Miscellaneous Patterns

All eight miscellaneous patterns deal with the relation between the natal chart and the luck periods, unlike the earlier patterns of wealth, rank and poverty, which look at the natal chart. Wind and Clouds Meet: the Body and Life Palaces are weak, but the Decade and Minor Luck meet Lu and Tian Ma. Someone whose natal chart is not strong can still rise on the tide of a good luck period.

The chapter Poor First, Rich Later says the same: a person of humble birth may, 「因限步相扶，星辰逢吉曜兼廟旺，以此突然發達」 (see Poor First, Rich Later). On a Xingge chart, switch to the Decade Luck and check whether Lu Cun, Hua Lu or Tian Ma sits in the decade's Life Palace or its San Fang.

Flowers on Brocade: the luck period breaks the bad stars and moves onto good ground. The definition is terse; the gist is a luck period that turns from bad to good, with good things following one after another. Note that 'flowers on brocade' also appears in the Gu Sui Fu, in 「明祿暗祿錦上添花」, where it is a natal pattern; here it is about a luck period. Same name, different meaning.

As a modern picture: once a hard stretch is over, what follows goes especially smoothly. On the chart you can compare the Life Palaces of two consecutive Decade Lucks and see whether the luck moves from a palace crowded with malefic stars and Hua Ji to one crowded with lucky stars.

Lu Withers, the Horse Is Trapped: the luck period meets Qi Sha, and the Lu star and Tian Ma fall into emptiness as well. This is an unlucky pattern for a luck period, similar to the Horse Falls into Emptiness in the Patterns of Poverty and Low Station, except that here it happens in a luck period and Qi Sha is added.

Qi Sha entering a luck period is already what the Qi Sha chapter calls 「倒限之地」, ground where the luck collapses; with Lu and the horse also empty, neither money nor movement has anywhere to land. Today it reads as a stretch in which money and career both stall, a time to hold ground rather than push forward.

Coming Home in Silk: youth goes badly, and success comes only after forty, when the luck enters a tomb position. 'Tomb luck' can be read as a luck period reaching the four tombs Chen, Xu, Chou and Wei, or the 'tomb' stage among the twelve Chang Sheng spirits. It matches the Gu Sui Fu's 「貪武墓中居，三十才發福」: both follow the Quan Shu's idea that tomb positions mean late success.

Interestingly, the Tian Kui and Tian Yue chapter says 「若四十以後逢墓庫，不依此斷」: when the luck reaches a tomb-store after forty, the patron power of Kui and Yue no longer counts. The same 'tomb luck after forty' means rising here and the patrons leaving the stage there, which shows that whether tomb luck is good or bad also depends on the stars.

Steps with Nothing to Lean On: one luck period runs into the next, continuous and not separate. The definition is brief; the gist is that there is no clear turning point between periods, and good and bad drag on together.

One possible reading: the Life Palaces of several consecutive Decade Lucks all sit in similar star settings, for example all without a main star, or all under the influence of the same malefic stars, so life lacks clear ups and downs or moments of change. The Quan Shu says nothing more about this entry, so it is best taken as a description rather than a concrete chart condition.

Steering a Star on the Water: one year good, one year bad, like steering a boat on water, rising and falling. This is fluctuation at the level of the Annual Luck: when neither the natal chart nor the Decade Luck stands out, each year's fortune swings with that year's transformations and annual stars.

In modern terms, fortunes that rise and fall a lot and lack stability, best viewed over the long run: don't expand because of one good year or give up because of one bad one. Switch the chart to the Annual Luck and you can see each year's Life Palace move and where that year's transformations land.

Good and Bad Side by Side: the Life Palace has a main star; it flourishes when the luck is good and not when the luck declines. This is the Quan Shu's most direct statement on chart and luck: the natal chart supplies the foundation, but whether it flourishes depends on the luck. It follows the same thinking as the chapter on Decade Luck: when the palace and its stars are all lucky and in Miao or Wang, the ten years are peaceful; when malefic stars and Hua Ji are inside the period, success and failure alternate (see Fortune and Misfortune in the Decade Luck).

Put plainly: ability is steady, but results depend on timing. This is also the basic Dou Shu idea that the natal chart is the substance and the luck periods are its use.

The Dead Tree Meets Spring: a weak natal chart with good luck periods. It is close to entry 1, Wind and Clouds Meet, but puts more weight on the weakness of the natal chart: like a dead tree in spring, it can still put out shoots.

Taken together, these eight miscellaneous patterns show the Quan Shu's overall view of fate: the natal chart sets the ceiling and the basic colour, the luck periods set the timing. A good chart in bad luck cannot bring out its good; a poor chart in good luck can still have a spell of glory. Reading the Decade and Annual Luck on Xingge is reading how these two layers work together; see Decade Luck.