The 12 Day Officers, 建除十二神 (Twelve Day Officers), classify a day by where its Earthly Branch sits within the current solar month. In Auspio, they are one date-selection layer: important, but not the whole reading.
The officers are 建, 除, 满, 平, 定, 执, 破, 危, 成, 收, 开, and 闭. They describe the day's general working quality: whether it is better suited to starting, clearing, settling, executing, receiving, opening, or avoiding major action.
Auspio's broader calculation method is documented on How Auspio Calculates Your Dates. This article focuses on the Day Officer layer and how it enters the app's scoring.
The 12 Day Officers are a cycle, not a fixed date list
The Day Officers repeat in a fixed order:
建 → 除 → 满 → 平 → 定 → 执 → 破 → 危 → 成 → 收 → 开 → 闭
In Auspio's implementation, 建 (Establish) falls on the day whose Earthly Branch matches the current Ba Zi month branch. The next day-branch offset is 除, then 满, and so on through the 12-step cycle.
That current month branch is not taken from the lunar month number. Auspio uses the most recent primary solar term, 节 (jie, primary solar term), at or before the date. That is the same solar-month boundary used for the Ba Zi month pillar.
The day branch is calculated from the day's pillar. Once Auspio has the month branch and the day branch, the officer is just the offset between them.
How Auspio uses the officer
Auspio does not read the Day Officer as an isolated yes-or-no answer.
For date selection, the app gives the officer an activity-specific score. The same officer can be better for one event type than another. 成 (Success) and 开 (Open) are treated as excellent across the event categories Auspio ships. 破 (Destruction) and 危 (Danger) are treated as days to avoid for major activities.
The Day Officer is then combined with other layers: zodiac compatibility between the day's branch and each participant's year animal, element harmony between the day's stem and each participant's Day Master, lunar-month cautions, and a personal affinity layer based on the participant's own chart.
In other words, the officer tells you the day's operating mode. The full score still asks whether that mode fits the people and the event.
The 12 officers at a glance
| Officer | English gloss | What Auspio's guidance uses it for |
|---|---|---|
| 建 | Establish | Starting new ventures and initiating plans |
| 除 | Remove | Removing obstacles, cleaning, clearing out |
| 满 | Full | Celebrations and fullness; otherwise more neutral |
| 平 | Balance | Routine matters and steady work |
| 定 | Stable | Agreements, foundations, and settling matters |
| 执 | Execute | Carrying out established plans and duties |
| 破 | Destruction | Avoiding important events |
| 危 | Danger | Avoiding major activities |
| 成 | Success | Milestones and high-importance occasions |
| 收 | Receive | Harvesting, collecting, receiving |
| 开 | Open | Openings, beginnings, setting out |
| 闭 | Close | Avoiding launches and openings |
The names are compact because they are almanac terms. They should not be over-expanded into universal life advice. A 成 day is not a promise that something will succeed; it is a traditional classification Auspio treats as especially favorable for milestone-type timing.
建: Establish
建 (Establish) is the first officer in the cycle. It falls when the day branch matches the current solar-month branch.
Auspio's guidance treats 建 as suitable for starting new ventures and initiating plans. In the app's event-specific ratings, it is especially strong for business openings and moving, and still favorable for weddings and construction.
The important nuance is that 建 is about beginning. It is not automatically the best day for every kind of event; it depends on what is being started and how the other scoring layers read.
除: Remove
除 (Remove) is used for clearing, cleaning, removing obstacles, and letting go of what should not remain.
In Auspio's ratings, 除 is not a universal high-score day. It can be useful for clearing-oriented activity, but it is not treated as strong for weddings or business openings. That makes sense mechanically: removal and celebration are different modes.
满: Full
满 (Full) carries the sense of fullness or completion.
Auspio's guidance treats it as fine for celebrations and more neutral otherwise. It is not one of the strongest milestone officers in the source scoring, but it is not classified like 破 or 危 either.
For a user, the practical read is: 满 can support occasions where fullness and gathering are appropriate, but it should not override personal chart fit or event-specific scoring.
平: Balance
平 (Balance) is a steady, ordinary officer.
Auspio's guidance places it with routine and stable matters. Its event ratings are moderate rather than extreme, which matches the name: useful when the task is regular, controlled, and not trying to create a dramatic opening.
定: Stable
定 (Stable) is about fixing, settling, and establishing a firm position.
Auspio's guidance uses it for agreements, foundations, and settling matters. It scores especially well for construction-style timing in the app because that event type values stability and foundation.
For contracts, commitments, and matters where the goal is to make something firm, 定 is easier to understand than a generic "good day" label.
执: Execute
执 (Execute) is for carrying out duties and established plans.
Auspio treats it as favorable for execution rather than first beginnings. It is not the same as 开, which emphasizes opening, or 建, which emphasizes establishing. 执 has a more procedural tone: do the thing already set in motion.
破: Destruction
破 (Destruction) is one of the clearest caution officers.
In Auspio's event-specific ratings, 破 is avoided for weddings, business openings, construction, and moving. That should not be read as a prediction of disaster; it means the Day Officer layer classifies the day as unsuitable for important events.
If 破 appears, Auspio still has the rest of the scoring stack, but this layer is strongly negative.
危: Danger
危 (Danger) is another caution officer.
Auspio's guidance describes it as highly unfavorable for major activities. In the event ratings, it is strongly negative across the shipped event types, with construction also treated as a serious caution.
This is a good example of why naming the method matters. Auspio can show which layer lowered the score instead of only saying "not recommended."
成: Success
成 (Success) is one of the strongest officers.
Auspio treats 成 as excellent across its shipped event categories. Its guidance calls it one of the most auspicious officers for milestones.
That still is not a promise about what will happen. It means the Day Officer layer classifies the day as favorable for completion, achievement, and milestone timing. The participant chart layers still matter.
收: Receive
收 (Receive) is associated with harvesting, collecting, receiving, and gathering in.
Auspio's guidance uses it for collecting and receiving. It scores well for business-opening contexts in the app, but not as strongly for weddings or moving as 成 or 开.
The officer's logic is inward and acquisitive: receive, collect, bring in. That can be appropriate for some decisions and less central for others.
开: Open
开 (Open) is one of the most favorable officers for beginnings.
Auspio treats 开 as excellent for weddings, business openings, and moving, and very favorable for construction. Its guidance describes it as highly auspicious for openings, beginnings, and setting out.
开 is therefore easy to understand for launch-type events. It is the officer whose name most directly matches opening a business, starting a journey, or beginning a new phase.
闭: Close
闭 (Close) is the closing officer.
Auspio's guidance treats it as unfavorable for launches and openings. The app's event ratings mark it negatively for weddings, business openings, and moving, with construction also less favored.
闭 does not mean nothing can be done on that day. It means this layer does not support opening, launching, or beginning something consequential.
Why the officer changes at solar terms
Because 建 is anchored to the current solar-month branch, the officer sequence shifts when the month branch shifts. In Auspio, that boundary is determined by the primary solar terms, not by the lunar first day.
This is why two dates close together can sit in different officer contexts if a 节 occurs between them. It is also why Day Officers belong with the same solar-term logic discussed in the Ba Zi month-pillar article.
Why Auspio does not stop at the officer
The Day Officer is powerful because it gives the day a traditional activity mode. But date selection also involves people.
Auspio's date score combines the officer with participant-specific layers. A day may have a strong officer but still clash with a participant's year animal, interact poorly with a participant's Day Master, or trigger a personal chart caution. Another day may have a moderate officer but fit the participants better.
That is the point of showing the working. A date is not only "good" or "bad." It is a stack of reasons.
Which Day Officers are usually best?
In Auspio's shipped event ratings, 成 (Success) and 开 (Open) are excellent across the supported event categories. 建 (Establish), 定 (Stable), 执 (Execute), and 收 (Receive) can also be favorable depending on the event type.
Which Day Officers should be avoided for major events?
Auspio treats 破 (Destruction) and 危 (Danger) as strong cautions for major event timing. 闭 (Close) is also unfavorable for launches and openings.
Is a 成 day always the best date?
No. 成 is one of the strongest Day Officers, but Auspio still checks the event type, participant zodiac relationships, Day Master element harmony, lunar-month cautions, and personal affinity. A strong officer is a reason, not the whole verdict.