What is Lu Ma Jiao Chi (Wealth and Horse Gallop Together)?

Tian Ma is the traveling horse, standing for rushing about, change and relocation; Lu is income and good fortune. When the two meet, it is called Lu Ma Jiao Chi (Lu and Ma galloping together): a horse carrying wealth on its back, gaining more the further it runs. The ancients read it as "wealth made on the move," especially favorable for going away, field sales and work across regions. To see whether you have it, draw your chart.

The conditions for Lu Ma Jiao Chi

Xingge's detection:

• A palace has Lu: Lu Cun, or your birth-year Hua Lu.
• Tian Ma is in the same palace, or in that palace's opposite palace.
• Any of the twelve palaces counts.

Tian Ma only ever lands in Yin, Shen, Si or Hai.

Because there are two kinds of Lu, and Tian Ma can be in the same or the opposite palace, the combination is very common: about 1 chart in 3 has Lu Ma Jiao Chi in some palace; in the Life Palace, about 1 in 30.

The Quan Shu's definition is much stricter. When the Zhu Xing Wen Da Lun in volume one asks about Tian Ma, it says:

If it shares a palace with Lu Cun, it is called Lu Ma Jiao Chi, also called the horse with a broken whip.

The classics' Lu Ma Jiao Chi only means Lu Cun and Tian Ma in the same palace. Xingge also counts Hua Lu as Lu and includes the opposite palace, a much wider scope: by the classical definition, about 1 chart in 10 has it; by Xingge's reading, about 1 in 3. If your chart is marked Lu Ma Jiao Chi, you can look one step further: is it Lu Cun or Hua Lu, the same palace or the opposite? Lu Cun and Tian Ma in the same palace is the classics' kind, and its effect is the most direct.

What the classics say, and how we read it today

When volume one discusses Wu Qu, it says:

With Lu Ma Jiao Chi, wealth is made in distant lands.

Volume three has the same line: "Wu Qu with Lu Ma Jiao Chi makes a fortune in distant lands." "Distant lands" means faraway places: the wealth lies elsewhere, at a distance. When volume one discusses Zi Wei, it also says "Lu Ma Jiao Chi, not falling into voidness" can be read as noble, pointing at something else: what Lu and Ma fear most is falling into voidness, covered below.

Today, Lu Ma Jiao Chi commonly looks like this:

• The more you move, the more you gain. Staying put feels stifling; business trips, postings and changes of scene often bring opportunities.
• Suited to work across regions. Sales, trade, logistics, travel, overseas postings, remote freelancing and international collaboration.
• Money follows action. It isn't waited for; it is run down.

In the words of the Lu Cun and Tian Ma lesson: Lu Cun is steady and holds on, Tian Ma moves and goes looking for opportunities, so together they have both wealth and the willingness to run for it.

In different palaces

• Life Palace: you can't sit still by nature, and the busier you are the more energized you feel; suited to work that involves moving around.
• Wealth Palace: money comes with movement, with more income from sales, trade and work away from home.
• Career Palace: frequent business travel and changing projects; results build up amid change.
• Travel Palace: your fortunes away from home are better than at home, and you develop more easily after leaving familiar places.
• Property Palace: moving and changing homes often bring benefits, and some people buy property elsewhere.

Where Lu Ma Jiao Chi tends to get stuck

First, running too much. Tian Ma keeps you wanting to move; with an overpacked schedule, what you earn gets eaten up by the rushing around.

Second, unable to stop. Used to finding opportunities by moving, you can grow impatient when something needs long-term tending.

Third, focusing only outward and forgetting to keep. With Lu Cun and Tian Ma together, Lu Cun is still there to hold on; with only Hua Lu meeting Tian Ma, what comes in needs deliberately setting aside.

What weakens it

• Falling into voidness. What the classics care about most is Lu and Ma "not falling into voidness." When the Lu star or Tian Ma falls into Jie Kong or Xun Kong, you run and come up empty; see Lu Feng Jie Kong, Ma Feng Jie Kong and Ma Feng Xun Kong.
• Meeting Di Kong or Di Jie. A Lu star meeting Di Kong or Di Jie lets gains slip away easily; see Lu Feng Kong Jie.
• A Hua Ji clash. Hua Lu clashed by Hua Ji means gains in hand are easily disrupted; see Lu Feng Chong Po.

On the other hand, with Hua Quan, Hua Ke, Zuo Fu, You Bi, Tian Kui or Tian Yue in the San Fang as well, wealth on the move comes with helpers and reputation besides.

How to check whether you have Lu Ma Jiao Chi

1. Draw your chart and find which palace Tian Ma is in (only ever Yin, Shen, Si or Hai).
2. See whether Tian Ma's palace, or the palace opposite it, has Lu Cun or a star marked "Lu."
3. If so, you have Lu Ma Jiao Chi; Lu Cun in the same palace as Tian Ma is the kind the classics define.

Common questions

What does Lu Ma Jiao Chi mean?

A Lu star (Lu Cun or Hua Lu) meeting Tian Ma is called Lu Ma Jiao Chi. Lu is income and Tian Ma is rushing about and change; together, the ancients read wealth made on the move: the more you move, the more you gain, especially in going away, field sales and work across regions.

Does Lu Ma Jiao Chi have to be in the same palace?

The Quan Shu defines it as "if it shares a palace with Lu Cun, it is called Lu Ma Jiao Chi," counting only Lu Cun and Tian Ma in the same palace. Xingge widens it to include Hua Lu and Tian Ma in the opposite palace, so if your chart is marked Lu Ma Jiao Chi, check whether Lu Cun and Tian Ma share a palace to know whether it is the classics' kind.

What work suits Lu Ma Jiao Chi?

Work that involves moving around or crossing regions, such as sales, trade, logistics, travel, overseas postings and international collaboration. The classics say "with Lu Ma Jiao Chi, wealth is made in distant lands": wealth often lies elsewhere, at a distance.

Is Lu Ma Jiao Chi common?

By Xingge's broad reading, about 1 chart in 3 has it in some palace, and about 1 in 30 in the Life Palace. By the classical definition, counting only Lu Cun and Tian Ma in the same palace, about 1 in 10.