. In the signature 癸亥 month, a Gui Water Day Master enters winter at the Prosperous grade, maximum native strength in need of outlets rather than support, the exact situation read in Gui Water born in winter. The same table’s 戊午 Horse month would hand that Day Master summer’s Confined grade instead — see the Rat month page for the season’s peak that follows 癸亥.
Reading it in context
Read the month stem as a first move, not a verdict; it works with the branch’s hidden stems and the surrounding pillars. Under the Five Tigers rule, 癸 and 戊 (Wù) years share this column, so the month table for Wu 戊 years matches this one line for line. The master month stem table shows all five columns together, and the hour stem table extends the same five-fold logic to the hour of birth.
Gui-year month stem FAQ
How does 癸 arrive at a 甲 opening?
Through the rule: first-month (寅) stem index = (year-stem-index mod 5) × 2 + 2; each later month adds 1, mod 10. Year stems pair: 甲/己, 乙/庚, 丙/辛, 丁/壬, 戊/癸 share columns. Numbering 甲 as 0, 癸 is 9; 9 mod 5 is 4, and (4 × 2) + 2 = 10, which wraps to 0 — the stem 甲. The 戊 year (index 4) lands on the same result, hence the shared column.
Is the 甲子 Rat month here the same 甲子 that starts the sixty-cycle?
The same two characters, yes — the cycle’s first pillar appears as the eleventh month of every 癸 (and 戊) year. In a chart it is read as a month pillar like any other; its position in the sixty-cycle is trivia, not interpretation.
I was born in January 2023. Do I use this table?
No — January 2023 precedes Li Chun 2023, so the Ba Zi year is still 壬 and your month pillar comes from the Ren-year column, most likely its 癸丑 Ox month. This 癸 table only governs births from that year’s Li Chun onward.
Confirm your own Gui-year month pillar against the exact solar-term boundary — plot your full chart free with the Butcher Boy calculator and read it back against the table above.