正印
zhèng yìn · Direct Seal
The Direct Seal (正印, zhèng yìn) is the Ten God that produces the Day Master with the opposite yin-yang polarity — for a 辛 (yin metal) Day Master, the yang earth 戊. Classical texts usually discuss it under the name 印绶, which covers both the Direct and the Indirect Seal. It stands for shelter, upbringing, credentials and formal standing, and the San Ming Tong Hui explains the name itself as protection received: a parent's shelter that a child inherits.
One distinction on this page matters more than any other. The San Ming Tong Hui states that every other configuration prefers a strong Day Master, and that the Seal alone prefers a Day Master produced from weakness — the Seal's function is support, so a chart with nothing to support has less use for it. The same book pairs the Seal with the Officer (an Officer produces the Seal, and it treats an Officer without a Seal as not a true Officer) and against Wealth, which attacks it.
Deep Oracle Editorial Team · 2026-08-08 · 3 min read
Lookup
| Day Master | Direct Seal stem | Main-qi branch | Also hidden in |
|---|---|---|---|
| 甲 | 癸 | 子 | 丑, 辰 |
| 乙 | 壬 | 亥 | 申 |
| 丙 | 乙 | 卯 | 辰, 未 |
| 丁 | 甲 | 寅 | 亥 |
| 戊 | 丁 | 午 | 未, 戌 |
| 己 | 丙 | 巳 | 寅 |
| 庚 | 己 | 丑, 未 | 午 |
| 辛 | 戊 | 辰, 戌 | 寅, 巳, 申 |
| 壬 | 辛 | 酉 | 丑, 戌 |
| 癸 | 庚 | 申 | 巳 |
Seal, Officer and Wealth
The rule that an Officer feeds the Seal and the rule that Wealth breaks it are opposite in direction but not in conflict: they apply under different conditions. The Ziping Zhenquan adds a third case that looks like a contradiction and is not — where the Seal is heavy and the Day Master strong, a revealed Wealth star moderates the excess, and is a regulator rather than a threat. The same book draws the boundary: a light Seal against heavy Wealth, with no Rob Wealth to rescue it, is the ruinous case.
Worked example
Worked example (solar 1986-10-14 10:00, female, computed by this site's engine):
Pattern: 正印格 · Strength: 中和 (engine verdicts)
A 辛 Day Master born in the 戌 month: the month's main qi 戊 is the Direct Seal, revealed in the month stem, and the year stem 丙 is a Direct Officer — Officer produces Seal, Seal produces the Day Master. The engine judges the Day Master balanced, so the Seal here is not repairing a deficit; it is the link in a circuit. The hour stem 癸 is an Eating God, an outlet outside that circuit.
Related terms
Classical sources cited
- 《三命通会·论古人立印食官财名义》
- 《三命通会·论印绶》
- 《三命通会》
- 《子平真诠·论印绶》
Lookup tables are generated from this site's chart engine; quotations are verified against the cited works.
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