What Does Zi Wei Govern?

This opening sets the tone for the whole chapter: Zi Wei is not just 'a good star' but the master of the whole chart. It belongs to earth, and earth sits in the centre and bears all things, so the ancients placed it on the emperor's seat in the middle of the northern sky and had it hold the pivot of creation. Everything later said of it, that it sends down blessings, restrains malefic stars and subdues Qi Sha, follows from this role as ruler.

When reading a chart, keep two things apart: which palace Zi Wei is in, and whether Zi Wei sits in the Life Palace. Every chart has Zi Wei somewhere among the twelve palaces; most of this chapter's verdicts concern Zi Wei in or around the Life, Body and Career Palaces. On a Xingge chart, Zi Wei's position is set by the Five Elements Bureau and the lunar birthday, and the other thirteen main stars are all derived from it and from Tian Fu. That is what 'master of life' means in the mechanics of chart-building; see The Zi Wei and Tian Fu star groups.

「處年數內常掌爵祿」 links Zi Wei to rank and office, the same idea as the Zi Wei nature chapter's description of it as the master of the Career Palace (see The Nature of Zi Wei). The old 'rank and salary' meant office and official pay; today it is closer to position and title, with the income and resources that come with them.

「諸宮降福能消百惡」 is often read to mean that nothing bad can happen wherever Zi Wei goes, which stretches it too far. Segments 6, 7 and 18 say straight away that Zi Wei runs into trouble when isolated without helpers, when it meets malefic stars and when it meets Po Jun. So the line describes Zi Wei's nature, which leans toward resolving trouble, not a guarantee. How much it can actually resolve depends on its brightness, on whether Zuo Fu and You Bi are present, and on how heavy the malefic stars and Hua Ji are in its San Fang Si Zheng.

The Three Terraces are a method particular to this chapter, not the usual San Fang Si Zheng. The palace where Zi Wei guards the Life Palace is the Middle Terrace, and the positions before and after it are the Upper and Lower Terraces, which amounts to looking at Zi Wei's two neighbouring palaces. This is close to the later idea of flanking: lucky stars in the two neighbours mean support, while Qing Yang and Tuo Luo or Huo Xing and Ling Xing there mean being hemmed in.

On a Xingge chart, open Zi Wei's palace: the two palaces beside it are the Upper and Lower Terraces. Check the brightness of their main stars in the small text, and whether they carry Hua Lu, Hua Quan, Hua Ke or Hua Ji. Zi Wei itself is Ping only in Zi and De in Chen and Xu, and Miao or Wang everywhere else, so 「陷又化凶」 is mostly about the two neighbours. In the old books, 'transformed to good' and 'transformed to bad' also mean more than the four transformations: they include the overall effect of lucky and malefic stars.

This line follows segment 3 with its subject left out. From the context it refers to a Zi Wei whose Three Terraces are 'Xian and transformed to bad': since the foundation is unsteady, a good luck period cannot bring it out, while a bad one makes the bad signs come true. Put another way, the natal structure decides how far a luck period can amplify anything.

This is the basic Dou Shu idea that the natal chart is the substance and the luck periods are its use: luck can only set off what the natal chart already holds. In practice, treat the palace reached by the Decade Luck as a temporary Life Palace, then look again at where Zi Wei's Three Terraces fall relative to it.

The section on star combinations has an almost identical line: Zi Wei and Lu Cun in the same palace with the sun and moon shining, nobility beyond words (see Star Combinations: Zi Wei). The condition has two layers: Zi Wei and Lu Cun sitting together in the Life or Body Palace, and Tai Yang and Tai Yin shining in from the trine.

The trouble is the second layer. Under the placement rules, Tai Yang always sits three positions behind Zi Wei, and Tai Yin's position is also offset from Zi Wei, so neither can ever land in Zi Wei's San Fang Si Zheng. Taken literally, Zi Wei and Lu Cun together with the sun and moon in the trine cannot occur on any chart. One reading that makes more sense splits 'Body and Life': Zi Wei with Lu Cun in the Body Palace, and the sun and moon found in the Life Palace's trine. Others think it is simply an idealised pattern, overstated to show the scale of an emperor star that has Lu and the support of the sun and moon. Xingge's Your chart check marks only Zi Wei and Lu Cun together, so readers have to weigh the sun-and-moon half for themselves.

The lonely ruler is an idea the Quan Shu returns to again and again: Zi Wei is the ruler and needs ministers to get anything done, and Zuo Fu and You Bi are its most direct chief ministers. The condition in the text is 「無輔弼同行」; strictly, Zuo Fu and You Bi are not in the same palace, and more loosely, they do not meet it from the San Fang Si Zheng. See the Gu Jun (lonely ruler) pattern.

The second half, 「君子在野，小人在位」, uses the court as an image for the Life Palace: with no helpers and malefic stars in the same palace, the good forces are pushed to the edges and the bad ones take power. 「或諸吉合照」 reads awkwardly here, as the note says; the more sensible reading is that even if lucky stars shine in from the trine, a main star that is isolated and carrying malefic stars leaves the lucky stars on the outside. In modern terms: strong opinions and a high position, but no reliable team, and easily swayed by the wrong people nearby.

The 「奸詐假善」 here continues the case in the previous segment, a Zi Wei that is isolated and has malefic stars; it does not say that everyone with Zi Wei in the Life Palace is like this. The old logic: when the emperor star loses its helpers, the ruler's authority and pride remain but have no proper outlet, so they turn into posturing and self-interest.

The Qiu in 「與囚同居」 is Lian Zhen. Zi Wei and Lian Zhen are always four palaces apart, in trine to each other, so the line can only mean meeting from the trine. Interestingly, the Zi Wei nature chapter also says 'clerk', but pairs it with Po Jun: with Po Jun, a clerk (see The Nature of Zi Wei). The Quan Shu gives different conditions for Zi Wei sinking to a petty clerk, and what they share is the absence of Zuo Fu and You Bi. In old times a clerk was an unranked functionary; today that is roughly junior administrative or clerical staff. The line is a verdict about status, not a judgement on whether the work is good or bad.

The 'four fallen palaces' here are not the Xian positions of the brightness table but palaces where Zi Wei is out of its element by role: Health, Siblings, Friends and Parents (Appearance) are none of them positions the self controls. A ruler seated in the place of subjects, the body, peers or elders cannot use his rank, hence 「勞碌作事無成，雖得助亦不為福」.

Note that Zi Wei's brightness in these four palaces on a Xingge chart may well be Miao or Wang; the two things should be kept apart. Also, when Zi Wei is in one of these palaces, the Life Palace has a different main star, and a reading rests mainly on that star; this passage is more of a supplement, saying Zi Wei's energy lands in other people's affairs or in the body. The text leaves itself room in its last sentence, 「更宜詳細宮度」: one should not call a person toiling on the strength of this line alone.

This passage gives the full conditions for Zi Wei to count as noble: Zi Wei in the Life, Body or Career Palace, guarded by Zuo Fu and You Bi, plus Tian Xiang and Lu and Ma galloping together, not in emptiness, and seated in Chang Sheng as well. The conditions pile up one on another, showing that a truly noble pattern asks a lot; having Zi Wei is not enough.

On a chart you can check them in this order: first, whether Zuo Fu and You Bi are in Zi Wei's palace or its San Fang Si Zheng; then, whether Lu Cun or Hua Lu shares a palace with Tian Ma or faces it (Lu and Ma galloping together); then, whether the palace's minor stars include Xun Kong, Jie Lu or Kong Wang; and finally, whether the stage of growth is Chang Sheng. The last item depends on the direction of counting, as explained under the Xingge approach above, so allow some leeway. The old 'noble' meant official rank; today it can be read as formal authority and title inside an organisation.

The 「三臺」 here differs from segment 3: in the phrase 「三臺八座」 it means the two minor stars San Tai and Ba Zuo, and also serves as an old term for the highest officials, so the line plays on both senses. On a Xingge chart, San Tai and Ba Zuo appear among the minor stars in the palaces; they are derived from Zuo Fu and You Bi plus the birth day, and often fall near them.

The emperor meeting Wen Chang from the trine, plus a good luck period, is judged 「文選之職」, the civil official in charge of appointments. The Quan Shu thinks highly of Wen Chang with Zi Wei, because the emperor star rules position and Wen Chang rules documents and exams; together they are the road into power through study and examination. Read today: suited to HR, examinations and the design of systems and rules, though the luck periods still have to cooperate, since the text itself lists a good luck period as a condition.

「帝降七殺為權」 is one of Zi Wei's best-known effects: Qi Sha is the general star, heavy with killing force, and on meeting the emperor star it is enlisted into authority. On a chart, Zi Wei and Qi Sha share a palace only in Si and Hai; Zi Wei is Wang there and Qi Sha is Ping, a structure of strong ruler and weaker general, with the general taking the ruler's orders. The section on star combinations also says Zi Wei with Qi Sha transformed into power becomes, on the contrary, timber for pillars and beams (see Star Combinations: Zi Wei), that is, a person of real worth.

The note has already pointed out the ambiguity of 「帝相有氣」. When Zi Wei and Qi Sha share a palace, Tian Xiang lies outside the San Fang Si Zheng, so here it more likely means helper stars in general. 'Holds a military post', translated to today, means roles that call for decisiveness, execution and leading a team: management, the military or police, engineering or sales leadership.

Neither 'same degree' nor 'same palace' in this passage can be literal on a chart. When Zi Wei is in the Wealth Palace, Wu Qu is always in the Career Palace and Lian Zhen in the Life Palace, all three in trine, so Wu Qu meets it from the trine. Tai Yin never even enters Zi Wei's San Fang Si Zheng. In other words, the text lists an ideal combination: the emperor star managing wealth, backed by the wealth star Wu Qu and the riches star Tai Yin.

What you can actually check: Zi Wei in the Wealth or Property Palace, with Zuo Fu, You Bi or Lu Cun in the same palace or its San Fang Si Zheng, and no Qing Yang, Tuo Luo, Huo Xing, Ling Xing, Di Kong or Di Jie. The old revenue official managed grain, money and taxes; today that corresponds to finance, tax and asset management. The section on star combinations has another line, saying Zi Wei with Zuo Fu and You Bi in the same palace, in the Wealth Palace, makes an official in charge of revenue (see Star Combinations: Zi Wei), a simpler condition that asks only for the two helpers.

The Children Palace is judged by the same ruler-and-minister logic: with helpers, the children are noble; alone, they are few. The 'noble children' of old were sons who won official rank; today this can be read as children who achieve something, and a parent-child bond that carries weight.

「獨守無相佐，則子息孤單」 needs its historical setting: the ancients counted many children as a blessing and called few children lonely. Now that having children is a personal choice, the line is better read as whether the bond and contact with one's children is thin or warm, not as how many one can have. The Children Palace chapter gives finer numbers, such as three sons and two daughters for Zi Wei in Miao or Wang; numbers of that kind are stock formulas of the old books and should be taken as reference only.

The 「男女」 in 「男女得貴美夫婦諧老」 means a man's chart or a woman's chart alike, not sons and daughters. The conditions are Zi Wei in the Spouse Palace, meeting lucky stars, and 「無破殺」. There are two readings of Po and Sha, as the note lists; given the book's habits, Zi Wei most dreads Po Jun in the same palace (Chou, Wei) or opposite (Chen, Xu), so reading it as Po Jun plus malefic stars fits the Quan Shu as a whole better.

Today Zi Wei in the Spouse Palace is often read as a spouse with strong views and real weight, or a relationship in which the partner holds the higher position. The Spouse Palace chapter says Zi Wei means marrying late, growing old in harmony, and a strong temper, which adds two conditions, late marriage and a hard nature, and complements this passage.

This passage covers two palaces. The Travel Palace is opposite the Life Palace, and the ancients called it a strong palace because it shines straight into the Life Palace. With Zi Wei in the Travel Palace, the Life Palace is either empty or holds another main star, and has to borrow Zi Wei's strength. 「因人之貴」 means the rank comes from outside: from sponsorship, partnership or attaching oneself to people of standing.

The Fortune Palace 「男為陷地，女為廟樂」 is a rare case in the Quan Shu of judging a palace by gender. The brightness table makes no such distinction, and the brightness shown on a Xingge chart does not change with gender. The book does not give its reasons; perhaps it saw the Fortune Palace as pleasure and inner life, where an emperor star rests content in a woman's chart but in a man's chart is too comfortable to exert itself. This is the Quan Shu's own view; read it as the text says, without forcing it onto the brightness grades.

Master Xiyi boils Zi Wei's effect down to two phrases: 「制火鈴為善」 and 「降七殺為權」. Huo Xing and Ling Xing are the malefic stars of sudden flare-ups and slow smouldering; Zi Wei can make them 'good', meaning their force is put to proper use. Subdued, Qi Sha turns from a solitary, harsh general star into usable authority. The Zi Wei nature chapter likewise says its majesty restrains Qi Sha and subdues Huo Xing and Ling Xing (see The Nature of Zi Wei).

The 「虛」 in 「解諸星之惡虛」 deserves attention: Zi Wei resolves not only the harmful but also the hollow, such as the unrealistic streak Di Kong and Di Jie bring. But it is a matter of degree. The verse in the Zi Wei nature chapter also says that Zi Wei in the Life Palace meeting Qing Yang, Tuo Luo, Huo Xing and Ling Xing can only bow to the Buddha at the temple gate; so 'can restrain' applies when the malefic stars are not too heavy. When they all gather, Zi Wei cannot hold them down either.

This passage sorts the lucky stars into two tiers: Tian Fu and Tian Xiang are helpers at the level of main stars, while Zuo Fu and You Bi, Wen Chang and Wen Qu are helpers at the level of supporting stars. With all of them gathered, 「無有不貴」; with the conditions incomplete, one step down, 「亦主巨富」; and even with the four malefic stars clashing and breaking, still a 「中局」. This is the Quan Shu's typical graded judgement: start from the ceiling, then see which tier the chart lands on after the discounts.

Zi Wei shares a palace with Tian Fu only in Yin and Shen, and with Tian Xiang only in Chen and Xu; elsewhere, Tian Fu and Tian Xiang must meet it from the San Fang Si Zheng. To check, open Zi Wei's palace and see whether Tian Fu and Tian Xiang are on its San Fang Si Zheng lines, and where Zuo Fu, You Bi, Wen Chang and Wen Qu fall. A 'middle-grade pattern' today means modest comfort and stability, not mediocrity; the point is that an emperor star's base does not easily sink to the lowest grade.

Zi Wei and Po Jun share a palace in Chou and Wei; in Chen and Xu, Zi Wei sits in one palace and Po Jun in the opposite one (Zi Wei in Chen means Po Jun in Xu). The Quan Shu is very inconsistent about this pair. Here it says disloyal minister and unfilial son; the section on star combinations says Zi Wei and Po Jun in Chen or Xu mean ruler and minister without righteousness (see Star Combinations: Zi Wei), yet the same section also says that Zi Wei and Po Jun in the Life Palace in Chen, Xu, Chou or Wei, with lucky stars added, can expect wealth and rank. So the book does not hold that Zi Wei with Po Jun is always bad; it depends on the lucky stars.

The old reasoning: Po Jun's transformed qi is waste, and it breaks down the old and ignores established rules; when the emperor star meets it, the ruler stops acting like a ruler, which was extended to disloyalty and lack of filial piety. Read today, it is closer to not accepting the existing order, striking out on one's own, and clashing with superiors or parents. That a woman's chart is judged a noble lady instead reflects a time when a woman's standing depended on her husband's family, and Po Jun's drive was seen as able to hold up the household: a product of old ideas about women.

The first line of the verse defines Zi Wei as the 「官祿宮主星」, in line with the Zi Wei nature chapter. 'Main star of the Career Palace' says that Zi Wei's nature belongs to career and position, not that Zi Wei must sit in the Career Palace.

「有相為有用，無相為孤君」 compresses segment 6 into two lines; the 'minister' can be Zuo Fu and You Bi, or can be read as Tian Xiang, as the note says. 「逢凶福自申」 is the book's most optimistic word on Zi Wei: even in misfortune its blessings can extend. Yet the same verse says in segment 23 that without Zuo Fu and You Bi the evil stars all bully it together, and the dividing line between the two is whether helpers are present. A verse has to be read whole; one line cannot be lifted out alone.

This passage pairs Zi Wei with different stars and matches each to a different path: with Wen Chang, the examinations; with Wen Qu, the favour of the emperor, meaning recognition from those above; for monks and Daoists, a master's title. The last line, 「眾星皆拱照，為吏協公平」, says that when lucky stars all gather, even in a clerk's post one can be fair and even-handed.

The Quan Shu keeps a fixed division between Wen Chang and Wen Qu: Wen Chang leans to orthodox learning and exams, Wen Qu to talent, eloquence and success by unconventional routes. Zi Wei with Wen Chang suits the path of degrees, licences and exams, while with Wen Qu it relies more on performance, reputation and the appreciation of superiors. 「僧道有師號」 shows that the book puts religious careers into the same system of high and low; among monks and priests there are ranks too.

Taken as written, these lines on a woman's chart give three outcomes: with lucky stars, she marries a man of standing; meeting peach blossom, she drifts and falls into prostitution; with Qing Yang, Huo Xing and Ling Xing gathered, she keeps company with petty thieves. The translation above follows the words; what needs saying here is the conditions. 'Peach blossom' in the Quan Shu means stars such as Tan Lang, Tian Yao, Xian Chi and Hong Luan. Zi Wei and Tan Lang share a palace in Mao and You, which is the Tai Wei Fu's peach blossom offending the ruler, the height of lewdness, and that is the combination most often matched to this line.

Reading it today takes care. Women in old times had almost no path besides marriage, so a good or bad fate was expressed through whom she married and whether she fell. Looking at these stars now, a woman's Zi Wei with heavy peach blossom is more a matter of popularity, many romantic chances and a tendency to get caught up in complicated relationships; Qing Yang, Huo Xing and Ling Xing gathered point to impulsiveness and disregard for rules. These verdicts are tendencies, and the whole chart still has to be checked for lucky stars and for how the luck periods run.

「三方有吉拱，方作貴人評」 says Zi Wei's nobility has to be proven by lucky stars in its San Fang Si Zheng; sitting in the Life Palace is not enough. The next lines, no Zuo or You, the evil stars bullying it together, the emperor becoming a ruler without the Way, restate segments 6 and 7: a lonely ruler with malefic stars turns the emperor star into a benighted king.

The last line, 「考究要知因」, is often skipped, but it is a reminder to the reader: with the same Zi Wei in the Life Palace, one has to trace why it became a ruler without the Way. The cause may be malefic stars in the trine, may be Hua Ji, may be the luck periods, and it cannot be judged by one rule. On your own chart, check whether Zuo Fu and You Bi are in the Life Palace's San Fang Si Zheng, and in which palaces the malefic stars fall.

「二限若遇帝」 means the Decade Luck or Minor Luck reaches the palace where Zi Wei sits. The old writers believed the emperor star arriving in a luck period brings promotion, happy events and a fresh start. This is Zi Wei's basic nature in the luck periods.

But the line cannot be used alone. The Zi Wei nature chapter's rhyme on luck periods says that Zi Wei entering a luck period is auspicious in itself, but there is reason to fear Qi Sha, Po Jun and Tan Lang in the trine (see The Nature of Zi Wei): if the luck palace's trine shows Qi Sha, Po Jun or Tan Lang, ordinary people fare badly and officials risk demotion. On a Xingge chart, switch to the Decade Luck, see whether its Life Palace is Zi Wei's palace, and then check its San Fang Si Zheng.

Master Yuchan's passage almost repeats the answer in segment 1, but adds one point: 「各有所司」, each star has its own charge. Zi Wei is the centre and the other stars each handle their own part, so how well Zi Wei fares depends on whether the other stars keep to their posts. This prepares the court image in the next segment.

Different parts of the Quan Shu come from different sources, so the same idea often recurs in a different voice. Note at this point that the three voices, the answer, Master Xiyi and Master Yuchan, largely agree and differ in emphasis: the answer goes palace by palace, Master Xiyi stresses restraining malefic stars, and Master Yuchan stresses the division of labour.

This is the Quan Shu's most complete 'court of Zi Wei': Zuo Fu and You Bi are chief ministers, Tian Xiang, Wen Chang and Wen Qu attendants, Tian Kui and Tian Yue messengers, the sun and moon heads of departments, Lu Cun and Tian Ma officers of rank and salary, and Tian Fu head of the treasury. The image is useful because it shows that Zi Wei needs not just lucky stars but a lucky team with every role filled.

When reading, use it as a checklist: in Zi Wei's palace and its San Fang Si Zheng, how many of these posts are filled? The chief ministers (Zuo Fu and You Bi) matter most; without them it is segment 6's lonely ruler. The treasury (Tian Fu) shares the palace in Yin and Shen, and elsewhere has to meet it from the San Fang Si Zheng. The sun and moon are never in the same San Fang Si Zheng as Zi Wei (see the explanation at segment 5), so the 'department heads' complete the picture as an image, and need not be looked for beside Zi Wei. This image is also the source of thinking behind patterns like Jun Chen Qing Hui.

This passage ties Zi Wei to the religious life: meeting the four malefic stars, Di Kong and Di Jie, plus Tian Ji and Tian Liang clashing and breaking, 「定是僧道」. Tian Ji and Tian Liang themselves carry an aloof, religious colouring; the Quan Shu says in the Tian Ji chapter that Tian Ji suits monks and priests, and says the same of Tian Liang. When Zi Wei is weakened by malefic stars and also meets Ji and Liang, the worldly ruler turns toward leaving the world.

'Surely' is how the old books judged. Today it can be read as no interest in, or no luck with, worldly power, and a leaning toward religion, philosophy, spiritual practice, or a life away from competition. The last lines return to Zi Wei's true colours, 「為人厚重，面紫色，專作吉斷」, showing that the Quan Shu's basic verdict on Zi Wei in the Life Palace is still good, and the bad signs above come only when conditions pile up.