Climate adjustment (Tiao Hou): does climate or strength decide?
Climate adjustment sets a chart's temperature and humidity: born in winter with cold Metal and Water, it wants Fire to warm it; born in summer with scorching Fire and Earth, it wants Water. It is a correction, not the master rule — when Day Master strength points clearly one way, strength still picks the Useful God and climate adds a touch.
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At a glance
| Chart condition | Usually needs | How we handle it |
|---|---|---|
| Cold: winter month, heavy Metal/Water | Fire | Useful if strength agrees; never unfavourable if not |
| Hot: summer month, strong Fire | Water | Same |
| Dry: late summer or late autumn, parched Earth | Water | Same |
| Damp: late winter, wet Earth and Water | Fire | Same |
- Our climate table
- Day Master × month gives a primary and a secondary element; the primary matters most
- Versus strength
- Strength first: when strong/weak is clear, the Useful God comes only from strength
- Never unfavourable
- The primary climate element is not marked unfavourable even if strength dislikes it — just “not too much”
- Balanced charts
- When strength gives no direction, climate picks the Useful God
- Exceptions
- Follow and dominant special structures follow their own momentum
Data: how often do climate and the final Useful God agree?
The climate element equals the final Useful God in only 57.3% of charts. If climate had the last word, the Useful God would change in over four charts in ten.
In 25.4% of charts (508), the climate element is exactly what strength wants to avoid. In those, the calculator makes it favourable in 53.3% and neutral in 46.5%; it is marked unfavourable in 0 of them. Across all charts the climate element stays out of the unfavourable list in 97.5%; every exception is a follow or dominant special structure.
By season: of 529 winter charts (Hai, Zi, Chou months), the climate table asks for Fire in 62.6%, but Fire is the final Useful God in only 31.2%. Of 473 summer charts (Si, Wu, Wei months), climate asks for Water in 71.5% and Water is the Useful God in 49.7%. Near-balanced charts are 20.6%, and in 67.6% of them the Useful God matches climate.
Sample: 2,000 charts cast with our own engine (birth years 1950–2010 uniformly random, random birth time, half male/half female, Beijing true solar time); fixed seed, fully reproducible.
Two real charts
Yi Si · Ji Chou · Wu Chen · Yi Mao (female, 9 Jan 1966, 07:00, Beijing)
Wu Earth is born in Chou, cold and damp late winter, Earth in season. The Ji Rob Wealth on the month stem, the Chen day branch and the Wu hidden in the Si year branch all support it; the calculator rates it strong. Strength says restrain, drain or spend: two Yi Direct Officer stems show, with Mao (Direct Officer) on the hour branch. Calculator: Wood useful, Metal and Fire favourable, Earth unfavourable.
Look at Fire. It is Resource that feeds Wu, so a strong chart shouldn't want more; but winter Wu takes Bing Fire first in our climate table, and Fire is only 3.8% of this chart. So Fire is not marked unfavourable — it sits among the favourable elements. That is “the climate element is never unfavourable” in practice.
Wu Wu · Ji Wei · Bing Xu · Geng Yin (male, 23 Jul 1978, 05:15, Beijing)
Bing Fire is born in Wei, dry late-summer Earth. Yin, Wu and Xu form a Fire triple combination that supports the Day Master, while Wei, Xu and the Wu and Ji stems are a mass of Earth draining it — help on one side, drain on the other, and the calculator rates it balanced. With no direction from strength, climate decides: late-summer Bing wants Water. Water useful, Metal and Wood favourable, no unfavourable element.
There is no Water in this chart at all (0%). When the Useful God is missing from the chart, the natal chart only gives the direction; it takes a luck cycle or year that brings Water to act on it.
What is climate adjustment? Tuning the chart's temperature
A chart has warmth and cold as well as strength. Two Geng Metal Day Masters, one born in Shen (early autumn chill) and one in Zi (deep winter), feel completely different. Climate adjustment deals with that: warm the cold, moisten the hot, wet the dry, dry the damp.
Our calculator uses a Day Master × month climate table that gives the element the season needs most (primary) and a helper (secondary). The table is only the starting point; we still check how much of that element the chart has and whether strength agrees.
Why strength first, with climate as a correction?
When the Day Master can't stand up, strength is the real problem. On a weak winter chart, reaching for Fire just because it is cold can backfire if Fire happens to control or drain the Day Master. So the order is: judge strength and decide support or restraint, then see whether temperature is off and let climate add a touch.
In the scoring, climate's weight never outranks the strength tier; climate only decides when the strength verdict is close or the chart is near balanced.
Why is the climate element never marked unfavourable?
If the season really needs it, don't throw it away. Take an Earth Day Master in winter that is already strong: Fire is Resource and strength alone would avoid it, yet cold, wet winter Earth genuinely needs a little warmth. Many methods simply mark Fire unfavourable. We don't make it the Useful God, but we don't mark it unfavourable either — it becomes a supplementary favourable or neutral element, with a note not to overdo it.
This protects only the primary element in the climate table; the secondary one gets no exception. In follow and dominant special structures, favourable elements follow the structure and climate is not added.
Does winter always mean Fire, and summer always Water?
No — the table depends on the Day Master and the month together, not the season alone. Born in Zi month, Bing takes Water, Ding takes Wood and Ren takes Earth in our climate table; none of them takes Fire.
Even when the table does say Fire, the final Useful God still has to pass the strength test: a winter chart already fed by Fire often lands its Useful God elsewhere.
Common view vs. our view
| Common view | Our view | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Winter always uses Fire, summer always Water | The table depends on Day Master and month together, and the result must still pass the strength test | Winter charts: climate asks for Fire in 62.6%, Fire is the Useful God in only 31.2% |
| If the climate element doesn't suit strength, it's unfavourable | Not the Useful God, but never unfavourable — just “not too much” | Of 508 charts where climate and strength conflict, 0 mark it unfavourable |
| Climate beats strength; look at temperature first | Strength first, climate corrects | Climate and the final Useful God disagree in over four charts in ten |
FAQ
My climate element and my strength-based Useful God differ. Which one counts?
We are strength-first: when strength is clear, the Useful God follows strength and the climate element is a supplement, never unfavourable. Only near-balanced charts let climate decide.
I was born in winter. Should I wear red and get more sun?
As a very light reference. First check whether your Useful God is actually Fire — many winter charts end up with something else. Real decisions depend on real conditions.
My result says climate is “an important supplement”. What does that mean?
We flag that when cold/heat/dryness/damp is pronounced or the climate element is scarce in the chart: look at climate more closely, but it still doesn't outrank strength.
Is the climate table fixed? Why do different apps disagree?
Climate tables list the element each Day Master needs in each month and mostly agree. The differences are usually about priority — climate or strength first — and whether the climate element can be marked unfavourable.
Common mistakes
- Everyone born in winter uses Fire: it depends on the Day Master, how much Fire is already there and whether strength agrees; only about three in ten winter charts in our sample end up with Fire as Useful God.
- If the climate element doesn't suit strength, it's unfavourable: we never mark the primary climate element unfavourable, only “not too much”.
- Climate beats strength: climate corrects; it doesn't pick the Useful God on its own when strength is clear.