What is the Tian De star?

When things are stuck, someone happens to call; a partnership you thought was over gets back on track after all. Tian De (Heavenly Virtue) is about this kind of turnaround. It is a very light minor star, called the "Two Virtues" together with Yue De, and often read alongside Jie Shen and Nian Jie. To find out which palace Tian De falls in, draw your chart.

What kind of star is the Tian De minor star

Tian De is a helpful star of blessing and turnaround, and also of a generous heart. Wang Tingzhi says Tian De especially favors the father or older men in the family, and that with Tai Yang or Tian Liang in the Parents Palace, it often brings support from elders; he also warns that Tian De can't turn everything around, and that matters of health and lawsuits don't rest on it. In whichever palace it sits, that palace's affairs have a better chance of turning when trouble comes. It doesn't guarantee things will go smoothly; it's more like keeping a door open for you when you get stuck.

How Tian De is placed: starting the Zi year at You

Tian De goes by your birth-year branch: start the Zi year at the You palace and count forward to your birth year. A Zi year is in You, a Chou year in Xu, a Yin year in Hai, and so on. It is one of the few minor stars whose placement verse is written in the Zi Wei Dou Shu Quan Shu (The Complete Book of Zi Wei Dou Shu). The verse for placing Tian De, Yue De and Jie Shen in volume two says:

Tian De starts Zi at You and counts forward to the Tai Sui of the current year.

Xingge's placement matches this text. Yue De, in the same passage, is also placed by the text on Xingge, which differs from most charting software; the Yue De page explains.

More than one "Tian De"

You may see several Tian De on charts and calendars:

• The Year God Tian De: the Twelve Year Gods (Sui Qian) start Sui Jian at the Tai Sui palace, and the tenth position is Tian De, which happens to be the same position as starting the Zi year at You. So on the natal chart, the Tian De minor star and the Year God Tian De share a palace; in the annual chart, the Sui Qian set is placed again by that year's branch, and its Tian De moves to another cell. The Bo Shi, Jiang Qian and Sui Qian lesson introduces these three sets.
• Bazi's Tian De Gui Ren: goes by birth month; the San Ming Tong Hui, a Ming-dynasty classic of Bazi (Four Pillars), has the full table in its chapter on Tian De and Yue De. It is a different system.
• Tian De in date selection: an auspicious spirit for hours in the almanac, unrelated to the birth chart.

The Tian De minor star in key palaces

• Life Palace: when you hit a hard patch, people or chance often help you through; keep goodwill in your heart, and the turn comes faster.
• Spouse Palace: after fights and rough patches in a relationship, you can usually make up. Talking it through works better than the silent treatment.
• Wealth Palace: when money can't be stretched for a while, there is often a way to work it out. Talk it over with someone first, and don't rush to cut your losses.
• Career Palace: when work gets stuck there is often room to turn it around, and someone often speaks up for you. Don't rush to give up; get through this stretch first.
• Travel Palace: when trouble comes away from home, someone often lends a hand. Make goodwill wherever you go, and the road opens up.
• Fortune Palace: knots in your heart often come undone slowly on their own. When you feel low, just give it some time.

Reading the Tian De minor star with main stars, transformations and luck periods

• Hua Ji: when Tian De shares a palace with Hua Ji, practitioners often read it as the matter you can least let go of being able to get stuck, and also to come undone. The Hua Ji lesson has the full reading of Hua Ji.
• Challenging stars: when Tian De shares a palace with fast-charging stars like Qing Yang or Huo Xing, the drive is still there, but there's a better chance of pulling back and making up.
• The Two Virtues and Jie Shen: with Tian De and Yue De in the same palace, or Jie Shen and Nian Jie added too, the sense of turning things around is strongest.
• Annual Luck: the text says Tian De "counts forward to the Tai Sui of the current year," which shows the ancients also used it for the Annual Luck. On the natal chart, Xingge places it by the birth-year branch; the annual side is taken over by the Year God Tian De of the Sui Qian set, which moves with each year's branch, and you'll see it when reading the Annual Luck.