Stars in Strong Positions: Fitting Patterns

Stars in Strong Positions: Fitting Patterns goes by the branch of the Life Palace, one poem per palace, listing the best stars and year stems for each. Zi lists three: Tan Lang, Qi Sha and Tai Yin. All three are strong in Zi (Tai Yin Miao, Tan Lang Wang, Qi Sha Wang), but they never appear there together. 'Tian Ji and Tian Liang converging' holds only for Tai Yin in Zi: Tai Yin in Zi shares the palace with Tian Tong, and Tian Ji and Tian Liang converge from Chen in the trine. That is the structure of Ji Yue Tong Liang.

As for the year stems, in Geng and Gui years Tai Yin takes Hua Ke, and in Yi years Tian Ji takes Hua Lu and Tian Liang Hua Quan, all of which make sense. Curiously, in Yi years Tai Yin takes Hua Ji, yet Yi is still listed as 'best'. The Nature of the Four Transformations says 「太陰在酉戌亥子化忌為福論」 (see The Nature of the Four Transformations), and the two places agree: Hua Ji on a bright Tai Yin does not count as bad.

Chou looks at the sun and moon. Tai Yang and Tai Yin together in Chou or Wei form Ri Yue Tong Lin (sun and moon together). This poem's 「正坐平常中局論，對照富貴禍皆消」 deserves attention: the sun and moon sitting directly in the Life Palace in Chou make only a middling pattern, while the Life Palace in Chou with the sun and moon opposite in Wei brings wealth and rank.

Brightness explains why. In Chou, Tai Yang is Bu and Tai Yin Miao, one bright and one dark; in Wei, Tai Yang is De and Tai Yin Bu, also incomplete. Sitting in the Life Palace, the two lights cancel each other out; shining from opposite, each can lend its strength. This is close to the later saying that an empty Life Palace with good stars opposite can be better. Whether 'Bing Xu' means a Bing year or a Xu year is not clear from the text.

Yin lists Ju Men with Tai Yang, Qi Sha, and Tian Liang. Tai Yang and Ju Men share the Yin palace, Tai Yang Wang and Ju Men Miao there: the top grade of Ju Ri Tong Gong (Ju Men and the sun together), of which the Gu Sui Fu says 「巨日同宮官封三代」. Qi Sha in Yin is Miao, exactly Qi Sha Chao Dou; Tian Liang in Yin is Miao and shares the palace with Tian Tong.

「申巳庚人」 mixes branches and a stem, and its meaning is unclear, as the note says. Read as a year stem, Geng gives Tai Yang Hua Lu, the most helpful for Ju Men and the sun in Yin. The poem closes with 'the men become officials, the women receive titles', the Quan Shu's standard praise for a top pattern, as in the other poems.

Mao lists Tian Ji with Ju Men, and Wu Qu. Tian Ji and Ju Men together in Mao form Ju Ji Tong Lin (Ju Men and Tian Ji together), both Wang or Miao there; Wu Qu in Mao shares the palace with Qi Sha. In Xin years Ju Men takes Hua Lu and in Yi years Tian Ji, hence 「辛乙生人福氣隆」.

Compare: for Wu Qu in Mao, What Does Wu Qu Govern? says 「陷囚會於震宮，必為破主淹留」, yet here it is listed as fitting a pattern. The two chapters differ in their conditions: the Wu Qu chapter has it meeting Lian Zhen with malefics, while here it is a Yi or Xin birth with Lu. On a Xingge chart Wu Qu in Mao is marked Li, neither good nor fallen, so its fortune depends on what accompanies it.

Chen looks at Tian Ji and Tian Liang: the two together in Chen form Shan Yin Chao Gang (the good shelter facing the court). Tian Liang in Chen is Miao, Tian Ji Li. 「天府戍地最盈豐」 (戍 there is a slip for 戌, as the textual note says) describes another case: the Life Palace in Chen with Tian Fu opposite in Xu, or a Life Palace with Tian Fu sitting in Xu. Tian Fu in Xu is Miao and shares the palace with Lian Zhen.

'Gold at the waist and purple robes' is the purple gown and gold belt worn by officials of the third rank and above. The Quan Shu describes every top pattern with the same flourishes; when reading, the point is the condition, not the grand rhetoric.

Si lists Tian Ji and Tian Xiang. Tian Ji in Si is Ping and Tian Xiang in Si is De, neither strong, so they rely on 'Zi Wei and Tian Fu facing the Life Palace'. On an actual chart, with Tian Xiang in Si, Tian Fu is in Chou in the trine and can face it; with Tian Ji in Si, neither Zi Wei nor Tian Fu is in the San Fang Si Zheng, so the condition cannot be met. Stars in Strong Positions: Wealth and Rank also says 「巳亥天機天相貴」.

The year stems listed are Wu, Xin, Ren and Bing. In Bing years Tian Ji takes Hua Quan, in Ren years Zi Wei Hua Quan and Tian Fu Hua Ke, while Xin has nothing to do with these two stars. Most striking is that in Wu years Tian Ji takes Hua Ji, yet Wu is listed as noble too; the Quan Shu does not explain it, and there may be another basis, or the stem may have been miscopied.

Wu lists three: Zi Wei, Tian Fu and Tai Yang, all Miao or Wang in Wu, but never in the same palace: Zi Wei in Wu sits alone, Tian Fu in Wu sits with Wu Qu, and Tai Yang in Wu sits alone. Zi Wei in Wu is the later pattern 'the pole facing the bright south', Tai Yang in Wu is Jin Can Guang Hui (gold dazzling and radiant).

「機梁破殺喜相逢」 means meeting these stars in the San Fang Si Zheng. In Jia years Po Jun takes Hua Quan, in Gui years Po Jun Hua Lu, in Ding years Tian Ji Hua Ke, in Ji years Tian Liang Hua Ke: each of the four stems lines up with an auspicious transformation of one of these stars, a tidy scheme.

Wei lists Zi Wei, Wu Qu and Lian Zhen, plus the sun and moon, and Ju Men, again several different charts: Zi Wei in Wei sits with Po Jun, Wu Qu in Wei with Tan Lang, Lian Zhen in Wei with Qi Sha, the sun and moon share Wei, and Ju Men in Wei sits with Tian Tong. The poem gives no year stems, saying only 「女人值此全福壽，男子逢之位三公」.

Worth comparing: for Zi Wei and Po Jun in Wei, What Does Zi Wei Govern? says 「為臣不忠，為子不孝」, yet here it is listed as fitting a pattern. The Quan Shu's verdicts on Zi Wei with Po Jun were split to begin with; the Star Combinations chapters also say that Zi Wei and Po Jun in Chen, Xu, Chou or Wei 「再加吉曜富貴堪期」.

Shen lists Zi Wei, Lian Zhen and Tian Liang. Zi Wei in Shen shares the palace with Tian Fu, the top grade of Zi Wei and Tian Fu together; Lian Zhen in Shen sits alone, in its Miao position; Tian Liang in Shen sits with Tian Tong. One point needs explaining: the brightness table Xingge uses marks Tian Liang in Shen as Xian, yet this poem lists it as a strong position, and the verse in The Nature of Tian Liang also says 「子午寅申為入廟」, so the Quan Shu is not consistent about Tian Liang in Shen.

In Jia years Lian Zhen takes Hua Lu; in Geng years Tian Tong takes Hua Ji and Wu Qu Hua Quan; in Gui years Ju Men takes Hua Quan, matching 「武曲巨門喜相逢」. Pairing year stems with auspicious transformations of the main stars is the fixed method of this set of verses.

You looks at Tai Yin: Tai Yin in You is Wang and sits alone. 「巨日又逢當面沖」 is a problem on the chart: with Tai Yin in You, the opposite palace, Mao, holds Tian Tong, Tai Yang shines from Si in the trine, and Ju Men is in Hai, outside the San Fang Si Zheng. So 'Ju Men and the sun clashing from opposite' holds only for the sun, and then from the trine rather than from opposite.

「辛乙生人為貴格」: in Xin years Tai Yang takes Hua Quan and Ju Men Hua Lu; in Yi years Tai Yin takes Hua Ji. As in the Zi poem, Hua Ji on Tai Yin in a strong position is treated as auspicious; compare The Nature of the Four Transformations. Master Xiyi calls You 'the gate of the western hills', the strong position the Tai Yin chapter mentions; see What Does Tai Yin Govern?.

The Xu poem is unlike the others: it describes not an auspicious pattern but a flawed one. With the Life Palace in Xu and Zi Wei clashing from Chen opposite, the Xu palace holds Po Jun. This is the Gu Sui Fu's 「紫微辰戌遇破軍，富而不貴有虛名」 (Gu Sui Fu), word for word in both places.

「更加吉曜多權祿，只利開張貿易人」: even with auspicious stars and Hua Quan and Hua Lu, it suits only trade, not office. The Quan Shu probably put Zi Wei and Po Jun in Chen and Xu among the fitting patterns because it is still 'rich', just not noble. Today it reads as suited to business and start-ups rather than seeking rank inside a bureaucracy.

Hai looks at Tai Yin: Tai Yin in Hai is Miao, which is Yue Lang Tian Men (the moon bright at the Heaven Gate), called 'the moon setting in the Hai palace' in Patterns of Rank. The poem adds no year stems or auspicious stars, which says that Tai Yin in Hai is a good pattern in itself.

Tai Yin in Hai always sits alone, with no other main star in the palace, and Tian Ji is in Si opposite. 「男女逢之皆稱意」: the Quan Shu seldom says a pattern is good for both men and women, and Tai Yin in Hai is one of the few. Such a person tends to be reserved, sensitive and blessed with money and good fortune.