One of the ten Ten Gods (十神) of BaZi — the stem that is of the same element as the Day Master — a peer of the self. This guide explains how the classical method derives it, how it is read, and how to use it as a lens for reflection rather than a rulebook.
The Ten Gods are not a separate cast of characters: they are the ten possible relationships between your Day Master and every other stem in the chart, generated by the Five Elements’ producing and controlling cycles, each split by polarity into two faces. The Friend is the stem that is of the same element as the Day Master — a peer of the self. Where it appears (on a stem, or hidden inside a branch), the classical texts read that part of life through this relationship.
The Friend is the stem that matches your Day Master exactly — same element, same polarity. It is the "another me" of the chart: a peer, a sibling, a colleague at your own level. Classical texts call it 比肩, "shoulder to shoulder", which is a good image: someone matching your stride, not ahead of it.
When a Friend appears on a stem, the classical reading turns to companionship and self-reliance: people at your level, work done alongside others rather than above or below them, and the capacity to stand on your own when no one steps in. A chart with a visible Friend often belongs to someone who does their best work among equals.
Steady, loyal to peers, comfortable with shared credit, and hard to destabilise — the Friend keeps its footing because it never has to look up or down to know where it stands.
The same evenness can become inertia. A strong Friend tendency may keep company with its own habits, avoid competing, and treat "getting along" as the goal when it is only the ground to stand on.
The classical discussion of a prominent Friend is not "good or bad" but proportion: with enough direction elsewhere in the chart, it reads as dependable teamwork; when it dominates, the same quality reads as circling the familiar.