What is San Fang Si Zheng?

San Fang Si Zheng (the palace, its opposite and its two trines) is the set of four palaces Zi Wei Dou Shu reads together whenever it looks at one palace: the palace itself, the opposite palace, and the two trine palaces on either side. The old writers never judged a palace by itself alone; they looked at the combined strength of these four.

The short version:

• Formula: San Fang Si Zheng = the palace + its opposite + its two trines, four palaces in all.
• For the Life Palace: the Life, Wealth, Career and Travel Palaces. You, your money, your work and the outside world.
• How to count: the opposite is six palaces away; the trines are four palaces away on each side. It works from any palace.
• Weight: the palace itself weighs most, then the opposite, then the trines. Read all four together; one palace alone gives a lopsided picture.

What "San Fang" and "Si Zheng" mean

• San Fang (the three directions): the palace plus its two trine palaces, forming a triangle on the chart. The trines come from the Earthly Branches: Shen-Zi-Chen, Yin-Wu-Xu, Si-You-Chou and Hai-Mao-Wei, each group four palaces apart.
• Si Zheng (the four upright points): the San Fang plus the opposite palace, six palaces away, such as Zi opposite Wu or Yin opposite Shen.

Counting it once

Say the Life Palace is in Zi. Opposite Zi is Wu, and its trines are Shen and Chen. Naming the palaces counterclockwise from Zi: Hai is Siblings, Xu is Spouse, You is Children, Shen is Wealth, and further on, Chen is Career and Wu is Travel. The four palaces are exactly the Life, Wealth, Career and Travel Palaces.

Wherever the Life Palace sits, the result is the same, because the order of the twelve palaces never changes. So the Life Palace's group is always these four:

The San Fang Si Zheng of all 12 palaces

Every other palace has its own fixed group. To read a matter, find its row and read all four palaces together:

The table hides four fixed clusters, each four palaces that are one another's San Fang Si Zheng: Life, Wealth, Career, Travel (what you do and earn); Spouse, Travel, Fortune, Career (who you're with and how you feel); Siblings, Health, Property, Friends (the people around you, your body and home); Children, Property, Friends, Parents (the generations above and below, and your network).

How the weight is shared

Most teachers read it this way: the palace itself weighs most, the opposite palace next, and the trines after that. The classics use a few verbs for where a star's force comes from:

Helpful stars are said to "support" or "face" the palace, and challenging stars to "clash." "Shining in," "meeting" and "clashing" all describe stars within the San Fang Si Zheng affecting each other.

Sharing a palace vs. shining in

• Sharing a palace: two stars in the same palace live in the same room. The effect is the most direct, and their characters blend. With Zi Wei and Qi Sha together, for example, both stars' traits show up in you at once.
• Shining in: a star in the opposite or a trine palace is like a voice from the next room. It has an effect, but a lighter one. If Zi Wei sits in the Life Palace in Zi or Wu, the opposite is always Tan Lang, and Tan Lang's sociable, lively side shows mostly when you go out and deal with people.

So the reading order is: first the stars sitting in the palace, then what shines in from the opposite, and last the two trines. The same helpful star counts for more sitting in the palace than shining in from a trine.

San Fang Si Zheng vs. flanking palaces

Flanking palaces are the two palaces right next door, a different relationship from the San Fang Si Zheng:

When the palace has no main star

A palace with no main star is an Empty Palace. Then the San Fang Si Zheng matters even more: borrow the main stars from the opposite palace first, then look at what shines in from the trines. Volume three of the Quan Shu says:

If the Life Palace has no main star, and auspicious stars shine in from the Wealth and Career Palaces, wealth and distinction are complete.

With an empty Life Palace, look at whether good stars shine in from the Wealth and Career Palaces, which are exactly two palaces of its San Fang Si Zheng.

Two worked examples

Reading work: to see what work suits someone, the Career Palace alone isn't enough. Its group is Career, Spouse (opposite), Life and Wealth. Say the Life Palace is in Yin with Tian Ji and Tai Yin together: quick-minded and attentive. The Wealth Palace in Xu holds Tian Tong, easygoing about money. The Career Palace in Wu holds Tian Liang, protective and principled, and the Spouse Palace in Zi holds Tai Yang, sending warmth and a sense of duty across to Career. The classics call this Ji Yue Tong Liang. Read together, this person suits steady work that needs care, planning and looking after people, such as advisory roles, teaching or the civil service, more than a sales job driven by bonuses.

Reading love: the Spouse Palace's group is Spouse, Career (opposite), Travel and Fortune. If the Spouse Palace star is romantic but the Career Palace star is a hard worker, this person's love life is often interrupted by work. It isn't indifference; another palace is eating the time. Then check the Fortune Palace: a steady Fortune Palace means a settled mind that rides out the ups and downs of love more easily.

How the classics use it

The Dou Shu Fa Wei Lun says:

Auspicious stars in the four upright points mean distinction; challenging stars gathered in the three directions rarely bring brilliance.

The old writers read helpful stars in the Si Zheng as distinction, while challenging stars surrounding from the trines made it hard to shine. Volume three spells out the reading order even more plainly, and its third step is:

Third, look at the stars of the Travel, Wealth and Career trines for clashes and breaks.

After the Life Palace, look at the Travel, Wealth and Career Palaces, exactly the other three palaces in the Life Palace's San Fang Si Zheng. The patterns in volume three often name the trines outright, for example: "Zi Wei and Tian Fu with Zuo Fu and You Bi in the same palace, and the three directions supporting, bring lifelong wealth and distinction."

Many classic combinations depend on the San Fang Si Zheng as well. Qi Sha, Po Jun and Tan Lang are always in trine with each other, so if one is in the Life Palace, the other two are in the Wealth and Career Palaces: that's Sha Po Lang.

Common misunderstandings

• All four don't need to be strong. A mix of strong and weak is normal; the point is to find which palace holds things up and which drags. If the Life Palace star is ordinary but the Career Palace star is strong, this person often finds themselves through work.
• The neighbors on either side don't count. The two palaces next door are "flanking," a different relationship; see the comparison above.
• Don't split the weight evenly. The palace itself weighs most. However good a trine's stars are, they help from the side and never replace the palace.
• Time has a San Fang Si Zheng too. The Life Palace of a Decade Luck or Annual Luck is also read together with its opposite and trine palaces.

Full examples and practice are in the lesson San Fang Si Zheng: the rooms talk to each other. Draw your chart and set the Life, Wealth, Career and Travel Palaces side by side.