Keep each stem attached to its layer

Read the pair in palace two without reversing it

In the example we will build, palace two has Yin Earth (己) in the earth layer and Yang Fire (丙) in the heaven layer. If a note writes “Yang Fire over Yin Earth,” its order carries information: heaven first, earth second. Reversing the words produces a different relationship, even before any traditional meaning is assigned.

The exercise combines an explicitly identified Yang-one earth arrangement in Tong Zong with the Yin Wood Ox (乙丑) example in Dun Jia Yan Yi (Siku text, first volume). It is a partial comparison for learning the fields, not a complete chart for a person or a prediction about an event.

Before reconstructing that pair, we need to distinguish three things: the inventory of symbols, the six Yang Wood (甲) correspondences, and the placements in each layer. They are related, but they are not interchangeable lists.

Nine visible stems, with Yang Wood represented through six correspondences

The Three Wonders are Yin Wood (乙), Yang Fire and Yin Fire (丁). The Six Instruments are Yang Earth (戊), Yin Earth, Yang Metal (庚), Yin Metal (辛), Yang Water (壬) and Yin Water (癸). Together they supply nine stem symbols. Yang Wood is not added as a tenth entry squeezed into the nine palaces; the tradition records six Yang Wood cycle heads through the following instrument correspondences.

“Yang Wood Rat Yang Earth” (甲子戊) therefore joins a complete stem-branch cycle head to its corresponding instrument. It is not a list of three heavenly stems, and it does not mean that every occurrence of Yang Wood should be replaced by Yang Earth. Each row has its own identity.

A cycle contains ten successive stem-branch units. In a time-chart discussion, the actual time must still be used to identify its cycle head. The table supplies correspondences; it does not tell us which cycle is current. This distinction becomes useful when identifying the duty star and duty door.

Build the earth arrangement for this setup

The cited Yang-one example places Yang Earth at palace one and then assigns Yin Earth, Yang Metal, Yin Metal, Yang Water, Yin Water, Yin Fire, Yang Fire and Yin Wood to palaces two through nine. Thus earth-layer Yang Fire is at eight, Yin Wood at nine and Yin Fire at seven.

Open the full-size diagram

Original BaZiFlow layer comparison: the Yang-one earth arrangement follows Tong Zong; the Yin Wood Ox excerpt follows Dun Jia Yan Yi, Siku edition, volume one. Only the stated fields are shown.

Notice the last three placement entries: Yin Fire, Yang Fire, Yin Wood. That is not the same order as naming the Three Wonders Yin Wood, Yang Fire, Yin Fire. One list identifies members; the other specifies an arrangement for this example. Substituting one for the other changes the result.

The earth layer is a base for the selected setup, not a permanent stem map valid for every time. Changing the mode or ju can change that arrangement. The nine-palace base grid supplies coordinates; placing earth stems according to the setup adds content to those coordinates. Their different senses of “fixed” should not be collapsed.

Add the heaven excerpt while retaining the earth entries

For Yin Wood Ox in the cited Yang-one example, Dun Jia Yan Yi lists Yang Fire in Kun two, Yin Wood in Kan one and Yin Fire in Zhen three. Compare just Yang Fire: its earth position is eight, while its heaven position in this time example is two. Neither statement needs to erase the other.

At palace two, the earth arrangement gives Yin Earth and the heaven excerpt gives Yang Fire. That reconstructs the ordered pair from the opening. A reader can check the layer assignment without being asked to accept a claim about what the pair will cause in life.

The example deliberately stops at those specified placements. It does not fill in unshown spirit or door layers, nor does it pretend to be the complete common chart of every rotating and flying method. The placement procedure must remain attached to the named source and setup.

If a display uses vertical position or color to distinguish the layers, write their names when taking notes. The screenshot may eventually be cropped or viewed in another interface. A clear label survives those changes better than an assumed visual convention.

A compact note should still preserve provenance

“Palace two: heaven Yang Fire; earth Yin Earth” remains understandable away from the original chart. “Two: Yang Fire Yin Earth” may not. If hidden stems or other layers are also being studied, list them separately rather than merging matching characters into one supposed fact.

An absent field should remain unprovided unless it is actually calculated under the same conditions. Borrowing a value from another time or another chart creates an artificial combination. When comparing two charts, align the setup first and compare like layers; one chart's heaven stem is not the direct counterpart of another's earth stem.

The traditional names carry symbolic associations, but the mere presence of the Three Wonders does not establish success. At this stage the task is more precise: identify the members, match the Yang Wood cycle head correctly, reconstruct the earth arrangement and retain the separate heaven placement. Interpretation can then refer back to a record whose components have not been mixed together.