The

A-Z of BaZi & Beyond.

San Francisco,
21 29 March 2012.

Prep Lesson # 1: Mastering the basics

It is my aim, for this BBC, to reach a higher level of BaZi analysis, beyond Module 1 and 2.
In order to achieve this, I plan to cover as much as possible during the prep phase so we
can get onto more advanced level of discussion in the live classroom. In order to achieve
that, I need full co-operation from all of you.

1. You must, must, must master the contents of these prep lessons, however inane
they may seem to you at this stage.
2. I need feedback, so if you have a difficulty, you must ask, so no backlog of questions
build up.
3. We must all be part of a discussion group. For that purpose I will be starting a new
Facebook page that is private and limited only to our little group where I will post
the lessons for you to retrieve in case you lose track, and we can post our questions
for all to see and answer, thereby helping each other. At this point, let me share
something a wise old man told me in class many moons ago the shame of asking
once is worth a lifetime of knowing. So if you are one of those who dont do
Facebook, this is a good time to start. It is very easy. If you dont have an account
please make one now. I will be contacting you about this soon.
4. If we manage to learn bulk of the matter then class will be a breeze and we can
move quickly to a much higher level of topics and loads of discussions. I will be
coming prepared for as many as you like so you can take me on!

Useful Reading: To start with, you would need to be familiar with the topic and the best
way to get started is by reading THE DESTINY CODE and DESTINY CODE REVEALED
by Joey Yap. Get exposure to all the terminology and concepts that will be presented to
you during the course of the next few weeks in advance. Dont be confused, while
ordering the books, as there is also a new course by the same name.
Know the characters: I cannot tell you how important this is going to be and anyone
without that knowledge may as well be sitting in the class with earplugs and an eye
mask. Seriously. Hence the two pages that follow at the end should be printed out and
practiced on ad nauseum. Even if you cant write them at first, at least learn to recognize
them. Before you come to the class, you must be able to identify & write all 22 Chinese
characters.

BaZi Boot Camp San Francisco March 2012 by Sherry Merchant

BUILDING BLOCKS.

I will be discussing several building blocks of BaZi henceforth. Many of them are
common to Feng Shui as they are all part of Chinese Metaphysics. At this point, they
may not follow in logical order but at some point you will realize there is a connection so
bear with me for now.
In Lesson # 1, we will go through the basics, from the start, so that later on, when we
discuss charts, we all recall the same block of information.

What is BaZi?
For those who are familiar with BaZi, skip this bit. For those for whom it is yet just a four
letter word, BaZi is a chart of 8 Chinese characters, four stems stacked upon four
branches to form four columns of pairs of stems & branches.
Stems are characters that represent one of 10 simple elements, well actually the 5
elements (fire, earth, metal, water, wood) in 2 polarities, Yin and Yang.
You see two charts here, the top one is
called the basic natal chart and tell the
story of ones life, and our journey, that
begins today, is to know where to look and
how to unlock that world of wisdom
contained in these innocuous little 8
characters. A BaZi chart looks something
like the picture on the left. (this is Paris
Hiltons chart, by the way, and no, she
doesnt consult me, I got it off the net!)
Look at the top portion of the chart: The
top row are the stems. The middle row
contains the more complicated branches,
which contain hidden stems, on the bottom
row. Dont panic now and ask Sasha for a
refund, its pretty simple eventually, in another lesson on another day, I will explain it.
The lower chart is what is called luck pillars which represent your life in ten year
stages, each stage is known as a luck pillar.
Now you know what a BaZi chart looks like.

2. What is a Jia Tze?

One stem pairs with one branch to make a pair known as a Jia tze, since the first pair
that forms is jia Tze.
In a Jia Tze, both the stem and branch have the same polarity.
12 stems combine with 1o branches in sequence thereby producing 60 such pairs.

BaZi Boot Camp San Francisco March 2012 by Sherry Merchant

LESSON 1: GETTING TO KNOW THE LANGUAGE

We need to know a few Chinese characters, 10 stems and 12 branches, thats all.
(This is not a Botany lesson, dont worry, will explain all about these mysterious
flora in the next lesson) Learning to say them aloud, and writing them will help.
Use these pages to practice writing them or make flash cards and keep looking at
them while saying the names aloud to familiarize yourself with these 22
characters. Print multiple pages and keep practicing

It is helpful to remember the sequence of the branches and stems, as they follow
a particular cycle known as the production cycle.

The Ten Heavenly Stems:

Bing
Yang Fire

a a a

Ding
Yin Fire

c c c

Wu
Yang
Earth
Ji
Yin Earth

y y y

Geng
Yang
Metal
Xin
Yin Metal

g g g

Ren
Yang
Water
Gui
Yin Water

m m m

Jia
Yang
Wood
Yi
Yin Wood

s s s

z
g
i
m
o
s
u

z z z
i i i
o o o
u u u

BaZi Boot Camp San Francisco March 2012 by Sherry Merchant

The Twelve Earthly Branches

Tzi
Rat

n n n

Chou
Ox

p p p

Yin
Tiger

r r r

Mao
Rabbit

t t t

Chen
Dragon

v v v

Xu
Snake

x x x

Wu
Horse

b b b

Wei
Goat

d d d

Shen
Monkey

f f f

You
Rooster

h h h

Xu
Dog

j j j

Hai
Pig

l l l

BaZi Boot Camp San Francisco March 2012 by Sherry Merchant

Summary for Week 1.

1. Create a physical file for putting in your printouts, invaluable for eventual
learning.
2. Print out many pages for practicing the Chinese characters writing.
3. Get hold of 10 thousand year calendar by any author, the dates are
eventually the same. You will need it soon, and you may not easily get one.
4. Subscribe to or download, on your iphone, ipad or itouch, Joey Yaps app
for BaZi Calculation. These are off app world. He also has one for Windows
mobile and for PC or your laptop that is offline, check the website
www.masteryacademy.com for details of what is suitable to your desired
equipment
5. Subscribe to the online storage version of the BaZi Ming Pan, version 2.
Every serious (meaning you) practitioner eventually needs to cultivate this
database.
6. Create a facebook account if you dont have one and add bazibootcamp
sanfransisco as a friend, (if you havent done that already) and that way
you will access all the stuff I put on each week. PLUS we can share queries
and have some kind of discussion on that front.
7. Start your recommended reading. If you have these books and have read
them and dont mind sharing, post it on our facebook page and anybody
who needs it can access your copy. Alternately ask Sasha to get one for
you, she probably has some in stock or can arrange that for you.

Now we will be familiar with these 22 friends that we will be encountering
constantly these next three months. Have fun!

BaZi Boot Camp San Francisco March 2012 by Sherry Merchant