The Ten Gods: How Every Stem Relates to the Day Master
The ten gods are not spirits. They are ten names for the relationship between your day stem (the day master) and any other stem, found from just two questions: how do the two elements relate, and do they share the same yin-yang polarity?
Everything is seen from the day master
In a chart, the heavenly stem of the day pillar stands for the person. Every other character is described by what it does to that stem. Because the five elements form a cycle of generation (Wood feeds Fire, Fire makes Earth, Earth bears Metal, Metal carries Water, Water feeds Wood) and a cycle of control, any second element must stand in one of five positions relative to the first: the same element, the one I produce, the one I control, the one that controls me, or the one that produces me.
Each position then splits in two by polarity. The ten stems alternate yang and yin (甲 yang Wood, 乙 yin Wood, 丙 yang Fire and so on), so the second stem either has the same polarity as the day master or the opposite one. Five positions times two polarities gives ten.
The formula the app uses
The haru engine numbers the elements 0 Wood, 1 Fire, 2 Earth, 3 Metal, 4 Water, and a stem's element is its index divided by 2, rounded down. The ten god of another stem is then: step = (element of other - element of me + 5) mod 5; god = step x 2, plus 1 if the polarities differ.
Step 0 is the same element, step 1 the element I produce, 2 the one I control, 3 the one that controls me, 4 the one that produces me. So the ten gods always come in pairs: an even number (same polarity) and the odd number right after it (opposite polarity).
- 0 Companion 比肩 / 1 Rob Wealth 劫財: the same element as me
- 2 Eating God 食神 / 3 Hurting Officer 傷官: the element I produce
- 4 Indirect Wealth 偏財 / 5 Direct Wealth 正財: the element I control
- 6 Seven Killings 偏官 / 7 Direct Officer 正官: the element that controls me
- 8 Indirect Resource 偏印 / 9 Direct Resource 正印: the element that produces me
A lookup table for four day masters
Read down the column of your day stem. For example, for a 丁 (yin Fire) day master, 己 (yin Earth) is Fire producing Earth with the same polarity, step 1, so god 2: Eating God. For a 庚 (yang Metal) day master, 丙 (yang Fire) controls Metal with the same polarity, step 3, god 6: Seven Killings.
| Other stem | 甲 day master | 丁 day master | 庚 day master | 癸 day master |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 甲 | Companion | Direct Resource | Indirect Wealth | Hurting Officer |
| 乙 | Rob Wealth | Indirect Resource | Direct Wealth | Eating God |
| 丙 | Eating God | Rob Wealth | Seven Killings | Direct Wealth |
| 丁 | Hurting Officer | Companion | Direct Officer | Indirect Wealth |
| 戊 | Indirect Wealth | Hurting Officer | Indirect Resource | Direct Officer |
| 己 | Direct Wealth | Eating God | Direct Resource | Seven Killings |
| 庚 | Seven Killings | Direct Wealth | Companion | Direct Resource |
| 辛 | Direct Officer | Indirect Wealth | Rob Wealth | Indirect Resource |
| 壬 | Indirect Resource | Direct Officer | Eating God | Rob Wealth |
| 癸 | Direct Resource | Seven Killings | Hurting Officer | Companion |
Branches count through their main hidden stem
An earthly branch is not a stem, so the app gives it the ten god of its main hidden stem, the last and longest one in its list. 午 holds 丙, 己 and 丁, with 丁 as the main stem; 未 holds 丁, 乙 and 己, with 己 as the main stem.
Here is engine example A (Seoul, 1990-05-15 14:30), whose day master is 庚 yang Metal.
| Place | Character | Stem used | Ten god |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year stem | 庚 | 庚 | Companion 比肩 |
| Year branch | 午 | 丁 (main) | Direct Officer 正官 |
| Month stem | 辛 | 辛 | Rob Wealth 劫財 |
| Month branch | 巳 | 丙 (main) | Seven Killings 偏官 |
| Day branch | 辰 | 戊 (main) | Indirect Resource 偏印 |
| Hour stem | 癸 | 癸 | Hurting Officer 傷官 |
| Hour branch | 未 | 己 (main) | Direct Resource 正印 |
How the tradition reads them, and how the app words it
In daily use, the app compares today's day stem, today's day branch and the current month branch with your day master. On 2026-09-30, a 丁未 day, the day stem 丁 is a Companion for a 丁 day master, a Direct Officer for 庚 and a Direct Wealth for 壬.
The Korean app then words each god as a gentle theme for the day rather than a verdict. Paraphrased: Companion is standing shoulder to shoulder with friends and colleagues; Rob Wealth brings sharing and friendly competition together; Eating God is a day full of talk, ideas and the pleasure of food; Hurting Officer lets talent show, though words can run ahead; Indirect Wealth widens the range of activity; Direct Wealth suits careful tidying and household order; Seven Killings means work piles up but holding on builds strength; Direct Officer puts responsibility, rules and promises first; Indirect Resource favours thinking alone and study; Direct Resource is help and learning coming in.
The names sound dramatic in translation (Seven Killings, Rob Wealth), but the tradition treats them as roles in a balance, not as good or bad events.
Questions
Why are there exactly ten?
Five element relations (same, I produce, I control, controls me, produces me) times two polarities (same or opposite) makes ten.
Does Seven Killings mean something bad will happen?
No. It is simply the element that controls the day master with the same polarity. The app describes it as a day when tasks pile up but persistence becomes strength.
How does a branch get a ten god?
Through its main hidden stem. For example 辰's main stem is 戊, so for a 庚 day master 辰 counts as Indirect Resource.
Read next
Traditional Four Pillars (myeongni) and yin-yang five-element interpretation. Not a medical diagnosis or advice.