The Resource structure

In Four Pillars of Destiny (BaZi), a chart has a Resource structure when the stem taken from its month branch is Direct or Indirect Resource, the element that generates the Day Master. Both are treated alike and are to be generated and protected: the Officer and Seven Killings generate Resource, and Rob Wealth protects it from Wealth.

The True Interpretation of Ziping (子平真诠; Qing dynasty, 18th century) says:

印绶喜其生身，正偏同为美格，故财与印不分偏正，同为一格而论之。

Our translation: Resource is welcomed for generating the Day Master, and the direct and the indirect alike make a fine structure. So Wealth and Resource are not divided into indirect and direct; each is taken as one structure.

Resource generates and supports the Day Master, direct and indirect alike. Indirect Resource is also called the Owl. As the structure taken from the month, it is generated and protected just like Direct Resource, and it is not one of the four that take restraining use.

The True Interpretation of Ziping · On Resource; The Deep Sea of Ziping · On Resource; Comprehensive Guide to the Three Fates · On Resource

See also: Two kinds of handling: nurture and restrain

What holds it up

Resource welcomes the Officer and Seven Killings to generate it, and Rob Wealth to protect it. Common pairings in a Resource structure:

• Resource with the Officer revealed: the Officer generates Resource, and Resource generates the Day Master. Even with a strong Day Master and strong Resource, it is not too much; what matters is that the Officer is clear and pure. The Deep Sea of Ziping (渊海子平; Ming dynasty, 16th century) calls this pairing Officer and Resource both complete.
• Resource using Output: the Day Master and Resource are both strong, and the Food Star or Hurting Officer drains the excess, which becomes refinement and talent.
• Resource using Seven Killings: Seven Killings generates Resource. It can be used only when one side falls short: the Day Master heavy and Resource light, or the Day Master light and Resource heavy.
• Heavy Resource using Wealth: when Resource is heavy and the Day Master strong, revealed Wealth holds Resource back from excess. As long as Resource is deeply rooted, Wealth breaking it does no harm; revealed Wealth with a light root is enough.

The True Interpretation of Ziping · On Resource; Commentary on the True Interpretation of Ziping · On Resource; The Deep Sea of Ziping · On Resource

What can unsettle it

• Wealth breaking Resource. When Resource is light and Wealth heavy, with no Rob Wealth to protect it, The True Interpretation of Ziping calls this Resource spoiled by Wealth.
• Resource so heavy that the Day Master cannot bear it: too much Water sets Wood afloat, and too much Earth buries Metal.
• The Day Master and Resource both heavy, with Seven Killings feeding Resource as well: the energy leans further to one side, and the structure struggles to flow.
• Wealth and Resource side by side, in each other’s way.

The True Interpretation of Ziping · On Resource; Commentary on the True Interpretation of Ziping · On Resource; Comprehensive Guide to the Three Fates · On Resource

What restores it

• When Wealth breaks Resource, Rob Wealth shares out the Wealth and protects Resource.
• When Wealth and Resource fight, an Officer or Seven Killings between them links the two: Wealth generates the Officer, and the Officer generates Resource.
• When Resource is too heavy, Wealth or Output takes away the excess.

The True Interpretation of Ziping · On the Useful Element; Commentary on the True Interpretation of Ziping · On Wealth; Commentary on the True Interpretation of Ziping · On Resource; Comprehensive Guide to the Three Fates · On Resource

Decade phases

The True Interpretation of Ziping, on decade phases for Resource, takes each pairing in turn. For example, when Resource uses the Officer, with the Officer revealed and Resource heavy, a Wealth decade phase can help instead. When Resource uses Seven Killings, decade phases of Output and of support suit, and a Wealth decade phase that breaks Resource is the one most to be mindful of. The principle again: make up the weaker side and avoid what the natal chart does not welcome. The details are in the lesson on decade phases and your structure.

The True Interpretation of Ziping · On Decade Phases for Resource

Try it on your chart

1. Confirm the pivot is Resource: the stem taken from the month generates the Day Master, Direct or Indirect Resource alike.
2. Look for the Officer and Seven Killings: does either generate Resource?
3. Look for Wealth: where it sits, whether it stands beside Resource or apart, and whether Rob Wealth protects Resource.
4. Weigh Resource against the Day Master: if both are heavy, look for Wealth or Output; if Resource is light and the Day Master weak, watch for Wealth.

See also: The enabler: the structure’s supporting element

See also: Day Master strength: five grades from very strong to very weak

See also: How a structure forms, breaks and recovers