The day stem is the person themselves
Among the eight characters of saju, the day stem (the heavenly stem of the day of birth) refers to the person themselves. The remaining seven characters are read as the environment in which that day stem is placed.
Ten Gods (十神) divides how the day stem perceives other characters into ten categories. What nurtures me is resource, what is the same as me is peer, what I produce is output, what I control is wealth, and what controls me is authority — each of the five is then split by polarity, making ten.
What each person's day stem is to each other
This is the first item in compatibility. Once it is determined what A's day stem perceives B's day stem as, B's perception of A is also determined, so there are only six possibilities.
| Pair | Yin/Yang | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Direct Wealth ↔ Direct Authority | Opposite polarity | Warm bond (有情) | This is the pair traditionally seen as the spouse's position. The yin and yang are mismatched, attracting each other. |
| Hurting Officer ↔ Direct Resource | Opposite polarity | Hurting Officer wearing the Seal (傷官佩印) | One side wraps the intense energy of the other side. |
| Friend ↔ Friend | Same polarity | Equal | They resemble each other and are equal, but do not push each other. |
| Rival ↔ Rival | Opposite polarity | Competition | They are attracted to each other but compete for the same position. |
| Indirect Wealth ↔ Indirect Authority | Same polarity | Cold bond (無情) | The stimulation is great, but the burden is also heavy. |
| Eating God ↔ Indirect Resource | Same polarity | The owl star robs the food (梟神奪食) | The energy given is taken by the counterpart, blocking the flow. |
The reason for viewing with Ten Gods rather than three elements
There is a method of viewing the relationship of the day stem with the three elements (mutual generation, sameness, mutual overcoming). It is simple, but yin and yang disappear. 甲 (yang wood) and 乙 (yin wood) become the same 'sameness' like 甲 and 甲, and mutual overcoming is crushed into a single score without direction or yin and yang.
The spouse position must be evaluated in terms of the Ten Gods. If the items viewed by the five elements and the items viewed by the Ten Gods are mixed in one engine, there will be two standards for the same two characters. Therefore, we unify with the Ten Gods.
The spouse position is Proper Wealth and Proper Officer
In the tradition, which of the Ten Gods stands for a spouse differs by gender.
| Gender | Spouse Position | Corresponding Position |
|---|---|---|
| Male | Direct Wealth (正財) | Indirect Wealth (偏財) |
| Female | Direct Authority (正官) | Indirect Authority (偏官) |
Even if they are the same resource, only the emotional Proper Wealth is considered the spouse position, while Resource is read as the nature of activity and wealth. Therefore, Proper Wealth and Proper Officer count as 2 points, while Resource and Officer count as 1 point, and both directions are summed — if both are seen as spouse positions, it is the highest.
We also show the shape of the relationship
Apart from the score, we describe what shape the pair of day stems has on the results screen. Whether they are similar positions, whether one side supports the other, or whether one side is suppressed — if it is a supportive or suppressive relationship, we clarify which side holds that position.
If only one score is presented, it leaves the question 'so what'. The shape is not a score but something to read, and even pairs with low scores have something to interpret.