The Ten Gods of BaZi

The Ten Gods are ten roles describing the relationship between every other stem and the Day Master. Centering on the Day Master (you), and using Five-Element generation/control plus polarity, each character is sorted into Friend, Rob Wealth, Eating God, Hurting Officer, Direct Wealth, Indirect Wealth, Direct Officer, Seven Killings, Direct Resource, or Indirect Resource. They map, in turn, to self and peers, talent, wealth, power and status, and mentors and learning — the key to reading any BaZi chart.

There are ten, in five families of two: Parallels (Friend, Rob Wealth) govern self and peer rivalry; Output (Eating God, Hurting Officer) governs talent and expression; Wealth (Direct, Indirect) governs money; Officer & Killings (Direct Officer, Seven Killings) govern power, status, and pressure; Resource (Direct, Indirect Seal) governs mentors, learning, and shelter. Each family has a 'direct/indirect' (or same/opposite polarity) pair — close in energy, different in temperament.

There is no single best Ten God. Each has an upside and a downside, and whether it is auspicious depends entirely on its strength and placement in your chart and whether it balances the Day Master. The Direct Officer is noble but fears stiffness; the Seven Killings has nerve but fears losing control; Direct Wealth is steady but fears timidity; the Hurting Officer is brilliant but fears inviting trouble. A truly good chart is not about having a particular Ten God, but about the whole set being well-arranged, each in its right place.

No. The Ten Gods belong to BaZi (the Four Pillars), describing the relationships among stems relative to the Day Master; Zi Wei Dou Shu instead uses 14 main stars across twelve palaces — a separate system. Both read character and destiny, but their imagery, methods, and terms differ. Many people consult both side by side for cross-reference, but the Ten Gods should not be conflated with the Zi Wei stars.