What is the Tian Kui star?

Some doors in life you can't open by knocking, but someone opens them for you. Tian Kui is about that kind of person: a manager, a teacher, an elder, a mentor who gives you a hand in public and vouches for you. It pairs with Tian Yue, and the ancients called the two together the Tian Yi nobles. To see which palace your noble star falls in, draw your chart.

What kind of star is Tian Kui

Tian Kui is one of the Six Auspicious Stars. Xingge calls it "the daytime noble": older, established, open promotion. Tian Yue is "the nighttime noble": low-key, private help. One yang and one yin; one in the open, one out of sight.

How Tian Kui is placed

Tian Kui goes by the stem of your birth year, so everyone born in the same year has Tian Kui in the same branch. The verse in volume two of the Quan Shu runs:

Jia, Wu and Geng: the ox and the goat. Yi and Ji: the rat and the monkey. Xin: the tiger and the horse.

Each line names a pair of branches ("ox and goat" are Chou and Wei; "tiger and horse" are Yin and Wu). Spelled out:

• Jia, Wu and Geng years: Tian Kui in Chou (ox), Tian Yue in Wei (goat).
• Yi and Ji years: Tian Kui in Zi (rat), Tian Yue in Shen (monkey).
• Xin years: Tian Kui in Wu (horse), Tian Yue in Yin (tiger).
• Ren and Gui years: Tian Kui in Mao (rabbit), Tian Yue in Si (snake).
• Bing and Ding years: Tian Kui in Hai (pig), Tian Yue in You (rooster).

The transcription on Wikisource gives the Bing–Ding line as "pig and dog," a copying error; standard practice, and Xingge, use Hai and You. The table also shows that Tian Kui and Tian Yue never land in Chen or Xu. Later astrology books call Chen the Heavenly Net and Xu the Earthly Snare, and often say that "nobles never fall into the net." This is what they mean.

What the classics say

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

Kui and Yue are the stars that oversee rank and exams. In the Life Palace, sitting with a noble and facing a noble, or joined by Zuo Fu, You Bi and the auspicious stars, there is always wealth and standing.

The verse in the same passage opens with "the Tian Yi noble, honored by all." The ancients saw Tian Kui and Tian Yue as stars of exam success and rank, and as stars that, in hard times, "bring a noble who helps you through." Read for today: at the checkpoints where someone has to say yes, like admissions, job offers and promotions, people with Tian Kui are more likely to find someone willing to speak up for them.

Tian Kui in the Life Palace

With Tian Kui in the Life Palace, the main star gains a layer of "easily noticed and promoted." Practitioners tend to read it like this:

• Gets on well with elders. Teachers, managers and mentors are willing to give you a chance, and someone often recommends you at the key moment.
• Upright bearing. You come across as reliable and well judged, and suit representing your team in formal settings.
• Opportunities come from above. More often you are handed a task or invited in than you have to fight your way in.

Tian Kui's help is something others give you, so remember: once you have been promoted, staying there is still up to you.

Tian Kui in the twelve palaces

• Career Palace: someone who recognizes your talent often appears at work; you do well in organizations with a clear path for promotion.
• Wealth Palace: money often comes through elders, managers or public partnerships. Volume two says Kui and Yue "bring money with integrity, and a life that goes as you wish."
• Travel Palace: away from home, you tend to meet people of standing and be appreciated in public settings.
• Spouse Palace: your partner may be more mature than you, or able to guide you in some area. Volume two's section on the Spouse Palace says Tian Kui and Tian Yue "mostly mean a handsome couple," which the ancients read as an outstanding partner.
• Parents Palace: relationships with elders and superiors are usually good, and institutional resources come more easily.
• Fortune Palace: when trouble comes, part of you knows "someone will help," so you panic less.

Tian Kui and the four transformations

Tian Kui takes none of the four transformations. It already carries a sense of "rank and recognition," so it is often read together with Hua Ke: when Tian Kui and Hua Ke share a palace or face the same palace, the ancients read stronger reputation, exam success and recognition. What Hua Ke means is covered in the Hua Quan and Hua Ke lesson.

Common combinations with Tian Kui

• Zuo Gui Xiang Gui (sitting with a noble, facing a noble): Tian Kui in the Life Palace and Tian Yue in the opposite palace (or the other way round), one noble in front and one behind. Only people born in Jia, Wu or Geng years with the Life Palace in Chou or Wei have this.
• Kui and Yue flanking a palace: Tian Kui and Tian Yue sit on either side of a palace. By the table above, this only happens in Bing, Ding, Ren and Gui years, and the flanked palace is always Xu or Chen.
• Tian Kui with Zuo Fu, You Bi, Wen Chang and Wen Qu: the classics say Kui and Yue "joined by Zuo Fu, You Bi and the auspicious stars always bring wealth and standing." The more of the Six Auspicious Stars gather, the more complete the help.

The full reading of the six is in the Six Auspicious Stars lesson, and how flanking works is in the flanking palaces lesson.

Common questions

What does the Tian Kui star represent?

Tian Kui is one of the Six Auspicious Stars in Zi Wei Dou Shu, which the ancients called a Tian Yi noble. It stands for open backing and promotion from people senior to you, such as teachers, managers and mentors. In whichever palace it sits, someone is more likely to speak up for you publicly in that area.

What is the difference between Tian Kui and Tian Yue?

Tian Kui is the yang noble: open promotion from people who are older and established. Tian Yue is the yin noble: low-key, private help. Both are placed by the birth-year stem, so everyone born in the same year has them in the same branches.

How is Tian Kui placed?

By the stem of your birth year: Chou in Jia, Wu and Geng years; Zi in Yi and Ji years; Wu in Xin years; Mao in Ren and Gui years; Hai in Bing and Ding years. The stem follows the lunar year, so if you were born before Lunar New Year, use the previous year.

What is Zuo Gui Xiang Gui?

It is when Tian Kui and Tian Yue sit one in the Life Palace and one in the opposite palace, two nobles shining on you from front and back. By the placement rules, only people born in Jia, Wu or Geng years with the Life Palace in Chou or Wei have this combination.