Ba Zi: The Eight Characters
Curated and verified byShine Zuo, Clinical Therapist, Columbia UniversityFor thousands of years, Ba Zi has been shrouded in layers of classical Chinese and jargon, intimidating those who genuinely wish to learn. This course is designed for absolute beginners—no prior knowledge of fortune-telling required, and no need to decipher a single ancient character. We have broken down the two classic texts, *Yuanhai Ziping* and *Ziping Zhenquan*, into 51 easy-to-follow lessons. Starting from the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, Yin-Yang and the Five Elements, we guide you step by step through the complete fortune-telling process: chart casting, determining strength, identifying patterns, discerning likes and dislikes, and analyzing major cycles and annual flows. After completing this course, you will be able to independently cast and interpret charts for yourself or others, understand the story behind a Ba Zi chart, and see through the specious rhetoric of fortune-tellers. What we introduce you to is a set of classical reasoning wisdom passed down for millennia, with its own internal logic—not a decree of fate, but a mirror for understanding yourself.
Lessons
About the course creator
Three commitments guide Shine’s clinical practice: understand the whole person, choose interventions with purpose, and make treatment workable beyond the therapy room. Over eight years in outpatient clinics, schools, crisis programs, and private practice, she has supported adolescents and adults experiencing trauma, anxiety, depression, substance use, family conflict, and disruptive life transitions. Camille draws from cognitive-behavioral therapy, motivational interviewing, mindfulness, and family-systems approaches while adapting each plan to the client’s culture, relationships, strengths, and readiness for change. Her work also includes risk assessment, safety planning, therapeutic groups, clinical documentation, caregiver education, and coordination with psychiatrists, educators, physicians, and community agencies.
Reviews (1)
- violet_firefly
love it, so clear!