The Nature of Qi Sha

This segment sets Qi Sha's keynote: a general star, fire and metal, 「遇帝為權，其餘諸宮皆殺」. Qi Sha is a blade in itself; only in the hands of Zi Wei, the sovereign, does it become power, and with no one to wield it it is only killing force. The most rewarding part of the portrait is 「進退沈吟」: Qi Sha is usually taken as decisive, yet the Quan Shu says it wavers, and What Does Qi Sha Govern?, quoting a secret classic, says 「七殺居陷地，沉吟福不生」.

A sound reading: fierce once it charges, but long in thought before it does, and the swinging moods come from that pent-up release. On a Xingge chart Qi Sha always has Tian Fu opposite and Po Jun and Tan Lang in its trine; that is Sha Po Lang.

The segment ranks Qi Sha's good conditions in three steps: Miao or Wang, strategy; meeting Zi Wei, power over life and death; with Zuo Fu, You Bi, Wen Chang, Wen Qu, Tian Kui and Tian Yue too, the very top grade. Qi Sha's brightness is unusual: neither the Quan Shu nor Xingge gives it any fallen position; it is Ping in Si and Hai and Miao or Wang everywhere else. So most Qi Sha pass the 'Miao or Wang' threshold, and the real difference lies in the last two steps. Zi Wei and Qi Sha share a palace only in Si and Hai, or else meet across the San Fang.

'Best suited to military posts' today means work that calls for decisions and execution: the military and police, surgery, sales, starting a business, crisis handling. The last sentence, 「落空亡無威力」, is a warning: what a general star fears most is falling into emptiness, holding power it cannot use.

The note already gives the usual reading of 'place of birth' as the palace of Chang Sheng. The logic: Qi Sha governs killing and fighting to begin with, and meeting malefic stars it lands that killing in the most literal trade of all, butchery. Star Combinations is more specific: 「七殺羊陀會生鄉，為屠宰」 and 「七殺火羊貪且賤，屠宰之人」 (see Star Combinations: Qi Sha). 'The punisher and the prisoner' are Qing Yang and Lian Zhen; Lian Zhen and Qi Sha share a palace in Chou and Wei, and Qing Yang there completes it.

Butchers ranked low in old times. Today this can be read as trades involving blades, blood or handling the body, such as surgery, slaughtering, meat processing or knives. It is a tendency, not a sentence, and it still depends on whether the whole pattern has lucky stars.

This rule judges four Life Palace positions of Qi Sha together, and it disagrees with the twelve-palace table further on in two places. In Hai Zi Wei and Qi Sha share the palace, and segment 12 says people born in Bing, Wu or Ren years have a wealth and office pattern, yet here it says 'not Ren or Gui'; and for Yin and Wu, segments 11 and 7 add Jia and Geng to the wealth and office stems. A reasonable explanation is that this rule came from a different source.

'Ding and Ji fit the pattern' has to do with Lu Cun being in Wu. 'Not Ren or Gui' may be because Wu Qu takes Hua Ji in Ren years and Tan Lang in Gui years, and Tan Lang always sits in Qi Sha's trine, so in Gui years Hua Ji is bound to enter the San Fang. 'Born in Wu (午) or Xu years' refers to the year branch, and the Quan Shu gives no reason; Qi Sha Met Twice also has 「午生人不利」, worth reading alongside.

In Chen Qi Sha sits alone, with Lian Zhen and Tian Fu opposite. In Geng years Lu Cun is in Shen, in the Shen-Zi-Chen trine, shining on the Life Palace from the trine; Wu Qu's Hua Quan that year is in Yin, outside the San Fang Si Zheng of Qi Sha in Chen. The second half says that with Qing Yang, Tuo Luo, Huo Xing and Ling Xing clashing or meeting, 「又在陷地」, yet Qi Sha in Chen is Miao, and there is no fallen position on the chart at all; the rule disagrees with the brightness table here. It can be read as 'malefic stars so heavy it is as good as fallen'.

「雖富貴不耐久」 is the commonest verdict on Qi Sha: quick to rise, slow to hold. In modern terms, the achievement comes from a sprint, and after the sprint there has to be a way to keep what was won, such as handing power to a system or money to professionals. That is exactly what Tian Fu, the treasury opposite Qi Sha, supplies.

A woman's Qi Sha goes two ways: in its temple with Hua Quan and Hua Lu, she prospers her husband and benefits her children; fallen with Qing Yang and Huo Xing, she is judged harmful, low and base. Qi Sha itself never takes Hua Lu or Hua Quan (it is not in the ten-stem transformation table), so 'with Hua Quan and Hua Lu' means a star in the same palace or the San Fang taking them: for instance Zi Wei's Hua Quan in Ren years with Zi Wei and Qi Sha, or Wu Qu's Hua Lu in Ji years with Wu Qu and Qi Sha.

What Does Qi Sha Govern? says 「女命旺地，財權服眾，志過丈夫」, a more positive tone than here. 'Low and base' is, in its original sense, an old judgment of a woman's station. Read today: strong ability and a mind of her own, with good or bad depending on whether she has a proper stage to use them.

In Zi and Wu Qi Sha sits alone, with Wu Qu and Tian Fu opposite; this is part of what later writers call Qi Sha Chao Dou (Qi Sha facing the Dipper). The stems: in Ding and Ji years Lu Cun is in Wu; in Jia years Wu Qu's Hua Ke is opposite and Po Jun's Hua Quan in the trine (Lian Zhen's Hua Lu, though, falls outside the San Fang).

Qi Sha in Zi or Wu is Wang, not Miao, but Wu Qu and Tian Fu opposite are a wealth star and a treasury: Qi Sha charges out with money and reserves behind it. On a Xingge chart, the Life Palace in Zi or Wu holding Qi Sha as its only major star, with Wu Qu and Tian Fu in the Travel Palace opposite, is this position.

Wu Qu and Qi Sha share a palace in Mao and You: a wealth star and a general star, both of metal. In Yi years Lu Cun is in Mao and in Xin years in You, Lu entering the Life Palace, hence rich blessings. Wu Qu with Qi Sha is judged variously elsewhere in the Quan Shu: What Does Wu Qu Govern? says 「七殺火星同宮，因財被劫」, while here only the lucky side is given, so the two should be read together.

On the chart, Wu Qu and Qi Sha have Tian Fu alone opposite and Po Jun and Tan Lang in the trine. A general who handles money: suited to finance, banking or engineering management, posts that need both decisiveness and careful accounts. With Qing Yang, Tuo Luo, Huo Xing or Ling Xing, beware conflicts over money.

In Chen and Xu Qi Sha sits alone in its temple, with Lian Zhen and Tian Fu opposite. No year stems are listed, only 'with lucky stars added', a looser condition than for Zi, Wu, Yin and Shen. Segment 5 singles out Chen again, with Geng years lucky and the four malefic stars feared, and the two segments read together: Qi Sha in Chen or Xu has a good base, and success or failure depends on whether lucky or malefic stars outnumber the other.

Lucky stars usually means Zuo Fu and You Bi, Wen Chang and Wen Qu, Tian Kui and Tian Yue, and they count only inside the Life Palace's San Fang Si Zheng. On your own chart, take the four palaces of the Life Palace's San Fang Si Zheng and count the lucky and malefic stars in them: that is the most practical way to read this segment.

Lian Zhen and Qi Sha share a palace in Chou and Wei, Qi Sha Miao and Lian Zhen Li, with Tian Fu opposite. Lian Zhen's transformed qi is the prisoner and Qi Sha governs killing, and elsewhere the Quan Shu judges the pair harshly: Star Combinations has 「七殺廉貞同位，路上埋屍」 (see Star Combinations: Qi Sha), with a note that it is worst in a fallen position with Hua Ji. Here, though, it says that with lucky stars it is a wealth and office pattern.

The two do not contradict each other: the same combination with many lucky stars is military power and rank, and with malefic stars and Hua Ji, sudden disaster; the key is the balance of lucky and malefic in the San Fang Si Zheng. Lian Zhen takes Hua Lu in Jia years and Hua Ji in Bing years, the two poles of this pair.

In Yin and Shen Qi Sha sits alone in its temple, with Zi Wei and Tian Fu opposite. This is the most typical form of Qi Sha Chao Dou (Qi Sha facing the Dipper): the general star facing the emperor star and the treasury star. The stems: in Jia years Lu Cun is in Yin, in Geng years in Shen, and in Ding and Ji years in Wu, in the trine of Yin.

This list of stems is almost the same as the one the Tian Xiang and Tian Fu chapters give for Yin and Shen, which shows that most of the Quan Shu's 'wealth and office' stem lists are worked out from where Lu Cun falls. People with Qi Sha facing the Dipper often come across as imposing, willing to carry a load and unwilling to back down.

Zi Wei and Qi Sha share a palace in Si and Hai: segment 1's 'meeting the emperor it becomes power'. Qi Sha is Ping there and Zi Wei Wang. The stems: in Bing and Wu years Lu Cun is in Si; in Ren years Lu Cun is in Hai and Zi Wei takes Hua Quan.

But segment 4 says that with the Life Palace in Hai it 'does not favour Ren or Gui', so the chapter contradicts itself. One possible explanation: segment 4 speaks of Qi Sha in Hai in general, this segment of Zi Wei with Qi Sha in particular; in Ren years Zi Wei takes Hua Quan and Lu Cun is in Hai, but Wu Qu's Hua Ji is also in the San Fang, so there is good and bad on both sides. When checking a chart, set the two segments side by side and look at where the malefic stars and Hua Ji actually fall; that is safer than taking either line alone.

This verse is word for word the same as the song in What Does Qi Sha Govern?, except that one has 'fame and income' where the other has 'power and income'. Qi Sha in Yin, Shen, Zi or Wu has Zi Wei and Tian Fu or Wu Qu and Tian Fu opposite, hence the air of 'the four peoples folding their hands', which later writers call Qi Sha facing the Dipper or looking up to the Dipper. 'Tian Kui, Tian Yue, Zuo Fu, You Bi and Wen Chang meeting' is the step up.

Such a Qi Sha can open up new ground and does well out in the world leading a team; 'the four peoples' can be read as outside markets and unfamiliar fields. Note that this verse gives only the good side; the next one turns at once to the bad.

As the note says, the Quan Shu gives Qi Sha no fallen position, so 「殺居陷地」 has nothing on the chart to match. The real condition of the verse is the third line, 「殺強無制伏」. The stars that restrain Qi Sha, mentioned again and again in the Quan Shu, are Zi Wei, Tian Xiang and Lu Cun (Qi Sha Met Twice says 「逢紫微天相祿存三合拱照可解」).

So the reading is: with nothing like Zi Wei or Lu Cun to restrain or transform Qi Sha in its San Fang, and with malefic stars and Hua Ji besides, that is 'sleeping beside a tiger'. 「少年惡死」 is an extreme warning in the old book and its meaning is left unchanged; today it is mostly read as a tendency to take risks and get hurt when young, which comes down to knowing one's limits.

As the note explains, 'Ju Men' in this verse cannot be matched on a chart, leaving Qing Yang and Tuo Luo as the condition. Qi Sha in the Life Palace with Qing Yang and Tuo Luo shining and clashing means injured limbs and damaged bones, echoing What Does Qi Sha Govern?, 「與囚於身命，折肱傷股」. Qi Sha carries metal among the five elements, and metal governs bones and blade wounds, while Qing Yang and Tuo Luo are stars of punishment and injury, so the ancients linked this group to bones and limbs. The 'idle palace' here is a fixed position, not a brightness grade: the table in Life Master, Body Master and Notes on Chart Setup gives Chen and Hai for Qi Sha, and Qi Sha is Miao in Chen and Ping in Hai. The way out, again, is 'the gate of emptiness'.

In practice: people in sports, physical labour or much time on the road should take particular care over safety with this combination. It is a side that can be guarded against.

「女命愁逢七殺星」 sets the tone from the first line: the ancients did not like a general star in a woman's chart. The middle two lines are actually praise, decisive, intelligent, proud and ambitious, yet the conclusion is 'no children' and 'harms her husband'. That reflects old ideas of marriage, in which a woman who was too capable was seen as overpowering her husband.

Today the verse can be taken apart: keep the description of ability, and see the verdicts on marriage and children as old expectations of a woman's role. Now it is more a question of whether a partner can accept her taking the lead. The Women's Gu Sui Fu also comments on Qi Sha in women's charts in several places, worth comparing.

「七殺孤星貪宿逢」 is all but certain on a chart: Tan Lang is always in Qi Sha's trine, so every Qi Sha chart has Qi Sha meeting Tan Lang, and the real condition is the second half, Huo Xing and Tuo Luo gathering. Huo Xing with Tan Lang is a combination later writers think well of for its sudden rise, but with Qi Sha and Tuo Luo added the Quan Shu judges it 「非為貴」.

The verdict, 'bad by nature' and 'secondary wife or serving maid', keeps the old book's meaning. A modern reading: strong desires and impulses, with love and work liable to go astray into an unacknowledged position. Whether Huo Xing and Tuo Luo really enter the Life Palace's San Fang Si Zheng still has to be checked; the verse should not be applied just because Qi Sha is in the Life Palace.

The verse says that a Qi Sha luck period, if taken calmly and easily, makes the family fortune rise, because 「對宮天府正來朝」. By the rules for placing stars, Qi Sha's opposite palace is always Tian Fu, so that condition holds for every Qi Sha period, and the real variable is 'calm and easy': not pushing too hard during a Qi Sha period, so that Tian Fu's treasury can be kept.

This is different from the common impression that a Qi Sha period is bound to be turbulent. When reading the Decade Luck on Xingge, the palace opposite Qi Sha is Tian Fu; check while you are there whether Tian Fu has Hua Ji or is clashed by malefic stars, and you will know how steady that treasury is.

Unlike the verse before, this one says Qi Sha governs 'petty chatter': trivial troubles, endless small quarrels and hard going; with malefic stars too, lawsuits and illness. Setting the two verses side by side is the Quan Shu's typical way of reading luck periods: with the same star, lucky and malefic stars decide the direction.

Qi Sha Met Twice describes the worst case more precisely: Qi Sha in the natal trine, and the annual Qing Yang and Tuo Luo met again in the Annual Luck, is 'Qi Sha met twice'. To check this verse on Xingge, lay the Annual Luck over the chart and see whether the annual Qing Yang and Tuo Luo fall in Qi Sha's palace or its San Fang.