TL;DR: The Ten Gods describe ten generating/controlling relationships between the Day Master and the other stems and branches in a Bát Tự chart, used to interpret a person's personality, career, wealth, and relationships.
What are the Ten Gods in BaZi when set beside strength, weakness and the useful god?
The ten stars do not declare themselves favourable or unfavourable. First you must read the month command to gauge strength or weakness, then see which god the structure takes as its axis. The same Ten God, when the self is strong, may be an excess of energy that needs draining; when the self is weak, it may be a burden that needs controlling. It only becomes the useful god when the methods of supporting and restraining, threading the passage, regulating the climate, illness and remedy, or the following structure correctly select it as the point that balances the chart. So do not ask which star is good in itself, ask which direction that star is pushing the chart. To grasp the full method of interpretation, see The useful god in BaZi and A strong self, a weak self.
So where do the Ten Gods sit in this whole chain?
The Ten Gods are the layer of names describing the relationship between the Day Master and each heavenly stem and earthly branch, determined by two factors: the element of that stem or branch compared with the element of the Day Master along the cycle of generation and control, and whether its yin or yang polarity is the same as the Day Master's. The ten names divide into five symmetrical groups: the same element covers the Direct Peer and the Rob Wealth; what the Day Master generates covers the Eating God and the Hurting Officer; what the Day Master controls covers the Direct Wealth and the Indirect Wealth; what controls the Day Master covers the Direct Officer and the Seven Killings; what generates the Day Master covers the Direct Resource and the Indirect Resource.
| Star | Element relationship | Yin and yang | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Direct Peer | same element | same yin or yang as the Day Master | Siblings, friends, colleagues, self-reliance, fair competition |
| Rob Wealth | same element | different yin or yang | Also siblings and friends but with a contending nature, draining wealth |
| Eating God | the element the Day Master generates | same yin or yang | Creativity, enjoyment, talent, children in a female chart, a gentle nature |
| Hurting Officer | the element the Day Master generates | different yin or yang | Talent and creativity but rebellious, rule-breaking, prone to clashing with authority |
| Direct Wealth | the element the Day Master controls | different yin or yang | Stable money, the wife in a male chart, diligence, financial discipline |
| Indirect Wealth | the element the Day Master controls | same yin or yang | Unexpected fortune, business opportunity, generosity, a taste for risk |
| Direct Officer | the element that controls the Day Master | different yin or yang | Position, reputation, discipline, the husband in a female chart, propriety |
| Seven Killings | the element that controls the Day Master | same yin or yang | Power, pressure, challenge, competition, sometimes petty people |
| Direct Resource | the element that generates the Day Master | different yin or yang | Mother, education, benefactors who support, legitimate reputation, protection |
| Indirect Resource | the element that generates the Day Master | same yin or yang | Education, wisdom leaning toward independent thinking, spirituality, sometimes solitude |
The point to see is that the Ten Gods are not a system running parallel to strength, weakness and structure, they are the language for talking about those two things. When determining the structure, we ask which god holds the month command, and the answer is one of these ten names. When choosing the useful god, we ask which element can balance the chart, and that useful god is also named through the Ten Gods. The Ten Gods are the vocabulary layer; strength, weakness and structure are the grammar that decides what that vocabulary means in each chart.
One more thing should be said, and it is rarely written down: the table of meanings above gives meanings at the level of the name, not at the level of the chart. It holds only in a general direction, and is always overridden by the star's position in the chain of reasoning. The same Hurting Officer, if it is the useful god, reads as talent that breaks through a deadlock; if it is the unfavourable god, it reads as rule-breaking that brings trouble. This table is a starting point for reference, not an ending point for interpretation. The old books also rarely assign personality to each star; the masters assigned the star's role within the structure. The meaning column here is a later synthesis, so read it as a suggestion rather than a fixed definition.
What are the original names and old bynames of the ten stars?
This system's original name is Yuan Hai Zi Ping, that is, the method of Taking the Day as Master. The books call the five pairs of relationships by names different from today's common usage: what controls me is the Officer and the Killings, what I control is the Direct Wealth and the Indirect Wealth, what generates me, also called generating qi, covers the Resource seal and the Inverted Eating (that is, the Indirect Resource), what I generate, also called robbing qi, covers the Eating God and the Hurting Officer, and the same kind covers the Rob Wealth and the Yang Blade. The rule for separating Direct from Indirect is that yang meeting yin makes Direct, yang meeting yang makes Indirect.
Some stars also have bynames of their own. The Indirect Resource is also called the Fierce God or the Inverted Eating, because it controls the Eating God. The Eating God is also called the Heavenly Granary longevity star. Xu Yue Wu in Zhen Quan chapter 21 explains that Wealth is the Officer, the Horse is the Wealth, Virtue is the Resource, and holds that these are names borrowed from the study of the Five Stars.
Why is no star fixed as good or bad in Bát Tự?
Zi Ping Zhen Quan chapter 8 divides the ten gods into two groups by how they are used. Wealth, Officer, Resource and Eating are gods used in the favourable direction, needing to be generated and protected: Wealth welcomes the Eating God to generate it, and itself generates the Officer to guard Wealth; the Officer welcomes Wealth to generate it, and itself generates the Resource to guard the Officer; the Resource welcomes the Officer and Killings to generate it, with Rob Wealth guarding the Resource; Eating welcomes a strong self, and itself generates Wealth to guard Eating. Killings, Hurting, Rob and Blade are gods used in the adverse direction, needing to be controlled: Killings welcomes the Eating God to control it, and dislikes Wealth and Resource propping it up; the Hurting Officer welcomes carrying the Resource or generating Wealth; the Yang Blade welcomes the Officer and Killings to control it; the Month Rob welcomes the Officer to control it, or Wealth showing with Eating to transform Rob.
In the same book, chapter 18 discusses how the four auspicious gods can break the structure and lists four cases: the Eating God carrying Killings while Wealth shows; spring wood with fire strong, that is, the Hurting Officer meeting the Officer; Killings already controlled by Eating while the Resource shows again; Wealth strong generating the Officer while Eating is exposed. Chapter 19 discusses how the four inauspicious gods can still form a structure, also four cases: when the Resource is light, showing Killings to generate the Resource; when Wealth meets Rob, the Hurting Officer transforms Rob; when Eating carries Killings, the Fierce God controls Eating and transforms the Killings; when Wealth meets the Seven Killings, the Yang Blade resists the Killings. The book's conclusion: the names include Indirect and Direct, but no name is in itself auspicious or inauspicious.
What are the four controlling pairs where each god fears one god?
Di Tian Sui, chapter Knowing Fate, quotes the saying: using Wealth fears Rob, using the Officer fears Hurting, using the Resource fears Wealth, using Eating and Hurting fears the Fierce God. Ren Tie Qiao adds four reversed sayings: if you do not use Wealth, you may use Rob; if you do not use the Officer, you may use Hurting; if you do not use the Resource, you may use Wealth; if you do not use Eating and Hurting, you may use the Fierce God. This is the part of the Ten Gods that many introductions leave out: each god, once chosen as the axis, fears exactly one opposing god.
| God in use | Fears most | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Wealth | Rob Wealth | Rob shares the Day Master's element and contends for Wealth |
| Officer | Hurting Officer | The Hurting Officer controls the Officer and destroys the source of authority |
| Resource | Wealth | Wealth controls the Resource and cuts the source that generates the Day Master |
| Eating God, Hurting Officer | The Fierce God (Indirect Resource) | The Fierce God controls the Eating God and seizes the path of draining energy |
How do you assign the six relations according to Zhen Quan chapter 23?
Zhen Quan chapter 23 assigns the six relations as follows. The Direct Resource is the mother. The Indirect Wealth is the father, because the Indirect Wealth pairs with the Direct Resource as husband and wife. For example, on a Jia day, Gui is the mother, Wu is the father, and Wu and Gui pair with each other. The Direct Wealth is the wife. The Officer and Killings are the children, because they are generated by Wealth. The Direct Peer is the sibling.
Xu Yue Wu adds two notes. First, one should look at the Resource's favourable or unfavourable status to discuss parents, and need not always take the Resource as the mother. Second, the book records the additional theory that the Indirect Resource is the stepmother. This is where the schools are not entirely in agreement, so when interpreting one should state clearly which theory is being followed.
How are the ten names used in one sentence of structural interpretation?
The principal structures are usually named by a pair of Ten Gods rather than by a single star. Di Tian Sui, chapter The Eight Structures, in the words of the Ren family, lists the pairs: Officer generating Resource, Killings generating Resource, Wealth generating Killings, Eating controlling Killings, Eating generating Wealth, Hurting Officer paired with Resource, Hurting Officer generating Wealth. For example, a four pillar chart of Gui Wei, Yi Mao, Bing Wu, Xin Mao is called the direct structure of Officer clear and Resource, that is, the Officer made clear by the Resource. This is where the table of ten stars joins the section on structure: the reader sees those ten names paired up to describe a situation, rather than standing alone.
Where do the books differ?
There are a few points where both sides should be stated rather than quietly choosing one.
First, the name of the same-element group is not consistent. Yuan Hai Zi Ping calls yang meeting yang the Yang Blade, yin meeting yang the Rob Wealth, and the Rob Wealth also has the name Defeating Wealth. Today's common usage employs Direct Peer and Rob Wealth for the two same-element stars, and keeps Yang Blade separate for the branch. Xu Yue Wu records that the books argue even over whether a yin stem has a Blade, for instance whether Yi takes Yin or Chen as its Blade.
Second, the star of children. Zhen Quan takes the Officer and Killings as children. Ren Tie Qiao takes Eating and Hurting as children. Both assignments exist in the books, used according to school and according to whether the chart is male or female.
Third, the meaning column in the table in the section above is a later synthesis. The original books rarely assign personality to each star; the masters assigned the star's role according to the structure. When consulting the table, remember that this is a supporting layer of meaning.
What is the order of the steps when reading a chart?
The full sequence of operation is as follows.
Step one, set up the chart from the eight characters, and identify the Day Master as the stem of the day pillar.
Step two, read the month command to know which season holds power, and at the same time note whether it falls on the seeing prosperity or the yang blade.
Step three, gauge strength or weakness by command, by position and by force, and conclude whether the self is strong or weak. Before settling, check once more whether the chart falls into a following structure, because if it does, step five will reverse.
Step four, determine the structure by the god holding the month command and how far it shows in the stems, then name the structure by a pair of Ten Gods as in the section above.
Step five, choose the useful god by one of the methods, according to school and according to the chart, then derive the favourable god and the unfavourable god. Only here do you compare with the table of four controlling pairs to know which god is breaking which.
Step six, only now read the meaning of each Ten God star in the context of a useful god already established. The same Direct Officer, for a person who takes the Direct Officer as the useful god, is support; for a person who takes it as the unfavourable god, is pressure. The same Hurting Officer, for a person who needs it to break a deadlock, is talent; for a person who needs to keep the structure intact, is rule-breaking.
If you reverse the order, that is, read the meaning of each star first and only then gauge strength and weakness, the result will be a list of general traits, true of many people and distinctive of no one. That is also why two charts with the same strong star produce two different people: because that star sits in two different positions in the chain of reasoning.
Overview article for the topic: What is BaZi (the Four Pillars)? How to read destiny through the 8 characters of stems and branches
