The Nature of Tian Liang

Tian Liang's three core words are earth, shelter, long life. Shelter is the shade of a great tree, extended to protection and care, and also to the blessings left by ancestors and elders. What Does Tian Liang Govern? says it 「化暴戾為祥和」 and 「蔭於身福及子孫」. So a person with Tian Liang in the Life Palace is often seen as a seasoned, principled elder who likes to take charge, and 'fond of giving' means being willing to step in and look after people.

Shelter has another side worth noting today: both being sheltered and sheltering others can turn into being leaned on, or into lecturing. On a Xingge chart Tian Liang takes few transformations: Hua Lu in Ren years, Hua Quan in Yi years and Hua Ke in Ji years, and never Hua Ji.

The segment has three layers of condition. First, Tian Ji and Tian Liang travelling together, with the result 'Hanlin Academy, talk of strategy': civil posts and strategists. Second, a fine gathering with Zuo Fu, You Bi, Wen Chang and Wen Qu raises it to 'general abroad and minister at court'. Third, a warning: it must be in its temple, and fallen, with Huo Xing and Qing Yang, the pattern breaks.

Tian Ji and Tian Liang share a palace only in Chen and Xu, exactly where Tian Liang is Miao and Tian Ji is Li; the Quan Shu says of this combination in Star Combinations: Tian Ji too 「機梁會合善談兵」. Today 'talking strategy' means strategy, analysis and consulting. Tian Liang's fallen positions are Si, Hai and Shen, and the second half of this segment is about the Life Palace in one of those three with Huo Xing or Qing Yang.

'The wasting star and the killer' are Po Jun and Qi Sha. By the rules for placing stars, Tian Liang's San Fang Si Zheng only ever reaches Tian Ji, Tai Yang, Tian Tong and Tai Yin; Po Jun and Qi Sha never come in (Qi Sha always sits in the palace right next to Tian Liang). So this half-sentence can hardly hold literally on a natal chart; more likely it means a Decade Luck or Annual Luck laid on top, or a combination seen from another palace.

The second half is clear: in Ren years Tian Liang takes Hua Lu and Lu Cun is in Hai, and the Life Palace is in the Hai-Mao-Wei trine with Tian Liang in it. In Mao Tai Yang and Tian Liang are both in their temple, in Wei Tian Liang is Wang, and in Hai it is fallen: the brightness differs a great deal within one rule, yet the ancients listed all three as wealth and rank, weighting Tian Liang's Hua Lu in Ren years.

「有男子之志」 is how the ancients praised a woman with her own mind who could carry responsibility, and it stands beside What Does Tian Liang Govern?, which says a woman with lucky stars and Tian Liang in its temple 「旺夫益子」. The second half, 「陷地加殺傷夫剋子又淫賤」, is a harsh verdict kept with its original meaning. Two conditions must both hold: Tian Liang fallen (Si, Hai or Shen) and malefic stars added.

One modern way in is through Tian Liang's urge to shelter others: too strong a wish to look after people can turn into control and conflict in a close relationship. 「淫賤」 is the old judgment of a woman's relations outside marriage; what is read today is whether her love life is steady, and that still goes back to the Spouse Palace and the whole chart.

In Zi and Wu Tian Liang sits alone in its temple. All three stems involve Lu Cun: in Ding and Ji years Lu Cun is in Wu, in Gui years in Zi, and in Ji years Tian Liang also takes Hua Ke. Star Combinations writes 「天梁居午位，官資清顯朝堂」 with the note 「丁己癸人合格」 (see Star Combinations: Tian Liang); the two passages agree, and later writers call the position in Wu Shou Xing Ru Miao (the star of long life in its temple).

The opposite palace is interesting. With Tian Liang in Zi, the opposite palace Wu holds a Wang Tai Yang; with Tian Liang in Wu, Tai Yang opposite in Zi is fallen. Going by sunlight alone Zi would be brighter, yet Star Combinations favours Wu, which shows the ancients valued Tian Liang sitting in the bright, upright south rather than the light from opposite.

Tai Yang and Tian Liang share a palace in Mao and You. In Mao Tai Yang and Tian Liang are both Miao, the line later called 'the sun shining on the thunder gate'; in You Tai Yang is Ping and Tian Liang De, one grade down. The three stems: in Yi years Tian Liang takes Hua Quan and Lu Cun is in Mao; in Xin years Tai Yang takes Hua Quan and Lu Cun is in You; in Ren years Tian Liang takes Hua Lu.

Tai Yang and Tian Liang meeting Wen Chang and Lu Cun as well make the famous Yang Liang Chang Lu (sun, shelter, literature and wealth); Star Combinations says 「天梁太陽昌祿會，臚傳第一名」 (see Star Combinations: Tian Liang). Though Mao and You are listed together, on a real chart Mao is far better than You, and they should be read separately.

Tian Ji and Tian Liang together in Chen or Xu is the Shan Yin Chao Gang (the good star and the shelter star at court); the Tai Wei Fu says 「善蔭朝綱，仁慈之長」. The stems: in Ding years Tian Ji takes Hua Ke, in Ji years Tian Liang takes Hua Ke, in Ren years Tian Liang takes Hua Lu, all lucky transformations of stars in the palace itself. Geng is harder to explain by transformations; it may be because Lu Cun is in Shen, in the trine of Chen.

Yi years deserve a look: Tian Ji's Hua Lu and Tian Liang's Hua Quan are both in the palace, which looks best of all, yet Yi is not on the list. Qing Yang falls in Chen in Yi years, which may be the reason, but the Quan Shu does not say. The Quan Shu's view of Tian Ji with Tian Liang varies from place to place; see segment 14.

In Chou and Wei Tian Liang sits alone, with Tian Ji opposite (Chou faces Wei and Wei faces Chou). The Quan Shu says 'in its temple' while the volume three table and Xingge say Wang, as the Xingge approach above records. The stems: in Ren years Tian Liang takes Hua Lu and in Yi years Hua Quan, a wealth and office pattern. Wu years, 'greatly noble', are the hardest to see from the palace itself: in Wu years Tian Ji takes Hua Ji right in the opposite palace; Lu Cun is in Si, in the trine of Chou; and Tai Yin's Hua Quan also falls in Tian Liang's trine (Tian Liang's trine always holds Tai Yin).

What Does Tian Liang Govern? also says 「戊己生人合局」. This is a case where the old book gives a conclusion without a reason; readers can check the conditions against a chart without forcing an explanation.

Tian Tong and Tian Liang share a palace in Yin and Shen. In Yin Tian Liang is Miao and Tian Tong Li; in Shen Tian Liang is Xian and Tian Tong Wang. One is in its temple and the other fallen, yet both are listed as a wealth and office pattern. The four stems: in Ding years Tian Tong takes Hua Quan, in Ji years Tian Liang takes Hua Ke, in Jia years Lu Cun is in Yin, in Geng years Lu Cun is in Shen.

By the Quan Shu's own transformation verse, Tian Tong takes Hua Ji in Geng years, yet Geng is still on the wealth and office list, which is worth noting; perhaps the ancients weighed Lu Cun in the palace and Tai Yin's Hua Ke in the trine. Star Combinations also has 「梁同機月寅申位，一生利業聰明」 (see Star Combinations: Tian Liang), which is this pair plus Tian Ji and Tai Yin: Ji Yue Tong Liang.

The condition of this verse is simple: Tian Liang in the Life Palace, with Zuo Fu, You Bi, Wen Chang and Wen Qu meeting it. Tian Liang is by its place a 'court order' kind of star: not the emperor but the old minister who keeps things steady. With Zuo Fu, You Bi, Wen Chang and Wen Qu there are aides and documents, hence 'a place in the ranks of the court'.

On your own chart, check whether the San Fang Si Zheng of the Life Palace holds Zuo Fu, You Bi, Wen Chang or Wen Qu. Not all four need come; the more that do, the closer the fit. In modern terms it suits roles of review, oversight and advice within an institution.

The verse ties Tian Liang to Tian Ji, the sun, Wen Chang, Zuo Fu and You Bi, echoing Tai Yang with Tian Liang and Tian Ji with Tian Liang in segments 6 and 7. In 「子午寅申為入廟」, Shen is fallen in segment 9 and in the brightness table, as the Xingge approach above explains. It is a typical case of a verse parting from the prose for the sake of rhyme and metre. When reading the verses, go by the prose segments and the volume three table, and treat the verses as mnemonics.

The word 'pure' in 'office pure and eminent' matters: Tian Liang's nobility leans to the pure kind, more name and standing than money. Read with 'rich blessings, wealth pattern' in segment 5, it shows the Quan Shu's basic view of Tian Liang: rank first, wealth after.

By the position table in Life Master, Body Master and Notes on Chart Setup, Tian Liang's 'idle palaces' are Si and You. That only partly overlaps with its fallen positions (Si, Hai and Shen), so the two are not the same thing. The condition is falling in an idle palace and meeting Huo Xing, then meeting Tuo Luo and Qi Sha again. As in segment 3, Qi Sha never enters Tian Liang's San Fang Si Zheng and only sits in the palace beside it, so 'meeting the killer again' mostly needs the moving malefic stars of a luck period, or reading Qi Sha loosely as malefic stars in general.

The ways out are 'the gate of emptiness' or 'working with a craft', the same direction the Tian Xiang and Tian Ji chapters take for heavy malefic stars. In modern terms: when Huo Xing and Tuo Luo break Tian Liang's shelter, the person still has principles but loses support and tends to fight alone; standing on specialist skills suits him better than entering the arena of power.

This verse puts two things together. Tian Ji and Tian Liang in Chen or Xu bring no small benefit, in line with segment 7. But 「破軍卯酉不為良」 has nothing to do with Tian Liang, since Tian Liang never shares a palace or a San Fang with Po Jun; the line must have been borrowed from another chapter into the verse.

Which 'this' 「女人得此」 refers to is unclear in the original; it is usually read as a woman with Tian Ji and Tian Liang. That differs again from the Tai Wei Fu's praise of 'the good star and the shelter star at court', showing that the Quan Shu splits Tian Ji with Tian Liang into 'lucky for men, lonely for women'. The Zeng Bu Tai Wei Fu also says 「天機天梁擎羊會，早有刑而晚見孤」: the loneliness mostly comes from the malefic stars.

The point of the luck-period verse is 'transformed into shelter': when a luck period reaches Tian Liang it is like the shade of a great tree, with people to look after you and room to turn things around. 「若加吉曜逢廟地」 is the step up, to first-grade rank. Tian Liang is Miao in Zi, Wu, Yin, Mao, Chen and Xu, and Wang in Chou and Wei.

When reading the Decade Luck on Xingge, switch to that ten-year period; if the decade's Life Palace holds Tian Liang, read its brightness in the small text, and if it is Miao or Wang with Zuo Fu, You Bi, Wen Chang or Wen Qu in the San Fang, that is the case this verse means. Such a period is a good time to ask for help, find backers and lay long-term plans.

「秋菊吐馨香」 is a vivid image: chrysanthemums bloom late, and Tian Liang's blessings often carry a sense of coming late, or after weathering hardship. The last two lines speak of office and income, and even ordinary people lack nothing.

The verse sets no conditions at all, the Quan Shu's most generous line on a Tian Liang luck period, in the same tone as 「太歲沖而為福，白虎臨而無殃」 in What Does Tian Liang Govern?. In real reading it still goes with the next verse: a Tian Liang period is good provided Huo Xing, Ling Xing, Qing Yang and Tuo Luo do not join it.

The first two lines carry on Tian Liang's nature as the star of long life: a Tian Liang period lengthens life. The last two turn: with Huo Xing, Ling Xing, Qing Yang and Tuo Luo all meeting, 「一厄與家亡」. This sits uneasily with Tian Liang's reputation for turning misfortune to good. What Does Tian Liang Govern? says that meeting Huo Xing, Ling Xing, Qing Yang or Ju Men there is 「亦無征戰之撓」, as if Tian Liang did not fear malefic stars; this verse says that with all four together one must beware the ruin of the family.

A more reasonable reading: Tian Liang can absorb one or two malefic stars, but all four together are more than it can bear. All four meeting at once is uncommon in a natal chart, and mostly happens when a Decade Luck or Annual Luck lays the annual Qing Yang and Tuo Luo on top.