Supporting & Hostile Spirits

These roles ask who supports the focus, who controls it, and who affects its support. They are functional relationships around Yong Shen, not a division of real people into friends and enemies. Changing the question or focus may change a line’s role, and a Supporting label still requires an effective generating connection.

Select the question’s focus first. Yuan Shen, the Supporting Spirit, generates it; Ji Shen, the Hostile Spirit, controls it; Chou Shen, the Enemy, controls support while generating the hostile element. These roles are relative to the selected focus.

With wood as focus, water supports, metal is hostile, and earth is enemy because it controls water and generates metal. With fire as focus the roles become wood, water and metal. After assigning roles, check movement, strength, void and break conditions.

For a constructed money question with Wood focus, Water supports, Metal controls and Earth affects both by controlling Water and generating Metal. Effective moving Water gives direct support. Strong Earth may restrict that support while feeding the controlling element.

If Metal and Water both move, Metal generating Water and Water generating Wood introduce a mediated route; examine whether Water can carry it. This is why the strength discussion in Zeng Shan Bu Yi goes beyond assigning Supporting or Hostile names.