七杀
qī shā · Seven Killings
The Seven Killings (七杀, qī shā), also called 偏官, is the Ten God that controls the Day Master with the SAME yin-yang polarity — for a 戊 (yang earth) Day Master, the yang wood 甲. With 正官, the opposite-polarity controller, it forms the authority pair; because the polarities match, the tradition reads the control as unsympathetic, and takes the star as pressure, competition, crisis and decisive force rather than lawful office.
The classical position is not that this is simply an adverse star. The Ziping Zhenquan observes that charts of high rank frequently carry it, and makes the whole question turn on whether the chart controls it; the same book groups it with 伤官, 枭 and 刃 as the four adverse stars that can nonetheless form a configuration when handled well.
Deep Oracle Editorial Team · 2026-10-22 · 3 min read
Lookup
| Day Master | Seven Killings stem | Main-qi branch | Also hidden in |
|---|---|---|---|
| 甲 | 庚 | 申 | 巳 |
| 乙 | 辛 | 酉 | 丑, 戌 |
| 丙 | 壬 | 亥 | 申 |
| 丁 | 癸 | 子 | 丑, 辰 |
| 戊 | 甲 | 寅 | 亥 |
| 己 | 乙 | 卯 | 辰, 未 |
| 庚 | 丙 | 巳 | 寅 |
| 辛 | 丁 | 午 | 未, 戌 |
| 壬 | 戊 | 辰, 戌 | 寅, 巳, 申 |
| 癸 | 己 | 丑, 未 | 午 |
The two routes of control
Two classical routes exist and they are alternatives, not a combination. 食神制杀 restrains the star directly with an Eating God, and the Ziping Zhenquan rates this highest — on condition that the Killings are strong, the Eating God is strong, and the Day Master is sound. A revealed Wealth star spoils that route, because Wealth diverts the Eating God and feeds the Killings; a revealed Seal spoils it too, by removing the Eating God and sheltering the star. 杀印相生 instead channels the force: a Seal absorbs the Killings and produces the Day Master, and the same book prefers this when the Killings are heavy and the Day Master too light to carry a restraining route.
Worked example
Worked example (solar 1983-02-09 8:00, male):
This chart's pattern is 七杀格; the day master is 偏弱.
A 戊 Day Master born in the 寅 month: the month's main qi 甲 is the Seven Killings, revealed again in the month stem, and the hour stem 丙 is an Indirect Seal — the channelling route rather than the restraining one. The year stem 癸 is Direct Wealth, which in this configuration is the star to watch, since Wealth attacks the Seal the reading depends on.
Related terms
Classical sources cited
- 《三命通会·论古人立印食官财名义》
- 《三命通会·论正官》
- 《子平真诠·论偏官》
- 《子平真诠·论四凶神能成格》
- 《三命通会·官煞混杂》
- 《三命通会·年上七煞》
- 《三命通会·时上一位贵》
- 《三命通会》
Lookup tables are generated from this site's chart engine; quotations are verified against the cited works.
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