The 12 day gods (建除十二值神) is a basic level date selection method that is straight forward enough for almost anybody to put into practice immediately. It is sometimes also known as the 12 day officers or 12 day stars.
This date selection system essentially states that there are 12 gods (or 12 deities) that take turns governing each day.
With each god embodying different aspects of life, which one is in power for the day results in the day being suitable or unsuitable for certain types of activities.
As this can be deemed as too general by some people, the 12 day gods method is often used as the first step in advanced date selection so as to narrow down to a much smaller set of dates to select from. Saying that, it is perfectly fine to use this as the sole method for your personal date selection requirements.
The 12 gods line up in a rigid sequence led by Jian (建). This is a god that occupies the day with the earthly branches that matches up to the earthly branch of the month in question, according to the Hsia calendar.
Once that day is identified, and Jian potted in, the rest of the 12 gods can be charted in a specified sequence following Jian.
The sequence is as follows:
- Jian (建)
- Chu (除)
- Man (满)
- Ping (平)
- Ding (定)
- Zhi (执)
- Po (破)
- Wei (危)
- Cheng (成)
- Shou (收)
- Kai (开)
- Bi (闭)
Because there are 12 month in a year and there are 12 gods, a comprehensive table can be produced to indicate which god reigns supreme in each month and day branch combination.
建 | 除 | 满 | 平 | 定 | 执 | 破 | 危 | 成 | 收 | 开 | 闭 | |
寅 | 寅 | 卯 | 辰 | 巳 | 午 | 未 | 申 | 酉 | 戌 | 亥 | 子 | 丑 |
卯 | 卯 | 辰 | 巳 | 午 | 未 | 申 | 酉 | 戌 | 亥 | 子 | 丑 | 寅 |
辰 | 辰 | 巳 | 午 | 未 | 申 | 酉 | 戌 | 亥 | 子 | 丑 | 寅 | 卯 |
巳 | 巳 | 午 | 未 | 申 | 酉 | 戌 | 亥 | 子 | 丑 | 寅 | 卯 | 辰 |
午 | 午 | 未 | 申 | 酉 | 戌 | 亥 | 子 | 丑 | 寅 | 卯 | 辰 | 巳 |
未 | 未 | 申 | 酉 | 戌 | 亥 | 子 | 丑 | 寅 | 卯 | 辰 | 巳 | 午 |
申 | 申 | 酉 | 戌 | 亥 | 子 | 丑 | 寅 | 卯 | 辰 | 巳 | 午 | 未 |
酉 | 酉 | 戌 | 亥 | 子 | 丑 | 寅 | 卯 | 辰 | 巳 | 午 | 未 | 申 |
戌 | 戌 | 亥 | 子 | 丑 | 寅 | 卯 | 辰 | 巳 | 午 | 未 | 申 | 酉 |
亥 | 亥 | 子 | 丑 | 寅 | 卯 | 辰 | 巳 | 午 | 未 | 申 | 酉 | 戌 |
子 | 子 | 丑 | 寅 | 卯 | 辰 | 巳 | 午 | 未 | 申 | 酉 | 戌 | 丑 |
丑 | 丑 | 寅 | 卯 | 辰 | 巳 | 午 | 未 | 申 | 酉 | 戌 | 丑 | 子 |
For example, if you need to know the day officer that rules on 19 September 2021, referring to the Hsia calendar for that month would show that it is the You (酉) month with You (酉) on the 16th of that month giving it jian (建). Since the 19th is 3 days away, the god that is 3 days away from jian would be ping (平).
What does this indicate?
Below are the general implications of each day god.
Jian (建). Good for starting something new. Start construction, putting up beams, going on a trip, etc.
Chu (除). Good for letting go. End a contract, break off with boyfriend, wiping off data on phone, etc.
Man (满). Good day for festivities. Getting married, start a business, celebrating success, etc.
Ping (平). An uneventful day. Do not expect things to take a turn for the better.
Ding (定). A good day for committing to long term arrangements that would reap rewards. Good for engagements, investment decisions, starting a diet to lose weight and become healthier.
Zhi (执). A good day for planning the future.
Po (破). A day meant for destruction of tangibles and intangibles.
Wei (危). A bad day to make risky decisions.
Cheng (成). A day of achievement. Positive things can multiply, as will negative things. So only take action on things that are generally positive. For example, if you know that you boss is going to scold you on a report, don’t give him a chance to do it on this day.
Shou (收). A good day for unexpected rewards.
Kai (开). A good day for new beginnings. Especially for events that involves a lot of people.
Bi (闭) A day to stay low under the radar.