Guess what? I’ve been studying bazi for more than a year now! It’s been giving me all of these feelings that I had when I first started studying western astrology. It’s this sheer excitement and also this fascination with the art and the craft. Everything in life starts to feel a bit more magical.
I wanted to write this article playing with examining just Jung Hoseok’s day pillar in bazi not because I feel that I’m so good at it or like I have any expertise to show off yet but because I truly love the art, I am endlessly fascinated with idols, and I wanted to share that with anyone reading this in case you catch the bazi bug too.
Since the day pillar is just a small component of the eight character chart, this also feels like a low stakes way to explore the practice of reading. Keep in mind that an overall description of your chart has a lot more stuff involved than I’m doing here. You have to look at both your chart and your timing and know how to read the balances and imbalances. What I’m doing here is really just for fun.
I’m reading the day pillar of the four pillar chart because the day pillar is usually seen as the pillar that reflects your character. All of the other parts are viewed using the day pillar in bazi.
Jimin is also a cow! However, different from Yoongi and Namjoon, Jimin is a Ding fire Chou cow day pillar.
Ding fire is yin fire and that’s different from Jungkook’s blazing sun. Yin fire is like a candle or a firepit. It’s fire that needs to be taken care of.
This day pillar is so cute. Jimin is like a campfire that someone started on wet soil. You have to keep attending to it and nurturing it for it to keep going but it’ll keep everyone warm. Jimin was born during the fall when this kind of fire is really needed. Have you ever attended a campfire during the fall? There’s something really magical about sitting around one during that season.
We’ll start with Jimin’s day pillar stem. The Di Tiansui describes Ding like this:
丁火柔中，内性昭融。
抱乙而孝，合壬而忠。
旺而不烈，衰而不穷。
如有嫡母，可秋可冬。
The first line basically just talks about Ding fire on its own. The first word used to describe Ding fire is soft. Then, the poem says that it’s also moderate in temperament. Ding fire is bright and clear. It’s also melting and warm.
The second line of the poem describes its relationship to the phase that generates fire which is Yi wood, representing Ding fire’s mother. Ding fire is loyal to its own family. The next four characters mention water to describe how Ding fire responds to authority and say that it becomes honest when instructed.
The third line of the poem is really beautiful. It says that Ding fire blossoms like a flower and not like something fierce. Ding fire might wane but it will never be extinguished. That’s what it means to be moderate. You don’t go to extremes so you also don’t completely burn out.
The last line of the poem basically states that Ding fire can last throughout fall and winter if it has a child. Throughout the poem, Ding fire has a lot of stability if it has family. Remember that candle or fireplace and how it can go out if there’s no one there to keep it going? Ding fire needs protection and needs to be fed regularly.
Jimin is warm and he needs a lot of protection, a lot of nurture, and a lot of encouragement. He’s also the only member of BTS whose day pillar stem isn’t in his day pillar branch at all. He’s a fire being made on wet earth and this actually isn’t the best place to grow a fire. This gives Jimin a ton of self restraint. He’s going to be someone who constantly thinks about whether he is allowed to do something before he does it.
Chou cow is also accommodating. In Yoongi’s analysis, we already looked at the story where the cow allows the mouse and the cat to ride on its back during the race. The cow always helps people along the way. It’ll let other people ride on its back.
An accepting nature is also part of Ding fire. Fire can accept almost anything. If you throw most things into a fire, the fire will take it in, eat it, and digest it. That’s probably how Jimin was as a trainee. He was exposed to so much new information and just took it all in.
Did you know that cows also have best friends? It’s true. A cow will have another cow who it wants to be around all of the time. It’ll wait for that cow for hours just so they can walk and graze together. This is a lovely aspect of cow behavior. I think this aspect of the cow shows up in Namjoon and Yoongi too but I think that it shows up most clearly in Jimin maybe because his day stem needs that warmth and nurture so much more.
Jimin loves his best friends! He’s especially close with Jungkook and Taehyung. He loves to explore different things with Hobi. He likes to cuddle his best friend the way a fireplace might warm your skin. Whenever any of the members do a solo endeavor, Jimin always shows up. He’s so loyal. He’s so supportive. He’ll fly all the way to Chicago without knowing English to be there for Hobi. He’ll go to two of Yoongi’s shows and he’ll sit with Namjoon at the studio. Every single time Yoongi made handmade gifts for his fans on his birthday, Jimin was there helping him make it and actually doing a fair amount of the work. Now as I write this, Jimin just arrived in New York to be there with Jungkook for his performance at Central Park.
I’m sure that Jimin gives this same level of support and love to his own brother. Jimin is middle in the age range of BTS but he’s an older brother in his family of origin. I think that older siblings in a lot of Asian families have some expectation to hold themselves back so that the younger ones can shine brighter. I can definitely see Jimin do this. He’s probably someone who shows up for his brother whenever he’s needed.
This isn’t to say that Jimin is all about devotion and duty. If you look at Chou cow, there’s a little metal in it too because it has all these rich nutrients in its soil. For fire, metal is like a toy. It’s something that fire can play around with and reshape. This small metal in Chou cow gives Jimin a really playful edge. He’s simply not going to be that serious all of the time. He’s going to be freely expressive, especially around those who gather close around his warmth. The water in Chou cow is actually really great for this metal because it can rinse it off and make it gleam. Little gems found in dry earth will be a lot duller than the shiny ones in wet soil.
Jimin is really shy! Whenever they’re asked about whether there are any members who are shy, everyone always points directly at Jimin. This is the water element in his day branch controlling him. He will be more restrained and think about how people perceive him. But this doesn’t mean, and we know this from watching BTS, that Jimin doesn’t express himself. He has an abundance of talent. It’s just that his shyness and self consciousness cultivates the talent. It allows him to focus on one specific thing and drives him to rehearse until he can really shine.
I do think that the tardiness of Chou cow shows up in Jimin as well because of this. The ox is the second animal in the zodiac and came in second because of the orchestrations of the mouse. Jimin is known as the BTS member who likes to take his time on preparations. They sometimes tease him for being chronically late. The reason why Jimin is late is most likely because he just takes things so seriously. He’s nervous about how he’ll be seen so he spends a lot of time in preparation with hair and makeup.
Most likely, anything that Jimin puts out has been in the works for a very long time. He really puts effort into his craft. He can draw in all kinds of support around what he does and he tends to follow the advice of those with more experience or those who are older than him. This is because Ding fire is so loyal.
Basically, Jimin’s day pillar shows that he is someone who really wants and craves a sense of family. I’m talking about the intimacy of family but also the authority of almost parental people who can protect and teach him. He’s a very avid student—a star student.
I really enjoyed looking at the virtues of Jimin’s day pillar. Sometimes, I think that western astrology places too much emphasis on individual expression. Much of the virtues of someone with Ding Chou seems to be about its talent in collaboration. Someone like Park Jimin can become a glittering pop star in K-pop where collaboration is emphasized and the intrigue we have around group dynamics play a huge role in making their work feel moving and real. This is an aspect of Asian pop that is remarkably different from western pop. The structure of Asian variety shows and promotions almost always utilize collaboration.
It’s interesting because someone like Park Jimin, with the presence and talent and skill he has, can totally take center stage on their own but I don’t get the feeling that Jimin really wants to promote his own efforts for himself. He’s too selfless for this to be his focus. The emotionality of what he does shows up best when he’s with other creative people. He’s like a fireplace. He wants to nurture and cook food, wants to feed people, and wants to be fed and shielded himself.
