神煞 Almanac Flags (Shén Shà)

Almanac flags (神煞) are symbolic markers from traditional Chinese calendars (通書/黃曆) and fate analysis (命理學). Each flag is derived from the relationship between Heavenly Stems (天干) and Earthly Branches (地支) in a person's birth chart or a given date. Practitioners use them in BaZi (八字) chart reading and date selection (擇日) to identify auspicious and inauspicious influences.

stem-branch implements 30 almanac flags across 8 categories.

See also: Day Fitness Cycle · Virtue Stars · Deity Directions

Overview

Category	Auspicious	Inauspicious
Noble 貴人	天乙貴人, 太極貴人, 將星, 魁罡, 三奇貴人	—
Academic 文學	文昌貴人, 華蓋, 學堂	—
Romance 姻緣	紅鸞, 天喜	桃花 (context-dependent)
Travel 驛動	驛馬	—
Wealth 財富	祿神, 金輿, 金神	—
Protection 護佑	天赦日, 十靈日	—
Health 健康	天醫	—
Inauspicious 凶煞	—	羊刃, 劫煞, 亡神, 孤辰, 寡宿, 十惡大敗, 陰差陽錯, 月破, 歲破, 天羅, 地網, 四廢

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Day Stem Derivations 日干取煞

These stars are derived from the day stem (日干). The day stem determines a target branch; the star is activated when any pillar's branch matches that target.

天乙貴人 Heavenly Noble

The most important noble star. Each stem maps to two branches (daytime/nighttime positions).

Day Stem	Target Branches
甲	丑, 未
乙	子, 申
丙	亥, 酉
丁	亥, 酉
戊	丑, 未
己	子, 申
庚	丑, 未
辛	午, 寅
壬	巳, 卯
癸	巳, 卯

Mnemonic: 甲戊庚牛羊(丑未), 乙己鼠猴鄉(子申), 丙丁豬雞位(亥酉), 壬癸蛇兔藏(巳卯), 六辛馬虎方(午寅).

import { getHeavenlyNoble } from 'stem-branch';
getHeavenlyNoble('甲'); // → ['丑', '未']

太極貴人 Supreme Noble

Day Stem	Target Branches
甲, 乙	子, 午
丙, 丁	卯, 酉
戊, 己	辰, 戌, 丑, 未
庚, 辛	寅, 亥
壬, 癸	巳, 申

Rule: Stems are paired by 五合 (stem combination). 甲己 share targets, 乙庚 share targets, etc.

import { getSupremeNoble } from 'stem-branch';
getSupremeNoble('戊'); // → ['辰', '戌', '丑', '未']

文昌貴人 Literary Star

Day Stem	甲	乙	丙	丁	戊	己	庚	辛	壬	癸
Target	巳	午	申	酉	申	酉	亥	子	寅	卯

Rule: The branch of the stem's 食神 (eating god) position.

import { getLiteraryStar } from 'stem-branch';
getLiteraryStar('甲'); // → '巳'

祿神 Prosperity Star

Day Stem	甲	乙	丙	丁	戊	己	庚	辛	壬	癸
Target	寅	卯	巳	午	巳	午	申	酉	亥	子

Rule: The branch where the stem is in the 臨官 (official) phase of its 12-stage life cycle.

import { getProsperityStar } from 'stem-branch';
getProsperityStar('甲'); // → '寅'

羊刃 Ram Blade

Day Stem	甲	乙	丙	丁	戊	己	庚	辛	壬	癸
Target	卯	寅	午	巳	午	巳	酉	申	子	亥

Rule: 陽干 = 祿 + 1 (next branch), 陰干 = 祿 - 1 (previous branch). The Ram Blade is the overextension past the prosperity peak — powerful but dangerous.

import { getRamBlade } from 'stem-branch';
getRamBlade('甲'); // → '卯'

金輿 Golden Carriage

Day Stem	甲	乙	丙	丁	戊	己	庚	辛	壬	癸
Target	辰	巳	未	申	未	申	戌	亥	丑	寅

Rule: 祿 + 2 (two branches past prosperity).

import { getGoldenCarriage } from 'stem-branch';
getGoldenCarriage('甲'); // → '辰'

學堂 Study Hall

Day Stem	甲	乙	丙	丁	戊	己	庚	辛	壬	癸
Target	亥	午	寅	酉	寅	酉	巳	子	申	卯

Rule: The branch of the stem's 長生 (birth) position in its life cycle.

import { getStudyHall } from 'stem-branch';
getStudyHall('甲'); // → '亥'

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Three-Harmony Derivations 三合取煞

These stars derive from the year branch (年支) via the 三合 (three-harmony) grouping system.

The Four Three-Harmony Groups

Group	Element	Branches	Travel Horse	Peach Blossom	Canopy	General	Robbery	Death Spirit
0	火 Fire	寅午戌	申	卯	戌	午	亥	巳
1	金 Metal	巳酉丑	亥	午	丑	酉	寅	申
2	水 Water	申子辰	寅	酉	辰	子	巳	亥
3	木 Wood	亥卯未	巳	子	未	卯	申	寅

Each position in the 三合 group corresponds to a stage in the 十二長生 (twelve life stages):

Position	Life Stage	Star	Meaning
0	衝 (clash)	驛馬 Traveling Horse	Movement, relocation
1	沐浴 (bathing)	桃花 Peach Blossom	Romance, charm
2	墓 (tomb)	華蓋 Canopy	Solitude, spirituality
3	帝旺 (emperor)	將星 General Star	Authority, leadership
4	絕 (extinction)	劫煞 Robbery Star	Sudden loss, danger
5	—	亡神 Death Spirit	Hidden harm

驛馬 Traveling Horse

Activated when any pillar branch matches the travel horse of the year branch's 三合 group.

import { getTravelingHorse } from 'stem-branch';
getTravelingHorse('寅'); // → '申' (fire group)
getTravelingHorse('子'); // → '寅' (water group)

桃花 Peach Blossom

Also called 咸池. The "bathing" position — associated with attraction and romance.

import { getPeachBlossom } from 'stem-branch';
getPeachBlossom('午'); // → '卯' (fire group)

華蓋 Canopy

The "tomb" position of the 三合 group. Associated with artistic temperament, solitude, and spiritual inclination.

import { getCanopy } from 'stem-branch';
getCanopy('子'); // → '辰' (water group)

將星 General Star

The "emperor" position — peak power of the 三合 element. Leadership and authority.

import { getGeneralStar } from 'stem-branch';
getGeneralStar('寅'); // → '午' (fire group)

劫煞 Robbery Star

The "extinction" position. Sudden, unexpected loss or danger.

import { getRobberyStar } from 'stem-branch';
getRobberyStar('酉'); // → '寅' (metal group)

亡神 Death Spirit

Hidden harm position. Subtle, hard-to-detect negative influence.

import { getDeathSpirit } from 'stem-branch';
getDeathSpirit('卯'); // → '寅' (wood group)

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Year Branch Stars 年支取煞

紅鸞 Red Phoenix

Formula: (3 - yearBranchIndex + 12) % 12

Year Branch	子	丑	寅	卯	辰	巳	午	未	申	酉	戌	亥
紅鸞	卯	寅	丑	子	亥	戌	酉	申	未	午	巳	辰

Marriage and romantic fortune. Activated when any pillar branch matches.

天喜 Heavenly Joy

Formula: 紅鸞 + 6 (opposite position on the branch circle)

Year Branch	子	丑	寅	卯	辰	巳	午	未	申	酉	戌	亥
天喜	酉	申	未	午	巳	辰	卯	寅	丑	子	亥	戌

Joyful events, celebrations.

天醫 Heavenly Doctor

Formula: year branch + 1 (next branch)

Year Branch	子	丑	寅	卯	辰	巳	午	未	申	酉	戌	亥
天醫	丑	寅	卯	辰	巳	午	未	申	酉	戌	亥	子

Healing ability, medical aptitude.

孤辰 Lonely Star

Derived from the seasonal group of the year branch.

Seasonal Group	Branches	孤辰
Spring 春	寅卯辰	巳
Summer 夏	巳午未	申
Autumn 秋	申酉戌	亥
Winter 冬	亥子丑	寅

Loneliness, independence. More significant for males.

寡宿 Widow Star

Seasonal Group	Branches	寡宿
Spring 春	寅卯辰	丑
Summer 夏	巳午未	辰
Autumn 秋	申酉戌	未
Winter 冬	亥子丑	戌

Solitude, isolation. More significant for females.

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Day Pillar Predicates 日柱取煞

These stars are determined by the specific day pillar (stem + branch combination). No external lookup — the day pillar itself either is or is not in the predefined set.

魁罡 Commanding Star

Set: 壬辰, 庚戌, 庚辰, 戊戌

Strong, decisive personality. Only four day pillars carry this star.

十惡大敗 Ten Evils

Set: 甲辰, 乙巳, 壬申, 丙申, 丁亥, 庚辰, 戊戌, 癸亥, 辛巳, 己丑

Days considered extremely inauspicious. These are the 10 day pillars where the 祿 (prosperity star) is in the 空亡 (void) position.

陰差陽錯 Yin-Yang Error

Set: 丙子, 丙午, 丁丑, 丁未, 戊寅, 戊申, 辛卯, 辛酉, 壬辰, 壬戌, 癸巳, 癸亥

Day pillars where yin and yang energies are misaligned. Considered inauspicious for marriage.

金神 Gold Spirit

Set: 己巳, 癸酉, 乙丑

Day pillars with concentrated metal energy. Auspicious — indicates determination and resilience.

十靈日 Ten Spirits

Set: 甲辰, 乙亥, 丙辰, 丁酉, 戊午, 庚戌, 庚寅, 辛亥, 壬寅, 癸未

Day pillars associated with spiritual sensitivity and intuition.

天羅 Heaven Net

Branches: 戌, 亥

Entrapment for fire-element people. When the day branch is 戌 or 亥.

地網 Earth Trap

Branches: 辰, 巳

Entrapment for water-element people. When the day branch is 辰 or 巳.

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Calendar Predicates 曆法取煞

These depend on relationships between pillars, or between the day pillar and the current season.

月破 Month Break

The day branch clashes (六衝) with the month branch. The six clashes are:

子↔午, 丑↔未, 寅↔申, 卯↔酉, 辰↔戌, 巳↔亥

歲破 Year Break

The day branch clashes with the year branch. Same clash pairs as above.

天赦日 Heaven's Pardon

One of the most auspicious days. Determined by season + day pillar:

Season	Required Day Pillar
Spring 春	戊寅
Summer 夏	甲午
Autumn 秋	戊申
Winter 冬	甲子

Only occurs when the day pillar exactly matches the season's designated pillar.

四廢 Four Waste

Day pillars whose element is in the "dead" phase during the current season:

Season	Waste Pillars	Element	Reason
Spring 春	庚申, 辛酉	Metal 金	Metal is dead in spring (wood season)
Summer 夏	壬子, 癸亥	Water 水	Water is dead in summer (fire season)
Autumn 秋	甲寅, 乙卯	Wood 木	Wood is dead in autumn (metal season)
Winter 冬	丙午, 丁巳	Fire 火	Fire is dead in winter (water season)

三奇貴人 Three Wonders

Activated when three consecutive pillar stems form a special pattern:

Pattern	Type	Stems
天上三奇	Heaven	乙丙丁
地上三奇	Earth	甲戊庚
人中三奇	Human	壬癸辛

Checks year-month-day and month-day-hour stem sequences.

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API

import {
  getAlmanacFlags,          // Date → all active flags
  getAlmanacFlagsForPillars, // FourPillars + season → all active flags
  getHeavenlyNoble,         // Stem → [Branch, Branch]
  getSupremeNoble,          // Stem → Branch[]
  getLiteraryStar,          // Stem → Branch
  getProsperityStar,        // Stem → Branch
  getRamBlade,              // Stem → Branch
  getGoldenCarriage,        // Stem → Branch
  getStudyHall,             // Stem → Branch
  getTravelingHorse,        // Branch → Branch
  getPeachBlossom,          // Branch → Branch
  getCanopy,                // Branch → Branch
  getGeneralStar,           // Branch → Branch
  getRobberyStar,           // Branch → Branch
  getDeathSpirit,           // Branch → Branch
  getRedPhoenix,            // Branch → Branch
  getHeavenlyJoy,           // Branch → Branch
  getHeavenlyDoctor,        // Branch → Branch
  getLonelyStar,            // Branch → Branch
  getWidowStar,             // Branch → Branch
  isCommandingStar,         // (Stem, Branch) → boolean
  isTenEvils,               // (Stem, Branch) → boolean
  isYinYangError,           // (Stem, Branch) → boolean
  isGoldSpirit,             // (Stem, Branch) → boolean
  isTenSpirits,             // (Stem, Branch) → boolean
  isHeavenNet,              // Branch → boolean
  isEarthTrap,              // Branch → boolean
  isHeavensPardon,          // (Stem, Branch, season) → boolean
  isMonthBreak,             // (Branch, Branch) → boolean
  isYearBreak,              // (Branch, Branch) → boolean
  isFourWaste,              // (Stem, Branch, season) → boolean
  getThreeWonders,          // FourPillars → 'heaven'|'earth'|'human'|null
} from 'stem-branch';

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See Also

• 建除十二神 Day Fitness Cycle — The 12-day cycle classifying daily suitability
• 天德月德 Virtue Stars — Monthly auspicious stars (Heavenly and Monthly Virtue)
• 神煞方位 Deity Directions — Daily compass directions for four deities