Ten Gods reference · 03 of 10

食神

Eating God

shí shén

Eating God appears when the Day Master generates the target stem and both stems share a polarity. The generating cycle selects the pair; matching polarity selects this member.

Phase relation
Day Master generates it
Polarity test
Same polarity
A scholar's relationship chart with a central Day Master tablet and ten paired medallions
Output produced in the same polarityThe Day Master remains the reference point.

The two coordinates that produce the name

How Eating God is calculated

Read Eating God as same-polarity output: the Day Master’s phase feeds the target phase, and both coordinates are yang or both are yin. Its pillar shows where that output relation is located.

The complete ten-stem mapping

Which target produces Eating God for every Day Master

Each Day Master has exactly one target stem that produces this name. The phase changes from row to row, but the relationship and polarity rule remain constant.

Day Master and target-stem pairs that calculate as 食神 Eating God
Day MasterTarget stemPhase relationPolarity
JiaYang WoodBingYang FireDay Master generates itSame polarity
YiYin WoodDingYin FireDay Master generates itSame polarity
BingYang FireWuYang EarthDay Master generates itSame polarity
DingYin FireJiYin EarthDay Master generates itSame polarity
WuYang EarthGengYang MetalDay Master generates itSame polarity
JiYin EarthXinYin MetalDay Master generates itSame polarity
GengYang MetalRenYang WaterDay Master generates itSame polarity
XinYin MetalGuiYin WaterDay Master generates itSame polarity
RenYang WaterJiaYang WoodDay Master generates itSame polarity
GuiYin WaterYiYin WoodDay Master generates itSame polarity

Placement changes the reading scale

Where Eating God can appear in a chart

The name always comes from the same calculation. What changes is where the target stem is found: on the surface of a natal pillar, inside a branch, or in the stem of a year being compared with the natal chart.

  1. 01 · Visible stems

    On the chart’s surface

    When visible, Eating God names an explicit stem generated by the Day Master. Note whether it is in the year, month or hour before considering how prominent it is.

    See the four visible pillars →
  2. 02 · Hidden stems

    Inside an Earthly Branch

    When hidden, the generated stem sits inside a branch rather than on the chart’s surface. Primary, middle and residual positions are not interchangeable.

    Open the hidden-stem map →
  3. 03 · Annual stem

    Compared year by year

    An annual Eating God stem is generated by the natal Day Master and matches its polarity. It is one layer of the annual comparison, alongside the year branch and its hidden stems.

    Compare a birth chart with the current year →