Ten Gods

The Day Master: the reference for every Ten God

BaZi records the birth year, month, day and hour as four pairs. Each pair, called a pillar, contains a heavenly stem and an earthly branch. The four pillars therefore contain eight characters. The stem in the day pillar is the Day Master, representing the person whose chart is being examined.

For example, in a Jia-Zi day pillar, Jia is the stem and Zi the branch. Jia is consequently the Day Master. The stems in other positions are compared with Jia to find their Ten Gods. Expressions such as “generating me” and “controlling me” use “me” to mean this reference stem.

The phases and polarities of the heavenly stems

Comparing two stems requires their phases and yin–yang polarities. There are ten heavenly stems: Jia, Yi, Bing, Ding, Wu, Ji, Geng, Xin, Ren and Gui. They form five pairs, each sharing a phase but differing in polarity:

“Jia Wood” thus means Jia, the Wood stem; “Gui Water” means Gui, the Water stem. Comparing them involves two facts: one is Wood and the other Water; one is yang and the other yin. The phases determine generation or control, while polarity distinguishes the specific relationship.

Five phase relationships with the Day Master

In the five-phase system, generation means nurturing or supporting, while control means restraining or regulating. Water generating Wood describes support for Wood; Metal controlling Wood describes restraint on it. The complete cycles are:

• Generation: Wood → Fire → Earth → Metal → Water → Wood.
• Control: Wood → Earth → Water → Fire → Metal → Wood.

For a Jia Wood Day Master, the other phases have five possible relationships with it. Direction matters: Wood generating Fire and Water generating Wood affect Jia differently.

How five relationships become ten names

Ren and Gui are both Water, so both generate Jia Wood. Jia and Ren are both yang, however, while Jia and Gui have opposite polarities. Ren, generating Jia with shared polarity, is Indirect Resource. Gui, generating Jia with opposite polarity, is Direct Resource.

The other four relationships divide in the same way. Five groups, each with two polarities, give the Ten Gods.1, 2 Each pair also has a collective name:

The traditional meanings behind the names

The names also draw on human relationships, connecting abstract generation and control with nurture, expression and material resources. San Ming Tong Hui explains Resource, Food, Officer and Wealth through parents raising children, children returning support, being subject to authority and having resources at one's disposal.1

• Resource generates me: nurture and education. Direct Resource supporting the Day Master is compared with a mother raising a child or elders providing protection. The seal image also concerns an appointment and its credential.
• Output is generated by me: expression and production. The Day Master's energy moves outward, as a person applies learning to writing or a craft. Eating God's Food image also involves receiving sustenance.
• Wealth is controlled by me: possession and use. Resources can be put to use, but acquiring and managing them requires capacity. Traditional Wealth analysis therefore considers both resources and the ability to bear them.
• Officer and Killings control me: restraint and responsibility. Direct Officer draws on office and duty to explain regulation. Seven Killings places more emphasis on the force of control and how it is handled.
• Peers share my phase: assistance and common interests. Peers may help each other or seek the same resources, bringing division and competition into the discussion.1, 2

These are traditional symbolic associations. Learning can include both receiving instruction and expressing ideas, offering analogies for Resource and Output within one activity. The actual names remain stem relationships; they are not assigned from someone's job, interests or income source.

Looking up a Ten God from two stems

A lookup needs the Day Master and the other stem being examined. Consider an Yi Day Master with Gui:

1. Yi is Wood and Gui Water. Water generates Wood, placing Gui in “generating me.”
2. Yi and Gui are both yin, so their polarities are the same.
3. In the “generating me” row, shared polarity means Indirect Resource. Gui is therefore Yi's Indirect Resource.

Gui is Direct Resource for yang-Wood Jia but Indirect Resource for yin-Wood Yi. Changing the Day Master changes the polarity comparison. Within one chart, however, every position is compared with the same Day Master.1, 2

Rows in the table are Day Masters; columns are the other stems. Select a pair to see its name and the phase and polarity reasoning behind it.

Every diagonal cell is Friend. Another Jia beside a Jia Day Master shares both yang polarity and the Wood phase. A chart labels the day-stem position “Day Master” to identify the reference itself; that label is not an eleventh Ten God.

Finding the Ten Gods of hidden stems in branches

The pillars also contain branches such as Zi, Chou, Yin and Mao, which do not appear among the stems in the lookup. Traditional BaZi assigns stems to each branch; these are its hidden stems. Finding the Ten Gods within a branch means comparing each hidden stem with the Day Master.

For a Jia Day Master, suppose another position contains Chou. Chou's hidden stems are Ji, Gui and Xin, each with its own relationship:

Chou can therefore show Direct Wealth, Direct Resource and Direct Officer together. San Ming Tong Hui's discussion of mixed qi likewise examines its hidden stems separately as Wealth, Officer or Resource relative to the Day Master.1

Some charts call the Ten Gods of exposed stems “main stars” and those of hidden stems “secondary stars.” These labels distinguish positions. Season and surrounding interactions also affect strength, so secondary does not necessarily mean weaker.

A Ten God's count, strength and function

“Two Direct Resources” records two occurrences of a relationship. How much support they can provide is a further question. Traditional strength assessment considers season, support within branches, and generation or control from other phases.

Take Gui Water, Jia's Direct Resource. Winter supports Water. Gui hidden in Zi, Chou or Chen provides a foothold in the branches, called a root. Surrounding Metal can generate Water, while Earth can control it. These conditions jointly affect Gui's strength; neither a count nor a season alone settles the question.8

Strength also needs a purpose. If Jia lacks support, Gui generating Jia can supply it. If Wood and Water are already strong, more Water may be unnecessary. Whether an effect suits the arrangement is the question of favorability. It depends on the existing conditions, rather than assigning a permanent good or bad rating to each name.3, 4

How Ten Gods interact within one chart

Each stem receives its Ten God name relative to the Day Master, while its phase can still interact with the others. For Jia, Bing Fire is Eating God and Wu Earth is Indirect Wealth. Besides being generated by Jia, Bing can generate Wu:

This Wood–Fire–Earth sequence is called Eating God generating Wealth. Eating God and Indirect Wealth describe Bing and Wu relative to Jia; “generating Wealth” describes the additional relationship between Bing and Wu.1

Control works the same way. Add Geng Metal: it controls Jia and shares its yang polarity, making it Seven Killings. Bing Fire can control Geng Metal, forming Eating God restraining Seven Killings. Bing generates Wu but controls Geng; one Eating God can participate in different interactions.

When support and restraint serve a useful purpose

If Geng is strong and Jia needs relief from its control, Bing restraining Geng can help. If Jia is strong and Geng slight, however, Metal may supply needed restraint on Wood; strong Fire controlling Metal may then go too far. “Restraining Killings” identifies an interaction, leaving its appropriate degree to be assessed.2, 3

Excessive support presents a different problem. If weak Jia relies on Gui Direct Resource, Earth Wealth controlling Water may damage that support. With Wood and Water already strong, a suitable amount of Earth moderating excessive Water has another function. Zi Ping Zhen Quan's Resource discussion distinguishes these two starting conditions.4

A Ten God name and a pattern name

Direct Resource names one stem's relationship with the Day Master. A Direct Resource pattern names a way of organizing the analysis of the whole chart. In Zi Ping Zhen Quan's month-based approach, analysis begins with the birth month's branch and the stem relationships it contains. That branch and its seasonal influence are called the month command.5

For example, Jia born in Zi month has hidden Gui Direct Resource in the month branch, providing a starting point for Resource-pattern analysis. Gui appearing elsewhere among the stems establishes that Direct Resource is present, but that fact alone does not establish the pattern.

The remaining stems and branches must still be considered. A Resource pattern may need Wealth to moderate excessive Resource, or Output to give the Day Master an outlet. Having Resource, needing its support and organizing analysis around a Resource pattern consequently answer different questions.4, 5

Using Ten Gods to discuss kinship

The images of nurture and peers also extend to family relationships. Traditional kinship analysis covers parents, siblings, spouses and children, using particular Ten Gods as symbols for particular relatives.

Zi Ping Zhen Quan pairs Direct Resource with the mother and Indirect Wealth with the father. For Jia, this assigns maternal symbolism to Gui and paternal symbolism to Wu. Qian Li Ming Gao's kinship chapter uses another convention, placing both parents under Resource.6, 7

Neither convention changes Gui's Direct Resource relationship with Jia or Wu's Indirect Wealth relationship. They change which relationship is used when interpreting the father. Kinship conventions therefore need to be understood with their texts; a single universal family table does not follow from the Ten Gods lookup alone.

FAQ

Must a chart contain all Ten Gods?

No. The Ten Gods are ten possible relationships, not ten required members. There are only four exposed pillar stems, and hidden stems can repeat. A chart can contain several occurrences of one Ten God and none of another. An absent name does not establish an absent ability or relative.

Why do some older texts discuss Six Gods?

Qian Li Ming Gao explains its six-pattern grouping at the opening of its Six Gods chapter. It combines Direct and Indirect Wealth, combines Direct and Indirect Resource, and treats Friend and Rob Wealth separately. Its six categories are Direct Officer, Seven Killings, Eating God, Hurting Officer, Wealth and Resource. This changes the grouping of the discussion, not the number of possible stem relationships.

How are Ten Gods found for luck pillars and years?

The stems and branches of luck pillars and years are still compared with the natal Day Master. A Gui year is Direct Resource for Jia and Indirect Resource for Yi. The year being examined does not change the Day Master.

References

• Wan Min Ying, San Ming Tong Hui, Siku Quanshu edition, vol. 5: Names of Resource, Food, Officer and Wealth; Mixed Qi; Eating God; Dao Shi.
• Wei Qian Li, Qian Li Ming Gao: Six Gods.
• Zi Ping Zhen Quan, with Xu Le Wu’s commentary: Yin–Yang Generation and Control.
• Zi Ping Zhen Quan, with Xu Le Wu’s commentary: Resource.
• Zi Ping Zhen Quan, with Xu Le Wu’s commentary: Useful Relationships and Pattern Selection.
• Zi Ping Zhen Quan, with Xu Le Wu’s commentary: Pillar Positions, Useful Relationships and Kinship.
• Wei Qian Li, Qian Li Ming Gao: Kinship.
• Zi Ping Zhen Quan, with Xu Le Wu’s commentary: In Season but Not Strong, Out of Season but Not Weak.