Star Combinations: Tian Fu

Tian Fu's brightness table agrees completely with the one Xingge uses: Miao in Zi, Chou, Yin, Chen, Wei and Xu, Wang in Wu and You, De in Mao, Si, Shen and Hai, and no fallen position. Like Zi Wei, Tian Fu is 「無陷」; it is the chief star of the Southern Dipper and the star of the treasury, so the Quan Shu seldom calls Tian Fu itself malefic and focuses instead on whether malefic stars break into the treasury and whether a Lu comes to fill it. On a Xingge chart the lowest brightness Tian Fu ever shows is De. For Tian Fu's character as a whole, see The Nature of Tian Fu and the Tian Fu star page.

The original line appears in the Gu Sui Fu as 「天府臨戌有星扶，腰金衣紫」 (segment 20); this chapter adds the two stems Jia and Ji. Tian Fu in Xu always shares the palace with Lian Zhen, and its San Fang holds Qi Sha in Chen, Wu Qu with Tian Xiang in Yin, and Zi Wei in Wu. In a Jia year Lian Zhen's Hua Lu is in the palace itself, and Wu Qu's Hua Ke and Lu Cun are in Yin; in a Ji year Wu Qu's Hua Lu is in Yin and Lu Cun in Wu. Both stems bring Lu into the San Fang. 'Gold at the waist', a gold seal or gold belt, was the mark of a high official in old times, and today can be understood as holding a key post.

There is a regularity of chart construction here: Tian Xiang is always the fifth palace counting forward from Tian Fu, so the two are always in trine, and the condition 'Tian Fu in Wu or Xu with Tian Xiang facing it' always holds by itself; the real filter is 'a person born in a Jia year'. Tian Fu in Wu shares the palace with Wu Qu, and in a Jia year Wu Qu's Hua Ke is in the palace itself while Lian Zhen's Hua Lu and Lu Cun are in Yin, in the trine; with Tian Fu in Xu, Lian Zhen's Hua Lu in a Jia year is in the palace itself. In both positions a Jia year brings Lu and Ke into the San Fang Si Zheng of the Life Palace, hence the first rank.

Fu Xiang Chao Yuan means Tian Fu and Tian Xiang sit in the Wealth and Career Palaces and shine on the Life Palace from the trine. Since the two are always in trine, the pattern holds whenever the Life Palace falls on the third corner of their triangle; the note ranks a Life Palace in Yin or Shen as the top grade and other palaces lower. The Women's Gu Sui Fu also has 「府相朝垣命必榮」 (segment 6). In this pattern the Life Palace itself holds Lian Zhen in Yin or Shen, Zi Wei in Zi or Wu and Wu Qu in Chen or Xu, and in the other six palaces it is empty, so when reading the chart the weight lies on the quality of the Wealth and Career Palaces rather than on the main star of the Life Palace. 'A salary of a thousand zhong' is a generous official income, comparable today to a stable and high one.

Tian Fu meeting Wen Chang and Wen Qu and Zuo Fu and You Bi is judged as high examination honours and imperial favour. Tian Fu is a commanding star, steady and conservative; Wen Chang and Wen Qu bring literary talent and Zuo Fu and You Bi bring help, and together they make the smooth road of study into office. The condition names four auxiliary stars, and on a real chart all four beside Tian Fu at once is not easy; more often two or three meet from the San Fang. In modern terms, formal channels such as degrees, examinations and certifications work especially well for this person.

'The Xingge approach' above has explained that this Jun Chen Qing Hui differs from the definition in the Patterns of Rank and on Xingge, and that it cannot hold on a chart (Tian Liang is the sixth palace counting forward from Tian Fu and never enters its San Fang Si Zheng). One thing can be added: in the Quan Shu, Tian Fu, Tian Xiang and Tian Liang all belong to the Southern Dipper, of which Tian Fu is the chief, so the line may call the chief star of the Southern Dipper meeting its ministers 'ruler and ministers', a different usage from the Jun Chen Qing Hui in which Zi Wei is the ruler and Zuo Fu and You Bi the ministers. This is only a guess. For the standard definition see Jun Chen Qing Hui.

Tian Fu is itself a treasury; add Lu Cun and the treasury has money in it; add Wen Chang and Wen Qu and there is literary talent and a gift for planning. The Quan Shu says outright 「巨萬之資」, a far higher rating than Tian Fu alone. Note that the two sides of Lu Cun always hold Qing Yang and Tuo Luo, so when Tian Fu shares a palace with Lu Cun the Life Palace is always flanked by them, which the Quan Shu does not count against it. On a Xingge chart, whether Tian Fu and Lu Cun share a palace is visible at a glance.

This line differs from one in Star Combinations: Zi Wei only in its subject, and the chapter on Jie Kong and Shang Shi has 「紫府武曲居財帛更兼權祿富奢翁」 as well (segment 31): three places giving the same verdict on wealth. Tian Fu and Wu Qu share a palace in Zi and Wu, so the most typical case of 「天府武曲居財宅」 is the Wealth or Property Palace in Zi or Wu with Wu Qu and Tian Fu together, plus Hua Quan or Hua Lu. Wu Qu is Hua Lu in a Ji year and Hua Quan in a Geng year; the note says Zuo Fu and You Bi or Lu Cun are also good, loosening the condition further.