What is Thập Thần?
The Ten Gods are ten relationships of generation and control between the Day Master (the heavenly stem of the birth day) and the other stems and branches in a Four Pillars chart, used to interpret personality, career, wealth, and relationships.
Also called: Ten Gods
# What Are the Ten Gods?
What Are the Ten Gods?
The Ten Gods (Thập Thần, 十神) are the ten relationships of generation and control between the Day Master (the heavenly stem of the birth day) and the remaining stems and branches in a Bát Tự (BaZi) chart. These ten relationships are: Tỷ Kiên, Kiếp Tài, Thực Thần, Thương Quan, Chính Tài, Thiên Tài, Chính Quan, Thất Sát, Chính Ấn and Thiên Ấn (Kiêu Thần). They are determined based on the five elements and the yin-yang polarity of the Day Master relative to each stem and branch, forming a system of symbols used to interpret personality, career, wealth, marriage and social relationships.
Where do the Ten Gods come from and how are they used?
The Ten Gods are not ten deities but ten categories of relationship, originating from the theory of generation and control among the five elements in ancient Eastern philosophy. When a Bát Tự chart is cast, the interpreter takes the day stem as the centre, then compares it with the other stems and branches to identify each God. Each God carries its own group of meanings: Tỷ Kiên and Kiếp Tài speak of the self, siblings, friends and competition; Thực Thần and Thương Quan speak of talent, creativity and self-expression; Chính Tài and Thiên Tài speak of wealth and social relations; Chính Quan and Thất Sát speak of authority, pressure and responsibility; Chính Ấn and Thiên Ấn speak of learning, protection and intuition. The common approach is to look at which God is strong, which is weak, which fits the chart's structure and which breaks it, in order to reach a combined assessment.
How do the Ten Gods differ from easily confused terms?
The Ten Gods are often mistaken for the "ten stars" of Tử Vi (Vietnamese astrology), but these are two different systems: Tử Vi uses stars placed in twelve palaces, while Bát Tự uses the Ten Gods within the four pillars. The Ten Gods also differ from the "five elements", because the five elements refer only to the five phases Metal, Wood, Water, Fire and Earth, whereas the Ten Gods turn the relationship between the Day Master and the other stems and branches into ten concrete categories. In addition, the "Day Master" is the centre used to determine the Ten Gods, and is not itself one of the ten Gods.
What should be kept in mind when consulting the Ten Gods?
The Ten Gods are traditional knowledge within Bát Tự divination. They are for reference and have not been verified by science. Readers should treat them as a cultural system of symbols, and should not use them to decide important matters in life.
How do the schools of thought on the Ten Gods differ?
- The school centred on the Day Master: The common understanding in Bát Tự Tứ Trụ: the Ten Gods are determined from the generating and controlling relationships between the Day Master and the other stems and branches, emphasising the central role of the day stem in interpretation.
- The school combining five elements and yin-yang: Some researchers stress that the Ten Gods rest not only on the five elements but must also take yin-yang into account, because yin-yang difference produces opposing pairs of Gods such as Chính Tài and Thiên Tài, Chính Ấn and Thiên Ấn.
- The school applying them flexibly by chart structure: Some hold that the meaning of each God changes with the chart's structure and overall balance, and that no single fixed meaning should be assigned to each God.
Related articles
- Thiên Ấn (Kiêu Thần) in the Ten Gods of Bát Tự: meaning and application in fate interpretation
- Thiên Tài in the Ten Gods of Bát Tự: meaning and application in fate interpretation
- Chính Ấn in the Ten Gods of Bát Tự: meaning and application in fate interpretation
- Thực Thần in the Ten Gods of Bát Tự: meaning and application in fate interpretation
- Thất Sát in the Ten Gods of Bát Tự: meaning and application in fate interpretation
- Kiếp Tài in the Ten Gods of Bát Tự: meaning and application in fate interpretation
- Tỷ Kiên in the Ten Gods of Bát Tự: meaning and application in fate interpretation
- Chính Tài in the Ten Gods of Bát Tự: meaning and application in fate interpretation
- Thương Quan in the Ten Gods of Bát Tự: meaning and application in fate interpretation
- What Are the Ten Gods in Bát Tự? The Meaning of the Ten Stars in the Four Pillars
How do the Ten Gods work for a Giáp Day Master?
| God | Chinese character | Group | Five element relationship | Yin-yang | Corresponding stem when the Day Master is Giáp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tỷ Kiên | 比肩 | Tỷ Kiếp | same element as the Day Master | same yin-yang | Giáp (Wood) |
| Kiếp Tài | 劫財 | Tỷ Kiếp | same element as the Day Master | different yin-yang | Ất (Wood) |
| Thực Thần | 食神 | Thực Thương | the Day Master generates this element | same yin-yang | Bính (Fire) |
| Thương Quan | 傷官 | Thực Thương | the Day Master generates this element | different yin-yang | Đinh (Fire) |
| Thiên Tài | 偏財 | Tài | the Day Master controls this element | same yin-yang | Mậu (Earth) |
| Chính Tài | 正財 | Tài | the Day Master controls this element | different yin-yang | Kỷ (Earth) |
| Thất Sát | 七殺 | Quan Sát | this element controls the Day Master | same yin-yang | Canh (Metal) |
| Chính Quan | 正官 | Quan Sát | this element controls the Day Master | different yin-yang | Tân (Metal) |
| Thiên Ấn | 偏印 | Ấn | this element generates the Day Master | same yin-yang | Nhâm (Water) |
| Chính Ấn | 正印 | Ấn | this element generates the Day Master | different yin-yang | Quý (Water) |
The Ten Gods are not ten stars but ten relationships: five five-element relationships with the Day Master, each split in two according to whether the two stems share or differ in yin-yang. Five times two is ten, no more and no less.
The naming rule that is often remembered backwards: Chính is DIFFERENT yin-yang, Thiên is SAME yin-yang, since yin and yang attract each other, which is why that relationship is called chính (primary). Remembering it backwards swaps Chính Tài with Thiên Tài, and Chính Quan with Thất Sát.
The last column uses a Giáp (Wood) Day Master as an example; change the Day Master and that column changes accordingly, while the first five columns stay the same.
The figures in the table match the results of the lookup tools on Nhật Nguyệt.
