What are the life-cycle (birth→death) relationships in Four-Pillar theory?

This topic refers to the 'Twelve Stages of Life' (Shi Er Chang Sheng), a sequence that describes how any element or stem experiences a life cycle through the twelve branches: birth, growing, maturity, decline and so on. It’s a precise tool for assessing vitality, timing and phase-based changes.

The twelve stages and their meanings (summary):
1. Birth (Chang Sheng): initial emergence, new beginnings.
2. Bathing (Mu Yu): fragile, tempting, needing care.
3. Crown/Belt (Guan Dai): growth, learning rites, preparation.
4. Officer (Lin Guan): adulthood, active career and public role.
5. Peak (Di Wang): full strength and maximum influence.
6. Decline (Shuai): waning energy, guarding and conserving.
7. Illness (Bing): energy damaged, problems arise.
8. Death (Si): energy hushed, stagnation or finality.
9. Tomb/Store (Mu / Ku): storage, endings, consolidation.
10. Absolute/Exhaustion (Jue): near-extinction, but also possible turning point.
11. Fetus (Tai): new potentials quietly forming.
12. Nurture (Yang): gestation, preparation before a new emergence.

Applications:
• To judge day-master strength: see where the day-stem sits among these stages in the month branch.
• To evaluate career or wealth: check if wealth or official stars occupy growth/peak stages.
• To read marriage and relationships: where the spouse star sits tells whether that palace is in growth or decline.
• To interpret timing: when luck cycles move a person’s chart into different stages, corresponding life events or inner states tend to manifest.