Quick Answer
The Ten Gods in BaZi are ten labels describing how other Heavenly Stems relate to your Day Master. They group into five pairs: Companions, Output, Wealth, Power, and Resource. The yin–yang polarity of your Day Master decides which label each Stem gets.
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1. What the Ten Gods actually describe
A BaZi chart has four pillars (year, month, day, hour), and each pillar has a Heavenly Stem on top and an Earthly Branch below. The Day Master is the Heavenly Stem on the day pillar — it stands in for "you" in the chart.
Once you fix a Day Master, every other Heavenly Stem in the chart has a fixed relationship to it:
- Same element, same polarity → Companion (比肩)
- Same element, opposite polarity → Rob Wealth (劫财)
- Day Master produces it, same polarity → Eating God (食神)
- Day Master produces it, opposite polarity → Hurting Officer (伤官)
- Day Master controls it, opposite polarity → Direct Wealth (正财)
- Day Master controls it, same polarity → Indirect Wealth (偏财)
- It controls Day Master, opposite polarity → Direct Officer (正官)
- It controls Day Master, same polarity → Seven Killings (七杀)
- It produces Day Master, opposite polarity → Direct Seal (正印)
- It produces Day Master, same polarity → Indirect Seal (偏印)
That is the whole system. Once you can read those ten rules, every label in a BaZi chart becomes a one-step lookup. They are a language, not a prediction — each label describes a type of energy and a category of life themes.
2. Why the polarity rule matters
The split between "Direct" and "Indirect" versions of each pair is based on yin–yang polarity, not on whether something is "good" or "bad." A Yang Day Master (Jia, Bing, Wu, Geng, Ren) and a Yin Day Master (Yi, Ding, Ji, Xin, Gui) literally read different Ten Gods from the same Stem.
Example: a Jia Wood Day Master (Yang) sees
- Yi Wood (Yin) as Rob Wealth, but
- Yi Wood as Companion if you switch the Day Master to Yi (Yin)
Same Stem, different label — because the relationship flipped. This is why you can never memorize a chart by Stem alone. Always run the polarity check.
3. The five pairs in plain English
Below is the beginner-friendly read of each pair. Treat these as patterns, not verdicts — a chart needs that power, wealth, and output to function together, and which pair dominates depends on the season (month branch) and on what the Day Master's element is.
| Pair | Relationship | Life themes |
|---|---|---|
| Companion / Rob Wealth | Same element as Day Master | Peers, siblings, rivalry, self-reliance |
| Eating God / Hurting Officer | Day Master produces it | Expression, creativity, output, children |
| Direct / Indirect Wealth | Day Master controls it | Money, income, assets, things you manage |
| Direct Officer / Seven Killings | It controls Day Master | Authority, pressure, structure, work |
| Direct Seal / Indirect Seal | It produces Day Master | Support, learning, mentors, mother figure |
3.1 Companion and Rob Wealth (比肩 / 劫财)
Same element as you. They describe peers, siblings, and competition over the same resources. Companion (same polarity) is more self-contained; Rob Wealth (opposite polarity) tends to compete more openly. In a chart overloaded with these, themes of rivalry, peer pressure, or self-reliance come forward.
3.2 Eating God and Hurting Officer (食神 / 伤官)
What you produce. These describe creativity, expression, output, and the things you "give out" — speech, art, ideas, sometimes children. Eating God is gentler and longer-lasting; Hurting Officer is sharper, more visible, and more disruptive. Together they are the chart's voice.
3.3 Direct Wealth and Indirect Wealth (正财 / 偏财)
What you control. These describe money, assets, and the things you can manage. Direct Wealth is steadier — salary, savings, committed income. Indirect Wealth is more mobile — business income, windfalls, opportunistic deals. A chart heavy in Wealth tends to be pragmatic and money-aware.
3.4 Direct Officer and Seven Killings (正官 / 七杀)
What controls you. These describe authority, rules, work pressure, and the structures that shape your life. Direct Officer is the legitimate framework — job title, social role, expectations. Seven Killings is more intense pressure, competition, and the kind of drive that comes from adversity.
3.5 Direct Seal and Indirect Seal (正印 / 偏印)
What produces you. These describe support, learning, mother figure, mentors, and the conditions that let you grow. Direct Seal is steady support — schooling, stable backing. Indirect Seal is more unusual — niche knowledge, unconventional mentors, intuition, sometimes solitude.
4. Why you cannot read a single God by itself
A common beginner mistake is to look up "what does Hurting Officer mean" and stop there. The Ten Gods only make sense as a combination:
- Hurting Officer attacking Direct Officer (伤官见官) is a classic tension — output clashes with rules, often linked to friction with authority.
- Indirect Seal attacking Eating God (枭神夺食, "owl stealing food") — support and output collide, often linked to creative blocks or health strain.
- Direct Officer and Seven Killings mixed (官杀混杂) — pressure from multiple directions, often linked to complicated work or relationship dynamics.
If your chart only has one or two Ten Gods across all eight Stems, the chart is likely thin; reading a chart needs the whole map, not one label.
5. How to find the Ten Gods in your own chart
Three steps:
- Identify your Day Master — the Heavenly Stem of the day pillar. If you are not sure what your Day Master is, see what is a Day Master.
- Look at each other Heavenly Stem in the year, month, and hour pillars.
- Apply the five-pair rule — same/opposite element + same/opposite polarity = the label.
You can also use a calculator — generate your chart at /bazi-calculator and read each Stem's Ten God in the result.
A worked example: a person born on 15 March 1990 at 10:00 has a Ji Earth Day Master (Yin). When they look at their month Heavenly Stem (Yi Wood), they see: Ji produces Yi? No — Yi produces Ji. Same element? No (Wood vs Earth). So Yi Wood is the Indirect Seal for this Day Master (Resource, opposite polarity). That tells them the relationship they have with mentors is supportive but unconventional.
6. Where the Ten Gods sit in a real chart reading
In a full BaZi reading, the Ten Gods are the language layer you speak after you have established:
- the Day Master's strength (strong or weak vs the month season),
- the chart's structure (whether the user dominates for resource, for output, for power, or for support),
- the useful gods (用神) and the harmful gods (忌神).
You do not stop at "I have three Direct Wealth Stems." You ask: are they in the right pillar? Are they being supported or attacked? Is the Day Master strong enough to carry that wealth? For the bigger picture on reading charts, see how to read a BaZi chart. For the elemental layer underneath, see five elements in BaZi.
7. Common questions about the Ten Gods
Is Rob Wealth always bad?
No. Rob Wealth (劫财) describes peer competition and shared resources. In a chart where the Day Master is strong and needs Output to express itself, Rob Wealth can help channel energy outward. In a chart already weak on Wealth, Rob Wealth can mean competition over money. The label is descriptive, not a verdict.
Can a Ten God be both good and bad?
Yes. The same Ten God reads differently depending on the chart's strength and on which pillar it sits in. Direct Officer in a strong chart can mean steady career progression; Direct Officer in a weak chart can mean excessive pressure. Always read in context.
What if the same Stem appears in multiple pillars?
A Heavenly Stem is one label regardless of where it sits. But the pillar it sits in (year, month, day, hour) changes the life theme — year = social world, month = career/parents environment, hour = children/later life. A Direct Wealth in the hour pillar often shows up in later-life financial themes; in the month pillar, more in career themes.
Do the Ten Gods include the Earthly Branches?
The ten labels strictly apply to the Heavenly Stems. The Earthly Branches are read through their hidden Heavenly Stems (藏干) and their interactions (clashes, combines, harms, punishments). A branch can carry multiple Ten Gods depending on its hidden Stems.
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FAQ
What are the Ten Gods in BaZi?
The Ten Gods are ten labels describing how each Heavenly Stem in a BaZi chart relates to the Day Master. They group into five pairs: Companions, Output, Wealth, Power, Resource.
How do you calculate the Ten Gods?
Identify the Day Master, then for each other Heavenly Stem compare (1) element and (2) yin–yang polarity with the Day Master. Same element → Companion/Rob Wealth; produces you → Direct/Indirect Seal; you produce → Eating God/Hurting Officer; you control → Direct/Indirect Wealth; controls you → Direct Officer/Seven Killings.
Are Ten Gods predictions?
No. The Ten Gods are a descriptive framework used inside BaZi (Four Pillars) reading. They describe types of energy and life themes; they do not predict specific events on their own.
Which Ten God is the most important?
There is no single most important Ten God. Reading depends on the chart's strength, the season, and the user's current life phase. Different charts are dominated by different pairs.
Can I learn Ten Gods without learning Chinese?
Yes — the polarity rule and the five pairs are language-neutral. Most charts can be read using the English names (Companion, Eating God, Direct Wealth, etc.) once you know your Day Master.
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CTA: Generate your BaZi chart and identify your Day Master
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