Star Combinations: Tian Liang

Tian Liang's brightness table agrees completely with the one Xingge uses: Miao in Zi, Wu, Yin, Mao, Chen and Xu, Wang in Chou and Wei, De in You, Xian in Shen, Si and Hai. Tian Liang's transformed qi is 'shelter'; it is the Quan Shu's 'star of longevity', governing protection and release from trouble, but in a fallen position the shelter is not strong enough, and the star easily turns aloof and rootless. The negative verdicts that follow, about Tian Liang in Si, Hai, Shen and You, line up with the weak positions in this table: Xian in Si, Hai and Shen, and only De in You. For Tian Liang's character as a whole, see The Nature of Tian Liang and the Tian Liang star page.

The original comes from the Women's Gu Sui Fu, 「天梁月曜女命貧」 (segment 8); this chapter adds 'lewd' and the palaces. The note's conditions are Tian Liang in Si or Hai (Xian in both) and Tai Yin in Yin or Shen (sharing the palace with Tian Ji). Its last clause is the key qualification: not fallen, food and clothing go smoothly; only fallen is the woman base, so the verdict really turns on brightness. Taken as written, this is the harsh language of old times about a woman's conduct; today it can be read as a tendency to instability in love and money, and only when the stars are fallen with no lucky stars to help.

The original is the Gu Sui Fu's 「梁居午位官資清顯」 (segment 34), corresponding to the pattern Shou Xing Ru Miao (the longevity star in its temple). Tian Liang in Wu is Miao, with Tai Yang opposite and Tian Tong and Tian Ji with Tai Yin in the trine. The reasons for the three stems: in a Ding year Lu Cun sits in Wu, and Tian Tong's Hua Quan, Tai Yin's Hua Lu and Tian Ji's Hua Ke are all in the San Fang; in a Ji year Tian Liang itself is Hua Ke and Lu Cun again sits in Wu; in a Gui year Lu Cun is in Zi opposite and Tai Yin's Hua Ke in the trine. 「清顯」, clear and eminent, is Tian Liang's particular mark: a nobility that is lofty and clean, not one built up from money.

As the note says, Tian Liang and Tian Tong sit apart in Si and Hai, facing each other. By the brightness table Tian Liang is Xian in both Si and Hai, while Tian Tong is Miao there, so the pair is a strong star of blessing with a fallen star of shelter. The ancients read it this way: Tian Tong governs enjoyment, and with Tian Liang fallen there is nothing to restrain it, so the person drifts into dissipation. The original note's 「加刑忌殺湊多下賤」 is an aggravating condition; without malefic stars and Hua Ji the verdict should be lighter. It points to valuing life's pleasures and disliking restraint; whether that amounts to dissipation depends on the Spouse and Fortune Palaces.

In the same place the Gu Sui Fu has 「曲遇梁星位至臺綱」 (segment 34), with Wen Qu as the subject; this chapter changes it to Wen Chang. The Quan Shu does not account for the difference, which can be taken to mean that Wen Chang and Wen Qu are both stars of examination success and work in much the same way. The post in question was a senior position in the censorate, responsible for oversight. Tian Liang already carries a flavour of supervision and judgment; add a literary star and you have an official who enforces the law through documents and regulations, close in temperament to work in auditing, law or regulation today.

A simple line, but it names Tian Liang's core qualities: long life and blessing. Tian Liang is one of the stars the Quan Shu designates as stars of longevity; in Fortune and Misfortune in the Decade Luck, Tian Liang in the Life Palace is one of the four stars of longevity that can relieve a malefic luck. The note's 'best in Wu' echoes segment 3. 'Guarding or shining' covers both sitting in the Life Palace and shining in from the San Fang. On a Xingge chart, see whether Tian Liang is in the Life Palace itself or in its San Fang, and whether Zuo Fu and You Bi, Wen Chang and Wen Qu, or Tian Kui and Tian Yue come with it.

This is the Ji Yue Tong Liang pattern. With the Life Palace in Yin or Shen, it holds one of the pairs Tian Ji with Tai Yin or Tian Tong with Tian Liang, and the other pair is split between the two trine palaces (for example, with Tian Ji and Tai Yin in Yin, Tian Liang is in Wu and Tian Tong in Xu), while the opposite palace is empty. It is worth noticing that the same combination is 「機月同梁作吏人」 in the Gu Sui Fu (segment 29), which the Tian Ji page of this chapter repeats, while here it is 「一生利業聰明」, a clearly kinder verdict. The two can stand together: a clerk in old times was a capable person who got things done, and cleverness does not conflict with clerical office. The meaning of the note 「聲多不論」 is unclear, and the translation leaves it in doubt.

This is Yang Liang Chang Lu: Tai Yang, Tian Liang, Wen Chang and a Lu star (Lu Cun or Hua Lu) meeting, which governs coming first in examinations. Tai Yang and Tian Liang share a palace only in Mao and You, and in Mao both are Miao, the ideal position for the pattern. The ancients pictured it as the top scholar of the empire; today it can be read as exceptional results in examinations, professional certification or academic research. On a Xingge chart, look for four things together in the San Fang Si Zheng of the Life Palace: Tai Yang, Tian Liang, Wen Chang, and a Lu.

The combination in this line cannot fully occur on a chart: the only main stars that appear in Tian Liang's San Fang Si Zheng are Tian Ji, Tai Yin, Tian Tong and Tai Yang, and Wu Qu never shares a palace with Tian Liang or meets it. So 「梁武陰鈴」 cannot mean the four stars meeting at once; it can only be read as a verse stitched together from pairs, such as Tian Liang meeting Tai Yin and Wu Qu meeting Ling Xing, each with its own sense. The original says 「擬作棟梁之客」, and the word 擬, 'may be taken for', already carries a reservation. No chart condition is given for this line, and there is no need to hunt for it on a chart.

The original comes from the Gu Sui Fu, 「天梁太陰卻作飄蓬之客」 (segment 12), whose first half is 「廉貞七殺反為積富之人」. The note's example is Tian Liang in You and Tai Yin in Si: Tian Liang in You shares the palace with Tai Yang and is only De, and Tai Yin in Si is Xian, shining in from the trine. Neither star is strong, so neither shelter nor wealth is steady, and the person drifts. The modern equivalent is a way of life without a settled home, with frequent job changes or much time on the road.

Tian Ma only ever falls in Yin, Shen, Si or Hai, and Tian Liang is Xian in Si, Hai and Shen and Miao only in Yin, so when Tian Liang shares a palace with Tian Ma it is fallen three times out of four. That explains why the Gu Sui Fu writes 「天梁天馬陷，飄蕩無疑」 (segment 31), with the word 'fallen' that this line lacks. Tian Ma governs movement and Tian Liang shelter; a fallen shelter cannot keep a person in place, and with Tian Ma added the person runs about everywhere. 風流 here has both senses, free-spirited and dissolute.

The textual note has corrected 臣商 to 巨商. This line corresponds to the Tai Wei Fu's 「財蔭坐於遷移，巨商高賈」 (segment 36), where 'shelter' is Tian Liang. With Tian Liang in the Travel Palace, the star of shelter faces the Life Palace: away from home the person is looked after and has benefactors, and with lucky stars added can do big business elsewhere. The note says that with punishment stars or Hua Ji it is ordinary. On a Xingge chart, check whether the Travel Palace holds Tian Liang, then whether lucky stars appear in the San Fang Si Zheng of the Life Palace as well.