Gui Water Day Master (癸, Yin Water)

Quick answer: Gui (癸) is the tenth of the ten Heavenly Stems: Yin Water. You have a Gui Water Day Master if the stem of your day pillar is Gui. The Di Tian Sui pictures Gui as "the weakest of all" yet able to reach the Heavenly Ford, and the commentary calls it pure yin and the weakest. The same book says 「五陰皆陰癸為至」: among the five yin stems, Gui is the most yin. That image is a way to remember the stem's nature, not a verdict on anyone's personality.

Not sure of your Day Master? Find it from your birth date, or calculate your full chart.

The classical image: what the Di Tian Sui says

The Di Tian Sui (滴天髓) is traditionally attributed to Jing Tu of the Song dynasty, although its authorship is uncertain. It describes each stem in a short verse. This is its verse on Gui:

癸水至弱，達於天津。得龍而運，功化斯神。不愁火土，不論庚辛。合戊見火，化象斯真。

"Gui water is the weakest of all, yet it reaches the Heavenly Ford. Finding the Dragon, it moves, and its work of transformation becomes wondrous. It does not worry about fire and earth, nor depend on Geng and Xin. Combining with Wu and meeting fire, its transformation is genuine."

— Di Tian Sui, "天干論", Chanwei text. Wikisource variants: 龍德而運, 不畏火土, 火根乃真. Translation: PillarChart editorial team.

Line by line:

• "Weakest… reaches the Heavenly Ford" (至弱，達於天津). Gui is the fine, yielding form of Water. "Heavenly Ford" (天津) is a classical sky/river image. Weakness here names the stem's qi class, not a prediction of a weak life.
• "Finding the Dragon" (得龍而運). The Dragon is 辰 Chen. Commentators link Gui's movement and transformation to Chen. One plain reading uses the hidden-stem table: Chen holds Wu, Yi and Gui.
• "Does not worry about fire and earth… nor depend on Geng and Xin." A verse claim about Gui's flexibility toward wealth (fire), power (earth) and resource (metal). Schools still weigh those elements; the line is not a free pass.
• "Combining with Wu and meeting fire." Wu–Gui is a standard stem combination; the verse ties genuine transformation to seeing fire as well. Our calculator does not model combinations or transformations.

Yin, yang and the Water element

Gui and Ren are the two forms of Water. Ren is yang (rivers); Gui is yin (weakest, dew and rain).

Read the partner page: Yang Water (Ren).

Season and climate: why your birth month matters

The month branch tells you the season Gui was born into, and so how much support it starts with. In the seasonal scheme of the Sanming Tonghui, Water is:

The table follows the Sanming Tonghui text, which places Earth's season in the sixth month. The other Earth months (辰, 戌, 丑) are treated in more than one way across schools. See Five Elements.

Climate adjustment in the Qiongtong Baojian

The Qiongtong Baojian (窮通寶鑑) reads every Day Master month by month, asking first whether the chart needs warming, cooling or moistening. Its section on Gui in a key season opens:

正月癸水，值三阳之候，雨露之精，其性至柔，先用辛金，生癸水之源，次用丙火照暖，名阴阳和合，万物发生。

"Gui water in the first month falls in the season of returning yang: the essence of rain and dew, utterly soft. The book uses Xin metal first to feed Gui's source, then Bing fire to warm — calling it yin and yang in harmony so that things may grow." — Qiongtong Baojian, 正月癸水 (Wikisource). Translation: PillarChart editorial team. Climate / adjustment lines only; the book also contains fixed fortune pronouncements, which we do not reproduce.

For other parts of the year, the book's climate recommendations for Gui include the following (paraphrased):

• Early summer (巳 Si): The book likes Xin as primary (Geng if no Xin), and warns that a column of fire and earth without Xin can dry Gui out (paraphrased from 四月癸水).
• Seventh month (申 Shen): Mother is Prosperous and child is Strong; Gui finds life again in Shen. The book takes Ding fire as primary to forge the hard metal (「必取丁火为用」).
• Tenth month: Prosperous yet leaking into wood in Hai. The book likes Geng and Xin as primary so the source is not drained (「宜用庚辛为妙」).

These describe what one classical method looks for, given the season. They are not predictions, and other methods may weigh the same chart differently. Where schools disagree on a rule, see How we calculate your chart.

Is your Gui Water weak or strong?

Three questions decide it, in this order: season (the month branch), roots (Gui among the hidden stems, especially in 子 Zi, 丑 Chou or 辰 Chen), and support from other stems (more Water, or Metal as resource). Our calculator scores this with a published point method. Here are two Gui charts it produced:

A strong Gui: Chicago, 21 December 1981, 10:00 (open)

Born with month branch Zi 子, when Water is in a supportive season on our reading, with roots / companions visible in the pillars (辛酉 庚子 癸酉 丁巳). Score: 83%, strong (8.3 of 10 points).

A weak Gui: Chicago, 8 June 1986, 10:00 (open)

Born with month branch Wu 午, when Water is out of its best season on our reading, with limited support among the stems and hidden stems (丙寅 甲午 癸未 丁巳). Score: 13%, weak (1.3 of 10 points).

For what weak and strong mean in general, see Weak Day Master and Strong Day Master. The hidden stems page explains the roots table behind those scores.

Favourable elements. Which element a Gui chart is said to "need" depends on its season, its strength and the reader's method, so there is no single answer for all Gui Day Masters. Our calculator doesn't output a favourable element.

How Gui interacts with the other nine stems

The Yuanhai Ziping names the Ten Gods using Jia as its example, then the same generating / controlling logic is shifted to any Day Master. So for a Gui Day Master:

Gui and Wu combine. Wu–Gui is one of the five standard stem combinations — the same pairing the verse ties to genuine transformation when fire is also present. Our calculator doesn't model combinations.

Gui and earth. Earth controls Water — for a Gui Day Master, earth is power (Officer / Killings). Whether that helps depends on the whole chart.

Ten Gods are labels relative to the Day Master, not personality verdicts. For the naming logic in general, see How we calculate your chart.

Common misconceptions about Gui Water

• "Gui is my zodiac year element." Day Master ≠ year stem.
• "Gui people are all weak / emotional." "Weakest" names the stem's yin class in the verse, not a person's strength or mood.
• "Gui is only mist / tears." Modern poetic aids. The classical text stresses extreme yin softness and the Heavenly Ford / Dragon lines.
• "Metal is always required for Gui." Resource (metal) often matters, especially when Gui is drained — but the verse also says Gui does not depend on Geng and Xin in the absolute sense. Read the season.

How modern readers describe Gui Water

Modern guides often associate Gui with subtlety, receptivity and quiet persistence, extending the dew/rain image. Some also mention fragility. These are interpretations built on the classical image, not statements from the classical texts. You may recognise yourself in them or not. Neither result says anything about what will happen to you.

Frequently asked questions

Is Gui Water yin or yang?

Yin. Gui is Yin Water, and its yang partner is Ren.

What element is good for a Gui Water Day Master?

It depends on the season and the chart's strength. There is no single answer. The Qiongtong Baojian recommendations above are one classical climate method; a strength-based reading would favour resource and companions for a weak Gui, and output, wealth and power for a strong one. Our calculator doesn't output a favourable element.

Which stem combines with Gui?

Wu (戊, Yang Earth). Gui–Wu is one of the five classical stem combinations.

Is a Gui Water Day Master the same as being born in a Water year?

No. A Water year means the year stem is one of the two Water stems. A Gui Day Master means the day stem is Gui. You can have either without the other.

How do I find out if my Day Master is Gui?

Use the Day Master calculator. You only need your birth date (and whether you were born between 23:00 and midnight). The full chart also shows whether your Gui is weak or strong.

Why do some sites call Gui "rain", "mist" or "dew"?

Modern memory aids for yin water. The Di Tian Sui says Gui is the weakest and reaches the Heavenly Ford; commentary calls it pure yin and the weakest.

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Next steps: Calculate your full chart to see your Gui's season, roots and strength score, or read about the hidden stems that give it roots.

Related

• What is my Day Master?: all ten stems

• Yang Water (Ren) · Yang Earth (Wu — combines)

• Five Elements · Hidden stems

• Weak Day Master · Strong Day Master

• Classical sources · Methodology

• Example charts you can audit · Ten Gods · Learn where to start

Sources

• Di Tian Sui Chanwei (滴天髓闡微), "天干論", verse on Gui, Chinese Text Project: https://ctext.org/wiki.pl?if=gb&chapter=126492
• Di Tian Sui (滴天髓), 輯要 edition with notes, Wikisource: https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/滴天髓
• Ziping Zhenquan Pingzhu (子平真詮評註), yin–yang pairing of stems, Chinese Text Project: https://ctext.org/wiki.pl?if=gb&chapter=974137
• Yuanhai Ziping (淵海子平), Ten Gods naming logic, Wikisource: https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/淵海子平
• Sanming Tonghui (三命通會), 卷二, seasonal states, Wikisource: https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/三命通會/卷二
• Qiongtong Baojian (穷通宝鉴), Gui seasonal sections (正月癸水 and related), Wikisource: https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/穷通宝鉴
• Example charts: computed by our engine (bazi-lichun-jieqi-tst-v1); see How we calculate your chart

Translations: PillarChart editorial team.

BaZi is a traditional Chinese cultural practice. This page describes what classical texts and practitioners say; it is for reflection, education and entertainment, and is not medical, legal, financial or psychological advice. Different schools may read the same chart differently.

Last updated: 2026-10-07