The sui po (歲破) describes the star that is in conflict with the grand duke.
And in personal date selection practices, the earthly branch in the year is is grand duke. Making the star opposite it the sui po.
This also means that sui po can be determined by the zodiac star sign of the year.
Also known as the year breaker, when date selection is practiced to choose a particular day for activities to happen, days with the earthly branch that is the year breaker has to be avoided to prevent unfavorable outcomes.
For example, the year 2020 would have the zodiac of Rat. This would make the year breaker the horse zodiac as the horse sign is directly opposite the rat sign. Since zodiacs can be represented by earthly branches, this relationship can also be written as E1 having the year breaker E7. By referring the the Hsia calendar when choosing a day, days with the E7 character as a dominant energy has to be avoided to prevent catastrophe.
Table of sui po (year breaker)
| Year Branch |
Sui Po |
| E1 | E7 |
| E2 | E8 |
| E3 | E9 |
| E4 | E10 |
| E5 | E11 |
| E6 | E12 |
| E7 | E1 |
| E8 | E2 |
| E9 | E3 |
| E10 | E4 |
| E11 | E5 |
| E12 | E6 |
When important projects commence on a year breaker day (歲破日), expect to face constant problems and roadblocks along the journey… which can potentially lead to complete failure.
One might be able to ride out problematic short term projects and get it over with. But long term projects with relentless problems that pop up can take a heavy toll on anyone’s mental well-being.
At this point, it is best to also get familiar with the yue po.
