The Ten Gods: an English-language guide
Learn the Ten Gods in BaZi, what Direct and Indirect mean, and how Resource, Output, Wealth, Officer, and Companion relationships work.
Why BaZi has Ten Gods
The Ten Gods (十神) are not deities. They are ten relationship labels created by comparing every stem with the Day Master. Five basic functions—Companion, Output, Wealth, Officer, and Resource—each have a Direct or Indirect form based on yin-yang polarity.
English translations vary. You may see Friend, Rob Wealth, Eating God, Hurting Officer, Direct Wealth, Indirect Wealth, Direct Officer, Seven Killings, Direct Resource, and Indirect Resource. The dramatic names are historical shorthand. They should be understood as functions in a system, not moral judgments.
The five relationship families
Companion shares the Day Master's element and concerns identity, peers, initiative, and competition. Output is generated by the Day Master and concerns expression, skill, creativity, and what one produces. Wealth is controlled by the Day Master and concerns resources, results, management, and practical engagement.
Officer controls the Day Master and concerns standards, responsibility, pressure, rules, and social structure. Resource generates the Day Master and concerns learning, support, recovery, credentials, and the capacity to receive. A healthy chart can express each family constructively; excess, scarcity, or conflict changes the tone.
Direct and Indirect do not mean good and bad
Direct relationships usually describe a more regular, structured, or conventional expression. Indirect relationships often describe a more adaptive, exploratory, or unconventional expression. This distinction depends on polarity and should not be turned into a simple virtue scale.
For example, Direct Resource may favor established learning and dependable support, while Indirect Resource may favor intuitive synthesis and unusual sources. Eating God is a gentler Output mode, while Hurting Officer is more challenging and critical. Both can be valuable when they fit the chart and situation.
How to read Ten Gods in your chart
First note where a Ten God appears: a visible stem tends to be more explicit, while a hidden stem may be more latent or conditional. Then check whether it is rooted, seasonally supported, combined, or clashed. The same label in the Year Pillar does not carry the same emphasis as it does beside the Day Master.
Read groups and patterns rather than isolated tokens. Several Resource symbols may describe strong input, learning, or dependence; substantial Output may emphasize expression or dispersal. Then compare the natal arrangement with Luck Pillars to see when a relationship becomes more available. Context is what turns vocabulary into insight.