Twelve Duty Gods

The Twelve Duty Gods are twelve spirits rotating on a daily basis in the traditional almanac, divided into two groups: the Yellow Road (auspicious) and the Black Road (inauspicious). The six Yellow Road gods include Azure Dragon, Bright Hall, Golden Casket, Heavenly Virtue, Jade Hall, and Life Governor. The six Black Road gods are Heavenly Punishment, Vermilion Bird, White Tiger, Heavenly Prison, Dark Warrior, and Twisted Snake. The 'Duty God' column in the almanac marks which spirit is in charge on a given day. Historically, people used the attributes of the duty god to determine the general auspiciousness or inauspiciousness of a day; for example, Yellow Road days are generally favorable for most activities, while Black Road days require caution. This is a common classification method in the culture of date selection.