Patterns of Wealth

Patterns of Wealth is a register of pattern names, each with a one-line definition. The naming logic of Cai Yin Jia Yin is clear: wealth is Wu Qu, shelter Tian Liang, the seal Tian Xiang, and the transformed qi of the three stars make up the name. The note and the Xingge approach above explain that Wu Qu can never be next to Tian Xiang, so Xingge uses Hua Lu in place of Wu Qu.

Structurally, the two neighbours of Tian Xiang are always Ju Men and Tian Liang, so every chart with Tian Xiang in the Life Palace has the 'shelter' half; the real variable is Ju Men on the other side. When Ju Men takes Hua Lu (Xin years), it is the later Cai Yin Jia Yin; when Ju Men takes Hua Ji (Ding years), it becomes instead a form of punishment and Ji flanking the seal. 「田宅宮亦然」: the same structure in the Property Palace also counts as wealth, and the Tai Wei Fu likewise lists 「財蔭坐於遷移」 as the pattern of a great merchant (Tai Wei Fu).

Ri Yue Jia Cai: Wu Qu guarding the Life Palace, flanked by Tai Yang and Tai Yin in the two neighbouring palaces. Under the placement method Tai Yang is always in the palace just after Wu Qu, so every chart with Wu Qu in the Life Palace has the sun on one side; Tai Yin has to fall exactly on the other side, which happens only when Wu Qu and Tan Lang are together in Chou or Wei. In other words, on a chart this pattern is in fact Wu Qu and Tan Lang in the Life Palace in Chou or Wei.

The Tai Wei Fu says 「日月夾財，不權則富」. Interestingly, the Star Combinations chapters give as an example Tian Fu in the Wealth Palace in Wei, flanked by the sun in Wu and the moon in Shen, with Tian Fu in the lead role. The Quan Shu is not consistent about which star 'wealth' means; Wu Qu and Tian Fu are both wealth stars, and both readings can be found on a chart.

Cai Lu Jia Ma: Tian Ma guarding the Life Palace, flanked by Wu Qu and Lu Cun in the neighbouring palaces. Tian Ma is only ever in Yin, Shen, Si or Hai, and Lu Cun often sits in a palace next to these four, so the combination can occur on a chart, but not often. 「逢生旺尤妙」: 'birth and prosperity' are Chang Sheng and Di Wang among the twelve stages of life, which a Xingge chart shows for every palace.

The pattern means: travel (Tian Ma) flanked by wealth (Wu Qu) and income (Lu Cun), so every move brings a gain. It follows the same thinking as Lu Ma Jiao Chi: the horse is worth something only when paired with Lu. Today it reads as work done in the field, in trade, in logistics, or with frequent travel that pays.

Yin Yin Gong Shen: the Body Palace in the Property Palace, with Tian Liang (shelter) and Tian Xiang (seal) shining from the trine or the opposite palace. This line has a basic problem on the chart: under the placement method the Body Palace can only fall in one of six palaces, Life, Spouse, Wealth, Travel, Career or Fortune, never the Property Palace, so 'the Body Palace in the Property Palace' never occurs on a Xingge chart.

Besides, Tian Liang and Tian Xiang are always next to each other and cannot shine on one palace from the trine and the opposite palace at the same time; only one of them can. The line is evidently an ideal pattern assembled from what the star names mean. To find a chart close to it, look for Tian Liang or Tian Xiang shining into the Property Palace; 「勿坐空亡」 means checking whether the Property Palace holds Xun Kong, Jie Lu or Kong Wang.

Ri Yue Zhao Bi: Tai Yang and Tai Yin in the Property Palace. The screen wall stands at the family gate, and the sun and moon shining on the home mean a bright family estate and plenty of property. The sun and moon share a palace only in Chou and Wei, which are tomb palaces, so the condition 「喜居墓庫」 is in fact already built in.

In Chou and Wei one of the two is bright and the other dim: in Chou Tai Yin is Miao and Tai Yang Bu, in Wei Tai Yang De and Tai Yin Bu. Stars in Strong Positions: Fitting Patterns says the sun and moon sitting in the Life Palace make only a middling pattern, yet in the Property Palace they are a pattern of wealth, because the Property Palace concerns family assets and the home, which do not need both lights to be bright at once.

Jin Can Guang Hui: Tai Yang alone guarding the Life Palace, in Wu. The Tai Wei Fu says 「太陽居午，謂之日麗中天，有專權之貴，敵國之富」, so this pattern belongs among the wealth patterns but has a side of rank too. Placing it in Patterns of Wealth stresses 'wealth to rival a kingdom'.

'Alone' is the condition: Tai Yang in Wu always sits alone, with no other main star in the palace, so the word mainly stresses that no malefic should share the palace. On a Xingge chart Tai Yang in Wu is marked Wang; see Jin Can Guang Hui for more.