What is Ying Xing Ru Miao (Hero Star in Its Temple)?

In the classics Po Jun transforms into Consumption and is often described as breaking and using things up. But in Zi and Wu Po Jun is at Miao, its best position, and later astrology books gave this combination a fine name: Ying Xing Ru Miao (the hero star at Miao). Tearing down the old and building the new, put to the right use, is the power to pioneer and reform. To see whether you have it, draw your chart.

The conditions for Ying Xing Ru Miao

The condition is: the Life Palace is in Zi or Wu, and its only main star is Po Jun.

In Zi and Wu, Po Jun always sits alone, at Miao. The Travel Palace opposite holds Lian Zhen and Tian Xiang. By this condition, about 1 chart in 70 has it.

Because Qi Sha, Po Jun and Tan Lang always sit in trine with one another, Ying Xing Ru Miao is always on the Sha Po Lang line.

The name "Ying Xing Ru Miao" was given by later astrology books; the Quan Shu has no pattern by this name. But it consistently rates Po Jun in Zi and Wu highly.

What the classics say

The Gu Sui Fu says:

Po Jun in Zi or Wu: promotion and rising income.

When volume three discusses Po Jun, its first line is:

Po Jun in Zi or Wu with no challenging stars: an official's standing, pure and distinguished, reaching the three highest offices. People born in Jia and Gui years fit the pattern.

"No challenging stars" means none join it; "the three highest offices" is the very top. Why Jia and Gui years? The transformations: in Jia years Po Jun takes Hua Quan, and in Gui years Hua Lu, lighting up the Po Jun in the Life Palace directly.

Volume two also has a poem on Po Jun in Zi and Wu:

Po Jun in Zi or Wu meets Wen Chang, with Zuo Fu and You Bi both entering the halls of court: wealth abounds and the heart is generous; income and office shine in service of the ruler.

Meeting Wen Chang and Zuo Fu and You Bi as well, the ancients said, brings both wealth and office.

How to read it today

Po Jun's nature is restlessness with the status quo: break first, then build. At its brightest, a closer reading:

• The strongest pioneering drive. When something is unreasonable, you want to change it; when nobody is doing something, you want to do it. Suited to opening new ground, reform and leading transformation.
• Suited to stages in flux. Startups, organizations in transition, new business development, rebuilding products, reform-minded roles: work that needs "tear down, then rebuild."
• Able to let go. Things most people can't bear to throw away, people with Po Jun let go of more cleanly, so every restart is fast.

Where Ying Xing Ru Miao tends to get stuck

First, high consumption. Po Jun transforms into Consumption; tearing down and building both cost something. Time, money and goodwill all get used up in the process of starting over. Before opening something new, work out what this round will cost.

Second, impatience with maintaining. Once it's built, what comes next is maintenance and running it, which is exactly the stage Po Jun finds most boring. Working with someone good at keeping things going makes a big difference.

Third, Lian Zhen and Tian Xiang opposite. The Travel Palace holds Lian Zhen and Tian Xiang, meaning out in the world you have to mind rules, relationships and image. Po Jun wants to break things, while the world outside wants you to follow the rules; learning to handle that pull matters.

What weakens it

• Qing Yang, Tuo Luo, Huo Xing or Ling Xing in the same palace as Po Jun. The Tai Wei Fu says "Qi Sha and Po Jun rely entirely on the ferocity of Qing Yang and Ling Xing": with challenging stars, the force of breaking is amplified, and things can be torn down too fast.
• Di Kong or Di Jie in the Life Palace. Fast to tear down, and the rebuilding easily comes to nothing.
• Hua Ji in the San Fang. Each restart carries an extra layer of worry.

On the other hand, Po Jun taking Hua Quan in Jia years and Hua Lu in Gui years are the years the classics single out, and Wen Chang, Zuo Fu and You Bi in the San Fang is the arrangement in volume two's poem.

How to check whether you have Ying Xing Ru Miao

1. Draw your chart and see whether your Life Palace is in Zi or Wu.
2. Check whether its only main star is Po Jun.
3. Then look at your birth-year stem: Jia and Gui are the years the classics name. You can confirm with the birth-year transformations lookup.

Po Jun's full personality is in its star introduction, and the difference between Qi Sha and Po Jun is in the Qi Sha and Po Jun lesson. The similar pattern for Qi Sha in the Life Palace in Yin, Shen, Zi or Wu is called Qi Sha Chao Dou.

Common questions

What does Ying Xing Ru Miao mean?

Po Jun alone in the Life Palace in Zi or Wu, at Miao, its best position. The Quan Shu says "Po Jun in Zi or Wu: promotion and rising income," and volume three says "Po Jun in Zi or Wu with no challenging stars: an official's standing, pure and distinguished, reaching the three highest offices." Today it reads as the strongest pioneering drive, suited to opening new ground and reform.

Is Ying Xing Ru Miao a pattern in the Quan Shu?

The name "Ying Xing Ru Miao" comes from later astrology books; the Quan Shu has no pattern by this name. But the Quan Shu's Gu Sui Fu, volume two and volume three all speak well of Po Jun in Zi and Wu.

Why do the classics say Jia and Gui years are best?

In Jia years Po Jun takes Hua Quan, and in Gui years Hua Lu, so the Po Jun in the Life Palace is lit by the transformations directly. Volume three's "people born in Jia and Gui years fit the pattern" refers to these two years.

How common is Ying Xing Ru Miao?

About 1 chart in 70. It needs Po Jun alone in the Life Palace exactly in Zi or Wu.