The Ten Gods

Updated October 7, 2026

The Ten Gods (十神, shishen; Korean 십신 sipsin or 십성 sipseong; sometimes translated “Ten Deities”) are not gods at all. They are ten labels for how each character in a Four Pillars chart relates to you — your Day Master. Once you see the simple rule behind them, the dramatic names start to make sense.

How are the Ten Gods worked out?

Start with your Day Master, the Heavenly Stem of your day pillar. It has an element (wood, fire, earth, metal or water) and a polarity (yang or yin). Every other stem in the chart — and the hidden stems inside each branch — is compared with it on two questions:

• How does its element relate to mine? In the five-element cycles, wood feeds fire, fire makes earth, earth bears metal, metal carries water and water feeds wood; meanwhile wood breaks up earth, earth dams water, water puts out fire, fire melts metal and metal cuts wood. So any element is one of five things to you: the same as you, something you produce, something you control, something that controls you, or something that produces you.
• Is it the same polarity as me? Yang with yang or yin with yin counts as “same”; yang with yin counts as “opposite”.

Five relations times two polarities gives exactly ten names. In the Wealth, Officer and Resource families, the opposite-polarity version is called “direct” (正) — the balanced, harmonious one — and the same-polarity version “indirect” (偏), the more one-sided one. The self and expression families have their own pair names instead.

A quick example: for a yang wood Day Master (갑 Gap, or Jia in Chinese), yang metal (경 Geng) controls wood and shares its yang polarity, so it is Seven Killings; yin metal (신 Sin) is Direct Officer. Yang fire (병 Byeong), which wood feeds, is the Eating God, and yin water (계 Gye), which feeds wood, is Direct Resource. Your own Day Master is “you” and is not counted as one of the ten.

Which Ten God is each stem for my Day Master?

Pick your Day Master below to see the Ten God of every stem.

Why do the names sound so dramatic?

The labels are old Chinese terms, translated literally, and they describe positions in the element cycle rather than events. Read them as job titles, not predictions:

• “Wealth” is not about money. The Wealth stars are whatever your element controls — the things you shape, manage and work on. Classical texts linked them to property because property is something a person manages, but in a modern reading they describe how you handle tasks, resources, time and commitments.
• “Seven Killings” is not about harm. The name comes from counting: the stem that plays this role sits seventh from your Day Master in the order of the ten stems (갑 Gap to 경 Geng is seven steps, counting both). “Killing” refers to the sharp, unbalanced pressure of a same-polarity controller. Many readers prefer its gentler name, Indirect Officer (편관).
• “Rob Wealth” does not mean losing things. It sits next to your own element and, in the cycle, competes for the same Wealth element you do — like a sibling at the dinner table.
• “Hurting Officer” does not hurt anyone. Its element controls the Direct Officer’s element, so it “wounds the officer” in the sense of pushing back against rules and authority.

Korean readers often group the ten into five families: 비겁 (bigeop, companions), 식상 (siksang, expression), 재성 (jaeseong, wealth), 관성 (gwanseong, officer) and 인성 (inseong, resource). The family tells you the theme; the direct or indirect version tells you the style.

What do Friend and Rob Wealth mean?

These two share your own element, so they describe you among equals: friends, siblings, classmates, colleagues and rivals, and your own sense of self-reliance.

• Friend (비견) is the steady peer — independence, self-belief, a sense of “I can do this myself”. When it shows up strongly, readers talk about someone who holds their ground and keeps their own counsel. The flip side is reluctance to ask for help or to bend.
• Rob Wealth (겁재) is the competitive peer — boldness, a quick sense of rivalry, the energy that comes alive in a team or a contest. It can mean generosity toward the group and a talent for rallying people; the flip side is impatience or a habit of taking on too much at once.

What do Eating God and Hurting Officer mean?

These are the elements your Day Master produces, so they describe what comes out of you: speech, creativity, skill, the way you share yourself with others.

• Eating God (식신) is relaxed, generous expression. The name evokes the ease of a full table — enjoying food, craft and good company. Readers link it to steady creative work, teaching, cooking, hosting and a calm sense of humor. Too much ease can drift into comfort-seeking.
• Hurting Officer (상관) is sharp, brilliant expression — performance, critique, invention, the person who spots what is wrong with the rules and says so. It brings originality and wit; the classic caution is that a sharp tongue can create friction with bosses and institutions.

What do Indirect Wealth and Direct Wealth mean?

These are the elements your Day Master controls, so they describe what you manage and work on: projects, plans, practical affairs and how you use your time and attention.

• Indirect Wealth (편재) is the wide-angle manager — spotting opportunities, juggling many things, moving easily among people and places. Readers associate it with flexibility, a big-picture outlook and an open hand toward friends. Its caution is spreading attention too thin.
• Direct Wealth (정재) is the careful manager — routines, budgets of time and effort, finishing what you start, keeping promises. It speaks to diligence and reliability; its caution is becoming overly cautious or rigid about plans.

What do Seven Killings and Direct Officer mean?

These are the elements that control your Day Master, so they describe the pressure and structure around you: rules, responsibilities, challenges and how you respond to authority.

• Seven Killings (편관, 칠살) is raw pressure — deadlines, tough challenges, high stakes. People with it prominent are often described as decisive, brave under pressure and drawn to demanding roles. When the rest of the chart supports it, readers see discipline and leadership; when it is unbalanced, the theme is stress and pushing too hard.
• Direct Officer (정관) is fair, recognized structure — rules that make sense, reputation, duty, a sense of doing things properly. It suggests integrity and a respect for order; the caution is caring too much about what others expect.

What do Indirect Resource and Direct Resource mean?

These are the elements that produce your Day Master, so they describe what supports and teaches you: learning, mentors, care received, and your inner reserves.

• Indirect Resource (편인) is unconventional learning — intuition, niche expertise, self-study, a taste for solitude and unusual ideas. Some old texts call it the “owl” (梟神), because its element controls the Eating God’s element and can “steal the meal” of easy enjoyment. Readers today mostly link it to depth, insight and independent thinking.
• Direct Resource (정인) is nurturing support — parents, teachers, formal study, patience and the willingness to receive help. It speaks to kindness and steadiness; its caution is waiting for support instead of acting.

How do readers use the Ten Gods in a full chart?

A chart has seven characters besides the Day Master, plus hidden stems inside each branch, so most people have several Ten Gods and are missing a few. Readers look at which families are strong, which are absent and how they interact — for example, Resource feeding a Day Master that is facing a strong Officer, or Eating God balancing Seven Killings. A missing family is not a flaw; it usually just means that theme is a quieter part of the picture.

The Ten Gods also move through time. Each ten-year luck pillar and each year brings new stems and branches, and readers name them with the same ten labels to describe the themes of a season. To see your own, run the free Saju calculator or the Bazi calculator: both show the Ten God of every stem and hidden stem in your chart. If you want the bigger picture first, start with what Saju is.

Sources: names and relations from standard Chinese and Korean Four Pillars references (the Ziping method). Checked October 7, 2026. For entertainment and self-reflection only.