Postern Fate

The Ten Gods in Bazi: what each one means

The Ten Gods are the vocabulary of Bazi reading — Friend, Rob Wealth, Eating God, Hurting Officer, Indirect Wealth, Direct Wealth, Seven Killings, Direct Officer, Indirect Resource, Direct Resource. Learn them and you can read the language of a chart.

The Ten Gods

The vocabulary of chart reading: Friend, Rob Wealth, Eating God, Hurting Officer, and the rest.

比肩Bi Jian (Friend): the power of peersBi Jian shares the same element and polarity as the Day Master — the mirror of self: friends, peers, competitors, and one's own drive for independence.劫财Jie Cai (Rob Wealth): the bold competitorJie Cai shares the Day Master's element but opposite polarity — the aggressive peer: bold, action-driven, and the classic marker of rivalry over money.食神Shi Shen (Eating God): talent and enjoymentShi Shen is what the Day Master produces with the same polarity — the star of talent, taste, easy enjoyment and gentle expression.伤官Shang Guan (Hurting Officer): sharp talentShang Guan is the Day Master's output with opposite polarity — talent in its sharp, unfiltered form: brilliant, cutting, hard to manage; innovation and controversy in one.偏财Pian Cai (Indirect Wealth): money in motionPian Cai is what the Day Master controls with the same polarity — fluid wealth: opportunities, investments, side ventures and income that flows through people.正财Zheng Cai (Direct Wealth): earned money and pragmatismZheng Cai is what the Day Master controls with opposite polarity — properly earned wealth: salary, savings, business income, and a pragmatic value system.七杀Qi Sha (Seven Killings): power forged by pressureQi Sha attacks the Day Master with the same polarity — the fiercest pressure and tempering star: boldness, ambition, crisis-awareness, and the brutal side of authority.正官Zheng Guan (Direct Officer): order and responsibilityZheng Guan attacks the Day Master with opposite polarity — legitimate constraint: rules, rank, duty and office. The star of order.偏印Pian Yin (Indirect Resource): intuition and niche masteryPian Yin feeds the Day Master with the same polarity — unconventional nourishment: intuition, metaphysics, niche expertise, and also solitude and over-thinking.正印Zheng Yin (Direct Resource): learning, shelter and patronsZheng Yin feeds the Day Master with opposite polarity — orthodox nourishment: learning, reputation, protection and motherly care. The star of benefactors.

The Five Elements

Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water — the temperament of each element and how they interact.

木Wood: the force of growth and expansionWood governs growth and flexibility — spring, the liver, and everything that reaches upward and outward.火Fire: warmth, expression and lightFire governs heat and refinement — summer, the heart, and the light of passion and courtesy.土Earth: the ground that carriesEarth governs bearing and nurture — the turning of seasons, the stomach, and the virtue of stability and trust.金Metal: the blade of resolveMetal governs contraction and order — autumn, the lungs, and the nature of decisiveness and loyalty.水Water: wisdom in motionWater governs descent and wisdom — winter, the kidneys, and the power of adaptation and depth.

The Heavenly Stems

Jia through Gui — the character and imagery of the ten stems.

甲Jia (Yang Wood): the towering treeJia is yang wood, the tall tree — upright, steady, born to bear responsibility, first of the ten stems.乙Yi (Yin Wood): the vine and flowerYi is yin wood — supple, adaptable, climbing by borrowing structure.丙Bing (Yang Fire): the sunBing is yang fire, the sun — radiant, generous, shining on all alike.丁Ding (Yin Fire): the candleDing is yin fire — gentle, focused, lighting one corner deeply.戊Wu (Yang Earth): the mountain wallWu is yang earth — massive, steady, the wall and the mountain.己Ji (Yin Earth): the garden soilJi is yin earth — nurturing, humble, able to grow everything.庚Geng (Yang Metal): the axe and raw oreGeng is yang metal — hard, decisive, fiercely loyal.辛Xin (Yin Metal): jewelry and jadeXin is yin metal — refined, sensitive, protective of its polish.壬Ren (Yang Water): the great riverRen is yang water — rushing, wise, ocean-wide in spirit.癸Gui (Yin Water): rain, dew and springsGui is yin water — delicate, intuitive, nourishing silently.

The Earthly Branches

Zi through Hai — animals, hidden stems, months, clashes and harmonies.

子Zi (Rat): deep-winter waterZi is the yang-water branch (hidden Gui), the 11th month and midnight — still water that runs deep.丑Chou (Ox): frozen earthChou is the yin-earth branch (hidden Ji, Gui, Xin), the 12th month, 1–3 am — frozen soil storing metal.寅Yin (Tiger): early-spring woodYin is the yang-wood branch (hidden Jia, Bing, Wu), the 1st month, 3–5 am — the year's first stirring.卯Mao (Rabbit): mid-spring woodMao is the yin-wood branch (hidden Yi), the 2nd month, 5–7 am — lush growth, soft but tenacious.辰Chen (Dragon): the vault of late springChen is the yang-earth branch (hidden Wu, Yi, Gui), the 3rd month, 7–9 am — the Water vault, a branch of change.巳Si (Snake): early-summer fireSi is the yin-fire branch (hidden Bing, Wu, Geng), the 4th month, 9–11 am — warmth carrying ore within.午Wu (Horse): high-noon fireWu is the yang-fire branch (hidden Ding, Ji), the 5th month, 11 am–1 pm — the blaze at its peak.未Wei (Goat): the late-summer vaultWei is the yin-earth branch (hidden Ji, Ding, Yi), the 6th month, 1–3 pm — dry soil storing wood.申Shen (Monkey): early-autumn metalShen is the yang-metal branch (hidden Geng, Ren, Wu), the 7th month, 3–5 pm — ore meeting water: the branch of ingenuity.酉You (Rooster): mid-autumn metalYou is the yin-metal branch (hidden Xin), the 8th month, 5–7 pm — metal at its purest, the hour of jewels.戌Xu (Dog): the late-autumn vaultXu is the yang-earth branch (hidden Wu, Xin, Ding), the 9th month, 7–9 pm — the Fire vault, dry earth that guards.亥Hai (Pig): early-winter waterHai is the yang-water branch (hidden Ren, Jia), the 10th month, 9–11 pm — water gestating wood, the branch of return and rest.

Chart Structures

Structures from the month branch: how the eight classical forms form, break and get rescued.

正官格Direct Officer structure: nobility through orderWhen the Direct Officer of the month branch is revealed, the chart's most upright structure forms — reputation, rank and responsibility.七杀格Seven Killings structure: power forged under pressureWhen the Seven Killings of the month branch is revealed, the most aggressive structure forms — drive, authority and pioneering.正财格Direct Wealth structure: wealth built by disciplineWhen the Direct Wealth of the month branch is revealed, the most orderly wealth structure forms — earned money and steady accumulation.偏财格Indirect Wealth structure: money in motionWhen the Indirect Wealth of the month branch is revealed, the fluid wealth structure forms — opportunity, investment and network income.正印格Direct Resource structure: learning and shelterWhen the Direct Resource of the month branch is revealed, the nourishing structure forms — learning, reputation and benefactors.偏印格Indirect Resource structure: mastery of the nicheWhen the Indirect Resource of the month branch is revealed, the unconventional structure forms — intuition, metaphysics and niche mastery.食神格Eating God structure: talent at easeWhen the Eating God of the month branch is revealed, the steady-output structure forms — craft, taste and effortless income.伤官格Hurting Officer structure: monetized brillianceWhen the Hurting Officer of the month branch is revealed, talent's explosive form appears — innovation, expression, rule-breaking.

The Useful God

The pivot of a chart — three ways to find it, and the compass of favourability.

用神The Useful God: the pivot of a chartThe Useful God is the single character that makes the whole chart turn — once found, favourability, luck pillars and years finally have a measuring stick.旺衰Strength: how much the Day Master can carryStrength measures the Day Master — counting seasonal command (month), rootedness (branches) and partisans (allies).调候Climate adjustment: the meteorology of chartsClimate adjustment reads the chart's weather — winter charts crave fire's warmth, summer charts crave water's moisture.扶抑Support and suppress: the art of balanceThe most direct method — support a weak self (Resource and peers), suppress a strong one (control, drain, spend).喜忌Favourable and Unfavourable gods: the compass of fortuneFavourability is defined relative to the Useful God: whatever aids it is favourable; whatever attacks it is unfavourable.

Luck Pillars & Years

The chart is the car, luck is the road — pillars, starting ages, transitions and annual timing.

大运Luck Pillars: one road per decadeLuck pillars are ten-year stretches derived from the month pillar — the chart is the car, pillars are the road; a good car on a bad road crawls, a humble car on a highway travels far.起运Starting age: when the first pillar beginsThe starting age converts the days from birth to the next (or previous) solar term — three days to a year, one day to four months.交运Pillar transitions: the gear change of lifeA transition is the handover between two pillars — the buffer where the old exits and the new enters, often felt as a gear change.流年Annual Years: where events landAnnual years are the stem-branch cycle of each passing year — pillars set the climate, years deliver events; timing is when a year triggers the chart.
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