Zeng Bu Tai Wei Fu

The Zeng Bu Tai Wei Fu begins with a very practical distinction: malign stars in the two palaces beside the Life Palace (flanking) weigh differently from malign stars inside the Life Palace (in the same room). Flanking is pressure from outside, and one can hold out; sharing the palace means the malign star takes part directly in the Life Palace's affairs, and is hardest to guard against. This is close to modern experience: pressure from outside can be handled, trouble from those closest is hardest to guard against. 'Flanking' patterns on a Xingge chart such as Yang Tuo Jia Ji (Qing Yang and Tuo Luo flanking Hua Ji), Huo Ling flanking and Kong Jie flanking all belong to the first kind. When reading a chart, first see whether there are malefic stars inside the Life Palace, then look at the neighbours on either side; the former weighs more than the latter.

「片火焚天馬」: Tian Ma in the same palace as Huo Xing, which the Quan Shu's What Does Tian Ma Govern? calls the 'war horse'. Ma stands for rushing about and Huo for haste, so the rushing brings conflict and wear. 「重羊逐祿存」: Qing Yang is always one palace after Lu Cun and already flanks it in the natal chart; when the Annual Luck's Qing Yang stacks on top, the Lu is driven out, that is, wealth and income are scattered. Both lines are about 'a good star spoiled by a malefic star', a concrete case of the Tai Wei Fu's 「祿逢沖破，吉處藏凶」 (Tai Wei Fu). Read today: the first is busy without results, often losing out through haste; the second calls for guarding against unexpected expenses in that year.

First line: Di Jie and Di Kong in the Life Palace, relations with kin are inconstant. Kong and Jie stand for emptiness and loss, and people with them in the Life Palace are often distant from their family, or their relations with relatives run hot and cold, with no steady support to lean on. Second line: Hua Quan and Hua Lu in the Life Palace, 「行藏靡定」, whether one serves or withdraws is never settled. This line is interesting: Quan and Lu are usually thought good, but here they bring instability. People with ability and resources have many choices and so often change course. Read today: with Kong and Jie in the Life Palace, keeping a comfortable distance from the family works better; with Quan and Lu in the Life Palace, a career has many changes, and the key is to settle on a direction.

This line likens auspicious and malefic stars to gentlemen and petty men: Tian Kui and Tian Yue are gentlemen, Qing Yang and Ling Xing petty men. It is a typical personification in the Quan Shu: Kui and Yue are stars of noble helpers, standing for upright patronage; Qing Yang and Ling stars of harm, standing for hidden injury. Note that this does not mean a person with Qing Yang in the Life Palace is a petty man; it means this star plays the role of the 'petty man' on the chart. For example, Qing Yang in the Friends Palace may mean harm brought by friends or colleagues. Segment 17 below immediately adds that a gentleman's chart also has Qing Yang, Tuo Luo, Huo Xing and Ling Xing, which shows this is only the stars' symbolism.

Only eight characters, yet one of the most important principles in reading Dou Shu: malign stars are not necessarily wholly malign, and auspicious stars are never purely auspicious. A malign star in its temple and held in check by auspicious stars can turn into drive and the ability to get things done; an auspicious star in Xian or meeting Hua Ji has its benefits discounted. This is the same idea as the Dou Shu Zhun Sheng's 「貪狼為善宿入廟不凶」 and the Dou Shu Fa Wei Lun's 「吉星入垣則為吉，凶星失地則為凶」. Read today: do not draw conclusions about yourself from a single star; every star has two sides, and what matters is the combination and the position.

The note explains how 'host' and 'guest' are read: the stars of the Life Palace itself are the host, the stars shining in from the opposite palace and the trine are the guest. A strong host and weak guest means the Life Palace's own stars are strong and outside influence is small, so safety is assured; a weak host and strong guest means the Life Palace's stars are Xian or there is no main star, and malefic stars from outside are strong, so danger appears at once. This is a very useful tool for reading a chart: when the Life Palace's main star is bright and has auspicious stars beside it, it can withstand malefic stars striking from outside; when the Life Palace is empty or its main star is Xian, it is easily swayed by malefic stars in the opposite palace and the trine. Looking at empty palaces and borrowed stars on a Xingge chart is exactly the judgment of a weak host.

The previous line dealt with the strength of host and guest; this one says both sides must be weighed, and the luck periods read against the Life and Body Palaces. The point is that host and guest in the natal chart are only half the story; which palace the luck period reaches, and the host and guest of that palace, are the other half. When reading a chart, look first at host and guest in the natal Life Palace, then in the Decade Luck's Life Palace, and finally in the Annual Luck. When all three layers have a strong host and weak guest, that period is the steadiest; when the natal host is weak and the luck period's guest is strong, that period needs the most care. This is why the Quan Shu keeps insisting that 'the chart and the luck periods must be read together', and the lesson Layering the charts teaches exactly this method.

The Body and Life Palaces most fear Qing Yang, Tuo Luo and Qi Sha. All three are hard, clashing stars: Qing Yang stands for injury, Tuo Luo for delay and entanglement, Qi Sha for severity and acting alone, and people with them in the Body or Life Palace have strong personalities and lives full of conflict. But the tone of 「未免為凶」 holds something back, and other parts of the Quan Shu go into more detail: Qing Yang in its temple in the four tomb palaces is 'powerful and noble', and Qi Sha meeting Zi Wei 'turns killing into power'. The Tai Wei Fu also says 「七殺臨於身命加惡殺，必定死亡」, on the condition that malign Sha stars are 'added'. So this line should be read as: with these three in the Body or Life Palace, a person is born with some conflict and pressure, and whether auspicious stars resolve it decides how much.

The Decade and Minor Lucks fear Tan Lang, Po Jun, Ju Men and Lian Zhen, and meeting them brings trouble. What these four stars share: Tan Lang stands for desire and peach blossom, Po Jun for loss and change, Ju Men for gossip and disputes, Lian Zhen for legal trouble and emotions. When the luck period reaches these stars, one is easily drawn into the corresponding troubles. But 「定然作禍」 overstates it: when these four stars are in their temples or carry Hua Lu or Hua Quan, the luck period can bring growth instead. A Decade Luck with Po Jun carrying Hua Lu, for example, is often ten years of tearing down and rebuilding, a successful transformation. When reading a chart and these four stars appear in a luck period, look first at brightness and transformations, then at whether malefic stars share the palace, before deciding whether it is trouble or fortune.

First line: Tian Kui and Wen Chang in the Life Palace and luck periods often bring nobility. Kui stands for noble helpers and Chang for paperwork and examinations; in the Life Palace or a luck period they mean being promoted by others and smooth going with exams and documents. Second line: luck periods meeting Zi Wei and Tian Fu are sure to bring plenty of wealth. Zi Wei stands for power and rank, Tian Fu for treasuries, and when a luck period reaches these two stars, both resources and status rise. The song in What Does Zi Wei Govern? also says 「二限若遇帝，喜氣自然新」. When reading a chart, open the Decade Luck and see which decade has Zi Wei or Tian Fu in its Life Palace or trine; those ten years are usually a good time to build up assets.

This line begins the discussion of women's charts. In old times a woman's fate was tied to her husband and children, hence 「先觀夫子二宮」. It is an explicit statement of how the Quan Shu reads men's and women's charts differently; Men's and Women's Charts Compared also says that for a woman one looks first at the Body and Life Palaces, then at the Fortune Palace, and third at the husband. A woman's life is no longer tied only to marriage and children; the Spouse and Children Palaces still matter, but the Life, Career and Wealth Palaces deserve just as much attention. The line can be understood as the old writers' focus of judgment under the social structure of their time, and it is enough to know the difference between then and now.

This is one of the Quan Shu's heaviest verdicts on women's charts: a Sha star in the Spouse or Children Palace, 「定三嫁而心不足」; meeting Qing Yang or the Bei star, 「淚不乾」. Qi Sha stands for fierceness and solitary harm; in the Spouse Palace, a marriage with many changes; in the Children Palace, a thin bond with children. 'Marrying three times' is the old way of exaggerating an unstable marriage. In practice: with Qi Sha or Qing Yang in the Spouse Palace, a marriage easily has conflict, the spouse has a strong personality or the couple spend much time apart, and marrying late or choosing a partner who can accept independent space works better; 'marrying three times' need not be taken literally as a prophecy. The Quan Shu's Spouse Palace also says Qi Sha in a man's Spouse Palace 「早剋」, harms early, so it is not aimed only at women.

For a man, look first at the Fortune and Wealth Palaces, then the Travel Palace. The Fortune Palace is read for inner life and blessings, the Wealth Palace for the ability to earn, the Travel Palace for how one fares away from home. This reflects old expectations of men: can he earn money, can he go out and build a career, is his mind at peace. Set against the previous line, it shows how differently the old writers focused on men's and women's charts. These three palaces matter for anyone. The Fortune Palace is often overlooked, but it decides whether a person can enjoy what they earn, and it is well worth a close look.

「二限相因，吉凶同斷」: the Decade Luck and the Minor Luck depend on each other and must be judged together. This is the basic method for luck periods: the Decade Luck sets the general direction for ten years, the Minor Luck (or the Annual Luck) shows specific events in the year. When both reach auspicious stars at once it is very good, when both reach malign stars at once it is very bad, and one of each brings ups and downs. The Quan Shu has a chapter on this, Fortune and Misfortune in the Decade Luck. Xingge's luck-period view can show the Decade and Annual Luck at the same time; stacking the Life Palaces and San Fang Si Zheng of the two layers when reading a chart is what this line means.

This line restates the relation between the chart and the luck periods: luck periods meeting auspicious stars bring a harmonious life, a Life Palace in malign ground brings frustration in every plan. The first half is about the luck that comes later, the second about the inborn chart. 「齟齬」 is teeth that do not meet, a figure for everything snagging. Put together, the two lines show that both chart and luck matter: a person with a poor chart finds things harder even in good times, a person with a good chart has a foundation to hold them up in bad times. For a reader now: knowing the strengths and weaknesses of your chart tells you to build up more in good times and play it safer in bad times, which is the most practical use of reading a chart.

First line: Lian Zhen with a Lu star (Lu Cun or Hua Lu) in the Body Palace gives a woman the virtue of chastity. Lian Zhen's transformed qi is 囚 (the prisoner), and it is usually seen as a secondary peach-blossom star, but meeting Lu it turns to self-discipline and purity, one of the Quan Shu's rare positive judgments on Lian Zhen. Lian Zhen takes Hua Lu in Jia years. Second line: Tian Tong and Tian Liang guarding the Life Palace give a man a centred, upright heart. Tian Tong and Tian Liang share a palace only in Yin and Shen; Tian Tong stands for blessing and Tian Liang for shelter, and both are mild, upright stars. People with Lian Zhen carrying Hua Lu have principles and can hold themselves in check; people with Tian Tong and Tian Liang in the Life Palace are upright and value integrity, and suit work that depends on trust, such as public service, education and medicine.

This line matters a great deal; it is one of the Quan Shu's rare 'reverse reminders': a gentleman's chart also has Qing Yang, Tuo Luo, Huo Xing and Ling Xing, and a petty man's chart also has Hua Ke, Hua Lu and Hua Quan. The point is that one cannot judge a person's character just by whether there are malefic stars, nor judge a person good just by whether there are auspicious stars. Read together with segment 4's 'Kui and Yue are gentlemen, Qing Yang and Ling petty men', it shows the old writers' attitude: the stars have their symbolism, but people have choices. Put simply: every chart has both good stars and difficult ones; the chart shows tendencies, and how a person uses their traits is what decides who they are.

This line narrows chart reading down to 「得垣失垣」, gaining or losing the enclosure, and 「入廟失廟」, entering or losing the temple: a star's position decides everything. The Chong Bu Dou Shu Gou Lü also says 「重在看星得垣受制」, so the two pieces reach the same conclusion. On a Xingge chart, the small brightness text beside each main star and each of the Six Malefic Stars is the most direct judgment of 'entering or losing the temple'. In volume three, the Star Combinations chapters each open with a table of Miao and Wang, for example Qi Sha 'has no fallen position' and Zi Wei 'has no fallen position'; these broadly match Xingge's brightness table, with some differences in detail, and readers can compare them.

For a child's chart, work out the childhood luck period in detail. The childhood luck is the luck period of the early years, and the Quan Shu's Placing the Decade, Minor and Childhood Luck explains how it is set out: 「一命二財三疾厄，四妻五福六官祿」, first year the Life Palace, second the Wealth, third the Health, fourth the Spouse, fifth the Fortune, sixth the Career Palace, which differs from the Decade Luck. Child mortality was high in old times, so the childhood luck was taken especially seriously. In a child's chart, the childhood luck is mainly for understanding health and family environment in the early years; temperament and gifts should be read from the main stars of the Life Palace, and the good or bad of the childhood luck should not be used to predict the child's future.

This is one of the Quan Shu's heaviest verdicts: a child whose Life Palace sits in malign ground 「二五歲必然夭折」; with the luck period meeting malign Sha stars, 「五七歲必主災亡」. The note explains the two readings of the ages. Infant and child mortality was very high in old times, and verdicts like this reflect that reality. With modern medicine, the line can only be taken as a reminder that a child's health needs special care. When reading a chart, if a child's Life Palace has several malefic stars and the Health Palace has Hua Ji, it can be read as a weaker constitution that needs more attention to health; but it should not be used literally to predict lifespan, nor to frighten parents.

Wen Chang, Wen Qu and Tian Kui in the Life Palace: 「不讀詩書也可人」. All three stars carry a literary and noble air: Chang and Qu stand for literary talent and eloquence, Tian Kui for noble helpers and bearing. The old writers mean that people with these stars in the Life Palace are born with a refined, likeable air, and are not vulgar even without much education. In today's terms, their charm comes from bearing and conversation; they are well liked and easily win others' goodwill. The Xing Xing Fu describes 「俊雅文昌眉清目秀」, the same kind of impression.

First line: Qing Yang meeting 劫殺, learning much and achieving little. 劫殺 has two readings: one is Jie Sha among the twelve Jiang Qian spirits, which can be seen in the luck periods on a Xingge chart; the other is Di Jie and Qi Sha. Qing Yang already stands for impulsiveness, and meeting a star of loss as well, one easily gives up learning halfway and scatters one's energy. Second line: Tai Sui meeting Guan Fu, a litigious person. Guan Fu is one of the twelve Sui Qian spirits and stands for lawsuits; meeting it in an Annual Luck, one is easily drawn into litigation. In practice: the first is learning many things but finding it hard to master any, so choose a direction and dig deep; the second means that in a Guan Fu year one should avoid disputes over contracts and get everything in writing.

This line is a transition: the principles of fate are subtle, so study the changes of the stars closely; the principles of number are far-reaching, so examine the rise and decline of patterns in detail. The idea of 「格局之興衰」, the rise and decline of patterns, deserves attention: a pattern is not fixed; it rises and declines. A good pattern declines when it reaches an unfavourable luck period, and an ordinary pattern rises when it meets good luck. It is the same as the Quan Shu's repeated point that the chart and the luck periods must be read together. A pattern in the natal chart, the name of a chart pattern for instance, only indicates a potential; how much of it is realised depends on how the luck periods support it.

First line: the 'North Pole' (Zi Wei) with malign Sha stars added makes a Daoist or monk. Zi Wei is the emperor star; meeting malefic stars without Zuo Fu and You Bi, the emperor has no ministers and turns away from the world. The Quan Shu says similar things in many places: Star Combinations: Zi Wei says 「紫微卯酉劫空四殺多為脫俗之僧」, and What Does Zi Wei Govern? says that Zi Wei meeting the four malefic stars, Di Jie and Di Kong, or struck by Tian Ji and Tian Liang, 'is surely a monk or Daoist'. Second line: Qing Yang and Tuo Luo meeting evil stars make a slave or servant. For a reader now: the first is an interest in religion, philosophy and spiritual practice, not necessarily leaving home; the second is finding it harder to be one's own boss, and doing better using one's skills inside an organisation.

Wu Qu, Po Jun, Lian Zhen and Tan Lang in the Life Palace: 「深謀而貴顯」; with Qing Yang, Tuo Luo, Di Kong and Di Jie added: 「小志以孤寒」. What these four stars share is strong drive and great ambition, and in their temples without malefic stars they can achieve great things. The Ten Grades of Wealth, Rank and Poverty also says that for northerners, Zi Wei, Wu Qu, Po Jun or Tan Lang in the Life Palace in a Wang palace stands for blessings and long life. But when these four stars meet malefic stars, ambition turns into haste or opportunism, and they fall short of success. The line shows clearly what malefic stars do: they do not turn good stars bad, they keep the good stars' strengths from coming through. When reading a chart with one of these four in the Life Palace, the first thing to do is count how many malefic stars share the palace or meet it.

This line echoes the Dou Shu Fa Wei Lun's 「行限逢乎弱地未必為災」: a luck period with supporting stars (Zuo Fu, You Bi) in prosperity is weak and yet not weak; a Life Palace in auspicious ground is malign and yet not malign. The supporting stars 'help', and when a luck period meets them, there are people to lend a hand even if the main star is not strong. When luck is low, connections and noble helpers count most; people with a good natal foundation can resolve difficulties when they meet them. When reading a chart, if the main star of a Decade Luck's Life Palace is Xian, look for Zuo Fu, You Bi, Tian Kui and Tian Yue in that decade's San Fang Si Zheng.

First line: a broken bridge and a cut-off road, both the major and minor lucks are hard going. 截路 is Jie Lu Kong Wang, placed by the birth-year stem and listed among the minor stars on a Xingge chart. When a luck period meets it, things are easily interrupted or stuck. Second line: Mao and You meeting the 'two empties' is, on the contrary, clever and comes into good fortune. This half-line contrasts with other parts of the Quan Shu: Star Combinations: Zi Wei says Zi Wei in Mao or You meeting Jie and Kong 「多為脫俗之僧」, and the Women's Gu Sui Fu also says 「極居卯酉遇劫空，十人之命九人僧」. The same Mao or You with Kong and Jie is read in one place as clever and fortunate and in another as becoming a monk; the difference may lie in whether Zi Wei is present.

First line: Zi Wei and Tian Fu in the Life and Body Palaces pile up gold and silver. Zi Wei stands for power and rank, Tian Fu for treasuries, and in the Body and Life Palaces they mean wealth and rank. Second line: the 「二主」 meeting Kong and Jie, food and clothing insufficient. The two masters are the Life Master and Body Master. Xingge follows the Quan Shu: the Life Master is set by the branch of the Life Palace, the Body Master by the branch of the birth year, and both stars are marked on the chart. If the Life Master or Body Master falls in a palace with Di Kong or Di Jie, the old writers held that food and clothing would be hard to come by. This is one of the few lines in the Quan Shu that judges directly by the Life and Body Masters; later readers generally paid them little attention, and this line shows how they were used in the old days. When reading a chart, find where the Life Master and Body Master are and see whether they share a palace with Kong or Jie.

First line: the Life Palace or a luck period meeting Qing Yang, planning without success. Qing Yang stands for collision, and plans often fail through impulsiveness or accident. Second line: a luck period or the Body Palace meeting Zuo Fu and Tian Xiang, 「東作西成」, effort brings a harvest. Zuo Fu stands for help, Tian Xiang for mediation and fairness, both steady kinds of support, hence ploughing in spring and harvesting in autumn: effort is repaid. The two lines are a pair of contrasts: Qing Yang keeps things from getting through, Fu and Xiang let things land steadily. Put simply: in a Qing Yang luck period, slow down and double-check; in a Fu and Xiang luck period, push forward long-term plans that need cooperation.

First line: Hua Ke, Hua Quan and Hua Lu converging on the Life Palace is San Qi Jia Hui (the three wonders meet), which the old writers took as a lofty person who passes the imperial examinations. The three transformations stand for reputation, power and wealth respectively, and all three together are a noble pattern the Quan Shu esteems highly. Second line: Di Kong, Di Jie, Qing Yang and Ling Xing make a 「九流之術士」. Practitioners of the nine lesser arts were fortune-tellers, physiognomists, healers and the like, whose social standing was low in old times. The first is a pattern of both fame and fortune; the second suits a path of specialist skills off the mainstream, such as medicine, fate reading, the arts or freelancing, which is not necessarily bad today.

First line: Wen Chang and Wen Qu in the Life or Body Palace, an open and easy heart. Chang and Qu are literary stars standing for refinement and expression, and people with them in the Body or Life Palace are cheerful and fond of the arts. Second line: Qing Yang and Tuo Luo in fallen positions, deceitful, flighty and false. When Qing Yang and Tuo Luo are Xian, in Zi, Wu, Mao and You or in Yin, Shen, Si and Hai, their clashing and delaying nature turns into scheming and unreliability. The couplet shows that for stars of the same type (supporting stars, malefic stars), brightness decides how they show themselves. On Xingge's brightness table Qing Yang is Xian in Zi, Wu, Mao and You, and Tuo Luo is Xian in Yin, Shen, Si and Hai, which you can check directly when reading a chart.

Tian Ji and Tian Liang meeting Qing Yang: 「早有刑而晚見孤」. Tian Ji and Tian Liang share a palace only in Chen and Xu, which is the combination of Shan Yin Chao Gang (the good and the sheltering attend the court), a good pattern to begin with; but meeting Qing Yang, harm grows heavier. Tian Ji stands for change and Tian Liang for lofty solitude, and with Qing Yang's injury added, there is harm with family early in life and loneliness late. The Xing Xing Fu also lists Tian Ji, Tian Liang and Qing Yang as lonely stars, so all three carry a 'lonely' character throughout the Quan Shu. In practice: relations with family are tense early in life, and in later years it is wise to cultivate one's own interests and social circle.

Tan Lang and Wu Qu meeting Lian Zhen: 「少受貧而後享福」. A fact about the chart can be added: Wu Qu and Tan Lang share a palace only in Chou and Wei, and then Lian Zhen is always in the trine (sharing a palace with Po Jun in You or Mao), so people with Wu Qu and Tan Lang in the Life Palace almost always 'meet Lian Zhen'. The Quan Shu also has 「武曲守命福非輕，貪狼不發少年郎」, likewise saying that people with Wu Qu and Tan Lang in the Life Palace do not prosper in youth and only rise after middle age. Such people work hard early, with a long period of building up, and only come into their own after thirty; they suit careers built over the long term.

The close says 「此皆斗數之奧妙，學者宜熟思之」. The Zeng Bu Tai Wei Fu as a whole is more practical than the Tai Wei Fu and adds many methods for reading a chart: the strength of host and guest, reading chart and luck periods together, the different emphases for men's and women's charts, gaining and losing the enclosure, and several very concrete verdicts on combinations. There are also places where the Quan Shu contradicts itself, such as Mao and You meeting Kong and Jie being 'clever and fortunate' here and 'becoming a monk' elsewhere, and heavy words like 'marrying three times' need to be put back into the context of their time. The best way to read this piece is to separate method from verdict: use the method, and use the verdicts for comparison.