Saju glossary · Ten gods
Indirect Resource (偏印): what this ten god means in saju
Indirect Resource is the ten god that produces your day master with the same polarity. Its name means a seal off to one side, and the tradition pictures knowledge gained by an unusual route and insight that comes from thinking alone. It reads as the depth to see what others miss.
Indirect Resource in the tradition
An element that produces you stands for learning, protection and support. With matching polarity the support is lopsided, so older readings linked this ten god with special skills, esoteric knowledge, religion and art rather than formal study. Because it restrains Eating God, it carries the nickname of knocking over the rice bowl: a picture of ideas running ahead of the doing.
How Indirect Resource is found
Indirect Resource is the stem whose element produces the day master, with the same polarity (yin or yang). So each day master has exactly one stem that is its Indirect Resource.
| Day master | Stem | Branch (main stem) |
|---|---|---|
| 甲 Yang Wood | 壬 | 亥 Pig |
| 乙 Yin Wood | 癸 | 子 Rat |
| 丙 Yang Fire | 甲 | 寅 Tiger |
| 丁 Yin Fire | 乙 | 卯 Rabbit |
| 戊 Yang Earth | 丙 | 巳 Snake |
| 己 Yin Earth | 丁 | 午 Horse |
| 庚 Yang Metal | 戊 | 辰 Dragon · 戌 Dog |
| 辛 Yin Metal | 己 | 丑 Ox · 未 Goat |
| 壬 Yang Water | 庚 | 申 Monkey |
| 癸 Yin Water | 辛 | 酉 Rooster |
Branches are read by their main hidden stem. Some readings count the residual and middle hidden stems too, so books can show slightly different counts for the same chart.
Worked example: finding Indirect Resource in a chart
Take a made-up person born on June 20, 1992, at 10:30. The same calculation as the free saju reading gives the four pillars below; here is how to find Indirect Resource in them.
| Hour | Day | Month | Year | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stem | 乙Indirect Resource | 丁Self (day master) | 丙Rob Wealth | 壬Direct Officer |
| Branch | 巳Rob Wealth | 卯Indirect Resource | 午Companion | 申Direct Wealth |
- The day master is 丁, Yin Fire. It stands for the self, and each of the other seven characters is read by how it relates to it.
- For a 丁 day master, Indirect Resource is the stem 乙 and no other; among the branches it is 卯, which holds 乙 as its main hidden stem.
- In this chart, Indirect Resource sits at the day branch 卯 (main stem 乙) and hour stem 乙.
- The branch 卯 hides 乙 as its main stem, and 乙 also shows among the stems. A hidden stem that surfaces in the stems is called revealed (透出), and many readings take Indirect Resource’s qualities as more visible then.
The birth date is made up to show the steps. A different birth time changes the hour pillar, and near the start of a solar term the month pillar can change too, so the result can change with them.
What to look at when reading it
Indirect Resource among the stems makes its way of thinking and its unusual interests easy to see; in the day branch, it shows most in close daily life and in how time alone is spent. The old warning about the overturned rice bowl applies only when Indirect Resource and Eating God actually meet, so the first thing to check is whether they stand side by side. When both resource stars are numerous, readers look for an outlet among the expression stars.
Indirect Resource and the terms around it
Indirect Resource restrains Eating God, which is where the nickname of the overturned bowl comes from. When Indirect Wealth restrains Indirect Resource in turn, Eating God can breathe again, so older readings named Indirect Wealth as the remedy. Seven Killings produces Indirect Resource, which then produces the day master: harsh pressure turned into deep study.
Common myths
- What people sayIndirect Resource “overturns the rice bowl”, so making a living will be hard.
- A calmer readingThe nickname describes Indirect Resource restraining Eating God in the element cycle. It is a picture of a rhythm, thinking first and doing later, not a forecast about income.
- What people sayA strong Indirect Resource means a poor bond with one’s mother.
- A calmer readingOlder readings placed the mother among the resource stars, which is where this idea comes from. Family bonds are made by how people talk and what they live through together.
- What people sayIndirect Resource is the owl god, a bad sign in itself.
- A calmer readingThe owl god (梟神) is another name for Indirect Resource, used above all when it restrains Eating God. The same old readings add that the worry fades when the two stand apart or when Indirect Wealth keeps Indirect Resource in check, so placement matters more than the name.
How tradition says it shows up
People with strong Indirect Resource tend to dig into a subject until they build rare expertise. They linger over questions others skip and need to check things for themselves. They recharge in solitude, so crowds tire them, and unfinished plans can pile up faster than finished ones.
Something to try this week
This week, take the smallest thing you started and set aside, and finish it. Focus on the feeling of completion rather than polish; it trains the harvesting side of a deep mind.
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Read my saju for freeQuestions about Indirect Resource
What does Indirect Resource mean in saju?
It names an element that produces the day master, with the same polarity. It stands for learning outside formal paths, intuition and deep focus, and classical texts also call it the owl star (梟神).
What is “overturning the rice bowl”?
An old name for Indirect Resource restraining Eating God. It spread as a warning, but a calmer reading sees a mind whose ideas and actions easily fall out of step.
How does Indirect Resource differ from Direct Resource?
Both produce the day master. Indirect Resource shares its polarity and reads as finding one’s own way to knowledge; Direct Resource has the opposite polarity and reads as patient learning and care received.
How is a chart with much Indirect Resource read?
It is read as a well-supported day master with many thoughts and slower expression. Older readings checked whether Indirect Wealth keeps the resource stars in check, and bringing ideas out early, even briefly, helps the balance.
This page introduces traditional readings of saju terms for entertainment, curiosity and self-reflection. Saju is a long-standing East Asian cultural tradition, not a scientifically validated personality test or a prediction. A single character or name in a chart cannot define your personality or your future. Make important decisions about health, money and relationships from facts and qualified advice.
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