How to Use Bazi to Assess Your Intelligence

In a Confucian society, the number one obsession is education and intelligence. If you were smart and did well in school, doors would open for you. You could become a scholar, doctor, lawyer, engineer, minister. The world would be your oyster.

If your academic results were poor, you’re a failure. No one would respect you. No one would hire you. You’re doomed to a life of mediocrity and dead-end jobs.

Small wonder that when Asian parents book bazi consultations for their children, they want to know whether their children will be intelligent.

Bazi does reveal a person’s intelligence. However, there are multiple forms of intelligence. And just because someone has the potential for intelligence, it doesn’t necessarily follow that he must be a genius.

When reading a bazi chart, we don’t just look for book smarts. That’s only one form of intelligence. We look for all the markers of different kinds of intelligence, so that we can build a holistic and accurate profile of the person.

In this post, let’s discuss how to identify an intelligent person using bazi.

The Intelligence Star

This is the most obvious marker. The Intelligence Star (文昌) represents the ability to absorb, process and apply a large amount of complex information. This is the conventional definition of intelligence.

If the Intelligence Star is in the natal chart, then the chart holder is born intelligent. Should the person be so fortunate as to have the Intelligence Star appear in his day pillar, then he is likely to be a genius. If the Intelligence Star appears in the luck pillar instead, then during this period, the chart holder will be more intelligent than before.

Having an Intelligence Star doesn’t mean that you’re academically gifted.

A woman that we know (let’s call her K) has the Intelligence Star in her natal chart. A shallow reading will suggest that she is a smart person. In reality, she only completed primary school. And she wasn’t particularly bright either: her grades were a mix of Bs and Cs, with some Ds and Fs for good measure. After passing her PSLEs, she went straight into the workforce.

What happened?

We’re not slamming her in this post. Rather, we are saying that assessing intelligence using bazi goes beyond just looking for the Intelligence Star.

The Intelligence Star merely represents potential. If you don’t exercise this capability, you’re going to lose it. If your life circumstances don’t allow you to make use of the intelligence star, it won’t be of much help to you either.

If you do have this star, you should seek out knowledge. This can be from a book or a teacher, or even an online course. Take the time to learn something new every day. This keeps your brain active every day, strengthening your natal intelligence.

Elegant Seal

Elegant Seal (华盖) is a symbolic star that represents creativity, philosophy and innovation. Where the Intelligence Star points to academic excellence, the Elegant Seal signifies artistic intelligence.

A person with Elegant Seal would no doubt be smart, but his true talent lies in applying knowledge in new, exciting and beautiful ways.

Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Li Bai, Steve Jobs, these are the kind of personalities represented by the Elegant Seal. They are intelligent, they are experts in their fields, and they are highly creative. This formidable combination creates boundary-pushing innovations that leave their mark on the world.

However, such people are also prone to loneliness.

Think about it from their perspective. They have huge ideas blazing in their minds. They want to share them with the world. But most people they talk to don’t understand them. They lack the knowledge, experience or imagination to comprehend what they are trying to say. And there are many others who insist that these geniuses must do things their way, that they should compromise their vision. No wonder those with the Elegant Seal feel lonely.

Those with this star would do well to be aware of such tendencies, and learn to be comfortable with solitude while staying true to their vision.

Study Hall

Study Hall (学堂) is the kind of auxiliary star tiger mothers like to see. This star symbolises the ability to do well in examinations—the ancient Chinese Imperial examinations. This means, in addition to conventional studies, the chart holder may do well in calligraphy, poetry, literature, and art.

At this point, you may be wondering: if someone has the Intelligence Star, Elegant Seal and Study Hall, wouldn’t he be a genius? Wouldn’t such a person be highly successful?

As it happens, we do know someone like that. He did in fact develop his academic abilities as best as he could. Everyone around him thought he was an artist and a genius—albeit extremely introverted.

He also graduated college with straight Cs, was denied a place at all of Singapore’s public universities, and had to make his own way in life after National Service.

Once again, just because someone has a number of intelligence stars in his chart, it does not mean that he is destined to become a scholar. He has the potential to be one, but it doesn’t mean he will become one. Outside factors, decisions and individual circumstances also play a role in shaping one’s destiny.

In this person’s case, life changes during his late teenage years disrupted his ability to prepare for the A levels. After NS, he went to a private university, and graduated in the top 10% of his cohort. Even so, because his degree was seen as less prestigious, he still struggled to find opportunities.

Having many intelligence stars is not a guarantee of success. You must tap into them and take advantage of the opportunities you encounter. Only then can they serve you.

Sky Noble, Sky Gracious and Heavenly Officer

These three auxiliary stars have similar effects to the above-mentioned stars: they grant intelligence and academic success. But each have their own twist.

Sky Noble (天魅) represents noblemen luck. You attract people who can teach you important skills and knowledge—including what you need to pass the exams.

Sky Gracious (天鉞) combines noblemen luck and the Peach Blossom star. In addition to attracting someone who can help you, you yourself are also more attractive to people in general. Think of this as studying in a group—and being the leader of the group.

Heavenly Officer (天官) has the same effect as the Intelligence Star. Furthermore, it also boosts your career and business prospects. For example, an undergraduate with Heavenly Officer who presently works as a teacher’s assistant may well become a full professor himself.

These three stars as associated with charm, charisma, and emotional intelligence. People are more willing to help you achieve your goals—not just in academics, but also in life.

Water

The element of water in Chinese metaphysics represents absorption and clarity. Those with Ren and Gui, yin and yang water respectively, in their charts possess the power of water.

In this context, water has two abilities. The first is to absorb information. The second is clear thought. By processing (i.e. thinking about) information, you turn it into knowledge. Knowledge can then be transformed into wealth. This doesn’t just mean the knowledge you pick up in school. This extends to life skills and practical knowledge gained through experience.

Water governs wealth in Chinese metaphysics. People with financial acumen and street smarts can run their own businesses. They may not necessarily be academically gifted, but if they can forge their own path in life, they don’t have to be.

Fire and Wood

The element of wood in Chinese metaphysics is associated with growth. It represents knowledge acquired through years of dedicated learning and hard work. Fire is the transformation of wood into heat and light. In other words, it is the application of such knowledge.

The kind of intelligence denoted by the wood and fire combo is centred on practical skills. These aren’t skills that can be learned by reading a book or watching a video. These are skills that must be learned through hands-on experience over a long period of time.

In ancient China, this means learning gongfu—or other skills that involve working with your hands, such as carpentry or smithing. Today, the combination of fire and wood indicates an apprenticeship. The master, represented by wood, guides the student, represented by fire, to bring out his full potential. In a modern context, this represents the trades. It could also mean any other kind of skilled work that require a lengthy training period.

For someone with a Ding day master, the presence of wood in the day pillar is especially important. Whether it is Jia or Yi, yang or yin wood, wood is necessary to bring out the person’s full potential. Otherwise, he is a candle without fuel—easily extinguished.

Resource Star

The resource star represents knowledge and learning. People with strong resource stars in their charts have the ability to pick up a lot of information from disparate sources. They also have the ability to attract teachers.

People with strong Direct Resource stars can pinpoint the origins of their knowledge. They can say that they learned it through direct observation, or from a teacher, or via personal studies. Those with Indirect Resource aren’t able to articulate it. Their knowledge comes from mysterious sources, such as intuition or metaphysics.

Albert Einsten’s bazi chart has strong resource stars, especially Direct Resource. In school he was a weak student, because the regimented nature of the education system disagreed with him. At a young age, he taught himself geometry, higher mathematics and calculus. His mother bought him books to support his self-education. In his late teens and beyond, he surrounded himself with intellectuals and academics. His Resource structure blessed him with the ability to learn and to attract people who supported his learning.

Also, it should be noted, Einsten had a Bing (yang fire) day master, and wood is the resource of fire.

People with strong resource elements are knowledge workers. They are best suited for academia, white collar professions, or research and development.

Always Be Learning

As we’ve seen, bazi accounts for different kinds of intelligence. Academic intelligence, street smarts, skills intelligence, charisma, crafting, analysis, and more. We’ve also seen that just because someone has a certain combination of stars, it doesn’t mean that he is destined for academic greatness, or that he is even capable of using those stars.

Let’s go back to the case of K. She quit the school system early to support her family. She never went back to school. This negated any academic-related intelligence stars she had. But she wasn’t out of options.

She is a Ding day master, with Yi in the hidden stem. She has more Yi in her natal chart. Instead of academic intelligence, she could count on the wood and fire combo and her resource stars.

She learned to type and use a computer. That led to a career in office work: typist, clerk, administrator. She attracted noble people who taught her life and career skills. She was later recruited by an international private education company and became the head of the local branch of Chinese language tuition centre.

Not too shabby for someone with only a primary school education.

Possessing intelligence stars is not a guaranteed road to success. Not possessing intelligence stars does not mean that someone is an idiot. There are many kinds of intelligences. Instead of trying to force someone down a narrow path, we can use bazi to identify his innate potential, and encourage him to make the most of his gifts.

Always be learning. That is the key to life. No matter what auspicious stars and structures you may have, always strive to expand your mind, improve your thinking skills, and take advantage of any learning opportunities that come your way. Never allow yourself to think that you are done learning. Set aside biases and assumptions, and learn to think outside the box. Some people may be naturally better at that than most, but all people can benefit from learning regardless of their charts.

What is your intelligence profile? Come book a reading with us and explore your potential. You may discover a genius that you never knew.

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