What Is Seven Killings in BaZi, and Why Is It Also Called Indirect Officer?
Seven Killings is the force in your chart that controls you and shares your yin-yang polarity. BaZi uses your Day Master to stand for you. It is the Heavenly Stem of the day you were born.
For example, metal controls wood. If you are Jia, which is yang wood, then yang metal (Geng) is your Seven Killings. Yin metal (Xin) has the opposite polarity, so it is your Direct Officer instead.
The ten ways your Day Master relates to other stems and branches are the Ten Gods. The ones that control you are called Officers, and the one with the same polarity is the "indirect" one. That is why Seven Killings is also called Indirect Officer. Count seven stems from your Day Master and you land on it, which is where the name comes from.
Ziwei Doushu also has a Qisha Star. That is a major star in a different system, not this Ten God.
Finding your own takes two steps:
- Enter your birth date and time in the free BaZi calculator to get your Four Pillars. The stem at the top of the day pillar is your Day Master.
- Find your row in the Jia-to-Gui table. If the stem it gives sits on top of your year, month or hour pillar, or hides inside any branch, your chart has it.
Calculate your BaZi chart
Enter your birth details to discover your Day Master, elemental balance, and how these concepts apply to your Four Pillars.
Which Stem Is the Seven Killings for Each Day Master?
Each Day Master has exactly one, so find your row.
Each branch also holds hidden stems, and the strongest one is its main qi. The last column lists the branches whose main qi is this stem. If your chart has one of them, the pressure shows more clearly.
| Day Master | Seven Killings | Branches whose main qi is Seven Killings |
|---|---|---|
| Yang Wood (Jia) | Yang Metal (Geng) | Shen |
| Yin Wood (Yi) | Yin Metal (Xin) | You |
| Yang Fire (Bing) | Yang Water (Ren) | Hai |
| Yin Fire (Ding) | Yin Water (Gui) | Zi |
| Yang Earth (Wu) | Yang Wood (Jia) | Yin |
| Yin Earth (Ji) | Yin Wood (Yi) | Mao |
| Yang Metal (Geng) | Yang Fire (Bing) | Si |
| Yin Metal (Xin) | Yin Fire (Ding) | Wu |
| Yang Water (Ren) | Yang Earth (Wu) | Chen, Xu |
| Yin Water (Gui) | Yin Earth (Ji) | Chou, Wei |
Strong Seven Killings: Decisiveness and Pressure
People with a prominent one tend to be decisive, calm under pressure and willing to take the heat. When it is too heavy for you to carry, they can turn impatient and tense.
| Area | When you can carry it | When you cannot |
|---|---|---|
| Decisions | Decisive; quick calls on the spot | Rash; acts before thinking it through |
| Pressure | Focuses harder as things get urgent | Always wound up; finds it hard to relax |
| Competition | Goes after things and rarely backs down | Tends to clash head-on |
| Self | Takes on risk and responsibility | Too hard on themselves; no room to breathe |
At work, these people tend to suit places that call for quick judgment and risk-taking, such as starting a business, sales growth or crisis management.
Checked or Unchecked Seven Killings: What Is the Difference?
Checked means something else in the chart catches the pressure, so it turns into drive more easily. Unchecked means the Seven Killings is heavy, you are weak, and the chart has little help.
Whether you can carry it is called Day Master strength. Classical texts list four ways to handle it, but only two of them work when you are weak.
| Method | How it works | Helps when weak? |
|---|---|---|
| Seal transforms | It feeds the element that feeds you, turning pressure into support | Yes; first choice when weak |
| Peers support | Peers share your element and carry the load with you | Yes; second choice when weak |
| Eating God controls | The element you produce holds it in check | No |
| Yang Blade combines | It combines with the Yang Blade, a form of Rob Wealth | No |
Eating God does hold it in check. But you spend your own strength producing it, so a weak Day Master drains itself further. The Yang Blade is explained on the Rob Wealth page.
If you are strong, there is no rush to tame it. It may already work in your favor.
What Are Killings Feeding Seal and Mixed Officer and Killings?
Killings feeding Seal (Sha Yin Xiang Sheng) means the pressure feeds the element that feeds you, so it turns into support. If you are wood, metal feeds water, and water feeds wood. Both kinds of Seal can catch it this way, including Indirect Seal.
Mixed Officer and Killings (Guan Sha Hun Za) means Direct Officer and Seven Killings both sit on top of your pillars. The pressure on you then comes in two flavors, one mild and one blunt. If you are strong, both may work for you. If you are weak, first check whether a Seal can soften the pressure.
Seven Killings in the Year, Month, Day and Hour Pillars
The pillar it sits in shows where pressure tends to come from, and in which stage of life. The stem of the day pillar is you, so in the day pillar it can only sit in the branch.
| Pillar | Life stage and setting | How it tends to read here |
|---|---|---|
| Year pillar | Family background, elders, early life | Meets competition or strict demands early; tends to grow up fast and independent |
| Month pillar | Peers, work, young adulthood | Faces more competition and reviews at work, and gets handed the hard problems |
| Day branch | Yourself and your partner | High standards for yourself; blunt in close relationships |
| Hour pillar | Children, younger people, later life and long-term results | Ambition shows later; may also be strict with younger people |
Seven Killings in a Major Cycle or Year: Opportunity or Pressure?
It depends on whether it is favorable in your chart. Elements that work for you are your favorable elements. Elements that cause the imbalance are unfavorable, and elements that are neither are idle.
A Major Cycle is a ten-year stretch of luck, and an Annual Fortune is the luck of a single year. Both are read mainly from the branch.
| Your chart | What a Seven Killings period tends to bring |
|---|---|
| Strong, it is favorable | More chances to shine and get promoted |
| Strong, others favorable | Idle; an ordinary stretch |
| Weak, Officer-heavy | Unfavorable; heavier pressure, eased only if a Seal or Peers can help |
| Weak, pressure elsewhere | Idle; a lighter effect |
Common Misreadings of Seven Killings
Seven Killings describes how you face pressure. It does not predict good or bad luck.
- "Seven Killings is an evil star." It is one of the Ten Gods, not a star, and it is not always bad. Your strength and the help in your chart decide whether it drives you or weighs you down.
- "Indirect Officer and Seven Killings are different things." The Sanming Tonghui says: "When checked, it is called Indirect Officer; when unchecked, Seven Killings." The old books just switch names depending on whether it is checked. It is the same thing.
- "Seven Killings in the year or hour pillar brings disaster." The pillar only shows in which stage of life pressure tends to show up. It does not predict misfortune or a hard old age.
