What is Lu Feng Chong Po (Lu Struck and Broken)?

Hua Lu is gain, smooth going and good connections; Hua Ji is caring, getting stuck and not letting go. Lu Feng Chong Po (Lu meeting a clash) describes these two forces colliding: gains arrive, and ties arrive with them. It is a famous warning in the classics, and by Xingge's detection about 1 chart in 16 has it. To see where your Lu and Ji are, draw your chart.

How Lu Feng Chong Po forms

Xingge's detection covers two cases:

• Same palace: Hua Lu and Hua Ji sit in the same palace.
• Clash: Hua Lu is in one palace and Hua Ji in the palace directly opposite, clashing in, which is a Ji clash.

Both require that palace to have no Lu Cun. If the palace with Lu Cun has Hua Ji, flanked by Qing Yang and Tuo Luo, it has a separate name: Yang Tuo Jia Ji.

Hua Lu and Hua Ji are both set by the birth-year stem. In Yi years, for example, Tian Ji takes Hua Lu and Tai Yin takes Hua Ji, and Tian Ji and Tai Yin share a palace in Yin and Shen, so people born in Yi years with Tian Ji and Tai Yin in Yin or Shen have Hua Lu and Hua Ji squeezed into one palace. To see which four stars your birth year transforms, use the birth-year transformations lookup.

What the classics say

Both the Tai Wei Fu in volume one of the Quan Shu and volume three contain the phrase "Lu meeting a clash," with the same meaning in each: when Hua Lu meets a clash, uncertainty hides inside the good side, and you can't judge by smooth appearances alone.

The classics don't limit the "clash" to Hua Ji; challenging stars clashing in can count too. Xingge's detection only looks at Hua Ji, because among the four transformations Hua Ji is the force most directly opposed to Hua Lu; the effect of challenging stars is handled by other combinations, such as Lu Feng Kong Jie.

How to read it today

The two cases have rather different flavors:

Same palace: gains and costs tied together. You land a good opportunity and take on a headache with it; a promotion and raise come with double the responsibility and pressure; a relationship is very sweet and also hard to stop worrying about. Xingge's reading: before taking the gain, work out the cost you'll pay.

Clash: outside matters disrupt gains in hand. Things on your side were going well, but matters from the opposite palace intrude. For example, with Hua Lu in the Wealth Palace and Hua Ji clashing in from the Fortune Palace, you can earn, but moods or spending habits make it hard to keep. Xingge's reading: gains in hand are easily disrupted by outside matters; hold on first, then seek more.

The lessons on Hua Lu, Hua Ji and the Ji clash help you read the two forces separately and then together.

Which palaces to watch most

Lu Feng Chong Po can appear in any palace, and it affects that palace's theme:

• Life Palace: high expectations of yourself; especially smooth when things go well, especially hard to let go when they stall.
• Wealth Palace: money comes, but often with extra expenses or strings attached.
• Spouse Palace: as much sweetness as worry in love; learning to relax helps.
• Career Palace: good job opportunities, but often the "too hot to handle" kind.

What loosens it

• Hua Quan or Hua Ke in the same palace or the San Fang. The other two transformations help steady the situation.
• The Hua Lu star is bright itself. At Miao or Wang, the gain has a thicker base and still has room to spare when clashed.
• The period moves on. The Decade and Annual Luck add their own transformations, and in years when Hua Lu is reinforced, the birth chart's clash fades.

How to check whether you have Lu Feng Chong Po

1. Draw your chart and find which palace the star marked "Lu" is in.
2. See whether the same palace has a star marked "Ji."
3. Then check whether the palace directly opposite (six palaces away) has a "Ji."

If so, that palace is where you most need to "think of the cost first, hold on before seeking more."

Common questions

What does Lu Feng Chong Po mean?

Hua Lu meeting Hua Ji: both in the same palace, or Hua Ji clashing in from the opposite palace. Hua Lu stands for gains and Hua Ji for ties and worry, so together the gains carry a cost. The Quan Shu uses the phrase to warn against judging by smooth appearances alone.

Is Hua Lu with Hua Ji in the same palace good or bad?

Both forces are present, so it isn't simply good or bad. The common picture is that area brings especially rich rewards and is especially hard to let go of. The key is to work out what you'll give before taking the gain; knowing the cost, you're less likely to be led by it.

Does Lu Cun meeting Hua Ji count as Lu Feng Chong Po?

Xingge classes Lu Cun with Hua Ji in the same palace separately as Yang Tuo Jia Ji, because Lu Cun always has Qing Yang and Tuo Luo on either side, which changes the meaning. Lu Feng Chong Po only looks at the palace with Hua Lu.