What is Fei Lian?

Fei Lian (Wind Spirit) is the seventh of the Twelve Erudite Gods (Bo Shi), sitting directly opposite Bo Shi. It is about solitude: in this palace you often feel you're fighting alone, with few people able to help. Reach out and talk things over rather than carrying it all yourself. There is also a minor star with the same sound, Fei Lian, which is about something else. To see which palace your Fei Lian is in, draw your chart.

How Fei Lian is placed

The Bo Shi set starts with Bo Shi in the Lu Cun palace; count to the seventh and you reach Fei Lian. Men born in yang years and women born in yin years count forward; men born in yin years and women born in yang years count backward. Either way, six palaces forward or back is the opposite palace, so Fei Lian always sits across from Lu Cun and Bo Shi.

Fei Lian's trines hold Qing Long and Fu Bing.

What the classics say, and how to read it now

The verse in volume two of the Zi Wei Dou Shu Quan Shu (The Complete Book of Zi Wei Dou Shu), in the An Shi Er Gong Tai Sui Sha Lu Jue section, reads:

Bo Shi is clever, Li Shi has power, Qing Long brings joy, Xiao Hao is money; Jiang Jun is martial, Zou Shu is blessing, Fei Lian rules solitude, Xi Shen prolongs.

In the printed text, the character for "solitude" in this line is a similar-looking one meaning "bow." Where volume two lists each star's element, it reads:

Fei Lian is Fire and rules solitude.

Comparing the two, the "bow" character is a misprint for "solitude." The Quan Shu writes this god's name with two different first characters in these passages, but they are the same god: placed from Lu Cun, about solitude. Some teachers read it differently: the verse Wang Tingzhi cites has "Fei Lian brings gossip, Xi Shen prolongs," reading the Bo Shi Fei Lian as talk and quarrels. Xingge follows the Quan Shu and reads it as solitude.

Read for today, Xingge takes Fei Lian to mean that in this palace you often do it alone. It's not that nobody is there; you're used to handling things yourself, or the people around you don't quite get what you're doing. The upside is independence; the thing to watch is that nobody knows when you're tired. In this palace, asking for help is often easier than you think.

Fei Lian in key palaces

• Life Palace: you're very good at holding things up yourself, and there's a lot you don't tell people. One or two friends you can be honest with matter more than anything.
• Wealth Palace: you're used to handling money on your own and rarely discuss it. Before big decisions, talk it over with someone who knows the area; your judgment gets more complete.
• Career Palace: at work you often operate independently, carrying a piece of the work on your own. Let your manager and colleagues see your progress so your effort doesn't get buried.
• Spouse Palace: even together, you may often feel some things are yours alone to work through. Say what you need out loud so your partner knows how to help.
• Health Palace: stress tends to stay bottled up. Talk to someone or get out for a walk, so your feelings have somewhere to go.

Telling it apart from the minor star Fei Lian

Two names on the chart look much alike:

• The Bo Shi Fei Lian: this one. Placed from Lu Cun, always opposite Lu Cun, and the Quan Shu says it rules solitude.
• The minor star Fei Lian: placed by your birth-year branch, unrelated to Lu Cun. The Quan Shu does not include this star, and the common reading links it to gossip and rumors.

The Quan Shu only includes the Bo Shi one, so when you see Fei Lian in the classical text, it means this god in the Bo Shi set, not the minor star.

Natal chart and Annual Luck

Fei Lian is natal and doesn't change with the Annual Luck on the Xingge chart; the sets that change each year are the Twelve General Gods (Jiang Qian) and the Twelve Year Gods (Sui Qian). When the Decade Luck or Annual Luck reaches the Fei Lian palace, you're more likely to feel you're carrying that area alone during that time. Line up help early and you'll be fine.