Reference · 十神 · with derivation table
The Ten Gods in BaZi
The Ten Gods (十神) are ten relationship labels used in BaZi. Each one describes how another Heavenly Stem relates to the Day Master, judged by two things: the direction of the Five-Element cycle between them, and whether their yin-yang polarity matches. The ten are Friend, Rob Wealth, Eating God, Hurting Officer, Direct Wealth, Indirect Wealth, Direct Officer, Seven Killings, Direct Resource, and Indirect Resource. They describe relationships inside the chart, not literal deities or guaranteed events.
- Chinese
- 十神 (shí shén); also translated Ten Deities or Ten Spirits
- Count
- Ten, in five pairs; each pair is one element relationship split by polarity
- Derived from
- The Day Master compared with each other stem, visible or hidden in a branch
- Rule
- Same element, produced by, controls, controlled by, produced from; same polarity takes the first name of each pair
- Table source
- The 10 × 10 table below is generated from that rule and checked against the BaZi engine kaucim.ai runs
The five relationships and their ten names
| Relationship to the Day Master | Same polarity | Different polarity | Theme |
|---|---|---|---|
| Same element | Friend 比肩 | Rob Wealth 劫財 | Peers, competition, self-reliance |
| What the Day Master produces | Eating God 食神 | Hurting Officer 傷官 | Output, expression, talent |
| What the Day Master controls | Indirect Wealth 偏財 | Direct Wealth 正財 | Money, results, what is managed |
| What controls the Day Master | Seven Killings 七殺 | Direct Officer 正官 | Pressure, discipline, authority |
| What produces the Day Master | Indirect Resource 偏印 | Direct Resource 正印 | Support, learning, protection |
- Friend 比肩
- same element as the Day Master, same polarity. Peers, self-reliance, holding your own ground.
- Rob Wealth 劫財
- same element as the Day Master, different polarity. Competition, sharing or losing resources, boldness.
- Eating God 食神
- what the Day Master produces, same polarity. Craft, taste, ease of expression.
- Hurting Officer 傷官
- what the Day Master produces, different polarity. Talent that questions rules, sharp expression.
- Indirect Wealth 偏財
- what the Day Master controls, same polarity. Opportunity, ventures, money that moves.
- Direct Wealth 正財
- what the Day Master controls, different polarity. Earned income, stewardship, steady results.
- Seven Killings 七殺
- what controls the Day Master, same polarity. Raw pressure, drive under threat, authority taken.
- Direct Officer 正官
- what controls the Day Master, different polarity. Discipline, duty, position, authority granted.
- Indirect Resource 偏印
- what produces the Day Master, same polarity. Unconventional learning, intuition, protection with strings.
- Direct Resource 正印
- what produces the Day Master, different polarity. Study, backing, care received.
The derivation rule
- Identify the Day Master's element and polarity (for 戊, Yang Earth).
- Identify the other stem's element and polarity (for 庚, Yang Metal).
- Decide the element relationship. Earth produces Metal, so 庚 is what the Day Master produces.
- Compare polarity. Both are Yang, so the polarity matches, which selects the first name in the pair: Eating God 食神.
The same rule runs for the hidden stems inside each Earthly Branch (寅 hides 甲 丙 戊, and so on), which is how a branch contributes Ten Gods too. A full chart therefore carries three labels on the visible stems (the Day Master itself has none) plus one for every hidden stem in the four branches.
Full derivation table
Rows are the Day Master, columns are the other stem. Read across the Day Master's row to the column of any stem in the chart.
| Day Master \ other stem | 甲 Jia | 乙 Yi | 丙 Bing | 丁 Ding | 戊 Wu | 己 Ji | 庚 Geng | 辛 Xin | 壬 Ren | 癸 Gui |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 甲 Jia (Yang Wood) | 比肩 | 劫財 | 食神 | 傷官 | 偏財 | 正財 | 七殺 | 正官 | 偏印 | 正印 |
| 乙 Yi (Yin Wood) | 劫財 | 比肩 | 傷官 | 食神 | 正財 | 偏財 | 正官 | 七殺 | 正印 | 偏印 |
| 丙 Bing (Yang Fire) | 偏印 | 正印 | 比肩 | 劫財 | 食神 | 傷官 | 偏財 | 正財 | 七殺 | 正官 |
| 丁 Ding (Yin Fire) | 正印 | 偏印 | 劫財 | 比肩 | 傷官 | 食神 | 正財 | 偏財 | 正官 | 七殺 |
| 戊 Wu (Yang Earth) | 七殺 | 正官 | 偏印 | 正印 | 比肩 | 劫財 | 食神 | 傷官 | 偏財 | 正財 |
| 己 Ji (Yin Earth) | 正官 | 七殺 | 正印 | 偏印 | 劫財 | 比肩 | 傷官 | 食神 | 正財 | 偏財 |
| 庚 Geng (Yang Metal) | 偏財 | 正財 | 七殺 | 正官 | 偏印 | 正印 | 比肩 | 劫財 | 食神 | 傷官 |
| 辛 Xin (Yin Metal) | 正財 | 偏財 | 正官 | 七殺 | 正印 | 偏印 | 劫財 | 比肩 | 傷官 | 食神 |
| 壬 Ren (Yang Water) | 食神 | 傷官 | 偏財 | 正財 | 七殺 | 正官 | 偏印 | 正印 | 比肩 | 劫財 |
| 癸 Gui (Yin Water) | 傷官 | 食神 | 正財 | 偏財 | 正官 | 七殺 | 正印 | 偏印 | 劫財 | 比肩 |
Worked example
Birth: 6 February 1995, 15:00 to 17:00 (Shen hour), male. The pillars are 乙亥 year, 戊寅 month, 戊辰 day, 庚申 hour and the Day Master is 戊 Wu, Yang Earth. Reading the 戊 row of the table:
| Stem | Ten God | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Year stem 乙 (Yin Wood) | Direct Officer 正官 | Wood controls Earth; polarity differs |
| Month stem 戊 (Yang Earth) | Friend 比肩 | Same element, same polarity |
| Hour stem 庚 (Yang Metal) | Eating God 食神 | Earth produces Metal; polarity matches |
Direct Officer on the year, a Friend on the month, and Eating God on the hour: a chart with external structure arriving early (the year), peer support in the working years (the month), and an outlet for craft and expression later (the hour). The hidden stems in 亥, 寅, 辰, and 申 add more labels; the visible three are where a reading starts.
Where names and readings differ
- Translations. Direct and Indirect are also rendered Proper and Unconventional (正 and 偏); Seven Killings is also Seventh Killing or Seven Kills; Eating God is sometimes Gourmet or Output. The Chinese pair is the stable name.
- Grouping. Some teachers group the ten into five "stars" (wealth, output, officer, resource, companion) and speak of the pair together; others always separate the two.
- Hidden stems. Which hidden stems a branch carries, and how much weight they get, varies by text. The visible stems are the same everywhere.
Common mistakes
- Reading the names literally. Seven Killings is pressure, not violence; Rob Wealth is competition and shared resources, not theft; the gods are not deities.
- Counting how many of each appear and stopping there. Position (which pillar), season, and whether the Day Master is strong or weak change what the same label means.
- Calling a chart bad because it has Hurting Officer or Seven Killings. Both are the labels of talent and drive under the right conditions.
- Forgetting that the Day Master itself carries no label. It is the reference, and only the other seven stems and the hidden stems get one.
Questions people ask
Are the Ten Gods real gods?
No. 神 here means a functional spirit or role. The Ten Gods are ten relationship labels between the Day Master and the other stems in the chart.
How many Ten Gods does a chart have?
Three on the visible stems (year, month, and hour; the Day Master carries none), plus one for every hidden stem in the four branches, which adds at least four more from the main hidden stems. Most readings look at the visible stems and the main hidden stem of each branch first.
Which Ten God means money?
Direct Wealth 正財 and Indirect Wealth 偏財, the elements the Day Master controls. Direct Wealth reads as earned, steady income; Indirect Wealth as opportunity and ventures.
Does the Ten Gods table change between schools?
The derivation does not; it is arithmetic on elements and polarity, and every school agrees on the table. What differs is interpretation and the weighting of hidden stems.
Related concepts
Sources and calculation version
- lunar-typescript · kaucim.ai's BaZi engine; its SHI_SHEN table is what the derivation above is tested against
- BaZi calculation rules on kaucim.ai
Last checked against the chart engine on 2026-09-14.
The free BaZi chart labels every visible stem and the hidden stems with their Ten God.
See the Ten Gods on your chart