The Rise And Fall Chart of Life refers to a person's lifespan, eminence, failures, luck and misfortune, and present fate based on the Terrestrial Branches taken from his/her year, month, day, and time of birth on the Chinese calendar. It is also a tool in determining interpersonal relations and persona. As a person's time of birth uses a "Celestial Stem" and an "Earth Branch" to construct the four pairs of life chart (year, month, day, and hour), the chart is also known as "Four Columns." The connection between the Four Columns are listed as follows:

Year Column--represents family and ancestral roots.

Month Column--represents the vicissitude of parents and family.

Day Column--represents the person and their spouse; it is also the starting point of the extrapolation.

Hour Column--represents offspring.