At a glance
- Position
- Day-pillar stem
- Function
- Reference for Ten Gods
Definition and terminology
Also called Day Stem or Day Origin, the Day Master is the stem in the day pillar: Jia in Jia-Zi, Gui in Gui-You. Sanming Tonghui uses it as the reference for producing and controlling relationships. The day branch remains relevant but is not itself the Day Master, so terminology matters.
Structure and rules
Other stems receive Ten Gods labels relative to the Day Master through phase relationships and polarity. Branches contribute through hidden stems. Strength judgments also consider season, roots, visible stems, support and control or output. A wood Day Master does not mean the whole chart is wood, and simple character counts are insufficient.
Worked reading
With Jia as reference, Ren water produces wood and belongs to the resource category; Bing fire is produced by wood and belongs to output. Change the reference to Bing and Ren becomes controlling authority. The same stem therefore changes relational label, illustrating chart grammar rather than a fixed statement about learning ability or occupation.
Context and limits
Popular introductions use trees, flowers or sunlight as personality metaphors. Such images may aid memory, but they are not a standardized psychological test. Day-cycle conversion and rollover also affect the label. Explain the reference relation and phase assignment without asserting that everyone sharing one Day Stem necessarily has a particular temperament.
References & further reading
Historical sources document ideas and rules of their time, not empirical proof of predictive accuracy. Source notes identify the nature and scope of each reference.
- 《三命通会》卷五：论印食官财名义Primary / tradition source
Public-domain text explaining Day Stem relations, resource, output, office, wealth and patterns.
- Hong Kong Observatory: Heavenly Stems and Earthly BranchesInstitutional / reference source
Official calendar reference for sequences and double hours; does not validate natal divination.