The year pillar is the heavenly stem and earthly branch of a given year — the slowest-moving layer of the Chinese calendrical system (a full stem-branch cycle takes 60 years). It is not a personality sign; it is a regime descriptor: the dominant energy of the 12-month cycle. In our engine, the year pillar carries the largest vote weight because regime beats noise.
Each pillar has a five-element nature and an interaction pattern with the previous year. A 'generating' transition (previous element feeds current) suggests continuity and growth; a 'controlling' transition suggests friction and rebalancing. The monthly pillars then refine the year's script month by month — which is exactly the multi-period structure our signals use.
Treat the pillar as a hypothesis, not a prophecy: if the annual regime reads expansionary, favor growth exposure until monthly pillars contradict; if it reads contractionary, favor defensive quality. Test it against your own data. The value is a consistent, structured lens — not a guarantee.
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