What is Zi Fu Lian Wu Xiang?

Zi Fu Lian Wu Xiang is the Zi Wei Dou Shu name for the five main stars Zi Wei, Tian Fu, Lian Zhen, Wu Qu and Tian Xiang, which later practitioners treat as the management-and-order group among the "three star groups": Zi Wei is the emperor, Tian Fu keeps the treasury, Lian Zhen holds to principles, Wu Qu manages money and Tian Xiang mediates. People with many of these stars in the Life Palace's San Fang Si Zheng are often pushed into the lead, and can hold a room.

The short version:

• Formula: Zi Fu Lian Wu Xiang = Zi Wei + Tian Fu + Lian Zhen + Wu Qu + Tian Xiang, the management-and-order group of the three star groups.
• Two trines: Zi Wei, Lian Zhen and Wu Qu are always in trine; Tian Fu and Tian Xiang are always in trine too.
• When they gather: with Zi Wei in Zi, Yin, Chen, Wu, Shen or Xu, the two trines overlap into one; with Zi Wei in the other six branches, they stay apart.
• What to practice: letting go. Half of this type's scope is held up by the people around them.

The five stars

Fixed relationships among the five

The fourteen main stars keep fixed positions relative to each other, so these five stars have a few relationships that never change:

• Zi Wei, Lian Zhen and Wu Qu are always in trine. The Zi Wei group runs counterclockwise from Zi Wei: Tian Ji, Tai Yang, Wu Qu, Tian Tong, Lian Zhen. Counting it out, Zi Wei, Wu Qu and Lian Zhen are each four palaces apart.
• Tian Fu and Tian Xiang are always in trine. The Tian Fu group runs clockwise, and Tian Xiang lands exactly four palaces after Tian Fu.
• Zi Wei and Tian Fu mirror each other across the Yin-Shen line. The two share a palace in Yin or Shen; volume two of the Quan Shu says Zi Wei and Tian Fu share a palace only in Yin and Shen.

Whether all five gather in one San Fang Si Zheng depends on where Zi Wei sits, which is set by the Five Elements Bureau and the birth day. These are all twelve cases:

In the six overlapping cases, all five stars crowd into the same trine triangle, and some always share palaces: with Zi Wei in Zi, for example, Lian Zhen and Tian Fu sit together in Chen, and Wu Qu and Tian Xiang together in Shen. In the six separate cases, Zi Wei, Lian Zhen and Wu Qu take one triangle and Tian Fu and Tian Xiang another.

Reading two charts

Zi Wei and Tian Fu in the Life Palace in Yin: an overlapping case. The Career Palace in Wu holds Lian Zhen and Tian Xiang, and the Wealth Palace in Xu holds Wu Qu, so all five stars are in the Life Palace's trines; the opposite Travel Palace in Shen holds Qi Sha. Life, Wealth and Career are all management stars here: this person plans, values order, and with Qi Sha pushing from across the chart, doesn't hesitate when it's time to make the call.

Zi Wei and Qi Sha in the Life Palace in Si: a separate case. The Wealth Palace in Chou holds Wu Qu with Tan Lang, the Career Palace in You holds Lian Zhen with Po Jun, the opposite Travel Palace in Hai holds Tian Fu, and Tian Xiang sits in the Spouse Palace in Mao. Zi Wei, Lian Zhen and Wu Qu are all in the Life Palace's trines, but each shares a palace with a Sha Po Lang star. This person has a manager's conviction but a pioneering, changeable way of working, often setting the rules and breaking new ground at the same time.

The two examples show that having Zi Fu Lian Wu Xiang stars can mean a pure management type or a mix of management and pioneering. A person's main theme is whichever group has the most stars in the Life Palace's San Fang Si Zheng.

Its place among the three star groups

Later practitioners roughly divide the fourteen main stars into three groups:

This division is a later arrangement; the Quan Shu doesn't sort the fourteen stars into three groups. But the Tai Wei Fu does set Zi Wei and Tian Fu against Qi Sha and Po Jun:

Zi Wei and Tian Fu rely entirely on the help of Zuo Fu and You Bi; Qi Sha and Po Jun are driven by the fierceness of Qing Yang and Ling Xing.

Zi Wei and Tian Fu need helpers like Zuo Fu and You Bi to do well. Volume one also has a line on Tian Fu and Tian Xiang shining on the Life Palace together:

When Tian Fu and Tian Xiang come together to meet the Life Palace, the whole family enjoys provision.

With Tian Fu and Tian Xiang both meeting the Life Palace, the old writers read a life without want that benefits the whole family.

Zi Fu Lian Wu Xiang vs. Zi Wei and Tian Fu together

The Gu Sui Fu in volume one says:

Qi Sha facing the Dipper brings rank and prosperity; Zi Wei and Tian Fu in one palace bring lifelong good fortune.

How to read the pattern is covered in Zi Wei and Tian Fu together.

Strengths, and what to practice

Strengths: values order and knows how to manage, where resources should go and how rules should be set. In a mess, often the one who steps up to set the direction and divide the work.

What to practice: letting go. This type tends to want to manage everything, and in too much detail, leaving the people around them no room to contribute. The classics say Zi Wei and Tian Fu rely on their helpers; today that means half of your scope is held up by the people around you. Hand the work out, let others get it to seventy percent, then bring it to ninety together.

Common misunderstandings

• Zi Fu Lian Wu Xiang doesn't guarantee a management role. Star groups describe rhythm and tendency, not job titles. Many people of this type value order and rules just as much in specialist roles.
• All five don't need to be in the Life Palace's trines. Most charts are a mix; whichever group has the most stars in the Life Palace's San Fang Si Zheng is the main theme.
• Zi Wei and Tian Fu sharing a palace is something else. Zi Wei with Tian Fu in the Life Palace in Yin or Shen is a specific pattern; see the comparison above.
• More of these stars isn't automatically better. Within the same group, a star's brightness, where the transformations land and whether Zuo Fu and You Bi are there to help make a big difference.

The full lesson is the three star groups, and the comparison of Zi Wei and Tian Fu is in the Zi Wei and Tian Fu lesson. Draw your chart and count how many of these stars are in your Life Palace's San Fang Si Zheng.