The yin chart (insen) of Sanmeigaku: the chart and its hidden stems
Sanmeigaku looks at the destiny you were born with from two sides. One is the table of the stem and branch characters themselves, the insen or yin chart. The other, the yōsen or yang chart, is a figure of stars drawn from the yin chart and placed on a human body, explained in reading the yang chart.
On this page
1.The yin chart is three pillars: year, month and day
The yin chart is made of three eto: those of your year, month and day of birth. It uses the same eto as a Four Pillars chart, but Sanmeigaku as a rule does not use the time of birth (the hour pillar). Being able to read from the date of birth alone is one of its features.
| Pillar | Top (heavenly stem) | Bottom (earthly branch) | What it shows (one example) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day | Day stem = yourself | Day branch = spouse, home | You and those closest to you |
| Month | Month stem | Month branch = society, work | Your setting in your working prime |
| Year | Year stem | Year branch = parents, ancestors | The setting you were born and raised in |
The most important is the day stem, which stands for “you” in both Sanmeigaku and Four Pillars. Read about your day stem’s character on the ten stems.
2.What are hidden stems?
Each of the twelve branches is thought to hold one to three of the ten stems inside it. These are the hidden stems (zōkan). The Tiger (寅), for example, holds 戊, 丙 and 甲, and the Horse (午) holds 己 and 丁.
Four Pillars often uses one representative hidden stem for each branch (its main qi). In Sanmeigaku, how close your birthday is to the start of the solar month decides which hidden stem is used. The table of each branch’s hidden stems is called the twenty-eight elements (nijūhachi-gen), because the hidden stems of all twelve branches add up to 28.
| Branch | First | Middle | Main |
|---|---|---|---|
| 子 Rat | — | — | 癸 |
| 丑 Ox | 癸 | 辛 | 己 |
| 寅 Tiger | 戊 | 丙 | 甲 |
| 卯 Rabbit | — | — | 乙 |
| 辰 Dragon | 乙 | 癸 | 戊 |
| 巳 Snake | 戊 | 庚 | 丙 |
| 午 Horse | — | 己 | 丁 |
| 未 Goat | 丁 | 乙 | 己 |
| 申 Monkey | 戊 | 壬 | 庚 |
| 酉 Rooster | — | — | 辛 |
| 戌 Dog | 辛 | 丁 | 戊 |
| 亥 Pig | — | 甲 | 壬 |
The Sanmeigaku reading shows the hidden stems it uses in bold.
3.What the yin chart tells you
From the yin chart you read the foundation of your destiny through the element relationships between the stems and branches, and through branch combinations such as unions and clashes. The eto of the day pillar also sets your void (tenchūsatsu) group.
For a beginner, two points are enough to start with: “the day stem is you” and “hidden stems depend on how close your birthday is to the start of the solar month”. Once you draw the stars of the yang chart from there, your character and talents become much easier to read.
4.See your own yin chart
Enter your date of birth in the Sanmeigaku reading (Japanese) to see your yin chart (the three pillars and hidden stems), with the hidden stems used for the body chart in bold. Ten-year and yearly fortune, the void and energy numbers are all there too, free. To compare with a Four Pillars chart, try the birth chart reading.
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Free readings related to this article.
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