Once you know your Day Master, the next layer of BaZi opens: the 10 Gods (十神 Shí Shén). These aren't deities. They're relationship archetypes — they describe how the other characters in your chart relate to your Day Master. Each God represents a different life domain: wealth, career, creativity, support, competition, and more.

The 10 Gods transform abstract Stems into real-life meaning. A "Geng Metal" character in your chart isn't just metal — it becomes your "Direct Officer" (authority figure) or your "Hurting Officer" (creative rebel), depending on its relationship to your Day Master.

How the 10 Gods Are Determined

The relationship is based on two factors: the element of the other Stem relative to your Day Master, and whether they share the same polarity (Yin/Yang).

  • Same element, same polarity → Companion (Friend)
  • Same element, opposite polarity → Parallel (Rival)
  • Element that produces your Day Master, same polarity → Indirect Resource
  • Element that produces your Day Master, opposite polarity → Direct Resource
  • Element your Day Master produces, same polarity → Eating God
  • Element your Day Master produces, opposite polarity → Hurting Officer
  • Element that controls your Day Master, same polarity → Seven Killings
  • Element that controls your Day Master, opposite polarity → Direct Officer
  • Element your Day Master controls, same polarity → Indirect Wealth
  • Element your Day Master controls, opposite polarity → Direct Wealth

Wealth Gods: Direct Wealth & Indirect Wealth

Direct Wealth (正财) — The Steady Earner

Represents: salary, stable income, earned wealth, traditional financial wisdom. Someone with strong Direct Wealth in their chart tends to build slowly, steadily, and reliably. They're not gamblers — they're accumulators.

Indirect Wealth (偏财) — The Opportunist

Represents: windfalls, investments, side income, entrepreneurial wealth. Strong Indirect Wealth suggests someone comfortable with risk, who makes money through insight and timing rather than steady effort. These are the people who spot opportunities before others do.

Authority Gods: Direct Officer & Seven Killings

Direct Officer (正官) — The Responsible Authority

Represents: career, discipline, rules, reputation, law-abiding nature. A strong Direct Officer produces someone who thrives in structured environments — corporate leadership, government, any role with clear hierarchy and accountability. In a woman's chart, this also represents the husband.

Seven Killings (七杀) — The Warrior

Represents: pressure, competition, ambition, the will to overcome. Seven Killings energy is intense — it's the general who thrives under fire, the entrepreneur who needs a challenge. Uncontrolled, it creates anxiety and burnout. Controlled, it creates extraordinary achievement.

Resource Gods: Direct Resource & Indirect Resource

Direct Resource (正印) — The Scholar

Represents: knowledge, education, nurturing support, mother figure. Strong Direct Resource produces someone who learns deeply, teaches generously, and provides steady, unconditional support to others. The classic professor or mentor archetype. In a man's chart, this represents the mother.

Indirect Resource (偏印) — The Intuitive Genius

Represents: unconventional wisdom, intuition, spiritual insight, stepmother or mentor figure. Indirect Resource produces the autodidact who learns outside formal systems, the mystic who sees patterns others miss. Brilliant but often misunderstood.

Expression Gods: Eating God & Hurting Officer

Eating God (食神) — The Creator

Represents: creativity, expression, enjoyment, talent, children (for women). Eating God produces someone who creates for the joy of creating — the artist, the musician, the chef who genuinely loves the craft. This is the most peaceful and contented of the 10 Gods.

Hurting Officer (伤官) — The Rebel Creator

Represents: unconventional creativity, rebellion, sharp insight, challenging norms. Hurting Officer produces brilliant disruptors — but also people who struggle with authority. Think Steve Jobs: visionary, impossible to manage, changed the world. Needs the right chart structure to channel productively.

Companion Gods: Friend & Rival

Friend (比肩) — The Ally

Same element, same polarity as Day Master. Represents: colleagues, siblings, equals, collaborators. A strong Friend suggests someone who works well in teams and builds genuine peer relationships.

Rival (劫财) — The Competitor

Same element, opposite polarity. Represents: competitors, rivals, siblings, the person who pushes you to be better — or tries to take what's yours. Strong Rival energy produces fierce independence but can also create adversarial relationships.

Reading the Gods in Context

A single God in isolation means little. The art is in the combination. Direct Wealth + Eating God = talented creator who monetizes their craft. Seven Killings + Direct Resource = warrior-scholar who channels pressure into deep work. Hurting Officer + Indirect Wealth = creative entrepreneur who disrupts industries profitably.

The 10 Gods are also distributed across your Four Pillars, showing which life stage each energy dominates. A Seven Killings in your Year Pillar means you faced pressure early in life. A Direct Wealth in your Month Pillar suggests career-driven financial accumulation. A Hurting Officer in your Hour Pillar points to creative legacy work later in life.

Discover the Gods in Your Chart

Your BaZi chart reveals which of the 10 Gods appear — and where. Understanding this is like getting the cast list for your life story.

Calculate Your Chart — Free

Read next: BaZi and Career: Finding Work That Matches Your Elements →