The Structure (Ge Ju) reads the whole chart as a single "type," centered on the Month Branch. Like Direct Officer, Eating God or Indirect Resource structures, it captures the kind of stage on which your life plays out.
What a Structure is
A Structure frames "what type is this chart" before reading it character by character. It usually takes its name — Direct Officer, Eating God, Indirect Wealth structure — from the Ten God that shows most strongly from the birth month.
Charts of the same type share a similar character of stage. A Direct Officer structure is a stage of discipline and status, an Eating God structure a stage of expression and production — the Structure points to the broad direction of a person’s life.
How to read a Structure
A chart with a clear, well-formed Structure has a definite direction and gathers its force in one place. A chart with a blurred or mixed Structure can be versatile but struggle to find focus.
The key is not to treat the Structure as a fixed grade. It is not "good chart / bad chart" but closer to a map of the life texture and strategy that suits a person.
Frequently asked
A Structure is a type, not a ranking. A well-formed structure has the strength of a clear direction, but any structure shines when balance and the Useful God support it. "How you live the structure" matters more than "the structure is good."
It is mainly set by the Ten God that emerges or acts most strongly from the birth month. In practice there are many exceptions and variant structures, so it is judged carefully alongside the whole chart.