The Nature of Tian Ji

This is the general description of Tian Ji in the Life Palace. The build, 「身長肥胖」, is given only for Tian Ji in its temple, which is in Zi and Wu. The temperament, 'quick-tempered and kind-hearted, full of shifting schemes', is the Quan Shu's most consistent picture of Tian Ji and matches both its transformed qi, goodness, and its element, wood.

'Master of the Siblings Palace' has a practical use in reading: to judge ties with brothers and sisters, the ancients looked first at the Siblings Palace and also took Tian Ji's position into account. Reading Tian Ji today as thinking, planning and adapting, suited to mental rather than physical work, grows out of 「機謀多變」. On a Xingge chart Tian Ji is marked Xian (Fallen) in Chou and Wei; in the other palaces it ranges from Ping (Average) in Si and Hai up to Miao (Temple).

This segment has two layers. The first sentence, 「與天梁會合善談兵」: Tian Ji and Tian Liang sharing a palace in Chen or Xu, or meeting across the San Fang from other palaces, means a gift for strategy and debate; later writers call it Shan Yin Chao Gang (the good star and the shelter star at court). The second layer is the condition for high rank: people born in Yi, Bing or Ding years (when Tian Ji takes Hua Lu, Hua Quan and Hua Ke respectively), Tian Ji in its temple, joined by Zuo Fu and You Bi, Wen Chang and Wen Qu, Tian Kui and Tian Yue, and Tai Yin, and sitting in Si, You or Chou, or in Hai, Mao or Wei.

The conditions are many and must all hold at once. So that it can be found on a chart, the chart comparison splits them into three sets and marks the segment if any one set holds; a mark therefore does not mean every condition is met, and readers should check the year stem and the lucky stars meeting the palace for themselves.

The palaces here (Si, You, Chou, Hai) are almost the same as in the previous segment; the difference is in the stars it meets: there it was lucky stars and lucky transformations, here it is Ju Men, the four malefic stars and Hua Ji. So for the Quan Shu the key to Tian Ji is not the palace but what meets it. Tian Ji's relation to Ju Men is fixed: they share a palace in Mao and You, and in Si, Hai, Chou and Wei Ju Men is in the trine.

「只宜經商巧藝之輩」 reflects the old ranking of occupations, in which merchants and artisans came after scholar-officials. Read today, it says this kind of chart does not suit a by-the-book official career, and that a craft, a specialism or trade gives the person a firmer footing; it is not a slight on these trades.

For a woman with Tian Ji in its temple, the Quan Shu's verdict is favourable: firm by nature, holding authority, able to keep the household. Tian Ji is in its temple only in Zi and Wu. Old times often had reservations about a woman who was 'firm and held authority', yet here it is praise, which shows how much the Quan Shu values the ability of Tian Ji in its temple.

The chapter on what Tian Ji governs also says 「女人吉星拱照，主旺夫益子。有權祿則為貴婦」 (see the original); the two passages agree.

This is the Quan Shu's harshest line on Tian Ji in a woman's chart, and its conditions have to be read in full: Tian Ji meeting Tian Liang, Tai Yin and Ju Men (a Ji Yue Tong Liang or Tian Ji with Ju Men kind of combination), and also the four malefic stars and Hua Ji clashing with or meeting the Wealth Palace. The verdict, 「淫賤偏房娼婢」, is translated literally and left unchanged.

Two things are worth knowing when reading it. First, the condition is heavy: lucky stars, malefic stars with Hua Ji, and the palace all have to stack up, so it is not true of every woman with Tian Ji; the chart comparison can only mark the part where Tian Ji in the Life Palace meets the four malefic stars. Second, the Women's Gu Sui Fu also has 「巨門天機為破蕩。天梁月曜女命貧」, the same old set of values about women's charts. Today it is enough to read it as feelings and finances being easily swayed by others; it should not be taken as a final judgment on a person's character.

In Zi and Wu Tian Ji is in its temple, with Ju Men in the opposite palace. Among the listed year stems: in Ding years Tian Ji takes Hua Ke and Lu Cun is in Wu; in Ji years Tian Liang takes Hua Ke and Lu Cun is in Wu; in Gui years Lu Cun is in Zi and Ju Men takes Hua Quan; in Jia years Lu Cun is in Yin, in the trine of Wu. What they mostly have in common is Lu Cun or a lucky transformation entering the Life Palace's San Fang Si Zheng.

The stems left out are excluded for just such reasons: in Wu years Tian Ji takes Hua Ji, in Yi years Tai Yin takes Hua Ji, and in Bing years Qing Yang is in Wu. Reading the Quan Shu's year-stem lists this way, the ancients' grounds can mostly be seen.

In Mao and You Tian Ji shares a palace with Ju Men: 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 Gui years Ju Men takes Hua Quan. The doubtful one is Wu: in Wu years Tian Ji takes Hua Ji, yet here it is listed as a wealth and office pattern.

The Quan Shu is not consistent with itself: The Nature of Ju Men writes the same combination as 「乙辛己丙生人財官格，丁戊生人有成敗」, putting Wu years among those with ups and downs, and Star Combinations: Ju Men says 「巨機居卯，乙辛己丙至公卿」. Taking the three together, listing Wu years as a wealth and office pattern is more likely a slip in this chapter.

In Yin and Shen Tian Ji shares a palace with Tai Yin, what later writers call 'Ji Yue'. In Ding years Tai Yin's Hua Lu and Tian Ji's Hua Ke are both in the Life Palace, the best case; in Jia years Lu Cun is in Yin and in Geng years in Shen, each favouring one of the two palaces; in Gui years Tai Yin takes Hua Ke; in Ji and Ren years Tian Liang's Hua Ke or Hua Lu enters the trine. The stems left out, Yi with Tai Yin's Hua Ji and Wu with Tian Ji's Hua Ji, both put Hua Ji right in the Life Palace.

The same combination is rated very low in a woman's chart; see segment 17 of this chapter.

In Si and Hai Tian Ji stands alone, with Tai Yin in the opposite palace, and its brightness is Ping. What Bing, Ren and Wu years have in common is Lu Cun landing on the Si-Hai line (in Si for Bing and Wu, in Hai for Ren), so the pattern holds; but in Wu years Tian Ji takes Hua Ji, and in Bing years it takes Hua Quan but no Hua Lu, hence 'does not last'.

Life Master, Body Master and Notes on Chart Setup lists Tian Ji in Si as an 'idle palace', which agrees with the verdict here: there is a pattern, but it is not steady enough.

In Chen and Xu Tian Ji shares a palace with Tian Liang, the 'Tian Ji meeting Tian Liang' of segment 2. In Ren years Tian Liang's Hua Lu sits in the Life Palace, in Ding years Tian Ji's Hua Ke is there with Tai Yin's Hua Lu in the trine, and in Geng years Tai Yin takes Hua Ke, so these three year stems 'have blessings'.

The Quan Shu rates Tian Ji and Tian Liang in Chen or Xu very highly: Stars in Strong Positions: Wealth and Rank says 「辰戍機梁非小補」 (戍 is the base text's miswriting of 戌, Xu), and the verse on fitting patterns also says Tian Ji and Tian Liang in Chen mean 「腰金衣紫」. The other line, 「機梁酉上化吉者，縱遇財官也不榮」, is about Tian Ji and Tian Liang meeting in You, a different case from this one.

In Chou and Wei Tian Ji is Xian, with Tian Liang in the opposite palace. A fallen position still gets a wealth and office pattern because of the help the year stems bring: in Bing years Tian Ji's Hua Quan sits in the Life Palace, in Ding years Tian Ji's Hua Ke does; in Bing and Wu years Lu Cun is in Si, in the trine of Chou; in Ren years Tian Liang's Hua Lu is in the opposite palace and Lu Cun is in Hai, in the trine of Wei. Wu years, when Tian Ji takes Hua Ji, are listed as a wealth and office pattern all the same, which deserves the same doubt as in segment 7.

The second half, 「乙壬生人祿合格」, is the easiest to understand: in Yi years Tian Ji's Hua Lu sits in the Life Palace, and in Ren years Tian Liang's Hua Lu is in the opposite palace, so Hua Lu enters the Life-Travel axis directly, hence 'in harmony with Lu'. When a fallen star is supported by Hua Lu, the Quan Shu always rates it well.

'Ji Yue Tong Liang' is the combination of Tian Ji, Tai Yin, Tian Tong and Tian Liang meeting one another, and this verse adds Tai Yang. As the note says, Tian Ji and Tai Yang never meet in the San Fang Si Zheng, so 「合太陽」 can only be read as a loose naming.

This verse says ordinary people are well off and officials rise high, a different tone from the famous Gu Sui Fu line 「機月同梁作吏人」 (see the original): one says promotion, the other a petty clerk. Star Combinations: Tian Ji explains that 'becoming a clerk' applies only with the Life Palace in Yin or Shen and no lucky stars. The difference between the two lies in whether Hua Ke, Hua Quan or Hua Lu is present, which is why the second half of this verse stresses 「得遇科權祿」.

Tian Ji takes Hua Ji only in Wu years. By Life Master, Body Master and Notes on Chart Setup, Tian Ji's idle palace is Si. So the strictest reading of this verse is: a man born in a Wu year with Tian Ji in the Life Palace in Si. Read more loosely, it is Tian Ji with Hua Ji in the Life Palace, in a palace where it lacks strength.

The verdict is heavy: loss of money, short life, drifting or leaving the household life. In practice, Tian Ji with Hua Ji today most often shows as overthinking, plans changed back and forth and constant shifts, reaching money and health only in serious cases. The chart comparison marks Tian Ji with Hua Ji in the Life Palace; the palace has to be checked by the reader.

A woman's Tian Ji supported by lucky stars 「作事操持過丈夫」. In old times this was praise with a touch of unease: a woman more capable than her husband. The last two lines say that with Hua Quan and Hua Lu guarding and shining, she receives an imperial patent and a title. Tian Ji takes Hua Lu in Yi years and Hua Quan in Bing years.

This verse points the same way as segment 4, both affirming the ability of a woman with Tian Ji. On a Xingge chart, check whether Tian Ji in the Life Palace carries a Lu or Quan mark, then whether Zuo Fu and You Bi, Wen Chang and Wen Qu, or Tian Kui and Tian Yue are in the San Fang.

The condition is a woman with Tian Ji and Tai Yin in the same palace, the Ji Yue of Yin and Shen. The verdict is translated literally from the original: 「為娼為妾主淫風」. This is the Quan Shu's consistent view of a woman with Ji Yue: Stars in Fallen Positions: Broken Patterns also has 「寅上機昌曲月逢」 with the verdict 「男為伴僕女娼婢」, and Star Combinations: Tian Ji says that for a woman with a fallen Ju Men and Tian Ji in Yin, Shen, Mao or You, 「雖富貴，仍不免淫欲下賤」.

The old logic is that Tian Ji governs change and Tai Yin tender feeling, so the two together were read as unsettled affections. Read today, this is the old habit of measuring women by chastity; it can be understood as a person of fine feelings, well liked, with many choices, while whether the marriage is stable still depends on the Spouse Palace and the luck periods. In segment 8 the same combination is a wealth and office pattern for a man, which shows that the Quan Shu holds men and women to different standards.

The luck-period verse makes no distinction between men and women. When a luck period reaches Tian Ji with Hua Ke, Hua Quan or Hua Lu, much can be achieved. 「出入經營多遇貴」 points out that a Tian Ji period is a period of movement: helpers appear when one goes out, runs a business or changes surroundings. 「發財發福少人知」 has a very Tian Ji flavour: the gains pile up quietly through planning.

The chapter on what Tian Ji governs says 「凡入二限逢之，興家創業更改」 (see the original), likewise stressing change. On a Xingge chart, look at the Decade Luck ages shown in Tian Ji's palace, and whether Tian Ji carries a transformation in that period.

This verse is the dark side of Tian Ji in a luck period: tangled matters at home and abroad, and with Qing Yang, Tuo Luo and Ju Men as well, 「此歲入南柯」, which taken literally means death in that year. The Quan Shu's verdicts of death in a luck period mostly need three or four conditions stacked together; here they are a Tian Ji period, Qing Yang or Tuo Luo, and Ju Men all seen at once.

Tian Ji and Ju Men share a palace in Mao and You and meet each other in Si, Hai, Chou and Wei, so this combination is not rare. Verdicts like this are better taken today as a warning that the year brings big changes and many quarrels, and calls for care against accidents and for health; the conclusion still has to weigh the Decade Luck, the Annual Luck and any rescuing stars in the natal chart, and life and death should not be judged from a single verse.