Star Combinations: Zi Wei

Each page of the star-combination chapter opens with the star's brightness table, and every later verdict about the star 'in such-and-such a palace' rests on it. Zi Wei's 「無陷」 is what most sets it apart from the other main stars: the emperor star keeps a basic strength wherever it goes, its weakest position being Ping in Zi. That is also why the Quan Shu rarely condemns Zi Wei on brightness alone, and looks instead at whether it has Zuo Fu and You Bi and whether it meets malefic stars. On a Xingge chart Zi Wei's brightness is shown with the star. For Zi Wei's character as a whole, go on to The Nature of Zi Wei and the Zi Wei star page.

The line comes from the Gu Sui Fu's 「紫微居午無殺湊，位至三公」 (segment 20), which this chapter refines into three year stems. Taken apart: in Ding and Ji years Lu Cun sits in Wu, in the same palace as Zi Wei; in a Jia year Lu Cun is in Yin and shines in from the trine, with Lian Zhen's Hua Lu in Xu and Wu Qu's Hua Ke in Yin besides. All three stems bring Lu into Zi Wei's San Fang Si Zheng. 「無刑忌」 rules out precisely Bing and Wu years, when Qing Yang sits in Wu and the chart becomes Ma Tou Dai Jian (an arrow on the horse's head). Zi Wei in Wu is Miao, the steadiest position for the emperor star in the whole table.

The Quan Shu has several close variants of the name 'facing up toward the Dipper': the Gu Sui Fu has 「朝斗仰斗，爵祿榮昌」, and the Women's Gu Sui Fu has 「對面朝斗格，子午宮逢祿存」, all describing the emperor star in Zi or Wu receiving homage. The hardest part of the condition is all three of Ke, Quan and Lu shining in from the San Fang, which, as 'The Xingge approach' above explains, never happens together on a chart. What actually occurs is two of them meeting: Zi Wei Hua Ke in the Life Palace in a Yi year, say, or Zi Wei Hua Quan in a Ren year, plus a Lu shining in from the San Fang. Patterns of 'three marvels' like this should be understood as ideals; on a real chart, two of the marvels are already rare.

This line ties sex to palace, and the original does not say why it is Hai for men and Yin for women; later writers have no agreed explanation either. The stems can be taken apart. With Zi Wei in Hai (sharing the palace with Qi Sha), in a Ren year Zi Wei is Hua Quan and Lu Cun sits in Hai; in a Jia year Lian Zhen's Hua Lu and Po Jun's Hua Quan land in Mao, in the trine, and Wu Qu's Hua Ke in Wei, so Lu, Quan and Ke all enter the San Fang. With Zi Wei in Yin (sharing the palace with Tian Fu), in a Jia year Lu Cun sits in Yin and Lian Zhen's Hua Lu is in Wu; in a Ren year Zi Wei is Hua Quan, but the same year puts Wu Qu's Hua Ji and Tuo Luo both in Xu, in the trine, luck with a thorn in it. Read this way, the reason for the stems is much clearer than the reason for the sexes.

Zi Wei in Mao or You always shares the palace with Tan Lang, the combination the Quan Shu calls 「桃花犯主」, the peach-blossom star offending the ruler. Add Di Kong, Di Jie and the four malefic stars, and the verdict is a monastic life. The logic: the emperor star in Mao or You is only Wang, not Miao, and is pulled about by the peach-blossom star; meeting Di Kong and Di Jie as well, worldly desires and worldly achievements both come to nothing, and so the person turns to religion. The Gu Sui Fu says 「極居卯酉多為脫俗僧人」 (segment 49), and the Women's Gu Sui Fu goes further: 「十人之命九人僧」, nine charts in ten are monks. Today it can be read as little interest in material and worldly success and a leaning toward the spiritual, but the Quan Shu's meaning is becoming a monk, and that should not be rewritten.

The original line comes from the Tai Wei Fu's 「紫微天府全依輔弼之功」 (segment 14); the note here adds two cases, same palace and shining in from the San Fang. One detail of chart construction is worth knowing: Zuo Fu and You Bi only ever share a palace in Chou or Wei, while Zi Wei and Tian Fu share a palace in Yin or Shen, so Zi Wei and Tian Fu can never have both Zuo Fu and You Bi in their own palace. In practice it is usually one in the palace and one in the San Fang, or both shining in from the San Fang. On a Xingge chart, check the San Fang Si Zheng of the palace holding Zi Wei or Tian Fu for Zuo Fu and You Bi.

Zi Wei and Tian Fu share a palace only in Yin and Shen; that is fixed. The advantage of a Jia year, taken apart: Lu Cun is in Yin, so with Zi Wei and Tian Fu in Yin it shares their palace and with them in Shen it is opposite; Lian Zhen's Hua Lu falls in Wu or Zi in the trine, and Wu Qu's Hua Ke in Xu or Chen in the trine. So in a Jia year both Lu and Ke are in the San Fang Si Zheng of Zi Wei and Tian Fu. The condition 「無殺湊」 excludes Qing Yang, Tuo Luo, Huo Xing and Ling Xing; yet when Lu Cun sits in Yin in a Jia year, Qing Yang and Tuo Luo are on either side in Mao and Chou, so Zi Wei and Tian Fu in Yin are flanked by them, a point the original does not deal with. The Gu Sui Fu's 「紫府同宮終身福厚」 (segment 19) is the short form of the same line.

「活祿」 is Hua Lu, as against Lu Cun. With Zi Wei and Tian Fu in Yin or Shen, the main stars of their San Fang Si Zheng are Qi Sha, Lian Zhen with Tian Xiang, and Wu Qu, so only two Hua Lu can come in: Lian Zhen's in a Jia year and Wu Qu's in a Ji year. On a Xingge chart, see whether the birth year's Hua Lu falls in the trine or opposite palace of a Life Palace holding Zi Wei and Tian Fu. The note's 'with lucky stars added, finer still' continues the point of segment 6: what the emperor star needs most is support. The 'three highest offices' here are of the same rank as the 'highest ministers' of segment 2, the Quan Shu's highest praise for Zi Wei.

The note has already pointed out that Zi Wei in Wu and Tian Fu in Chou cannot both hold. Read from another angle, the point of the line is that both pairs of stars are strong: Zi Wei and Tian Fu, the emperor and treasury stars, and Tai Yang and Tai Yin, the sun and moon. Zi Wei is Miao in Wu and Tian Fu Miao in Chou; Tai Yang is Wang or Miao in Yin, Mao, Chen, Si and Wu, and Tai Yin Wang or Miao in Yin, You, Xu, Hai, Zi and Chou. The original note asks for no malefic stars and a Hua Lu, the same standard as the lines before. Such lines are best taken as a description of a chart whose main structure is bright throughout; there is no need to hunt for a chart where all four stars meet at once.

This line is almost identical to lines in Star Combinations: Tian Fu and in Star Combinations: Jie Kong, Shang Shi, and the Life, Body, Wealth and Property Palaces, a verdict on wealth that the Quan Shu repeats again and again. The Wealth Palace shows money in motion, the Property Palace the assets that stay; Zi Wei, Tian Fu and Wu Qu are all stars of wealth or stars that govern it, and with Hua Quan and Hua Lu added, the person can both earn and keep. On a Xingge chart, what to look at is not the Life Palace but the Wealth and Property Palaces. 'A rich and lavish old man' can be read today as ample assets and a comfortable life, not necessarily extravagance.

The original is from the Tai Wei Fu, 「紫微輔弼同宮，一呼百諾居上品」 (segment 28), the heart of Jun Chen Qing Hui (ruler and ministers in happy meeting): the ruler has his right and left hands. Zuo Fu and You Bi share a palace only in Chou or Wei, and Zi Wei in Chou or Wei always shares the palace with Po Jun, so a Life Palace with Zi Wei, Zuo Fu and You Bi strictly in one palace must be Zi Wei with Po Jun in Chou or Wei. The note's version, with Zuo Fu and You Bi in the San Fang as a lesser luck, makes the condition much broader. Its last clause, an official in charge of revenue when in the Wealth Palace, simply moves the same combination to the Wealth Palace and reads it there.

Zi Wei or Tian Fu meeting Qing Yang makes a great merchant, and the note adds a condition: Wu Qu in the Travel Palace. On a chart, the only way for Zi Wei or Tian Fu to be in the Life Palace with Wu Qu in the Travel Palace is Tian Fu in Mao or You with Wu Qu and Qi Sha opposite; when Zi Wei is in the Life Palace, Wu Qu is always in the trine and never in the Travel Palace. The ancients' logic: the emperor and treasury stars are by nature suited to office, but with Qing Yang they become fierce and contentious, ill-suited to officialdom, and do better in trade; with the wealth star outside as well, the person becomes a great merchant trading away from home. The Tai Wei Fu has the related saying 「財蔭坐於遷移，巨商高賈」 (segment 36) for comparison.

As the note says, the combination in this line cannot occur (Zi Wei's San Fang Si Zheng never contains Tai Yang). The first half, Zi Wei and Lu Cun in one palace, does occur: Lu Cun in Zi Wei's palace is always flanked by Qing Yang and Tuo Luo, one of the cases the Quan Shu often calls Qing Yang and Tuo Luo flanking Lu. To give 'the sun and moon shining' a workable reading, it can only be loosened to Tai Yang and Tai Yin each in a strong position on the natal chart, rather than shining in from the San Fang. The Quan Shu has many lines like this, mostly verses that piled several good conditions together as they were copied; it is enough for readers to know it describes an ideal.

Zi Wei and Qi Sha share a palace only in Si and Hai, and the Hua Quan has only one source: Zi Wei's Hua Quan in a Ren year (Qi Sha never transforms). In the table of the stars by Dipper the Quan Shu says Qi Sha 「遇帝為權」: the killing general meeting the emperor star is brought to heel and becomes authority, so the otherwise malefic Qi Sha becomes a pillar of the state. The word 「反作」, 'on the contrary becomes', marks that turn. This describes a person of great drive and energy who, under good leadership or a good system, puts that strength to the right use. In a Ren year Lu Cun is also in Hai, so for someone born in a Ren year with Zi Wei and Qi Sha in Hai, Quan and Lu share the palace.

Zi Wei and Po Jun share a palace only in Chou and Wei. Without Zuo Fu and You Bi and without lucky stars, the verdict is a vicious petty clerk. The Quan Shu's logic is consistent: Zi Wei needs Zuo Fu and You Bi to be a ruler; an emperor star without support is a 'lone ruler', and meeting the wasting star Po Jun with nothing to check it, it sinks to a petty clerk wielding power in a government office. The Nature of Zi Wei also says 「與破軍同為胥吏」. Petty clerks had low standing in old society and were often seen as greedy and harsh; today the role might be understood as front-line enforcement within an institution, done with a heavy hand. 'Vicious' is the original's judgment, kept as it stands.

The original is the Tai Wei Fu's 「帝遇凶徒雖獲吉而無道」 (segment 32), and here the 'villains' are named outright as Qing Yang and Tuo Luo. The condition is Zi Wei carrying Hua Quan or Hua Lu (Zi Wei's Hua Ke in a Yi year does not count) and meeting Qing Yang and Tuo Luo. The logic: with power and Lu the emperor star can get things done, but it is surrounded by stars of punishment, so its methods are crooked. The note's 'the person's mind is crooked' is one of the rare lines in the Quan Shu that judge character directly. On a Xingge chart: Zi Wei carries Hua Quan or Hua Lu, and Qing Yang or Tuo Luo is in the same palace or in the San Fang.

As the note says, Zi Wei and Po Jun share a palace only in Chou and Wei; in Chen and Xu it is Zi Wei with Tian Xiang and Po Jun opposite. By Xingge's brightness, Zi Wei is Miao in Chou and Wei and only De in Chen and Xu, while Po Jun is Wang in both, so none of these four palaces is poor, and with lucky stars added wealth and rank follow. It is interesting to read this beside segment 24, 「紫破辰戍君臣不義」: the same palaces bring wealth and rank with lucky stars and an unrighteous minister without them, and the key is whether lucky stars are present.

This line expands the Tai Wei Fu's 「桃花犯主為至淫」 (segment 16). Zi Wei shares a palace with Tan Lang in Mao and You and with Po Jun in Chou and Wei, and both pairs are called the most lewd. Taken as written it is a harsh verdict on temperament and private life, and the Quan Shu holds nothing back. Reading such lines today, they can be taken as strong desires and a heavy investment in love and pleasure, but 'most lewd' is the moral language of another age and should not be pinned directly on anyone now; the actual state of a person's love life has to be judged from the Spouse and Fortune Palaces and the malefic stars around them.

As the note says, Zi Wei and Tian Fu in Si and Hai face each other rather than sharing a palace. Zi Wei in Si or Hai shares the palace with Qi Sha and Tian Fu sits alone opposite, so the Life Palace and the Travel Palace each hold one of the emperor and treasury stars. The 一朝 of 「一朝富貴」 means 'suddenly' or 'one day', implying that wealth and rank do not come at the start but arrive in a particular luck period. This follows from the nature of Zi Wei with Qi Sha: Qi Sha governs upheaval and breaking new ground, and has to wait for its moment. In practice, follow the Decade Lucks to see which one reaches the Wealth or Career Palace or a palace with many lucky stars.

The condition for Zi Wei and Tian Fu flanking the Life Palace is narrower than one might think: Zi Wei and Tian Fu must sit on either side of the Life Palace, which happens only when the Life Palace is in Yin or Shen, and then the Life Palace itself is either empty or holds Tian Ji with Tai Yin. In other words, for a person whose Life Palace is flanked by Zi Wei and Tian Fu, the only possible main stars in the Life Palace are Tian Ji and Tai Yin; otherwise it is an empty palace borrowing the stars opposite. Flanking means the strength of the two neighbouring palaces protects the one between, the nobility coming from both sides. The Quan Shu's patterns of rank include other flanking patterns; compare Zuo You Jia (Zuo Fu and You Bi flanking).

Wen Chang and Wen Qu are the stars of examination success, and the ancients read Zi Wei meeting them as the combination of study leading to office. Wen Chang and Wen Qu share a palace only in Chou or Wei (Wen Chang counts backward from Xu and Wen Qu forward from Chen, by birth hour), so 'Zi Wei with Wen Chang and Wen Qu' all in the Life Palace is most often Zi Wei and Po Jun in Chou or Wei plus the two literary stars; loosened to meeting from the San Fang, the cases become far more numerous. On a Xingge chart, see whether the two stars are in the same palace or shine in from the San Fang. In practice this means education, writing skill or professional qualifications helping one's career.

As the note says, Zi Wei and Tai Yin never share a palace or meet. Compare this line with the Career Palace chapter in volume two: 「若逢紫府兼左右，一生曹吏逞英雄」, almost the same words, but with Zi Wei and Tian Fu as the subject. Reading the two together suggests that in copying, this chapter's line may have swapped Tian Fu for Tai Yin. A petty clerk handled business in one department of an office, and 'playing the hero' carries the sense of throwing one's weight around in a small post.

Zi Wei meeting Wu Qu and Po Jun, and Qing Yang and Tuo Luo as well, is judged as cheating the state and causing disorder, and the note says the person is fit only for trade. On a chart, the typical way these stars gather is Zi Wei with Po Jun in Chou or Wei with Wu Qu shining in from the trine (the trine palaces being Si and You, or Hai and Mao), or Zi Wei with Tan Lang in Mao or You with Wu Qu and Po Jun in the trine. Wu Qu is the wealth star and Po Jun the wasting star; add Qing Yang and Tuo Luo and you have someone tampering with money and clashing with the authorities, which is why the Quan Shu advises trade rather than office. It is the same line of thought as segment 12, Zi Wei or Tian Fu with Qing Yang making a great merchant: fierce combinations are not suited to officialdom.

As the textual note explains, in Chen and Xu it is Zi Wei with Tian Xiang in the Life Palace and Po Jun opposite. The Quan Shu gives An Lushan and Zhao Gao as examples, both traitorous ministers in the histories. Examples of the 'so-and-so's chart' kind are common in the Quan Shu, but most were attached later and have no reliable birth data. Segment 17 says the same combination with lucky stars brings wealth and rank, so the full condition here should be taken as Zi Wei and Tian Xiang in Chen or Xu, Po Jun clashing from opposite, and no lucky stars. The Quan Shu has never thought much of Zi Wei in Chen or Xu, which fits the Song of the Life Palace and the Luck Periods listing Zi Wei as unlucky in a Chen year.

The first half is the Women's Gu Sui Fu's 「端正紫微太陽星，早遇賢夫」 (segment 3); the note adds palaces: Zi Wei is lucky in Yin, Wu and Shen. In Yin and Shen Zi Wei shares the palace with Tian Fu, and in Wu it is Miao, exactly the emperor star's three steadiest positions. The second half, 「子酉及巳亥加四殺」, gives the conditions for things going badly: Zi Wei is only Ping in Zi, shares the palace with Tan Lang in You and with Qi Sha in Si and Hai, all combinations with a gap in them, and with malefic stars added the flaw appears. The old books judged a woman's chart by whether she met a worthy husband; in a modern reading this becomes a question of the quality of her relationships and partnership.