What are the Ten Gods in BaZi?

The Ten Gods (十神) are the classical names for the forces in your chart. BaZi writes your birth moment as 8 Chinese characters. The top character of your birth day stands for you, and its element is your core element (classical books call it the Day Master). Every other character pulls on it in one of five ways: it is the same element, it feeds you, you feed it, it tames (holds back) you, or you tame it. Each way comes in two versions, so there are ten. Together they describe how you work, love and decide.

How do I find my dominant Ten God?

Your birth month decides it, not a count of characters. In the classical method we follow (the Ziping school, written down about 1,000 years ago), you read the elements hidden inside your birth month's animal sign. The force they make with your core element, especially one that also shows among the 4 top characters, is the strongest force in your chart. Classical books call this your chart's structure. If your birth month is your own element, another force in the chart sets the theme instead. Elemental Fate's free calculator does all of this for you.

What is the difference between Direct and Indirect Ten Gods?

Every element comes in an outward (yang) and an inward (yin) form, and each of the five ways a character relates to your core element splits by form. For wealth, officer and seal, the version in the opposite form to your core element is called Direct (正) and the one in the same form Indirect (偏): Direct Wealth and Indirect Wealth, Direct Officer and Seven Killings (the indirect officer), Direct Seal and Indirect Seal. Direct forces tend to show in steady, conventional ways; Indirect ones more intensely and unusually. The output pair follows the same split: the Creator (Eating God) is in your form, the Rebel (Hurting Officer) in the opposite one. In your own element, the Friend shares your form and the Rival (Rob Wealth) has the opposite one.

Can I have more than one Ten God in my chart?

Yes. Every character other than your core element relates to it in some way, so every chart holds several forces. One of them is the strongest and sets the theme; the others add detail and balance.

How do the Ten Gods relate to the 80 archetypes?

Each of Elemental Fate's 80 guardian spirits pairs one of the 10 core elements with one of the 8 forces that can lead a chart. For example, the Creator (Eating God) with a Yang Fire core element (the sun) is The Fire Creator, and the Warrior (Seven Killings) with Yang Water (the ocean) is The Water Warrior.

Are any Ten Gods better or worse than others?

No. Each one has strengths and a shadow side. The Warrior (Seven Killings) can mean fierce drive or aggression; the Scholar (Direct Seal) can mean wisdom or leaning on others too much. Knowing which force leads your chart helps you use its strengths and watch its blind spots.

The Ten Gods in BaZi: A Beginner's Guide

Short answer

The Ten Gods (十神) are ten relationship patterns between your Day Master (your core element) and the other characters in your chart. They name themes such as creativity (Eating God, the Creator), authority (Direct Officer, the Leader), steady wealth (Direct Wealth, the Builder) and independence (Friend). The one carried by your birth month sets your chart's structure: the strongest force in your chart.

On this page

01What the forces are
02The five families
03All ten at a glance
04Forces and the 80 guardians
05Finding your strongest force

What the forces are

Your chart is your birth moment written as 8 Chinese characters. One of them stands for you: your core element, for example Yin Water, the rain. The old books call it the Day Master.

The Ten Gods (十神) describe how every other character relates to that core element. Instead of looking at elements on their own, they ask what each one does to you: feeds you, comes out of you, is shaped by you, or shapes you. That is what turns a list of elements into a reading. We call them the forces in your chart.

The five families

There are 8 forces that can lead your chart, plus 2 mirrors. Together they make five families of two. In each family, one force is the calm, steady version and the other is the stronger, less conventional one.

Your mirrors: the same element as you

Friend and Rival

When another character shares your core element, it acts like a peer standing next to you. The Friend stands for self-reliance and fair play. The Rival adds a competitive streak: wanting to win, take risks and be seen. Lots of this force makes people very independent, sometimes stubborn.

What you create: the element you feed

Creator and Rebel

This is what you make and send into the world. The Creator is easy, generous creativity: the cook who cooks for joy. The Rebel is sharp, rule-breaking expression: the inventor, the critic who says the uncomfortable thing. People strong in this force make a lot, and they need an audience.

What you shape: the element you tame

Builder and Adventurer

This is what you can steer and gather. The Builder is steady, earned value: the careful saver and planner. The Adventurer is chance and connections: the person who spots a gap and turns friends into a business. It is not only about money. It is how you handle real-world things.

What shapes you: the element that tames you

Leader and Warrior

This is pressure from outside: rules, duty and challenge. The Leader is ordered authority: fair rules, reputation, keeping your word. The Warrior is raw pressure: competition, deadlines, crisis. People strong in this force either rise under pressure or feel boxed in.

What feeds you: the element that feeds you

Scholar and Mystic

This force looks after you: learning, protection, inner strength. The Scholar is classic learning and mentors. The Mystic is self-taught, unusual knowledge and intuition. People strong in this force are natural learners. Too much of it, and they overthink or wait for permission.

For the curious: the proper names

Friend and Rival: 比肩 Friend (Bi Jian) and 劫財 Rob Wealth (Jie Cai)
Creator and Rebel: 食神 Eating God (Shi Shen) and 傷官 Hurting Officer (Shang Guan)
Builder and Adventurer: 正財 Direct Wealth (Zheng Cai) and 偏財 Indirect Wealth (Pian Cai)
Leader and Warrior: 正官 Direct Officer (Zheng Guan) and 七殺 Seven Killings (Qi Sha)
Scholar and Mystic: 正印 Direct Seal (Zheng Yin) and 偏印 Indirect Seal (Pian Yin)
Direct 正 and Indirect 偏: The classical words for the steady and the stronger member of each family. Direct has the opposite Yin or Yang to you; Indirect has the same.

All ten at a glance

The first 8 can lead a chart and choose your guardian. The last 2 (the Friend and the Rival) are your mirrors: they add colour but are not used to name a guardian.

Force	Classical name	In short
Leader	Direct OfficerZheng Guan	Order, duty and a good name. Keeps promises; the shadow is rigidity.
Warrior	Seven KillingsQi Sha	Drive and courage under pressure. Thrives on hard things; the shadow is burnout.
Builder	Direct WealthZheng Cai	Steady work that adds up. Reliable and careful with what they have.
Adventurer	Indirect WealthPian Cai	Chances, people and deals. Generous and quick to say yes.
Scholar	Direct SealZheng Yin	Learning and caring advice. Teachers and mentors; the shadow is resisting new ideas.
Mystic	Indirect SealPian Yin	Unusual, self-taught insight. Deep and private; the shadow is overthinking.
Creator	Eating GodShi Shen	Easy creativity and enjoyment. Storytellers and cooks; the shadow is putting things off.
Rebel	Hurting OfficerShang Guan	Sharp mind, questions the rules. Honest to a fault; can push people away.
Friend	FriendBi Jian	Independence and fair play among equals. Happy to go solo; can be stubborn.
Rival	Rob WealthJie Cai	Bold, social, likes high stakes. Charismatic; may over-spend or over-trust.

Forces and the 80 guardians

A force names the kind of pull. The core element carrying it changes how it feels. A Creator force on a Fire person is a different creator from the same force on a Water person.

Elemental Fate pairs your core element with the strongest force in your chart to give one of 80 guardian spirits, each with its own name, strengths and blind spots. Four examples:

Meet all 80 guardians.

Finding your strongest force

The strongest force is not simply the one that shows up most often. The classical rules read it from your birth month, because the month carries the season you were born in. Each animal sign has elements hiding inside it, and the month's animal sign decides:

If the main element hiding in your month's animal sign also shows on top of one of your 4 pairs, its force leads.
If not, another element hiding in that month's animal sign takes over, as long as it also appears on top of one of your pairs.
If none shows, the main hidden element still leads.
If the month holds your own element, it cannot name the chart after you. Another force that appears on top of one of your pairs leads instead, checked in a fixed order.

How strong your core element is then decides whether pressure from the Leader or Warrior feels like a lift or a weight. The quickest way to see yours is to cast your chart. The methodology page explains each rule and where we simplify.

For the curious: the proper names

Month branch 月令: The animal sign of your birth month. It carries the season.
Hidden stems 藏干: The elements hiding inside each animal sign.
Chart structure 格局: The strongest force in your chart.
建祿, 陽刃, 月劫: Birth months that hold your own element, so another force leads.
Zi Ping 子平: The classical rules, written down about 1,000 years ago.

The Ten Gods in BaZi, explained as 8 forces you can feel.

What the forces are