The Nature of Ju Men

This is the general description of Ju Men in the Life Palace and one of the Quan Shu's most negative passages on any major star: wavering, suspicious, learning much but mastering little, getting on with few, surrounded by quarrels, toiling. All of it comes from the transformed qi, darkness: in the dark one cannot see clearly, not seeing clearly breeds suspicion, and suspicion breeds disputes.

What Does Ju Men Govern? lists Ju Men's harm palace by palace, from quarrels in the Body and Life Palaces to 「遭棄擲」 in the Parents Palace, all in the same key. The modern reading of Ju Men as eloquence, analysis and getting to the bottom of things turns 'darkness' around: precisely because things are unclear, one has to question and argue. On a Xingge chart Ju Men is Xian (Fallen) in Chen and Xu and Miao (Temple) in Yin, Shen, Mao and You.

The first half: Ju Men likes Zuo Fu, You Bi and Lu Cun, and people born in Gui or Xin years with the Life Palace in Zi or Mao fit the pattern. In Zi Ju Men stands alone; in Mao it shares the palace with Tian Ji. In Xin years Ju Men takes Hua Lu and in Gui years Hua Quan, so the transformation falls right on Ju Men; and in Gui years Lu Cun is in Zi, sitting in the Life Palace.

The second half: people born in Geng or Ding years with the Life Palace in Chen or Xu are not rich or noble. In Ding years Ju Men takes Hua Ji in the Life Palace, and Chen and Xu are its fallen positions; in Geng years Tian Tong takes Hua Ji in the opposite palace. In both years Hua Ji bears down on the Chen-Xu line, hence neither wealth nor rank.

The first half: Life Palace in Zi or Wu, born in a Bing or Wu year, lonely, widowed and short-lived. In both years Qing Yang is in Wu: for Wu it sits in the Life Palace, for Zi it clashes from opposite; and in Wu years Tian Ji takes Hua Ji in the opposite palace. The second half: born in a Jia year with Ju Men in Mao, it is in its temple but shares the palace with Qing Yang, so the pattern is broken and judged ordinary.

Star Combinations gives the reason outright: 「巨機居卯乙辛己丙至公卿」, and then 「甲人平常何也，因甲祿到寅卯宮有擎羊破格耳」 (see Star Combinations: Ju Men). The two passages agree on Mao in Jia years.

Ju Men in Zi or Wu in the Body or Life Palace is the Shi Zhong Yin Yu (jade hidden in stone): Ju Men stands alone in Zi or Wu with Tian Ji opposite, like jade inside a stone, talent kept inward that shows only once worked. With Hua Ke, Hua Quan and Hua Lu, blessings last all life; Star Combinations says 「巨門子午科權祿，石中隱玉福興隆」, with the note 「辛癸人上格，丁己人次之」 (see Star Combinations: Ju Men).

The second half, meeting the four malefic stars and Hua Ji, 「若不夭折，男盜女娼」, is translated literally. The same jade in stone splits into two extremes depending on lucky or unlucky transformations, which is the Quan Shu's typical way of reading Ju Men.

The woman's Ju Men comes in three kinds: in its temple and born in a Gui or Xin year, she enjoys blessings; fallen, she harms husband and children; born in a Ding year (Ju Men takes Hua Ji), extremely lewd. The last sentence is the overall verdict, 「此星在女命多有瑕玷」, translated as the original has it.

The Quan Shu's bias against Ju Men in women's charts is plain: What Does Ju Men Govern? says Ju Men in the Spouse Palace means 「縱夫妻有對，不免汙名失節」. A woman with Ju Men today is more likely to be articulate, observant and slow to trust, prone to suspicion and arguments in love. That is a matter to work on, not a final verdict on her conduct.

In Zi and Wu Ju Men is Wang and stands alone, with Tian Ji opposite. In Ding and Ji years Lu Cun is in Wu; in Gui years Lu Cun is in Zi and Ju Men takes Hua Quan; in Xin years Ju Men takes Hua Lu; hence rich blessings. In Bing and Wu years Qing Yang is in Wu, hence hardship, in line with the 'lonely, widowed and short-lived' of segment 3, only in milder words.

In Ding years Ju Men takes Hua Ji, yet Ding is listed among the rich blessings. The jade-in-stone note in Star Combinations ranks Ding and Ji as 「次之」, a grade below Xin and Gui, which shows the Quan Shu had reservations about Ding.

In Mao and You Ju Men is in its temple and shares a palace with Tian Ji: Ju Ji Tong Lin (Ju Men and Tian Ji arriving together). In Yi years Tian Ji takes Hua Lu and Lu Cun is in Mao; in Xin years Ju Men takes Hua Lu and Lu Cun is in You; in Bing years Tian Ji takes Hua Quan; hence a wealth and office pattern. The ground for Ji years is hard to see. In Ding years Ju Men takes Hua Ji and in Wu years Tian Ji takes Hua Ji, hence success and failure.

This chapter puts Wu years among success and failure, while The Nature of Tian Ji lists Wu years as a wealth and office pattern for the same combination. Since Tian Ji takes Hua Ji in Wu years, this chapter's version is the more reasonable.

In Yin and Shen Ju Men is in its temple and shares a palace with Tai Yang: Ju Ri Tong Gong (Ju Men and the sun in one palace). In Geng years Tai Yang takes Hua Lu; in Xin years Ju Men takes Hua Lu and Tai Yang Hua Quan; in Gui years Ju Men takes Hua Quan. In all three years a lucky transformation falls right in the Life Palace, hence a wealth and office pattern.

The Nature of Tai Yang lists 「丁己甲庚」 for the same combination; the two chapters share only Geng. This chapter looks at transformations landing on Ju Men and Tai Yang, that one mostly at where Lu Cun falls; they look from different angles and so list different stems.

In Si and Hai Ju Men is Wang and stands alone, with Tai Yang opposite. For Si, in Bing years Lu Cun sits in the Life Palace; in Xin years Ju Men takes Hua Lu and Tai Yang Hua Quan; in Gui years Ju Men takes Hua Quan; hence a wealth and office pattern.

The Quan Shu says opposite things about Ju Men in Si and Hai. What Does Ju Men Govern? says Ju Men 「至亥寅巳申，雖富貴亦不耐久」, while Star Combinations says 「巨在亥宮日在巳，食祿馳名」 (see Star Combinations: Ju Men) and 「巨在巳宮日在亥，反為不佳」 (see the next line). Taken together, Ju Men in Hai (with a bright sun shining in from opposite) is better than Ju Men in Si.

For Ju Men in Chen and Xu, the Xingge approach above already notes that the table has it fallen; Star Combinations also writes 「陷辰戌」. In Gui years Ju Men takes Hua Quan and in Xin years Hua Lu, hence rank; in Ding years Ju Men takes Hua Ji, hence hardship.

Star Combinations has the line 「巨門辰宮化忌，辛人命遇反為奇」 (see Star Combinations: Ju Men), and The Nature of the Four Transformations also says 「巨門在辰化忌辛生人返佳」. But by the Quan Shu's own transformation table Ju Men takes Hua Lu in Xin years, not Hua Ji, so the 'Hua Ji' in both places does not match the table. What can be said for sure is that Xin years are lucky for Ju Men in Chen or Xu, which agrees with this segment.

In Chou and Wei Ju Men is out of its place (Bu, Unsupported) and shares a palace with Tian Tong. In Gui years Ju Men takes Hua Quan, in Xin years Ju Men takes Hua Lu, and in Bing years Tian Tong takes Hua Lu; hence a wealth and office pattern.

The Nature of Tian Tong lists 「乙壬甲辛庚」 for the same Tian Tong and Ju Men combination; the two overlap only in Xin. All three stems here put a transformation on Tian Tong or Ju Men, so the ground is clearer; that chapter even includes Geng, when Tian Tong takes Hua Ji, which is more open to question.

A man's Ju Men in Zi or Wu: within the pattern it is glory, and with Hua Ke, Hua Quan and Hua Lu in the trine, top-grade office and the purple robe. This is the verse form of the jade in stone in segment 4, with the same conditions: Zi or Wu plus lucky transformations.

Star Combinations says 「巨門子午科權祿，石中隱玉福興隆」 (see Star Combinations: Ju Men), and the Gu Sui Fu has the shorter 「子午巨門石中隱玉」. The Quan Shu is consistent about the conditions for jade in stone: without lucky transformations it is just a stone keeping its secret.

「此星化暗不宜逢」: the Quan Shu's general attitude to Ju Men is that it is not good to meet. With killing stars it is fiercer still, with injured lips and teeth and a violent temper; in its temple it can be moderate.

'Injured lips and teeth' extends Ju Men's rule over the mouth: besides quarrels and gossip, it lands on the body's lips and teeth. What Does Ju Men Govern? says Ju Men 「遇帝座則制其強。逢祿存則解其厄」: Zi Wei and Lu Cun are its best counterweights.

Ju Men guarding the Life Palace with Qing Yang, and Huo Xing and Ling Xing too: affairs are inauspicious, the person is hot-tempered, muddles things and decides wildly. The set of stars here is clear: Ju Men plus Qing Yang, Huo Xing and Ling Xing.

Star Combinations says 「巨火擎羊陀逢惡曜，防縊死投河」 (see Star Combinations: Ju Men), the most extreme verdict for the same group of stars. This verse speaks only of temper and conduct and sits at the milder end.

A woman's Ju Men in a Wang position (Zi, Wu, Si, Hai) mostly brings good fortune; with Zuo Fu and You Bi, a longer life; 「簾捲珍珠坐繡房」 is the life of a noble lady in old times. This verse points the same way as 'in its temple she enjoys blessings' in segment 5, the condition being Miao or Wang plus Zuo Fu and You Bi.

On your own chart, this verse is flagged for a woman whose Life Palace holds Ju Men at Miao or Wang. Set against verse 18, the line between good and bad for a woman's Ju Men lies wholly in temple or fallen.

The condition is a woman with Ju Men fallen in the Life Palace (Chen or Xu). The verdict is translated literally: lewdness and prostitution; only as a maid or secondary wife does she escape disaster; her looks are fine and unusual and she is often favoured; otherwise a short life or a violent death. This is the Quan Shu's heaviest verse on Ju Men in a woman's chart.

The old reasoning: Ju Men is darkness, and in a fallen position darkness is doubled, so a woman's chart was read as murky relationships. This is the old habit of tying a woman's circumstances to her morals. In practice the issues of a fallen Ju Men are mostly quarrels, suspicion and isolation from others, and marriage has to be read from the Spouse Palace.

Ju Men ruling a luck period with Hua Quan (Gui years) is best for plans, and all succeed; there may be lawsuits and quarrels, but misfortune turns to good. Hua Quan turns Ju Men's 'darkness' into persuasion and command.

The Nature of the Four Transformations says Hua Quan 「會巨門武曲必專大事，掌握兵符」 (see the original): Ju Men is the star Hua Quan likes best. On a Xingge chart, switch to the Decade Luck and check whether the decade's stem turns Ju Men to Hua Quan.

Ju Men entering a luck period brings worry; with Sang Men things go amiss, commoners get into lawsuits, and officials lose their posts and mourn a parent. Sang Men is an annual spirit star two palaces ahead of Tai Sui; how to place it is in Placing the Annual Spirits, Dou Jun and Kong Wang. Ju Men's disputes plus Sang Men's mourning are read as 「丁憂」: an old official who lost a parent had to leave office to mourn.

Today this is a period of quarrels and paperwork disputes, when the health of older family members needs attention. On a Xingge chart, switch to the Annual Luck and see which palace the annual Sang Men falls in.

Ju Men fallen in a luck period is most perverse: a lawsuit out of nothing, weeping and mourning, money lost, anger swallowed, bleakness. Ju Men is fallen in Chen and Xu, so the verse is about a luck period reaching Ju Men in Chen or Xu.

Across the chapter's three luck-period verses, from 'misfortune turns to good' with Hua Quan to 'bleak' when fallen, the dividing line is the transformations and the brightness. That is the general rule for reading Ju Men: the star itself is hard to make wholly lucky, and it takes Hua Quan, Hua Lu or a temple position to turn it around.