Ten Gods — Ten relational roles between the Day Master and other stems

Each Ten God is defined by the Day Master's element and polarity relative to another stem. Same element: peer. What the Day Master generates: output. What the Day Master controls: wealth. What controls the Day Master: officer. What generates the Day Master: resource.

Yin and yang versions split each role into two names—Direct Wealth and Indirect Wealth, for example—creating ten roles total. The math is relational, not theological.

These roles help a reader see structure: whether a chart emphasizes expression, responsibility, money, support, or competition, and in what proportions.

The Chinese term shi shen literally concerns gods or spirits in older lexical range, but in Four Pillars practice the Ten Gods function as role names, not prayers to deities. English kept “Gods” through habit and translation history.

That wording misleads modern readers. Officer does not mean a policeman in the sky; Seven Killings does not mean violence is destined. These are compressed images for pressure, discipline, visibility, or risk in the notation.

Elemental Self keeps the standard English term for searchability, then translates it immediately into roles so nobody has to fight the dictionary alone.

Officer and Seven Killings often describe structure, duty, authority, or sharp pressure. Wealth stars describe what the Day Master manages or pursues. Output stars describe expression, creation, or what is produced outward. Resource stars describe support, learning, or protection. Peer stars describe rivalry, companionship, or sameness.

A chart heavy in officer language may read as life asking for form and accountability in one frame; heavy wealth language may read as management and material circulation. Context decides whether that is burden, skill, or both.

No single Ten God is automatically good or bad. Season, strength, and the whole pattern matter.

Ten Gods describe relations among signs, not moral grades on a soul. Saying someone has strong Seven Killings does not license strangers to call them dangerous. Saying someone has weak resource does not mean they lack intelligence.

Use Ten Gods to ask where a chart repeats a theme: visibility, creation, control, support, or conflict among peers. Then test that theme against real life without forcing every event to fit.

When Ten God language becomes a personality verdict, put the roles back into the chart grammar where they belong.