Shocking Zi Wei Dou Shu Patterns in The Complete Book (2026)

In the previous installment, we went from "Burying a Corpse on the Road" all the way to "Sword at the Horse's Head," but the Zi Wei Dou Shu Quan Shu has no shortage of scary names. In this episode, we pick out six more. Some are truly heavy, while others have names so strange they are almost funny. As before, each comes with the original text and its source. There is no need to rush to check your chart after reading.

First Place: Crushed Bones and Shattered Corpses

Po Jun in Zi or Wu brings promotion and wealth; Wen Chang and Tan Lang in the Life Palace lead to crushed bones and shattered corpses.

This comes from Volume 1, "Dou Shu Bone Marrow Fu." The first half says that if Po Jun sits in the Life Palace in Zi or Wu, you will be promoted and gain wealth. The second half says that if Wen Chang and Tan Lang sit together in the Life Palace, you will suffer crushed bones and shattered corpses. Jumping from promotion to shattered corpses in the same line represents perhaps the greatest contrast in the entire book.

The original text has no annotation, so we must look for clues elsewhere in the book. The Tan Lang section in "Discussion of All Stars" says that when Tan Lang meets Wen Chang or Wen Qu, it "will be mostly empty and lacking substance." The Wen Qu section also says that Wen Qu "dislikes meeting Tan Lang when handling affairs, leading to confusion." Wen Chang is the star of study and rules, while Tan Lang is the star of desire and romance. What the ancients likely saw was someone who spoke beautifully but failed to deliver in practice. As for how this leads all the way to crushed bones and shattered corpses, the book does not explain. It seems more like harsh language used to create a parallel structure with "promotion and wealth." This is our interpretation, not the original text.

Second Place: Ju Men, Huo Xing, Qing Yang, Hanging for Life

Ling Xing, Wen Chang, Tuo Luo, and Wu Qu bring drowning when the decade luck arrives; Ju Men, Huo Xing, and Qing Yang lead to hanging for life.

This is also from "Dou Shu Bone Marrow Fu," specifically the second half of the sentence that was second place in the previous installment. It involves three stars coming together: Ju Men, Huo Xing, and Qing Yang. As mentioned before, Ju Men "transforms into darkness," while Huo Xing and Qing Yang are both challenging stars. When a dark star meets two very aggressive challenging stars, the ancients wrote down the worst possible outcome.

Volume 3 has a similar sentence, but the conditions are different: "If Ju Men, Huo Xing, Qing Yang, and Tuo Luo meet evil stars, guard against hanging or drowning." It adds Tuo Luo and the condition of "meeting evil stars," and changes "for life" to "guard against." It shifts from a lifelong verdict to a reminder to be cautious.

Third Place: Carrying a Corpse on Horseback

If it is in the same palace as Lu Cun, it is called Lu Ma Jiao Chi (Wealth and Horse Galloping Together), also known as Broken Whip Horse; Zi Wei and Tian Fu in the same palace is called Carriage Horse; Xing and Sha in the same palace is called Carrying a Corpse on Horseback; Huo Xing in the same palace is called War Horse; Tai Yang and Tai Yin in the same palace is called Male and Female Horse; meeting Kong Wang is called Dead Horse or Lost Horse; residing in Jue or Si is called Dead Horse; meeting Tuo Luo is called Broken Leg Horse.

This comes from the Tian Ma section in Volume 1, "Discussion of All Stars." Tian Ma governs movement, going out, and rushing about. The ancients gave it a whole series of nicknames based on which stars sat beside it: a horse carrying a corpse, a horse with broken legs, a war horse, a male-and-female horse.

There are two funny points here. First, "Dead Horse" appears twice: meeting Kong Wang is called Dead Horse, and residing in Jue or Si is also called Dead Horse. Second, the well-known good pattern "Lu Ma Jiao Chi" is also called "Broken Whip Horse" in the same sentence. The book does not explain why. The end of the list says, "Those who violate these several cases will all suffer disaster and illness." This likely refers to the latter few ominous horses, because earlier in the same section it says Tian Ma "likes Lu Cun, Zi Wei, and Tian Fu." Another line in "Tai Wei Fu" says: "When the Horse meets Kong Wang, one runs about for life." If the horse runs into emptiness, it runs forever but gets nowhere.

Fourth Place: Wood Pressure and Thunder Shock

Wu Qu, Po Jun, and Lian Zhen in the Mao palace bring Wood Pressure and Thunder Shock

This comes from Volume 3. Being crushed by a tree and startled by thunder sounds like items covered by natural disaster insurance.

Volume 1, in the Wu Qu section, has the same statement: "When evil, Sha, Hao, and Qiu meet in the Zhen palace, one will surely see Wood Pressure and Thunder Shock." Hao is Po Jun, and Qiu is Lian Zhen. The Zhen palace is the Mao palace. In the Bagua, Zhen is in the East and symbolizes thunder. Mao belongs to Wood in the Five Elements, so "Wood" and "Thunder" are actually derived from the palace itself. The Lian Zhen section describes a similar combination but offers a different version: "Meeting Wu Qu in a place of restriction, fear Wood Pressure and Snake Injury." Here, thunder becomes a snake.

According to chart plotting rules, Wu Qu and Lian Zhen never sit in the same palace. A more reasonable interpretation is that Lian Zhen and Po Jun sit together in the Mao palace, while Wu Qu joins from a trine position. The original text does not state this clearly; we deduced it based on chart plotting.

Fifth Place: Qing Yang and Tuo Luo Flanking Hua Ji is a Failed Pattern

Qing Yang and Tuo Luo flanking Hua Ji is a failed pattern.

This comes from Volume 3. The annotation gives an example: "For instance, if the Life Palace is in Shen, and it meets the Obstruction star, Qing Yang is in You and Tuo Luo is in Wei, flanking it."

Qing Yang and Tuo Luo always flank Lu Cun, one before and one after. Therefore, "Qing Yang and Tuo Luo flanking Hua Ji" actually means that Hua Ji falls exactly in the same box as Lu Cun. In the original example, Lu Cun is in Shen, Qing Yang is in You, and Tuo Luo is in Wei. This applies to people born in a Geng year. According to the Four Transformations used by Xingge, Tian Tong transforms into Obstruction in Geng years. To match the original example, this would be a person born in a Geng year, with the Life Palace in Shen, and Tian Tong sitting in the Life Palace transforming into Obstruction.

The name "Failed Pattern" sounds like game over. The book also has "Huo Xing and Ling Xing flanking the Life Palace is a Failed Pattern" and "Di Jie and Di Kong flanking the Life Palace is a Failed Pattern," forming a whole series of failed patterns. Xingge's interpretation of Qing Yang and Tuo Luo flanking Hua Ji is: the thing you cannot let go of lies in this palace. The more you rush, the more stuck you become. You need to loosen up slowly.

Sixth Place: Life Palace Without Major Stars, Premature Death, Loneliness, and Poverty

Life Palace without major stars leads to premature death, loneliness, and poverty.

This comes from Volume 1, "Dou Shu Bone Marrow Fu." Major stars refer to the fourteen main stars. If the Life Palace has no main stars, it is now called an Empty Palace. Eight characters, covering premature death, loneliness, and poverty.

But the same book has at least three other statements. Volume 3, "Essential Points on Star Reading," says: "If the Life Palace has no major stars, but the Wealth and Career Palaces have auspicious stars shining upon them, wealth and status will be complete." If there are good stars in the Wealth and Career Palaces, one can still be wealthy and noble. There is another line: "Life Palace without major stars leads to extending life under a second surname." The annotation explains this refers to family situations such as adoption, living with the mother, matrilocal marriage, or being born of a concubine, which has nothing to do with premature death. Another part of Volume 3 discusses Zuo Fu or You Bi guarding the Life Palace alone, with the note saying: "This is when the Body and Life Palaces have no major stars. If the three trines combine with Zi Wei, Tian Xiang, or Tian Fu, it is auspicious." With good stars in the trines, it is also lucky.

Having no major stars in the Life Palace is actually quite common, occurring in about one out of every six people. Taken literally, this sentence is far too frightening.

Turn to Another Page Before Getting Scared

As mentioned in the previous installment, chart patterns are not verdicts. Looking at these six, we discover another thing: the Quan Shu was not written as a fixed final draft in one go. The Fu verses focus on momentum, while the annotations in Volume 3 often look back to correct or add conditions, sometimes even saying completely different things. "Hanging for life" becomes "guard against" in Volume 3. "Life Palace without major stars" has three interpretations. Tian Ma alone has a long list of names.

So when you read a frightening sentence, turn to another page in the same book. You will usually find its caveat.