What is the Lu Cun star?

If Hua Lu is "the gains that flow in," Lu Cun is "the good fortune you can keep." It is the steadiest wealth star in Zi Wei Dou Shu: not necessarily big swings, but a solid floor underneath. Lu Cun has one built-in predicament, though: it is always flanked by Qing Yang in front and Tuo Luo behind, so it is very good at holding on, and finds it harder to let go. To see which palace your Lu Cun is in, draw your chart.

What kind of star is Lu Cun

Lu Cun is a star of income and fortune, often discussed with Tian Ma, the two together called "Lu and Ma." Xingge describes its nature as steady wealth: cautious, good at saving, and held in check by Qing Yang and Tuo Luo on either side. It belongs to neither the Six Auspicious Stars nor the Six Malefic Stars but is a category of its own; the Lu Cun and Tian Ma lesson introduces it in full.

How Lu Cun is placed

Lu Cun goes by the stem of your birth year. The verse in volume two of the Quan Shu reads:

Born in Jia, Lu Cun is in Yin; in Yi, in Mao; in Bing or Wu, in Si; in Ding or Ji, Lu Cun rests at Wu; in Geng, Lu sits in Shen; in Xin, in You; in Ren, in Hai; in Gui, in Zi.

So everyone born in the same year has Lu Cun in the same branch. The table also shows that Lu Cun only ever lands in Yin, Mao, Si, Wu, Shen, You, Hai or Zi, and never in Chen, Xu, Chou or Wei, the four "tomb" palaces.

Qing Yang and Tuo Luo always flank Lu Cun

Qing Yang is always in the palace after Lu Cun, and Tuo Luo always in the palace before it. When volume three of the Quan Shu discusses Yang Tuo Jia Ji, its example has the Life Palace in Shen, Qing Yang in You and Tuo Luo in Wei, with Lu Cun in Shen in the middle. In other words, on every chart, the palace with Lu Cun is Yang Tuo Jia Lu.

That is where Lu Cun's character comes from: with Qing Yang's charge in front and Tuo Luo's drag behind, Lu Cun in the middle has little choice but to hold its ground. Practitioners tend to read it this way: people with Lu Cun know resources don't come easily, so they save, they calculate, and they don't take risks lightly; the downside is holding on so well that they hesitate when an opportunity comes.

What the classics say

The Zhu Xing Wen Da Lun chapter in volume one says:

Lu Cun is the third star of the Northern Dipper, the lodge of the immortal. It rules rank and title, and governs the foundation of a long life.

Volume two says it brings "maturity and composure, a kind and upright heart, adaptability, wide learning and many skills," and also that it is "a blessing in the Life, Career and Property Palaces." The same volume warns that when Lu Cun guards the Life Palace alone, without other auspicious stars nearby, one tends to think only about keeping wealth. Read for today: being good at saving is a strength, but leave a little for yourself and the people around you.

Lu Cun in the Life Palace

With Lu Cun in the Life Palace, the main star gains a layer of "steady, careful, values security." Practitioners tend to read it like this:

• A sound attitude to money. Inclined to save first and spend later, rarely an impulse buyer, and not fond of borrowing.
• Cautious and reliable. Keeps promises, and doesn't like changing course.
• Steady good fortune. Not necessarily great wealth or status, but often a floor that doesn't give way.

With Lu Cun in the Life Palace, the palaces on either side always hold Qing Yang and Tuo Luo, so there is often some tension in the Siblings and Parents Palaces. If the main star is one that already values resources, like Zi Wei, Tian Fu or Wu Qu, Lu Cun strengthens the ability to hold on to wealth; if the main star is a charger like Po Jun or Qi Sha, Lu Cun adds some calculation before the charge.

Lu Cun in the twelve palaces

• Wealth Palace: the placement people mention most. Volume two says Lu Cun brings "full granaries and chests, gold and jade piled high": steady money that accumulates.
• Career Palace: a stable working life, well suited to building up over the long term within an organization. Volume two says Lu Cun "with the auspicious stars is good in both civil and military or command roles, bringing both wealth and position."
• Property Palace: good at keeping what you have, and you care about your own home. Volume two lists the Life, Career and Property Palaces as Lu Cun's most fortunate placements.
• Travel Palace: away from home, food and clothing are never lacking. Volume two says Lu Cun "away from home brings livelihood to your heart's content," and a verse in volume one says Lu Cun facing the Travel Palace, or met in the trines, often looks like someone who builds everything from nothing.
• Spouse Palace: partners value security and commitment; slow to warm up but lasting, and fairly reserved in how feelings are expressed.
• Fortune Palace: a grounded mind, but also prone to overthinking and reluctant to treat yourself well.

Lu Cun and the four transformations

Lu Cun takes none of the four transformations, but it is often read alongside Hua Lu:

• Lu Cun is the stock; Hua Lu is the flow. Lu Cun stands for a steady foundation; Hua Lu stands for things that readily pay off and good connections. The Hua Lu lesson covers it in full.
• When two Lu meet. With both Lu Cun and Hua Lu in the Life Palace's San Fang Si Zheng, Xingge calls it Shuang Lu Jiao Liu (two Lu exchanging): more than one source of income. A verse in volume one says "flanking Lu, embracing nobles, and Hua Lu besides: gold upon gold, a house full of gold," which speaks to the benefit of plenty of Lu.
• When Hua Ji lands in the palace with Lu Cun. Then Hua Ji is flanked by Qing Yang and Tuo Luo, which is Yang Tuo Jia Ji: the thing you can least let go of gets stuck here, and needs loosening slowly. As the Hua Ji lesson says, Hua Ji marks where you care the most; it isn't a bad thing.

To see where your own birth-year transformations land, use the birth-year transformations lookup.

Common combinations with Lu Cun

• [Lu Ma Jiao Chi](/geju/luma-jiaochi): a Lu star and Tian Ma in the same palace or opposite each other. The more you move, the more you gain, especially in matters away from home or across regions.
• Shuang Lu Jiao Liu: Lu Cun and Hua Lu both in the Life Palace's trines; more than one source of income.
• Yang Tuo Jia Ji: Hua Ji lands in the palace with Lu Cun.
• [Lu Feng Kong Jie](/geju/lufeng-kongjie): Lu Cun with Di Kong and Di Jie in the same palace. The gains do arrive, but slip away easily.

The conditions and readings for these combinations are covered in the Lu Cun and Tian Ma lesson and the flanking palaces lesson.

Common questions

What does the Lu Cun star represent?

Lu Cun is the star of steady income in Zi Wei Dou Shu: stable good fortune, caution and saving. In whichever palace it sits, that palace's affairs are steadier and easier to hold on to, though also harder to let go of.

What is the difference between Lu Cun and Hua Lu?

Lu Cun is a star, placed in a fixed branch by the birth-year stem, and stands for a foundation you can keep. Hua Lu is one of the four transformations, a benefit given to a particular star by the stem, and stands for gains that flow in. With both in the Life Palace's trines, Xingge calls it Shuang Lu Jiao Liu.

Why are Qing Yang and Tuo Luo always next to Lu Cun?

By the placement rules, Qing Yang is always in the palace after Lu Cun and Tuo Luo in the palace before it, so on every chart Lu Cun is flanked by the two. The ancients called this Yang Tuo Jia Lu. It is also why Lu Cun is so good at holding on, and finds it hard to let go.

Is Lu Cun good in the Life Palace?

Practitioners usually read it as a sound attitude to money, reliability and steady good fortune. The downside is being too cautious and hesitating when opportunities come. If the Life Palace's trines also hold Hua Lu or other auspicious stars, Lu Cun's steadiness becomes a very good foundation.