What is Zuo You Tong Gong (Assistants Together)?

Zuo Fu and You Bi are the pair among the Six Auspicious Stars devoted to "having help": Zuo Fu is steady, open support and backing from peers; You Bi is goodwill behind the scenes and someone stepping in at the key moment. With both in the same palace, it is called Zuo You Tong Gong (Zuo Fu and You Bi in the same palace), and that palace's affairs have help both visible and hidden. To see whether you have it, draw your chart.

The conditions for Zuo You Tong Gong

• Zuo Fu and You Bi share a palace.
• Any of the twelve palaces counts.

Zuo Fu's and You Bi's positions are both set by the birth month: Zuo Fu counts forward from Chen, You Bi backward from Xu. Moving in opposite directions, they only meet twice a year:

• Born in the fourth lunar month: Zuo Fu and You Bi together in Wei.
• Born in the tenth lunar month: Zuo Fu and You Bi together in Chou.

So about 1 chart in 6 has Zuo You Tong Gong in some palace; in the Life Palace, about 1 in 70.

What the classics say, and how we read it today

Volume three of the Quan Shu says:

Zuo Fu and You Bi in the same palace: robed in purple silk.

"Purple silk" was the purple robe of high officials, meaning high rank and a name. When volume one discusses Tai Yang, it also says:

If it shares a palace with Zuo Fu and You Bi, it is read as noble.

Zuo Fu and You Bi rank very high in the classics. Describing Zi Wei's court, volume one says it "takes Zuo Fu and You Bi as ministers": the two are the chief ministers beside the emperor star. That is why the strictest definition of Jun Chen Qing Hui wants Zi Wei sitting in the Life Palace with both of them: Zi Wei in Chou or Wei always shares the palace with Po Jun, so only someone with Zi Wei and Po Jun in the Life Palace in Chou or Wei, born in the fourth or tenth month, with Zuo Fu and You Bi in that same Life Palace, has the classics' chart of "Zi Wei with Zuo Fu and You Bi guarding the Life Palace together."

Xingge's Zuo You Tong Gong doesn't restrict the palace and reads whichever palace the two sit in.

Today, Zuo You Tong Gong commonly looks like this:

• You don't have to carry it alone. In that palace's affairs, someone is always willing to share the load.
• Help both visible and hidden. Zuo Fu is open support, like colleagues and partners; You Bi is private help, like a friend's introduction or someone sorting things out for you.
• A strong network. Working with people goes smoothly, and you easily find people to work alongside.

In different palaces

• Life Palace: well liked and easily supported; suited to leading a team or to coordinating roles.
• Career Palace: good colleagues and capable help at work; teamwork is a strength.
• Wealth Palace: someone often leads or introduces you to earning opportunities; partnerships and connections bring income.
• Spouse Palace: your partner is a capable helper; some also read it as more people around the relationship, so boundaries need to be clear.
• Siblings and Friends Palaces: many friends, with peers supporting one another.
• Travel Palace: someone looks out for you away from home, and you easily find help in new places.

Where Zuo You Tong Gong tends to get stuck

First, relying on it too much. With plenty of helpers, it's easy to hand things off and have them taken care of, and your own grip on things loosens.

Second, the weight of favors. You Bi is the star of goodwill; receiving a lot of help means owing a lot of favors, so remember to repay them.

Third, lots of opinions. Many helpers bring many opinions, and in the end you still have to make the call yourself.

What strengthens it and what weakens it

• Strengthens: a main star in the same palace that needs helpers, like Zi Wei or Tian Fu, or being born in a Wu year, when You Bi takes Hua Ke, so your helpers also bring reputation. Tian Kui, Tian Yue, Wen Chang or Wen Qu in the San Fang as well make the help more complete.
• Weakens: Qing Yang, Tuo Luo, Di Kong, Di Jie or Hua Ji in the same palace; the helpers are still there, but working together brings more friction.

Zuo Fu and You Bi not in the same palace but flanking a palace from either side is a different pattern, Zuo You Jia, which the classics call "a noble pattern" when it flanks the Life Palace.

How to check whether you have Zuo You Tong Gong

1. Check whether you were born in the fourth or tenth lunar month.
2. Draw your chart and find the palace where Zuo Fu and You Bi sit together (Wei for the fourth month, Chou for the tenth).
3. See which of your palaces it is; that is where help comes most easily.

Common questions

What does Zuo You Tong Gong mean?

Zuo Fu and You Bi sitting in the same palace is called Zuo You Tong Gong. Zuo Fu is open support and You Bi private goodwill, so with both together, that palace's affairs have help both visible and hidden. Volume three of the Quan Shu says "Zuo Fu and You Bi in the same palace: robed in purple silk."

Who has Zuo You Tong Gong?

Zuo Fu's and You Bi's positions are set by the birth month, and only people born in the fourth lunar month (both in Wei) or the tenth (both in Chou) have them in the same palace. Which palace depends on your chart; any of the twelve is possible.

Is Zuo You Tong Gong good in the Spouse Palace?

Zuo Fu and You Bi in the Spouse Palace are often read as a partner who is a capable helper, with the two of you working well together. Some practitioners also note that Zuo Fu and You Bi are stars of "many people," so there may be more people around the relationship, and boundaries are worth stating clearly.

How does Zuo You Tong Gong relate to Jun Chen Qing Hui?

The strictest definition of Jun Chen Qing Hui is Zi Wei sitting in the Life Palace together with Zuo Fu and You Bi. Zuo Fu and You Bi only share a palace in Chou and Wei, and Zi Wei in Chou or Wei always shares the palace with Po Jun, so the charts that meet the strict classical definition are those with Zi Wei and Po Jun in the Life Palace in Chou or Wei and Zuo Fu and You Bi in that same palace.