Placing the Auspicious Stars, Tian Ma and Lu Cun

Wen Chang and Wen Qu are placed by hour, in opposite directions: Wen Chang runs backward from Xu, Wen Qu forward from Chen. Since one runs backward and the other forward from symmetric starting points, the two are always mirror images across the Chou-Wei axis. People born in the Mao or You hour have Wen Chang and Wen Qu in the same palace (both in Wei for the Mao hour, both in Chou for the You hour), which is the pattern Chang Qu Tong Gong; for the Zi and Wu hours one is in Chen and the other in Xu, directly opposite each other.

On a Xingge chart these two stars are listed beside the main stars with their brightness in the small text; the brightness follows the Miao-Wang table in the setup charts.

Working out the full table by this method (hour, then Wen Chang's palace): Zi-Xu, Chou-You, Yin-Shen, Mao-Wei, Chen-Wu, Si-Si, Wu-Chen, Wei-Mao, Shen-Yin, You-Chou, Xu-Zi, Hai-Hai. Notice that for people born in the Si or Hai hour, Wen Chang falls in the palace with the same name as the hour.

The Quan Shu says Wen Chang 「逆到生時是貴鄉」. On the chart, this means that Wen Chang in the Life Palace or its San Fang governs study, examinations, paperwork and order; see What Does Wen Chang Govern? for more.

Wen Qu starts the Zi hour at Chen and runs forward: Zi-Chen, Chou-Si, Yin-Wu, Mao-Wei, Chen-Shen, Si-You, Wu-Xu, Wei-Hai, Shen-Zi, You-Chou, Xu-Yin, Hai-Mao. Set it beside Wen Chang's positions from the previous segment and you can see that Wen Chang and Wen Qu can only flank Chou or Wei. Born in the Yin hour, Wen Chang is in Shen and Wen Qu in Wu, flanking Wei; born in the Shen hour, Wen Chang is in Yin and Wen Qu in Zi, flanking Chou. So Chang Qu Jia only occurs for people whose Life Palace is in Chou or Wei; no other palace can be flanked by Wen Chang and Wen Qu.

Zuo Fu and You Bi are placed by birth month, with exactly the same structure as Wen Chang and Wen Qu: Zuo Fu runs forward from Chen and You Bi backward from Xu, so they too mirror each other across the Chou-Wei axis. Try it: born in the fourth month, Zuo Fu goes Chen, Si, Wu, Wei and You Bi goes Xu, You, Shen, Wei, so both are in Wei. Born in the tenth month, both are in Chou. Only these two months give Zuo You Tong Gong.

One reminder: Zuo Fu and You Bi go by the lunar month, so someone born in a leap month first has to decide which month counts (see segment 4 of Placing the Life and Body Palaces). The Quan Shu only says that a leap month counts as the next month when placing Life and Body; it does not say whether Zuo Fu and You Bi change month as well.

This segment gives the first and second months; carry on from there. Third month: Zuo Fu in Wu, You Bi in Shen. Fifth month: Zuo Fu in Shen, You Bi in Wu. Both times they flank Wei. Ninth month: Zuo Fu in Zi, You Bi in Yin; eleventh month: Zuo Fu in Yin, You Bi in Zi; both flank Chou. So Zuo You Jia, like flanking by Wen Chang and Wen Qu, only happens at Chou and Wei.

On a Xingge chart, Zuo Fu and You Bi appear among the minor stars beside the main stars, with no brightness. The Quan Shu sees Zuo Fu and You Bi as the ministers Zi Wei needs most; Zi Wei without them is a 'lonely ruler', see The Nature of Zi Wei.

The rhyme 「甲戊庚牛羊」 is exactly the same as the Tian Yi patrons of Zi Ping (Four Pillars) astrology; Dou Shu borrowed it directly. The base text's 「丙丁豬狗位」 should read pig and rooster (see the text note), and once it is corrected you can see that the rhyme never mentions Chen or Xu: Tian Kui and Tian Yue never fall in Chen or Xu. The ancients called Chen and Xu the net of heaven and the snare of earth, where patrons do not come.

In each line, the first animal is Tian Kui and the second Tian Yue. The Quan Shu and Xingge differ on the order for Xin years, see 'The Xingge approach' above; the two stars fall in the same palaces and only their names are swapped. On a Xingge chart both stars are listed among the minor stars; for their nature see What Do Tian Kui and Tian Yue Govern?.

「二星主科甲」 is what Kui and Yue meant in the old days: the imperial examinations depended on the examiners' favour, and Kui and Yue are exactly the patron stars. Today this can be read as tending to meet someone willing to promote you at exams and promotions, or receiving the care of elders and superiors.

As for the condition, the line only says the Body or Life Palace meets them; it does not require both stars, so the chart match counts either one sitting in the Life or Body Palace. When the two stars flank the Life Palace on either side, there is the separate idea of Kui Yue flanking the Life Palace. How far 'the golden list' really goes depends on the brightness of the Life Palace's main star and on whether Hua Ji or malefic stars share the palace; the Quan Shu never settles a pattern on one star alone.

The rule behind Tian Ma is 'the palace opposite the birth point of the trine': Yin, Wu and Xu form the fire trine, fire's Chang Sheng (birth) point is Yin, and the palace opposite Yin is Shen, so the horse is in Shen. Shen, Zi and Chen form the water trine, whose Chang Sheng point is Shen; the opposite palace is Yin, so the horse is in Yin; the others follow likewise. That is why Tian Ma only falls in the four palaces Yin, Shen, Si and Hai, which the ancients called the four horse positions.

In practice: people born in a Zi year have Tian Ma in Yin, people born in a Wu year have it in Shen. On a Xingge chart Tian Ma is listed among the minor stars; switch to the Annual Luck and there is also an annual horse placed by that year's branch, using the same rhyme. For Tian Ma's nature see What Does Tian Ma Govern?.

The reasoning runs like this: with the Life Palace in Chen, Xu, Chou or Wei, the Spouse Palace, two palaces back, is always in Yin, Shen, Si or Hai, and Tian Ma only ever lands in those four, so only charts like these can have Tian Ma in the Spouse Palace. 「同位或三方照臨」 does not say what shares the palace with Tian Ma; from the following 'Lu and the horse running together', it should mean Lu Cun or Hua Lu.

An example: born in a Jia Chen year with the Life Palace in Chen, the Spouse Palace is in Yin. In a Jia year Lu Cun is in Yin, and in a Chen year Tian Ma is also in Yin, so Lu Cun and Tian Ma share the Spouse Palace: that is Lu Ma Jiao Chi. The old 'the man becomes an official, the woman receives a title' means status brought by the spouse; today it can be read as a capable spouse with plenty of drive in making money. The chart match only marks Tian Ma in the Spouse Palace; whether Lu meets it as well you need to check yourself.

Lu Cun's position is each stem's 'Lin Guan' (coming of age) point: Jia wood comes of age at Yin, Yi wood at Mao, Bing and Wu at Si, Ding and Ji at Wu, and so on, following the twelve life stages of the Five Elements. It follows that Lu Cun never falls in the four tomb palaces Chen, Xu, Chou and Wei, and that it is always flanked by Qing Yang on one side and Tuo Luo on the other (see Placing Qing Yang, Tuo Luo, Huo Xing and Ling Xing), hence the saying that Qing Yang and Tuo Luo flank Lu.

On a Xingge chart Lu Cun carries no brightness, because in the Quan Shu's Miao-Wang table Lu Cun is Miao in every palace it can reach. For Lu Cun's nature see The Nature of Lu Cun.