Let’s talk about one of my favourite ‘gods’ in BaZi – the Indirect Resource ‘God’. Also known as pian yin (偏印). You might be wondering what’s up with the feature image above of the owl. I’ll explain later.
This ‘god’ falls under the Resource category, meaning it is represented by the element that gives birth to your Daymaster. Because it is an Indirect version of the ‘god’, the polarity of the elements must be the same. In other words, if you are Yang Wood Daymaster chart-holder, Yang Water will manifest as your Indirect Resource ‘god’; if you are Yin Water Daymaster chart-holder, then Yin Metal would manifest as your Indirect Resource ‘god’.
Indirect Resource is similar to Direct Resource in a few ways. People who have the Resource ‘god’ playing a positive role in their charts are extremely intelligent. Their ability to influence comes from the fact that they are knowledgeable. They absorb information extremely quickly and can often do well in academics.
There are still some key difference between Direct Resource and Indirect Resource.
What’s The Difference Between Direct Resource & Indirect Resource?
The most obvious difference is the different Stem Combinations the form, but this logic applies to just about any other ‘god’. There’s no point talking about this for now.
Indirect Resource has always known to be the one that can go extremely deep into a single subject. You’ll often hear them excelling in fields that require deep research or laser-like focus. They also do particularly well in fields that are more esoteric, so don’t be surprised if you find Chinese metaphysics practitioners with this ‘god’.
Direct Resource chart-holders are arguably the ones who do very well in school and took the typical route towards success. They graduate from prestigious schools, land a scholarship, and end up either in a high position in government or an MNC, Indirect Resource chart-holders are the ones who take the road less travelled. Their reputation and authority in a particular field is earned through themselves instead of through an institution.
The Unknown Dark Side Of Indirect Resource
Now comes the interesting bit.
Most BaZi beginners make the assumption that since it is a Resource ‘god’, nothing too wrong can happen because the Resource ‘god’ in general holds a positive connotation. If it strengthens your Daymaster, it can’t be too bad even if your Daymaster is already strong.
I wish to categorically state that this can’t be further from the truth, and it’s extremely disappointing that hobbyists are satisfied with such a superficial level of knowledge.
Indirect Resource is perhaps the most interesting ‘god’ out of all the Ten BaZi ‘Gods’ because it has an extremely volatile nature. Indirect Resource has another name which you don’t hear about in English. This name is called xiao shen (枭神) which symbolizes a vicious bird hunting for its prey. What exactly is it hunting in one’s BaZi? Well, it’s not just your wealth, but your abundance and emotional well-being too.
If a legitimate BaZi master uses the term xiao shen instead of Indirect Resource when describing your natal chart, we can say with 99% certainty that you are in some form of trouble. This is the first sign the diminished quality of a BaZi chart. Hopefully, there is a built-in remedy within your natal chart to counter the negative presence of a fallen Indirect Resource. Taking things up another level, if the BaZi practitioner uses the term xiao shen duo shi (枭神夺食), it’s even worst. Let’s just say the practitioner would have wished you never approached him or her in the first place.
Xiao shen duo shi is a classic example of a ‘broken structure’ in BaZi (破格). It refers to an extremely flawed BaZi chart structure, and fixing the flaw takes top priority. Fixing these flaws can come in the form of encounter beneficial element within the natal chart, or through your “Luck Pillars” / Elemental Phases.
Indirect Resource has an extremely negative side that a lot of people are unware of. For some reason, the commercialized courses out there do not touch on something as basic as this. Perhaps they’re afraid that anything negative would affect their sales.
I will call charts with Indirect Resource as destructive ‘god’ “Fallen Indirect Resource” charts.
The Character Flaws Of People With A Fallen Indirect Resource Chart
Please remember that the keyword here is “fallen”. Not everyone under an Indirect Resource chart structure have character flaws and there are often remedies in the chart that a beginner in BaZi will not know of.
People with an unremedied fallen Indirect Resource chart are some of the most annoying and obnoxious people you can encounter. They have a warped sense of reality and are often stuck in their own world. It’s hard to relate to them and they end up being isolated by others.
I dare say that I’ve never met anyone with a fallen Indirect Resource chart that I liked. They are always a put off.
The above chart is one such example where the chart-holder won’t get to progress in life till he’s in his 40s. His character flaws are so severe that his wedding go called off and this when the house has already been bought and the banquet hall already reserved. He lost his fiancée, his house, and his honour and reputation amongst friends and family. The Spouse Element is appearing in a very weak manner when it’s supposed to play a positive role in his chart. On top of that, the Day Branch has negative signs too. The fallen Indirect Resource chart he has exacerbates the already negative signs.
In the traditional Chinese classics on BaZi, people with a fallen Indirect Resource ‘god’ are said to not have abundance in their lives and they won’t know how to be happy. It’s a huge deal. It is an even bigger deal if Indirect Resource ends up harming your beneficial elements. Such charts will face obstacles throughout life and things will only get better if their Elemental Phases comes in to resolve the flaws of the chart.
The next time you see Indirect Resource in a chart, please don’t jump to conclusions get too excited about it. You’ll need to figure out the role it plays in the chart and that is where the ultimate test of BaZi analysis lies.
There’s a dark side to this ‘god’ that a lot of commercialized, pseudo-practitioners aren’t talking about for some reason. If you’ve taken some introductory courses out there, good for you. However, please remember taking a watered-down course out there is not enough for you to be able to decipher a chart.
There is a lot more to BaZi than just reading off the chart and mouthing of which ‘gods’ appear and what they represent.
– Sean
