神杀 Shen Sha - Influential Stars

What is (神杀 Shén Shā) Influential Stars?

神杀 Shen Sha: The Influential Star is often known as an auxiliary or symbolic star and could be translated as fierce, evil, devil, spirit, god, or star; however, the interpretation of beneficial or influential daemon would come closer to its meaning.

Due to the fact that Shen Sha's appearance has morphed during the evolution of the eight character calendars and methods, it is not always considered an integral part but an extension of the BaZi chart. Commonly, Shen Sha is assumed to be a mystical or arbitrary occurrence, while in fact, Shen Sha can be seen as the ancestor of the BaZi methods and is nothing less than an asterism (fixed star) on the Chinese sky map. In terms of Bazi, Shen Shas are mainly derived from the year and day columns, which represent the polar star-aligned Jupiter nodes.

At some point in the past, the framework of the star alignment has morphed towards the twenty-four solar terms alignment. The Shen Sha system can still be used solely or incorporated in the Bazi chart in case the scale and calendar algorithm are adjusted to match the polar star and asterism again. Whether it’s useful or not, as the system is quite generic, is another story.

Quite often, Shen Sha is promoted as an evil or lucky star to cause fear or excitement. Shen Sha is neither bad nor good but can be annoying or useful at times. Whether a Shen Sha is annoying, useful, or just latent depends on your BaZi chart strength, structure, and position of the Shen Sha.

In many cases, the Shen Sha labels and meaning must not be taken too literally for two reasons: first, the translation and interpretation of ancient Chinese can be sometimes challenging, and second, the meaning of the Shen Sha is not static but changes based on the BaZi chart constellation.

Shen Sha can indeed be a good or bad influence; therefore, the question should be not how to get it or see it on your chart but how to utilize it when it is apparent.

For instance, 天乙貴人 (Tiān yǐ guìrén) Heavenly Noble is depicted with an angel with wings on the BaZi-Calculator and is considered one of the best stars to be sought after. It is often interpreted as a blessing and heavenly guidance, support, or appearance of a helpful noble person; however, one must ask under which circumstances would heaven offer guidance or when would one see an angel?

Another one, 桃花 (Táo huā) is the Star of Romance, there are different types of this kind of star, and all are known as peach blossoms depicted with a flower on the BaZi-Calculator. It denotes attractiveness and romance; however, remember that flowers are only beautiful as long as they are not plucked and wither sooner than later once they are.

Keep in mind that quite often, without even the appearance of the Shen Sha, our own behavior at any given time can create the same result for good or bad as well. Not limited, but here is the list of common Shen Sha influential stars.

神杀 Shen Sha - The Influential Star
貴人 Gui Ren	Heavenly Noble	桃花 Tao Hua	Peach Blossom
羊刃 Yang Ren	Agressive Sword	紅豔 Hong Yan	Red Envy
沐浴 Mu Yu	Bath	咸池 Xian Chi	Salty Pond
將星 Jiang Xing	General Star	文昌 Wen Chang	Literary Star
驛馬 Yi Ma	Post Horse	金輿 Jin Yu	Golden Carriage
劫煞 Jie Sha	Robbery Star	墓庫 Mu Ku	Tomb Storage
干祿 Gan Lu	Prosperity Star	飛刃 Fei Ren	Flying Dagger