What Are the Ten Gods in Bazi? (And What Do They Mean in Your Chart)

Where the Ten Gods Come From

Every ten god is measured from your Day Master, the Heavenly Stem of your birth day that represents you. Think of the Day Master as the word “me,” and every other character as a person or force related to me: someone who supports me, someone I compete with, something I produce, something that pressures me, something I control.

There are exactly five of these relationships, because each character either shares my element, generates my element, is generated by my element, controls my element, or is controlled by my element. Those five relationships map onto five pairs of ideas: peers, resource, output, authority, and wealth.

Five relationships would give five gods, but each one splits in two by polarity. When the other character has the same yin or yang polarity as your Day Master the flavor is one way, and when it is the opposite polarity the flavor changes. Five relationships times two polarities gives the ten gods. The five relationships themselves come straight from the generating and controlling cycles of the elements, which we cover on our Chinese elements page.

The Ten Gods at a Glance

Here is the full set, grouped by their five relationship categories. Each row shows the god, its polarity relative to your Day Master, and what it stands for in a word.

The Ten Gods Explained

Peers, the same element as you. Friend (比肩 Bi Jian) shares your polarity and behaves like a sibling or close peer, a source of your own steadiness and independence. Rob Wealth (劫财 Jie Cai) is the opposite polarity and behaves more like a rival, a person who competes for the same resources, though it can also mean boldness and drive.

Resource, the element that generates you. Direct Resource (正印 Zheng Yin) is the nourishing kind of support: a mother figure, formal learning, protection, and steady backing. Indirect Resource (偏印 Pian Yin) is the unconventional kind: intuition, inspiration, and knowledge that comes from odd angles rather than the standard path.

Output, the element you generate. Eating God (食神 Shi Shen) is easygoing self expression: creativity, craft, and the ability to enjoy life. Hurting Officer (伤官 Shang Guan) is the sharper edge of the same talent: brilliance that stands out and is willing to bend or test the rules.

Authority, the element that controls you. Direct Officer (正官 Zheng Guan) is healthy structure: rules, duty, career, and reputation, the kind of authority you can work within. Seven Killings (七杀 Qi Sha) is the same pressure turned up: challenge, competition, and drive that can push you to break through.

Wealth, the element you control. Direct Wealth (正财 Zheng Cai) is steady and earned: reliable income, practical goals, and, traditionally, a spouse. Indirect Wealth (偏财 Pian Cai) is fluid and opportunistic: windfalls, side ventures, and a flexible way with money.

A name is a description, not a verdict. Seven Killings sounds alarming and often simply means you respond well to demanding environments.

Reading the Ten Gods in Your Chart

The clearest way to learn the Ten Gods is to read them off a real chart. We will use the same example as our Day Master guide: a person born on 15 June 1990 in New York, whose chart is Geng Wu, Ren Wu, Xin Hai, Ren Chen. Their Day Master is Xin (辛), yin Metal, so every other stem is named in relation to Xin.

Take the Year stem, Geng (庚), yang Metal. It shares the Day Master's element, Metal, but has the opposite polarity, so it is a Rob Wealth (劫财 Jie Cai). Now the Month stem, Ren (壬), yang Water. Metal generates Water, so this is output, and its opposite polarity makes it a Hurting Officer (伤官 Shang Guan). Read this way, each label tells you exactly how that character relates to you.

This page focuses on the stems on top of each pillar, which is where beginners should start. The Earthly Branches below hide extra characters that carry their own Ten Gods too, adding more detail once you are ready for it. For how all these positions fit together across the four pillars, see our bazi chart guide. To see every position in your own chart labeled automatically, use our free bazi calculator.

Ten Gods FAQ

How do the Ten Gods relate to the Five Elements?

The Ten Gods are the Five Elements made personal. Each god is one of the five element relationships, seen from your Day Master, then split by yin or yang polarity. The elements describe raw forces, and the Ten Gods describe what those forces mean for you as people, roles, and traits.

Do my Ten Gods change?

The Ten Gods in your natal chart are fixed at birth and do not change. What changes over time are your Luck Pillars (大运 Da Yun) and each annual pillar, which bring their own incoming characters and therefore their own passing Ten God influences layered on top of the fixed chart.

Which of the Ten Gods is the best?

None is best. Every god has a constructive and a difficult side, and what matters is balance across the whole chart rather than any single label. Seven Killings is not a curse and Direct Wealth is not a guarantee.

What is the difference between Eating God and Hurting Officer?

Both are output, the element your Day Master generates, so both stand for expression and skill. The difference is polarity: Eating God shares your Day Master's polarity and tends to be gentle, while Hurting Officer is the opposite polarity and tends to be sharper and more willing to challenge the rules.

See the Ten Gods in Your Own Chart

Ready to see the Ten Gods in your own chart? Use the free bazi calculator at freebazi.com. Enter your birth details and see every position labeled with its ten god, in seconds. It is free, needs no sign-up, and turns those ten names into a real reading of you.