The Six Auspicious Stars: three pairs of helpers

How the three pairs are placed

Each pair of the Six Auspicious Stars follows the same starting rule in opposite directions, so the two are always symmetrical:

• Zuo Fu and You Bi follow your birth month. The *Quan Shu* rhyme: "Zuo Fu starts the first month at Chen and counts forward to the birth month; You Bi starts the first month at Xu and counts back." Zuo Fu counts forward from Chen, You Bi backward from Xu. For people born in the fourth or tenth month, the two sit in the same cell.
• Wen Chang and Wen Qu follow your birth double-hour. Wen Chang starts the Zi hour at Xu and counts backward; Wen Qu starts the Zi hour at Chen and counts forward. For people born in the Mao or You hour, Wen Chang and Wen Qu share a palace.
• Tian Kui and Tian Yue follow the heavenly stem of your birth year. The rhyme begins "Jia, Wu, Geng: the ox and the goat; Yi, Ji: the rat and the monkey; Xin: the tiger and the horse". Ox and goat mean Chou and Wei, so for people born in Jia, Wu or Geng years, Tian Kui is in Chou and Tian Yue in Wei, and so on for the other years. The Wikisource edition gives Bing and Ding years as "pig and dog"; the standard edition has "pig and rooster", meaning Tian Kui in Hai and Tian Yue in You, which is what Xingge uses.

One starts from Chen and the other from Xu, one forward and one back, so both Zuo Fu with You Bi and Wen Chang with Wen Qu are symmetrical across the Chou-Wei line: know where one is and you can work out the other. When a pair shares a palace, it can only be in Chou or Wei.

What the classics say about them

• Zuo Fu and You Bi: the *Quan Shu* says Zuo Fu "guarding Body, Life or any palace, brings blessing", and You Bi "guarding Body or Life, is well versed in letters". Zuo Fu leans toward open division of labor, You Bi toward handling the personal side.
• Wen Chang and Wen Qu: Wen Chang leans orthodox, toward order, documents, exams and contracts, things with a right answer; Wen Qu leans toward expression, eloquence, talent and feeling. Later texts say Wen Qu governs "renown by an unusual path", meaning success off the standard route.
• Tian Kui and Tian Yue: one is the yang benefactor and the other the yin benefactor. The *Quan Shu* says the two stars "if meeting great difficulty, surely gain the support of a benefactor"; the modern reading is that when you're stuck, someone often reaches out a hand.

The assistants need a ruler

The rhyme for Zuo Fu and You Bi says: "without a ruler they are of no use; in the trines they should see the ruler." The ruler is the emperor star Zi Wei, and more broadly any main star with a leader's air. Zuo Fu and You Bi are deputies; with no boss to assist, their skills go to waste. That's why the ancients prized Zi Wei in the Life Palace with both assistants present, later called "ruler and ministers celebrating together". On the other hand, when Zuo Fu and You Bi sit in an Empty Palace with no main star, practitioners read it more cautiously: people are willing to help, they just aren't sure what to help you with.

Three common misunderstandings

• Wen Chang in the Life Palace means you'll be a good student. Wen Chang gives order and a feel for words; whether you study hard is another matter. Some people use it to write proposals or sort out the accounts, and that's Wen Chang too.
• With Tian Kui and Tian Yue, benefactors will come looking for you. These two are more like having plenty of people around who are willing to help, but usually you have to ask first and get things off the ground yourself.
• The Six Auspicious Stars only count if they're all in the Life Palace. All six appear on every chart; what differs is where they fall. Spread out, they mean a little help in many areas.

Using them in everyday life

Start by finding which cells the six helpful stars fall in. In those areas, it's easier for you to find people, methods and opportunities.

When you're getting ready to change jobs, if Zuo Fu and You Bi are around your Career Palace, talking with former coworkers and mentors often helps more than quietly sending out résumés. With Wen Chang and Wen Qu in the Wealth Palace, keeping clear records and putting your income and spending in a spreadsheet makes money easier to manage. With Tian Kui and Tian Yue in the Travel Palace, you'll often meet people willing to pull you up when you're away or in a new setting.

Helpers make you better at it, but the work is still yours to do.