Star Combinations: Qi Sha

Qi Sha's brightness table matches Xingge's exactly; its weakest grade is Ping in Si and Hai, and it has no fallen position. This matters: other pages of the Quan Shu often speak of 'Qi Sha fallen', as in Qi Sha Met Twice, but by this table and by Xingge's brightness Qi Sha is never graded Xian, so in those lines 'fallen' should be read as Ping in Si and Hai, or loosely as lacking strength. Qi Sha's transformed qi is the general; it belongs to fire and metal and governs severity and pioneering. For Qi Sha's character as a whole, see The Nature of Qi Sha.

Qi Sha Chao Dou (Qi Sha facing the Dipper) appears in the Gu Sui Fu as 「七殺朝斗爵祿榮昌」 (segment 19). The chart has a fixed relation: Qi Sha is always opposite Tian Fu. So with Qi Sha in the Life Palace, the Travel Palace always holds Tian Fu; in Yin or Shen the opposite palace has Zi Wei and Tian Fu, in Zi or Wu it has Wu Qu and Tian Fu. 'Facing the Dipper' is the general turning toward the emperor star and the commanding star. It is also why the Quan Shu so often rates Qi Sha highly despite its fierceness: across from it there is always a stabilising force.

The original is the Tai Wei Fu's 「七殺破軍專依羊鈴之虐」 (segment 14), paired with the first half of the same sentence, 「紫微天府全依輔弼之功」: Zi Wei and Tian Fu succeed through Zuo Fu and You Bi, while Qi Sha and Po Jun meeting Qing Yang and Ling Xing turn violent. Qi Sha and Po Jun are always in each other's trine, so they are usually discussed as a pair. Qing Yang belongs to metal and Ling Xing to fire, the same elements as Qi Sha's fire and metal, and like added to like burns fiercer. It can describe a driven person who tends to overreact under pressure or in conflict.

The original is the Tai Wei Fu's 「七殺廉貞同位，路上埋屍」 (segment 31). Lian Zhen and Qi Sha share a palace only in Chou and Wei. This line flatly contradicts the Gu Sui Fu's 「廉貞七殺反為積富之人」 (segment 12). The Lian Zhen page of this chapter reconciles the two by brightness: Miao or Wang builds wealth, fallen with Hua Ji brings poverty and disability. The note adds that meeting the wasting star in the Travel Palace is the same, and that a fallen position with Hua Ji is worse. The extremely harsh words are kept as written; in reading, look first at whether there are malefic stars, Hua Ji or lucky stars, and then decide which line applies.

The original is the Gu Sui Fu's 「七殺破軍宜出外」 (segment 29), whose second half is 「機月同梁作吏人」. Qi Sha and Po Jun are moving stars, restless if they stay put, at their best away from home. The second half, 'never expert in any craft', is this chapter's own addition: wide interests and constant change make it hard to master one thing. In today's terms, it suits work that involves travel and opening new ground, such as overseas postings, sales or starting a business.

This is the same remedy as in Qi Sha Met Twice: 「擎羊陀羅七殺逢紫微天相祿存三合拱照可解」. Zi Wei can control Qi Sha (Qi Sha meeting the emperor becomes power), Tian Xiang is the seal and can restrain, and Lu Cun brings resources. On a Xingge chart, the Annual Luck shows where the annual Qing Yang and the annual Hua Ji fall.

The original is the Tai Wei Fu's 「殺居絕地，天年夭似顏回」 (segment 38). The Jue position is the 'Jue' among the twelve life stages, and 'The Xingge approach' above explains that Xingge sets their direction by yin or yang and sex. Each palace on a Xingge chart has its life stage; find the palace whose stage is Jue and see whether Qi Sha is in it. The Wen Chang and Wen Qu page has 「昌曲陷於天傷顏回夭折」 (segment 16), also citing Yan Hui, under different conditions.

The note says Qi Sha with Huo Xing and Ling Xing means death in battle. What Does Qi Sha Govern? likewise says that with killing stars in the San Fang, the annual killing stars stacked on them and both luck periods arriving, 「主陣亡掠死」. In old times Qi Sha was the general star, and a general's violent death is death in battle. The line can point to a high-risk occupation or a body prone to injury; the 'bent waist and crooked back' is a reminder about the spine.

Qi Sha with Huo Xing and Qing Yang: greedy and base, a butcher; the note says Qi Sha with Qing Yang and Tuo Luo meeting in the birth place makes a butcher. What Does Qi Sha Govern? also has 「遇凶曜於生鄉定為屠宰」. The 'birth place' is the Chang Sheng position. Qi Sha is a killing star; add the punishing star and Huo Xing, in a place full of vital force, and the ancients thought of a trade that kills. Compare the butcher verdict on the Tan Lang page of this chapter.

Bai Hu is one of the twelve Sui Qian spirits of the Annual Luck, placed afresh each year by the branch of the year. In the Annual Luck of a Xingge chart, each palace's Sui Qian spirits are that year's set, which shows where Bai Hu falls. If it lands in the palace holding natal Qi Sha with Qing Yang and Ling Xing, that is the case described here. The Tai Wei Fu also has 「鈴羊合於命宮遇白虎，須當刑戮」.

Qi Sha meeting the annual Qing Yang and Guan Fu means leaving home in exile, and the note counts it only when both the year and the luck period arrive. The annual Qing Yang is placed by the year's Heavenly Stem, and Guan Fu is one of the twelve Sui Qian spirits of the year. The Tai Wei Fu says 「官符加刑殺於遷移，離鄉遭配」 (segment 40). Exile in old times was banishment; now it might correspond to a forced transfer, a posting somewhere one does not want to go, or leaving home because of legal trouble. This is a condition where three layers must all come true at once, and one layer alone is not enough to judge.

This line is the original source of Qi Sha Met Twice. The note defines 'Qi Sha met twice' as Qi Sha in the trines of the Life Palace and the luck period with the annual Qing Yang reaching the Life Palace, slightly different from that page's version, where the annual Qing Yang and Tuo Luo clash in. The condition 'born in a Wu year with the Life Palace in Mao or You' matches that page's statement that Qi Sha in Mao or You meeting Qing Yang is unfavourable for people born in Wu years, but neither place says why Wu years. What is certain is the layout: Qi Sha in Mao or You shares the palace with Wu Qu.

The original is the Women's Gu Sui Fu's 「七殺沉吟福不榮」 (segment 11). The note says men have authority and women nowhere to use it: the same toughness a man could turn to power had no outlet for a woman in old times, and could only be held in. The line shows the Quan Shu's historical setting clearly: what it judges is not the star itself but whether society gives the person a place. Women today have room to act, so 'blessings without glory' should be read in its historical context.

The original is the Women's Gu Sui Fu's 「七殺臨身終是夭」 (segment 51). The condition is Qi Sha in the Body Palace. Taken literally it is a verdict of a short life, but without any malefic star or fallen position attached, one of the Quan Shu's more arbitrary lines. Qi Sha itself is never fallen; in the Body Palace it means a person whose later efforts lean toward collision and risk. A better reading today is decisive and bold, with a need to watch safety and the wear on health, rather than a judgment on lifespan.

This line is almost the same as 「七殺單居福德必為娼婢」 in Men's and Women's Charts Compared. 'Alone' means Qi Sha sitting by itself, which happens only in Zi, Wu, Yin, Shen, Chen and Xu; in the other palaces Qi Sha always has a companion star. In old readings of women's charts, the Fortune Palace stood for conduct and pleasures, and Qi Sha there was read as being unable to settle at home. It is kept as written; read today, it can mean inner restlessness and a taste for excitement, and the other stars and transformations of the Fortune Palace still have to be read with it.