The 10 Gods Of Bazi Destiny

Analysis
November 19, 2018

To decipher an individualʼs bazi, one needs to have a fundamental

understanding of the relationship between the self-element (day
master) with other heavenly stems.

As a quick recap, bazi consist of 8 characters made up of 4 heavenly

stems and 4 earthly branches.

More about the basics of bazi (4 pillars of destiny) can be found here.

There are 10 possible heavenly stems that can take up each of the 4
heavenly stems; positions.

In classical text, these 10 stems are named which literally

translates to 10 gods, 10 deities or some refer to it as 10 spirits.

It should be reminded that these references to the 10 gods have no

connotations to religion, superstition or celestial beings.

Itʼs just a play with words. An expression of the meanings behind them.

Among the 10 gods, what they represent to each person depends on

the personʼs self-element (ri yuan ). This is because what a
certain element mean to a specific person can only be determined
with reference to the day master.

The 10 gods are:

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 O. Jia wood ( )
Q. Yi wood ( )
S. Bing fire ( )
U. Ding fire ( )
W. Wu earth ( )
Y. Ji earth ( )
Z. Geng metal ( )
\. Xin metal ( )
^. Ren water ( )
O`. Gui water ( )

A gentle reminder that the above donʼt mean anything until one can
figure out his self-element.

To find meaning behind them, the relationship between the self-

element and the 10 gods have to be determined.

This can be categorized into:

The element that creates self-element

The element that is created by self-element
The element that destroys self-element
The element that is destroyed by self-element
The element that duplicates self-element

As there is a yin (-) or yang (+) attribute to each element, the above 5
elements plus their yin and yang polarity (or versions) make up the 10
deities.

As can be observed above, there are only 5 elements that have

significantly different functions. Plus the elemental stem that

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 represents the self (ri yuan), it makes up 6 main variables. Thus the 10
gods can sometimes be also referred to as the 6 gods or 6 spirits.

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Discovering the 10 gods

To elaborate what are the possible representations each of the 10

gods has, letʼs use an example in which an individual discovers he has
a self-element of jia wood (+ wood) after plotting his bazi.

The wood element is destroyed by metal, creates fire, destroys earth,

and is created by water.

The determination of each god then, is as below.

Direct resource ( ) is the yin creator and indirect resource ( ) is

the yang creator.

Friendly ( ) is the yang duplicate and competition ( ) is the yin

duplicate.

Extrovert talent ( ) is the yin created and introvert talent ( ) is

the yang created.

Direct wealth ( ) is the yin destroyed and indirect wealth ( ) is

the yang destroyed.

Given authority ( ) is the yin destroyer and earned authority (

or ) is the yang destroyer.

Thus, in this example, we would be able to identify the 10 gods

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 specific to this individual with a self-element of jia wood.

Direct resource as yin water ( )

Indirect resource as yang water ( )
Friendly as yang wood ( )
Competition as yin wood ( )
Extrovert talent as yin fire ( )
Introvert talent as yang fire ( )
Direct wealth as yin earth ( )
Indirect wealth as yang earth ( )
Given authority as yin metal ( )
Earned authority as yang metal ( )

There are a lot of diverse implications for each god. But here is a brief
explanation of what they can indicate.

To simplify the referencing of the 10 gods, heavenly stems can be

labeled with numbers from H1 to H10. This can enable easier
comprehension for non-mandarin speakers.

Direct resource

Mother, mentor, benefactors, supporters, academic pursuit,

knowledge, charity, inputs for growth, home, religious places, etc.

Indirect resource

Stepmother, mentors with hidden agendas, knowledge of little value,

medicine, unfruitful career, etc.

Friend

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 Independence, loyalty, decisiveness, confidence, perseverance, etc.

Competitor

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Passion, courage, authenticity, social, adaptable, impulsive, risky, etc.

Extrovert talent

Extrovert, eloquent, romantic, smart, creative, rebellious, variety of

interests, etc.

Introvert talent (Eating God)

Introvert, philosophical, multi-talented, strategist, humble, deep-

thinker, etc.

Direct wealth

Down to earth, sincere, rational, reliable, sensible, family-oriented,

traditional, conservative, etc.

Indirect wealth

Generous, regimental, lack of discipline, sharp mind, indecisive, rash,

cowardly, etc.

Given authority

Honorable, law-abiding, ethical, trustworthy, passive, weak willed, etc.

Earned authority (7 killings)

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 Chivalry, alert, firm, vigorous, dictator, charismatic, aggressive,
unreasonable, reckless, etc.

As the method to determine which heavenly stem represents which

god, here is a basic explanation to help you grasp it better.

Direct resource is the:

yin element that creates a yang self-element

yang element that creates a in self-element

Indirect resource is the:

yang element that creates a yang self-element

yin element that creates a yin self-element

Friendly is the:

yang element that duplicates a yang self-element

yin element that duplicates a yin self-element

Competition is the:

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yin element that duplicates a yang self-element

yang element that duplicates a yin self-element

Extrovert talent is the:

yin element created by a yang self-element

yang element created by a yin self-element

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 Introvert talent is the:

yang element created by a yang self-element

yin element created by a yin self-element

Direct wealth is the:

yin element destroyed by a yang self-element

yang element destroyed by a yin self-element

Indirect wealth is the:

yang element destroyed by a yang self-element

yin element destroyed by a yin self-element

Given authority is the:

yin element that destroys a yang self-element

yang element that destroys a yin self-element

Earned authority is the:

yang element that destroys a yang self-element

yin element that destroys a yin self-element

Alternatively, we can use a table to simplify the referencing.

Self Same Opposite

Element Polarity Polarity
Same Friend Competitor
Element
Creates Self Indirect Direct
Resource Resource

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 Created by Introvert Extrovert
Self Talent Talent
Destroyed Indirect Direct
by Self Wealth Wealth
Destroys Earned Given
Self Authority Authority

Or you can refer to a full detailed cheat sheet here.

Having gone through the above elaborations, it should be clear that

any one heavenly stem does not have a fixed representation of any of
the 10 gods. What each stem represents depends on what the day
stem (day master) of an individual is.

When a stem is favorable to the self, it can be referred to as a god ( ).

And when itʼs unfavorable, it can be referred to as a ghost ( ) or
killing ( ).

It must also be noted that while the 10 gods play a critical role in basic
bazi diagnosis, a lot of other variables come into play in advanced bazi
analysis.

And if you cannot fully understand the 10 gods, you might want to
refrain from making judgments and decisions on your own bazi.

This is because mistakes can sometimes cause you to trigger negative

events and suppress positive events.

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