起运Starting age: when the first pillar begins

The starting age converts the days from birth to the next (or previous) solar term — three days to a year, one day to four months.

Personality traits

• Yang men and yin women count forward; yin men and yang women backward
• Forward counts to the next term; backward to the previous
• Three days = one year; remainders to months and days
• Early starters 'enter the stage' early

How to read it

Two people born in the same month may start at age 1 or 9 — the only difference is distance to the solar term. Before the start, childhood limits rule; after it, pillars take over. The engine handles direction and conversion automatically — no hand-counting terms.