Month Branch: Baseline and Month Breaker
Last updated 10/7/2026
The month branch supplies the chart’s seasonal baseline. Record three different observations in order:
- Does the line branch exactly match the month branch?
- Does the line branch clash with the month branch?
- What is the line element’s Wang/Xiang/Xiu/Qiu/Si relation to the month element?
Do not collapse those fields. An exact branch clash can mark a line Month-Broken even when its element shares the month’s element.
UAYA course construction rule
| Check | Output |
|---|---|
| line branch = month branch | exact month match; keep as a visible fact |
| line branch clashes month branch | Month-Breaker candidate |
| day branch also equals that line branch | retain the separate day-value fact; qualification remains unresolved here |
| neither | no exact-match or breaker flag; seasonal state still applies |
The received “month as emperor” phrase is not used as proof here. The operational rule is sufficient: add month fields before later strength judgments.
Worked annotation: Case 00035
The month branch is Chen, whose element is Earth.
| Line | Branch | Element | Exact month relation | Seasonal relation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zi | Water | none | Earth controls Water → Si |
| 2 | Yin | Wood | none | Wood controls Earth → Qiu |
| 3 | Chen | Earth | exact match | same element → Wang |
| 4 | Shen | Metal | none | Earth generates Metal → Xiang |
| 5 | Xu | Earth | Chen–Xu clash → Month-Broken | same element → Wang |
| 6 | Zi | Water | none | Earth controls Water → Si |
Line 5 is the important construction contrast. Its element relation is Wang, but its branch is directly clashed by the month, making it a Month Breaker candidate. The Mao day does not equal Xu. Keep both facts; this construction lesson does not decide the candidate’s practical effect.
Exercise
Use a Mao month and mark these line branches:
- Mao: exact month match;
- You: Month-Broken because Mao–You clash;
- Yin: no exact branch relation, but same Wood element for seasonal classification;
- Xu: Mao–Xu combination, which belongs in the branch-relation column rather than the breaker column.
Then give the You line a You day. Record both month clash: Mao–You and day value: You, followed by qualification: unresolved. The chart facts alone do not establish that day value repairs the month clash; that claim requires an applied rule and locator in the Strength lessons.
Stopping condition
This lesson does not decide whether motion, day support, or another line can change the practical weight of a month flag. Rescue and precedence judgments belong to the Strength lessons. Stop after the three month fields can be reproduced.
Source note
This lesson records month match, month clash, seasonal relation, and any separate day-value fact. Qualification belongs to Month Breaker: Detection and Qualification, where the received discussion and its public locator are stated.
Next: Continue to Day Branch and add day support/control, day clash, and the bounded Dark Moving flag.