Learn BaZi · Core Concept

The Ten Gods (十神) — How BaZi Reads Wealth, Career, Love, and Family

The Ten Gods are the most powerful interpretive layer in BaZi. They are the relational labels that turn the abstract Five Elements into concrete life domains: money, career, partners, parents, children, rivals. Once you know your Ten Gods, the chart starts to describe your actual life rather than just your personality.

The Core Concept

Every element in your chart relates to your Day Master in one of five possible ways:

Same as your Day Master → Friend / Rob Wealth (peers, siblings, competitors)
Produces your Day Master → Direct Resource / Indirect Resource (mother, mentor, support, study)
Produced by your Day Master → Eating God / Hurting Officer (children, creativity, output, expression)
Controlled by your Day Master → Direct Wealth / Indirect Wealth (money, assets, women — for male charts)
Controls your Day Master → Direct Officer / Seven Killings (career, authority, pressure, husband — for female charts)

That's five categories, each with two versions (Direct or Indirect, depending on polarity), giving you ten Ten Gods. Hence the name.

The Five Pairs in Detail

1. Friend (比肩) and Rob Wealth (劫财)

Same element as your Day Master.

Friend (Friend Shoulder, 比肩): Same element + same polarity. Loyal peers, supportive siblings, allies who match your style. People you collaborate well with because you understand their language without translation.

Rob Wealth (劫财): Same element + opposite polarity. Competitive peers, rivals, the friend who borrows money and forgets, the colleague who outshines you. Same energy as you but pointed differently — they take from your wealth (literal or metaphorical) by being there.

What they reveal: Your peer relationships, sibling dynamics, how you handle competition, how independent vs. coalition-building you naturally are.

2. Direct Resource (正印) and Indirect Resource (偏印)

The element that produces your Day Master (e.g., Water produces Wood, so Water is Resource for Wood Day Masters).

Direct Resource (正印): Conventional support — your mother, formal education, official credentials, supportive institutions, mainstream knowledge. The classical "good" support that society endorses.

Indirect Resource (偏印): Unconventional support — stepmother figures, alternative knowledge, esoteric study, unusual mentors, support from sources outside the mainstream. Can also indicate intuitive or psychic ability.

What they reveal: Your relationship with mother and mentors, your access to learning and support, whether your knowledge base is conventional or eclectic, your capacity to receive help.

3. Eating God (食神) and Hurting Officer (伤官)

The element your Day Master produces (e.g., Wood produces Fire, so Fire is Output for Wood Day Masters).

Eating God (食神): Sustained creative output. Children (especially for female charts), pleasures, calm self-expression, hospitality, the kind of generosity that doesn't deplete you. People with strong Eating God enjoy life and create from a steady place.

Hurting Officer (伤官): Brilliant but disruptive expression. Talent that breaks rules, sharp criticism, rebellion against authority, creative work that challenges convention. "Hurting" the Officer means undermining authority — strong Hurting Officer types make spectacular performers and difficult employees.

What they reveal: Your creative style, your relationship with children, your capacity for expression, whether you work within structures or against them.

4. Direct Wealth (正财) and Indirect Wealth (偏财)

The element your Day Master controls (e.g., Wood controls Earth, so Earth is Wealth for Wood Day Masters).

Direct Wealth (正财): Steady, predictable income. Salary, ownership of stable assets, accumulated savings, conventional career earnings. For male charts, also represents the wife — the partner of long commitment.

Indirect Wealth (偏财): Variable, opportunistic wealth. Business income, speculation, windfalls, real estate appreciation, side hustles. For male charts, also represents girlfriends, mistresses, or short-term romantic partners — wealth that comes and goes.

What they reveal: Your wealth pattern (employee vs. entrepreneur), how money flows in your life, romantic relationships (for men), and whether your earning style is conservative or speculative.

5. Direct Officer (正官) and Seven Killings (七杀)

The element that controls your Day Master (e.g., Metal controls Wood, so Metal is Officer for Wood Day Masters).

Direct Officer (正官): Healthy authority. Corporate ladder, regulated professions, conventional career advancement, fair bosses, institutional pressure that builds you up. For female charts, the husband — the partner of stable commitment.

Seven Killings (七杀): Aggressive authority. Military, entrepreneurship under pressure, dangerous environments, harsh bosses, transformational pressure that either makes you or breaks you. For female charts, dramatic or intense romantic partners. The name "Seven Killings" reflects classical anxiety about this energy — but properly channeled, it produces some of the most powerful careers.

What they reveal: Your career structure (employee vs. entrepreneur, corporate vs. independent), how you handle authority, your relationship with pressure, romantic partners (for women).

How to Read Ten Gods in Your Chart

Generate your free BaZi chart — most calculators label the Ten Gods automatically.
Note which Ten Gods are present. Charts usually have five to seven of the ten.
Note which are dominant. Multiple appearances or appearances in strong positions (like the Month Pillar) intensify a Ten God's expression.
Note which are missing. Missing Wealth often means money is harder to attract directly — you may need to work for someone with strong Wealth. Missing Officer often means you struggle within rigid hierarchies.
Look at the Annual and Luck Pillar Ten Gods. When a missing Ten God arrives via the year or decade pillar, that domain becomes activated for that period.

Common Patterns to Look For

Strong Wealth + weak Day Master. Money is around you, but you struggle to control it — it controls you. Build Day Master strength first (Resource, Friend), then engage with Wealth.
Strong Officer + weak Day Master. Authority pressure is intense, but you don't have the structural strength to channel it. Burnout risk is high. Build support before climbing.
Strong Output + weak Day Master. You give until empty. Expression is leaking energy that needs to be conserved.
No Officer at all. You may struggle in conventional career structures. Self-employment or unconventional paths often work better.
No Wealth at all. Money may not flow directly to you, but you may receive support, inheritance, or earn through other channels (Output → Wealth indirectly).
Friend dominant. Strong peer-orientation. Excellent in collaborative work, may struggle in solitary roles.

A Note on Translation

The English names for the Ten Gods are translations of Chinese terms with thousands of years of accumulated meaning. They do not always travel well. "Hurting Officer" sounds violent in English but in classical Chinese refers to a creative force that challenges established authority — closer to "the brilliant rebel" than "the destroyer." When reading English-language BaZi material, hold the translations loosely and look at what each Ten God actually does in your chart rather than what its name sounds like.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why are they called "gods" if they're relationships?

The Chinese term 十神 (Shí Shén) literally translates as "Ten Spirits" or "Ten Gods" — but in classical metaphysics, "god" (神) is closer to "function" or "force" than a deity. Each of the Ten Gods is a functional role that an element plays in relation to your Day Master. The translation is unfortunate; the concept is just relational labels.

Do all ten Gods appear in every chart?

No. Most charts have only five to seven of the Ten Gods present. The ones that are present and dominant are the ones that drive your life patterns. The ones that are missing are the energies you instinctively seek in your environment, your partners, or your work.

What's the difference between the "Direct" and "Indirect" versions of each God?

When the relationship between an element and your Day Master matches polarity (Yang to Yang, or Yin to Yin), the result is the "Indirect" version — Indirect Resource, Indirect Wealth, etc. When polarities oppose (Yang to Yin), the result is the "Direct" version — Direct Resource, Direct Wealth. Direct relationships are more orderly and conventional; Indirect relationships are more unconventional, intense, or hidden in expression.

Which Ten Gods are the most important to look at first?

In most charts, look first at: (1) Wealth — does the chart have it, where is it, is it controllable; (2) Officer — what kind of authority/career structure does it indicate; (3) Resource — is the Day Master well-supported or starved; (4) Output — does the chart have a way to express. The Friend/Rob Wealth pair is more about peer relationships and self-expression style.

Can the Ten Gods predict specific life events?

They predict patterns, not specific events. Strong Wealth in your chart means money tends to flow toward you; it doesn't predict the date you'll receive a check. Strong Officer means you encounter authority structures and pressure regularly; it doesn't predict whether your boss will be fair. The Ten Gods describe the energy field, not the weather of any single day.