Reading · The Ten Gods
The Ten Gods are "relationships to me"
The Ten Gods (十神) name how each of the other characters in the chart relates to the day master — the heavenly character of your birth day, which stands for you. Every character has an element (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water), and the elements relate to one another in two cycles: producing and controlling. Wood produces Fire, Fire produces Earth, Earth produces Metal, Metal produces Water, Water produces Wood. Wood controls Earth, Earth controls Water, Water controls Fire, Fire controls Metal, Metal controls Wood. The five groups come from these two cycles.
The five groups
| Group | Relation to me | What it is about |
|---|---|---|
| Self (比劫) | the same energy as me | self · peers · competition |
| Output (食傷) | what I produce and send out | expression · talent · making |
| Wealth (財星) | what I control | money · practical sense · results |
| Authority (官星) | what controls me | responsibility · standing · discipline |
| Resource (印星) | what produces me | learning · documents · protection |
For a Yang Wood day master, Fire is Output (what Wood produces), Earth is Wealth (what Wood controls), Metal is Authority (what controls Wood), Water is Resource (what produces Wood) and Wood is Self. Change the day master and the same character changes group — Earth is Wealth to Yang Wood but Resource to Yang Metal.
They are "ten" because each group splits in two: the same polarity as the day master gives Friend, Eating God, Indirect Wealth, Indirect Authority and Indirect Resource; the opposite polarity gives Rob Wealth, Hurting Officer, Direct Wealth, Direct Authority and Direct Resource. The five groups are enough to start with.
Abundant and absent
Count the eight characters by group and some groups hold three or four while others hold none. More is not better and none is not worse; where it is thick and where it is empty is the grain of the person.
- Abundant Self: firm opinions, no leaning on others — but friction over shared ventures and joint stakes. Absent: things get done through people rather than by pushing alone.
- Abundant Output: a rich urge to express and plenty of ideas, standing out in speech, writing and making. Absent: builds quietly but is poor at showing results.
- Abundant Wealth: a sharp eye for money and opportunity, but too many irons in the fire. Absent: reward follows skill and trust rather than chasing it.
- Abundant Authority: strong responsibility, finishes what is taken on, but carries a heavy load. Absent: a free temperament unbound by rules, needing self-set discipline.
- Abundant Resource: strong at learning, organising and qualifying, but slow to start. Absent: learns by doing rather than from theory.
The same group reads differently when it is the key element
The Ten Gods are the names of relationships; whether that energy is helpful to you right now is told by the key element. The same Authority steadies your balance if its element is the key element, and becomes a burden if it is the harmful one. That is why the third step of "You and what surrounds you" on this site shows the count and reading for each group, and the closing line says whether that group is helpful or harmful.