Flanking patterns: your neighbors matter

Where flanking comes from

Every cell on the chart has two neighbors. When a pair of stars (Zuo Fu and You Bi, Wen Chang and Wen Qu, Tian Kui and Tian Yue, Qing Yang and Tuo Luo, Huo Xing and Ling Xing, Di Kong and Di Jie) sit on either side of a cell, the cell in between is flanked; these are called flanking palaces.

The list of patterns in volume three of the *Quan Shu* includes a whole series of flanking patterns, with very concrete examples:

• "Zuo Fu and You Bi flanking Life is a noble pattern", with the example "Life placed in Chou, Zuo Fu in Zi, You Bi in Yin".
• "Wen Chang and Wen Qu flanking Life is the most remarkable", with the example "Life in Chou, Wen Chang in Yin, Wen Qu in Zi".
• "Tian Kui and Tian Yue flanking Life is a remarkable pattern", with the example "Life placed in Chen, Tian Kui in Mao, Tian Yue in Si".

Not every cell can be flanked

Those examples aren't chosen at random. Zuo Fu starts from Chen and moves one way by birth month, and You Bi starts from Xu and moves the other way, so the two are always symmetrical across the Chou-Wei line. That means Zuo Fu and You Bi can only flank Chou or Wei. Wen Chang and Wen Qu are placed by birth hour, likewise one starting from Xu going backward and one from Chen going forward, so they can only flank Chou or Wei as well.

Tian Kui and Tian Yue follow the birth-year stem, and only in a few years are the two exactly one cell apart, able to flank a cell.

When reading a chart, start by checking which branch your Life Palace is in. If it isn't Chou or Wei, there's no need to look for Zuo Fu and You Bi or Wen Chang and Wen Qu flanking your Life Palace, which saves a lot of effort.

Tian Xiang and its neighbors

Tian Xiang is always flanked by Ju Men and Tian Liang, so it depends especially on its neighbors' condition:

• Cai Yin Jia Yin (Seal Between Wealth and Shelter): Hua Lu (wealth) and Tian Liang (shelter) flank Tian Xiang (the Seal). Resources on one side and protection on the other; in this cell, someone often takes care of things for you.
• Xing Ji Jia Yin (Seal Between Punishment and Obstruction): Hua Ji and Qing Yang (punishment) flank Tian Xiang. This cell's matters are easily pulled from both sides, and practitioners advise: don't vouch for others, and don't take on responsibilities that aren't yours.

The history of these two names is a little winding. The *Quan Shu*'s "Patterns of Wealth" says "wealth and shelter flanking the Seal: Tian Xiang guarding Life, flanked by Wu Qu and Tian Liang", where "wealth" means Wu Qu. But by the placement rules, Tian Xiang is only ever next to Ju Men and Tian Liang; Wu Qu can never sit there. So later readers took "wealth" as Hua Lu, usually Ju Men with Hua Lu paired with Tian Liang. Xing Ji Jia Yin is a later addition and isn't in the *Quan Shu*'s lists.

Noisier neighbors

When Qing Yang and Tuo Luo, Huo Xing and Ling Xing, or Di Kong and Di Jie flank a cell, it isn't a forecast of trouble; it's more like a noisier neighborhood:

• Qing Yang and Tuo Luo: the cell before Lu Cun is always Qing Yang and the cell after is always Tuo Luo, so the cell flanked by these two is always Lu Cun's, which is called Yang Tuo Jia Lu. Lu Cun is good at holding on but finds it hard to let loose. When Lu Cun's cell also has Hua Ji, volume three calls it "Yang Tuo Jia Ji, a pattern of failure", with the example of Life in Shen meeting the Ji star, "Qing Yang in You and Tuo Luo in Wei flanking it". What you can't let go of often lives here; loosen your grip gradually.
• Huo Xing and Ling Xing: your rhythm often gets interrupted by urgent matters, and you need to pull it back yourself.
• Di Kong and Di Jie: lots of ideas and lots that come to nothing, so do important things in stages.

How Xingge decides

Flanking is weaker than sharing a palace or shining in, so Xingge only discusses flanking for the Life, Wealth, Career and Spouse Palaces and the Body Palace; anywhere else it tends to become noise. When you read it, remember: flanking is the supporting cast, and the lead is still the stars living in the cell itself.