Extracts from the Great Compendium of Star Studies

造化唯將一理推，旬知虛實發天機。源流體用俱當辨，運氣尤宜看改移。理則只今生克是，氣明天運有推遷。古今治亂分輕重，此是琴堂法外傳。空亡一訣少人知，貴賤災祥各有司。空處不空分拱夾，更將貼襯有無推。

The Great Compendium of Star Studies compiled by Wan Minying of the Ming was originally thirty juan, a bulky general collection of the learning of destiny by the Seven Luminaries and Four Remainders (七政四餘); what is preserved here is only a fragmentary extract from it, not the complete work. Though the heading is marked "thirty-six verses," in fact only twenty-six remain; the rest have already been lost. What follows is recorded as the remnant stands, without patching. The first verse says: the creative transformation of heaven and earth is to be pressed by the single word "principle"; within a ten-day period one can see the emptiness and solidity of the stars, and thereby make the heavenly mechanism clear; source and current, body and use, should all be distinguished clearly, and luck and qi (氣) especially must be watched for how they move and shift. The second verse says: so-called "principle" is no more than the generation and overcoming of the Five Phases before the eyes; so-called "qi" requires one to understand that the heavenly movement has shifting and change. The order and disorder of the world's way, ancient and modern, differ in the weight of their measure: this is the "qin-hall"—that is, the insights of the school of star-destiny transmitted by mouth and ear outside the statutes. The third verse says: the formula of "emptiness" (空亡) is truly understood by very few; a person's nobility or meanness, disaster or auspicious omen, are each governed by different stars. A place that is empty is not necessarily truly empty; one must see whether there are stars that arch and flank; one must also infer from whether there are stars close beside to set it off.

用宿若空沖得實，凶星空了怕沖來。不空不實名來局，地曜天星禍福該。貴賤先須明拱夾，賢愚只要看陰陽。次明日月同天德，德性襟懷總易量。金輕土重木星慈，火燥羅麄水性疑。孛狡計奸偏僻氣，更將的刃不祥推。

The fourth verse says: if the lodge one uses falls into emptiness, being clashed on the contrary turns it solid, which is a good thing; if an inauspicious star falls into emptiness, what is most feared is that it be stirred up by a clash. What is neither empty nor solid is called a "coming configuration"; the earthly radiances and the heavenly stars, misfortune and fortune, are all judged from this. The fifth verse says: in judging a person's nobility or meanness one must first make clear the pattern of arching and flanking; in judging a person's worth or folly one need only see whether yin and yang have obtained their due place. Next one must understand whether the Sun and the Moon occupy the same position as Heavenly Virtue (天德); a person's virtue and breast can all be easily weighed from this. The sixth verse says: the stars each govern temperament—Metal governs lightness and swiftness, Earth thickness and gravity, Jupiter humaneness, Mars a dry and hasty nature, Rahu (羅睺) coarseness and violence, Mercury much suspicion, Yuebo craft, Ketu (計都) treachery, Purple Vapour (紫炁) a one-sided solitary pride; add the unlucky stars of the kind of the Target Sha (的煞) and the Yang Blade (羊刃) and infer them together, and a person's character can be settled.

白虎嫌入六害孤，祿空易陷易親疏。煞居相貌兼飛刃，此是人中破疾徒。丑時日是進神星，申亥生人把月評。子午界開天地宿，長生有宿更聰明。分明一退當三空，有用之星一例同。官福田財終蹬蹬，定知妻子必遲疑。

The seventh verse says: the White Tiger most abhors falling in a position of the Six Harms and standing isolated without support; if the Emolument star falls empty, a person easily sinks, and human feeling is also easily distant. If an inauspicious sha sits in the palace of appearance and moreover carries a flying blade, this is the sort among people who are broken in phase and carry illness. The eighth verse says: one born in the Chou hour takes the Sun as the star of the "advancing spirit"; one born in the Shen or Hai hour must be judged by the Moon. The two palaces Zi and Wu are the boundary of heaven and earth, separating the heavenly lodges from the earthly; if the Destiny palace moreover sits on a lodge of changsheng (長生, the stage of birth), the person is especially intelligent. The ninth verse says: a star that retrogrades once is worth three layers of emptiness; every useful star is discussed by this. Thus the several palaces of Office and Emolument, Fortune and Virtue, Fields and Dwellings, and Wealth and Silk are throughout uneven, and one may judge that affairs of wife and children will also certainly be delayed and hard to complete.

駕前一位號天空，百煞逢之不作凶。若是用神飛到此，限宮無照卻嫌窮。駕後一位名驀越，諸星遇著減精華。惟宜日月居前後，此是淤泥出異葩。生星第一喜生身，財福雖空不苦辛。煞若臨深尤你貴，限宮一陷命照淪。

The tenth verse says: the one position before the "Carriage" is called "Heavenly Emptiness"; the various inauspicious sha that fall here are none of them discussed as inauspicious; but if the useful spirit one uses flies to this place, and the palace of the travelling limit moreover has no star to illuminate and answer, one on the contrary dislikes it as poor. The eleventh verse says: the one position behind the "Carriage" is called "Sudden Crossing"; every star that walks here must have its essence diminished; only it is fitting that the Sun and the Moon occupy its front and back, and that is then like a strange flower opening in the mud. The twelfth verse says: the star that generates me is most to be delighted in, because it can generate and assist the Body palace; even if the two palaces of Wealth and Silk and of Fortune and Virtue fall empty, one will not come to toil. If an inauspicious sha alights in a place of deep sinking, it on the contrary sets off your nobility; but once the palace of the travelling limit sinks, the destiny sinks with it.

用星飛出落空中，用位分明有實逢。更有駕前沖祿馬，定為貪利更邀功。財臨陽刃守財奴，財落三宮好用徒。身命二星閒極見，津津和氣百無拘。動靜能分體用明，天星地曜更須憑。三才定位原無改，要識無形有象星。

The thirteenth verse says: though the star one uses has flown from its home position and fallen into emptiness, if on the home position of the useful spirit there is clearly another solid star that comes to meet, that does not count as empty. If further a star before the "Carriage" goes to clash the Emolument star and the Postal Horse, this person is certain to covet profit and also to love claiming merit. The fourteenth verse says: a Wealth star together with the Yang Blade means this person is a miser who keeps wealth; a Wealth star falling in a palace of the triple combination means one skilled in using money. If the two governing stars of the Body palace and the Destiny palace fall in a position of the utmost leisure, this person is mild and harmonious, and the hundred affairs are not constrained. The fifteenth verse says: if one can tell "movement" from "stillness," body and use are then clear; the stars of heaven and the radiances of earth must all be relied on together. The seated positions of the Three Powers (三才)—Heaven, Earth and Man—will not of themselves change; the key is to recognise those stars that have no form yet have an image.

一年稱意是何因，太歲填恩照限身。財福填時財氣盛，官星填起必高升。禍福相逢祿馬空，一空一實忌偏枯。官星空了三分實，限苦逢之必降除。金水為恩拱駕行，為官定執法司權。天門有拱多清要，翰苑聲名共此祥。

The sixteenth verse says: why in a certain year is every affair as one wishes? Because the Grand Year has precisely filled solid the "Favour Star" (恩星), and has also illuminated the travelling limit and the Body palace. When the Grand Year fills the palaces of Wealth and Silk and of Fortune and Virtue, the qi of wealth flourishes; when it fills and raises the Officer star, one is certain to rise high. The seventeenth verse says: misfortune and fortune arriving at the same time is because the Emolument star and the Postal Horse have fallen empty; one end empty and one end solid is what most abhors a one-sided withering that is not even. Though the Officer star has fallen empty, it still keeps three parts of solid qi; if the travelling limit bitterly meets it, one is certain to suffer demotion and dismissal. The eighteenth verse says: Venus and Mercury as Favour Stars, arching and protecting the "Carriage" star as they travel together, mean that in office one is certain to hold the power of a judicial bureau. If the "Heavenly Gate," that is the Hai palace, has stars arching and illuminating, one for the most part holds clean, noble and important posts; a name in the Hanlin Academy is also brought by this auspicious image.

九流清苦苦何為，只把空亡仔細推。滿局都空名朽腐，平生骨肉必參差。流旬空法有神通，此法名為御史空。縱有吉星居貴地，一時空卻欠從容。諸煞俱嫌太歲填，看他填處在何宮。田財官福身星等，一一依宮論吉凶。

The nineteenth verse says: why do people of the three teachings and the nine streams have a life of clear cold and hardship? One need only calculate "emptiness" carefully and it is clear. If the whole plate of stars falls empty, the name rots and does not show, and all life long the feeling of bone and flesh is also certain to scatter and not be complete. The twentieth verse says: the method of "circulating ten-day emptiness," shifting by the ten-day period, is very efficacious; this method is called "Censor Emptiness." Even if an auspicious star sits in a place of nobility and distinction, once for a time it is covered by emptiness, action is then not easy. The twenty-first verse says: the various inauspicious sha all fear the Grand Year coming to fill them solid; one must see in which palace it fills: the governing stars of Fields and Dwellings, Wealth and Silk, Office and Emolument, Fortune and Virtue, and the Body palace, and so on, must all be judged for good and ill according to the palace they occupy.

吉星守限苦逢遲，交限三年福始宜。出限三年還有力，凶星遲了一般推。大概凶星最怕留，凶星留卻最多愁。下年太歲逢迎了，還見餘殃未肯休。逆時天運促泫年，禍福相逢在眼前。不必論他宮闊狹，只將交處摘其玄。

The twenty-second verse says: an auspicious star keeping the limit has its bitterness in coming late; three years after one has entered this limit, fortune first begins to answer; within three years of leaving this limit the leftover force is still there. An inauspicious star that comes late is calculated by the same principle. The twenty-third verse says: in the main an inauspicious star most fears lingering and not going; once an inauspicious star stays, sorrowful affairs are most many. When in the second year the Grand Year again comes to answer, one will still see leftover disaster that will not rest. The twenty-fourth verse says: when the heavenly movement travels against the season it will press upon the span of years; misfortune and fortune meeting is then before the eyes. At this time one need not discuss the width or narrowness of the palaces; one need only seize the place where the two limits hand over, and pluck the mysterious mechanism within it.

世運推移異昔年，剝官退職橫遭愆。只因流歲空恩福，煞不收藏的刃專。仕宦諸公要問閒，空亡一訣理中玄。官星身命重空卻，福不空時老做仙。

The twenty-fifth verse says: the world's movement shifts, unlike former years; one is stripped of office, retired to leisure, and meets guilt across one's path. This is only because the annual luck has filled both the Favour Star and the palace of Fortune and Virtue into emptiness, while the inauspicious sha will not draw in, and the Target Sha and the Yang Blade alone hold power. The twenty-sixth verse says: if you gentlemen in office ask when you can obtain leisure and withdraw, the mysterious principle is hidden in this formula of "emptiness": if the Officer star and the Body palace and Destiny palace fall empty layer upon layer, while the palace of Fortune and Virtue alone is not empty, to old age one can on the contrary be at ease like an immortal. The twenty-six verses remaining above: the heading originally said thirty-six verses, of which ten are missing.

竇陶氏能推占天文人事，要其吉凶休咎，不出十二宮外。蓋天道遠人道彌，一貫之理，外天求人非理，外人求天非道也。請試其一二，方知天道不遠矣。

Master Dou Tao was able to calculate and verify the images of heaven and the affairs of men; summed up, all good and ill fortune cannot run outside the scope of the twelve palaces. Because the heavenly Way, though distant and hidden, the human way is close at hand, and the two communicate by the same principle: to leave heaven and seek man does not accord with principle; to leave man and seek heaven does not accord with the Way. One may try asking him one or two things, and then know that the heavenly Way is in fact not distant.

或問：太歲尊神互相管攝如何？竇陶氏答曰：太歲宮神，各有管屬，克我為禍，生我為福。最怕當頭，犯之不足。男命犯之受他制伏。女命犯之，並無養育。馬若當頭，退晦反覆。祿若當頭，波波碌碌。貴若當頭，受人凌辱。人妻犯之，多見反目。老人犯之，至老奔逐。小兒逢之，多見災毒。歲為尊貴，怕入奴僕。若來克我，必遭刑戮。

Someone asked: this honoured spirit the Grand Year and the several palaces govern one another—how is it? Master Dou Tao answered: the Grand Year and the palace-spirits of the several palaces each have what they govern; whatever overcomes me becomes misfortune, whatever generates me becomes fortune. What is most feared is the Grand Year pressing precisely upon the head of the Destiny palace; once it offends, the hundred affairs are insufficient. A man's destiny that offends it must suffer its suppression; a woman's destiny that offends it finds children hard to raise. If the Postal Horse is precisely at the Grand Year's head, action shrinks back, is dark, and reverses without settling; if the Emolument star is precisely at its head, a life of rushing and toil; if the Noble is precisely at its head, one is on the contrary insulted by others. A wife who offends it for the most part has husband and wife turn against each other; an old person who offends it must still run about in old age; a child who meets it often suffers disaster, illness and harm. The Grand Year is itself a noble spirit, and most fears falling into the palace of Servants; if it further comes to overcome me, one is certain to suffer punishment and execution.

或問：坐命限遇空亡如何？答曰：立身立命空亡中坐，福不見福，禍不見禍。馬遇空亡，奔波到老。祿入空亡，終身僧道。妻入空亡，一妻難保。奴入空亡，自爨自掃。貴入空亡，少離襁褓。財落空亡，財帛自耗。日落空亡，少年必破。官落空亡，徒有負抱。若有神煞救援則可。

Someone asked: if the Destiny palace and the travelling limit meet "emptiness," what then? He answered: if Body palace and Destiny palace both sit in emptiness, fortune though present cannot be enjoyed, misfortune though present is not seen; everything falls empty. The Postal Horse meeting emptiness means rushing about to old age; the Emolument star entering emptiness means all life as a monk or a Daoist; the Wife palace entering emptiness means not even one wife can be kept; the Servants palace entering emptiness means in every affair one must cook for oneself and sweep for oneself; the Noble entering emptiness means leaving the swaddling-clothes in early years, meaning father and mother lost early or leaving home from childhood; the palace of Wealth and Silk falling into emptiness means money consumes itself; the Sun falling into emptiness means there is certain to be ruin in youth; the palace of Office and Emolument falling into emptiness means a breast full of ambition with nowhere to apply it. Yet if other symbolic stars come to the rescue, there can still be a turn.

或問：五星發用，十二宮神生旺如何？答曰：馬遇長生，多動刀兵。男空奔波，女必淫顛。沐浴在命，處事流連。命逢冠帶，妾奪妻權。臨官在命，發在少年。男命喜之，女命不然。帝旺守命，難結夫緣。衰病死絕，女德必賢。處於墓地，能顯財田。男命逢此，晦昧萬千。若遇胎神，罵鬼怨天。男亦如此，胡語亂傳。小兒逢養，端的還魂。

Someone asked: when the five planets begin to be used, how does one look at the generating and prosperous conditions of the twelve palace-spirits? He answered: what is used here are the twelve stages of changsheng, bathing, capping and girding, approaching office, imperial prosperity, decline, illness, death, tomb, extinction, fetus and nurture. The Postal Horse meeting changsheng means much stirring of arms; a man's destiny falling empty means rushing about, a woman's licence and inversion. Bathing alighting on the destiny means handling affairs in a muddy, dragging way. Destiny meeting capping and girding means a concubine will seize the authority of the principal wife. Approaching office on the destiny means flourishing already in youth; a man's destiny likes it, a woman's does not. Imperial prosperity keeping the destiny means a woman finds it hard to form a husband's tie. At the several positions of decline, illness, death and extinction, a woman's virtue is on the contrary worthy and refined. Occupying the tomb-ground, one can make wealth, silk, fields and property illustrious; a man's destiny meeting it is on the contrary dark to the last degree. If one meets the fetal spirit, one all day curses ghosts and complains of Heaven; a man's destiny is the same, wild talk spreading without rest. A child meeting the nurturing spirit does indeed govern returning to life after a great illness.

或問：二十八宿立命，何度善惡？答曰：鬼有二度，號曰天眼。田命繫之，多見兇狠，不是權豪，便是反叛。心月為狐，五度有半。女命逢之，必淫必亂，且是精靈，多招離悶。亢金為龍，井木為犴，命立其中，敢言主敢斷。箕風畢雨，倏忽聚散，男女立命，多有病患。可以祥觀，不可例斷。

Someone asked: taking destiny by the twenty-eight lodges, which degrees are auspicious and which inauspicious? He answered: within the lodge Gui there are two degrees called the "Heavenly Eye"; a palace of Fields and Dwellings or a Destiny palace tied here for the most part has a fierce temperament, either a man of power or a rebel. The lodge Xin belongs to the Moon, its image a fox, five and a half degrees in all; a woman's destiny meeting it is certain to be licentious and unrestrained, and moreover clever and crafty, inviting much parting and vexation. The lodge Kang belongs to Metal, its image a dragon; the lodge Jing belongs to Wood, its image an an-hound; a person whose Destiny palace is established within these two lodges dares to speak and dares to decide. The lodge Ji governs wind, the lodge Bi rain; wind and rain gather and scatter, sudden and without constant; men and women whose Destiny palace is established here have many illnesses. These may be taken only as a reference for observation, and must not be applied as a single rule.

或問：水命怕土，子上土旺水亦旺，何以斷之？答曰：子宮安命，以土為主，水來受制，其水可取。若行夏令，當去以火。土必得時，於水何補。若行秋令，得金為母，金能生水，有水無土。冬水得時，水勝土負。或問：卯為火垣，又為木局，何以辨別？答曰：若行夏令，有火無木。叵行春令，有木無火。冬令得時，返為木黨。三方有水，湊成木局。

Someone asked: a Water destiny fears Earth coming to overcome it, yet the Zi palace is both Earth's prosperous ground and Water's prosperous ground—how should one judge? He answered: establishing destiny in the Zi palace, Earth is the palace-governor; Water coming here is restrained by Earth, and this Water can on the contrary be taken for use. If born in the summer season, one must rely on Fire to resolve it—Fire generates Earth, Earth obtains command in summer; what further benefit is there for Water? The meaning is that in summer Earth is prosperous and Water is still more restrained. If born in the autumn season, Metal is Water's mother; Metal can generate Water, and so one sees only Water and not Earth's force. In the winter season Water is precisely in time and obtains command, Water strong and Earth weak. Someone asked further: the Mao palace is called both the "Fire enclosure" and the Wood configuration of the Hai-Mao-Wei triple combination—how does one distinguish? He answered: if born in the summer season, discuss only Fire, not Wood; if born in the spring season, discuss only Wood, not Fire; if born in the winter season, Water prosperous generates Wood, and it on the contrary becomes Wood's ally; if within the three directions there is Mercury, a complete Wood configuration is assembled.

或問：人之父母、兄弟、妻子，何以參酌孤寡？答曰：十二宮中，寡宿孤神。若逢太陽，先喪其父。若犯太陰，先喪其母。日火月土，則又有準。左右逢此，必無親情。兄弟宮見，必無兄弟。妻宮見之，一世孤單。奴僕見之，一世艱辛。逢祿逢貴，出家道人。逢劫逢的，終身山林。

Someone asked: as for a person's parents, brothers and wife, how does one weigh the images of "solitude" and "widowhood"? He answered: if among the twelve palaces there are the two sha of the Widow Lodge and the Solitary Spirit, and they meet the Sun, this person first loses the father; if they offend the Moon, first the mother. The Sun together with Mars, the Moon together with Saturn, are also judged by this rule. Solitude and widowhood stars falling in the two neighbours left and right of the Destiny palace mean this person is certain to be thin in kinship; falling in the Brothers palace, certain to have no brothers; falling in the Wives and Concubines palace, lonely all life; falling in the Servants palace, hard-pressed and toiling all life. If solitude and widowhood meet the Emolument star and the Noble, this person leaves home as a Daoist; if they meet the Robbing Sha and the Target Sha, one dwells hidden in the mountains and forests all life.

或問：既分十二宮，坐命隔界，何以斷之？答曰：十二宮中，皆屬宮神，既有子丑，合論壬癸。既方戌亥，又有乾辛。既論申酉，合論坤庚。雖言午未，亦有丙丁。曰乙曰巽，以配巳辰。曰甲曰艮，以隸卯寅。隔界之處，要看分明。若以主論，辨其重輕，純言其度，取用不真。

Someone asked: since they are divided into twelve palaces, if the Destiny palace sits precisely on the boundary between two palaces, how should one judge? He answered: the twelve palaces each have a palace-spirit; besides the Earthly Branches one must also pair the Heavenly Stems and the trigram positions: having Zi and Chou, one must discuss Ren and Gui together; having Xu and Hai, one must also discuss Qian (乾) and Xin; discussing Shen and You, one must discuss Kun (坤) and Geng together; though one speaks of Wu and Wei, there are also Bing and Ding within; speaking of Yi and of Xun (巽), what is paired is Si and Chen; speaking of Jia and of Gen (艮), what is governed is Mao and Yin. If the Destiny palace falls on a boundary, one must certainly see the belonging clearly. If one discusses by the palace-governing star, one must distinguish which of the two sides is lighter and which heavier; if one speaks by degrees alone, what one takes for use is not true and exact.

或問：小兒關煞何以取之？答曰：前後有煞，命在其中。三方拱夾，亦是煞門。原守如是，更有加盤，若無救援，十死九難。更有一件，為小兒關：春命在酉，夏命子看，秋嫌卯位，冬怕午安。經上安命，乃為災難。

Someone asked: how does one take a child's "pass-sha"? He answered: if before and behind the Destiny palace there are inauspicious sha, and the destiny is precisely flanked in the middle; or if at the positions of the three directions there are sha-stars arching and flanking, this too is called a "sha-gate." The natal destiny is originally kept thus, and with the heavenly plate of the annual luck shifting over, if there is no rescuing star, nine in ten are hard to keep. There is besides a pass-sha judged specially for children: one born in spring fears the Destiny palace at You; one born in summer looks at the Zi palace; one born in autumn dislikes the Mao position; one born in winter fears being seated at Wu. If the Destiny palace is seated precisely at these positions, it is a phase of disaster.

或問：官貴之命，何以見之？答曰：官貴之命，有官有印，官印相生，方為權柄。印強官弱，掌財之命。官強印弱，虛名不正。金水清高，只是受蔭。木炁高強，正科必定。羅孛高強，只膺武品。前後試之，無不有應。

Someone asked: a destiny of office and nobility—from where is it seen? He answered: a destiny of official nobility must have both "office" and "seal"; only when the Officer star and the Seal star generate and assist each other does it count as truly holding power. If the Seal is strong and the Officer weak, it is a destiny that governs money; if the Officer is strong and the Seal weak, it is only an empty name that does not match the reality. Venus and Mercury are lofty and clean, and for the most part can only receive ancestral shelter. If Jupiter and Purple Vapour are high and strong, one is certain to come forth by the regular path of examination. If Rahu and Yuebo are high and strong, one can only hold a military post. Using this method to verify before and after, there is nothing that does not prove efficacious.

或問：七政四餘，守命如何？答曰：計都守命，愚而自用。羅喉守命，色心最重。孤炁守命，難與人共。木星守命，性執且迷。孛星守命，為人慳吝。金星守命，義重財輕。水星守命，詞唱輕清。火星守命，性急兇狠。土星守命，貪酷而淫。太陰守命，為人不佞。太陽守命，快性便行。日月合朔，晦而不明。

Someone asked: the "Seven Luminaries and Four Remainders"—that is, the Sun, the Moon and the five planets of Metal, Wood, Water, Fire and Earth, plus the four remainders Rahu, Ketu, Purple Vapour and Yuebo—each keeping the destiny, what temperament do they govern? He answered: Ketu keeping the destiny, foolish and stubbornly self-willed; Rahu keeping the destiny, the mind that loves colour heaviest; a solitary Purple Vapour keeping the destiny, a nature solitary and hard to dwell with; Jupiter keeping the destiny, a nature obstinate and lost in one end; Yuebo keeping the destiny, a person stingy; Venus keeping the destiny, valuing rightness and slighting wealth; Mercury keeping the destiny, words and song light, nimble and refined; Mars keeping the destiny, a temperament hasty, fierce and cruel; Saturn keeping the destiny, greedy, harsh and fond of licence; the Moon keeping the destiny, a person not good at flattery; the Sun keeping the destiny, a nature forthright, saying and doing at once. If the Sun and Moon are precisely at the time of conjunction, the two radiances covering each other, that is then dark and not bright.

詩曰：十二宮中帶煞神，煞神排布甚分明。須知月建有強弱，反凶作吉各位均。願聞：假如子上安命，以土為主，或見了木炁為凶，或見木炁不夭，何以斷之？若生夏令，母星是火。火羅乘旺，必能生我。母星占強，安能為禍？若生春令，木炁高強。無金與羅，必定相傷。身逢水孛，實有不良。若生秋月，金星得時。土亦不厚，木炁有虧，倘有災殃，不至深危。若生冬令，水土俱旺。木炁凋零，土星堅壯。小兒遇此，所以保養。中年行限，財物亦昌。若遇火羅，福壽愈長。

The verse says: among the twelve palaces all carry sha-spirits, and the array of the sha-spirits is in fact quite clear; one must know that the month-establishments of the birth-month have the strong and the weak, and the same sha in different months is inauspicious or auspicious, each obtaining its even. Below, please hear the distinctions palace by palace. For instance, establishing destiny in the Zi palace: the Zi palace belongs to Water and takes Earth as palace-governor; some, seeing Jupiter and Purple Vapour, judge it inauspicious; some, seeing Wood and Vapour, yet do not die young—how should one judge? Answer: if born in the summer season, Earth's mother-star is Fire; Mars and Rahu are precisely riding prosperous qi, and are certain to be able to generate Earth; if the mother-star occupies a strong position, how can Wood and Vapour still work misfortune? If born in the spring season, Wood and Vapour are high and strong; if at this time there is no Venus and Rahu to restrain them, they are certain to injure the destiny-governor Earth; if the Body palace further meets Water and Yuebo, that is truly not good. If born in an autumn month, Venus is in command and obtains the time, Earth's qi is also not thick, Wood and Vapour are overcome by Metal and have a deficit, and even if there is disaster it will not come to deep peril. If born in the winter season, Water and Earth are both prosperous, Wood and Vapour withered and Saturn sturdy; a child meeting this pattern is on the contrary easy to keep; in middle years, travelling the limit, goods also flourish; if further Mars and Rahu come to generate Earth, fortune and the span of years are still longer.

假如丑上安命，以土為主，何以斷之？丑宮所論與子無異。春夏秋冬，皆如其理。只論官星，太白得地。趕退餘奴，無有不是。便看陰陽，斷其終始。又怕寅亥，身逢土計。假如寅宮安命，何以斷之？若生春令有木無金。若生秋令，有金無木。三方暗加，土計是煞。夏令炎炎，子母相生。秋令見炁，炁反為榮。冬令見金，煞星躔身。若見太陽，反煞為榮。金水高強，必主富貴。孛炁高強，刑剋有畏。遇月虛名，品官不正。可以詳觀，不可例斷。

For instance, establishing destiny in the Chou palace, which also takes Earth as palace-governor—how should one judge? Answer: what is discussed for the Chou palace does not differ from the Zi palace; the principle of the four seasons, spring, summer, autumn and winter, is all the same. Only in discussing the Officer star, Chou is Metal's store, and Taibai, that is Venus, obtains ground here; driving back the surplus servant-stars, there is nothing that is not fitting. Then further see whether yin and yang have obtained their due place, to judge this destiny's beginning and end. Besides this one also fears the Destiny palace at Yin or Hai while the Body palace meets Saturn and Ketu. Asked further: establishing destiny in the Yin palace—how should one judge? Answer: if born in the spring season, one sees only Wood, not Metal; if born in the autumn season, only Metal, not Wood. When the positions of the three directions alight in secret, Saturn and Ketu are then the sha. In the summer season Fire qi blazes; Wood generates Fire, Fire generates Earth, mother and child generating one another. In the autumn season, seeing Purple Vapour, the Vapour on the contrary becomes an image of glory. In the winter season, seeing Metal, the sha-star then falls on the person. If one meets the Sun, one can on the contrary transform the sha into glory. Venus and Mercury high and strong are certain to govern wealth and nobility; Yuebo and Purple Vapour high and strong have punishable overcoming that is to be feared. If one meets the Moon, it is only an empty name, and the official rank is also not upright. These may be observed in detail, and must not be applied as a single rule.

假如亥宮與寅宮參酌，以何辨別？若論亥宮，寅宮頗同。限逢金炁，皆斷為凶。又怕火克，占克重重。夜計與炁，十死九生。三方吉曜，返本還元。假如卯上安命，或見水孛而夭，或見水孛不夭，何斷？若逢夏令，火星乘旺。水孛相攻，本身堅壯。若逢秋令，母星黨子，縱有吉星，不破即死。更逢春令，母星有力。縱遇凶神，不能損失。忽在冬天，水土俱強，生子潔淨，安能有傷？須分晝夜，仔細推詳。

Question: the Hai palace must be weighed against the Yin palace—by what does one distinguish? Answer: in discussing the Hai palace it is in the main the same as the Yin palace; both palaces take Wood as governor. A travelling limit that meets Venus and Purple Vapour is in both cases judged inauspicious; one also fears Fire coming to overcome, overcoming layer upon layer. One born at night who further meets Ketu and Purple Vapour: nine in ten are hard to keep alive. Only if the three directions have auspicious radiances illuminating can one return to the original root and restore the primordial qi. Asked further: establishing destiny in the Mao palace, some who see Water and Yuebo die young, some who see Water and Yuebo do not—how does one judge? Answer: if born in the summer season, Mars rides prosperity; even if Water and Yuebo come to attack, the self is still firm and strong. If born in the autumn season, the mother-star Metal and its child Water form one party, the force of Water too abundant; even if there are auspicious stars, if wealth is not broken one will lose one's life. If born in the spring season, the mother-star has force, and even meeting an inauspicious spirit one cannot be damaged. If it is precisely winter, Water and Earth are both strong, the mother generating the child and the child clean and pure—how would one suffer injury? Besides this one must still tell whether one was born by day or by night, and press the matter carefully.

假如戌宮安命，與卯宮何強何弱？戌宮火庫，本是強宮。水孛相攻，秋令甚凶。若見日月，木炁相同。更遇旺神，神更昌隆。餘月遇鬼，與卯宮通。攢聚眾煞，反榮受傷。亦當一發，發成便亡。

Question: establishing destiny in the Xu palace, compared with the Mao palace, which is strong and which weak? Answer: the Xu palace is Fire's store-ground, and is of itself a strong palace. If Water and Yuebo come forward to attack and overcome, especially in the autumn season, the peril is heavy. If one sees the Sun and the Moon, then the action of Jupiter and Purple Vapour is the same as theirs, all able to generate Fire and assist the destiny; meeting further a spirit that is due and prosperous, the atmosphere is still more flourishing. In the remaining months, if one meets a "ghost," that is a star that overcomes me, the case communicates with the Mao palace. If the many sha gather, what was originally glorious is on the contrary injured; such a destiny ought also to flourish once, yet just as it begins to flourish the person dies.

假如辰上安命，或見火羅而夭，或見火羅不死，何斷？辰垣以金，度有軫角。雖忌火羅，亦分強弱。軫度水局，計孛為殃。角道屬木，見火必亡。亢金堅剛，秋不忌火。劃度忌羅，四時皆禍。若逢夏令火爍亢金，灰飛煙滅，角木不禁。若逢春令，角度平穩。若逢冬令，軫度無損。若遇火羅，皆不危困。依此辨別，吉凶有準。

Question: establishing destiny in the Chen palace, some who see Mars and Rahu die young, some who see Mars and Rahu do not die—how does one judge? Answer: the Chen enclosure takes Metal as governor; the lodge-degrees within the palace are Zhen and Jiao. Though Fire and Rahu are abhorred, one must still distinguish their strength and weakness. The lodge Zhen belongs to Water, and with Shen-Zi-Chen assembles a Water configuration; here Ketu and Yuebo are the disaster. The way of the lodge Jiao belongs to Wood; Wood seeing Fire is burned out, and one is certain to perish. The lodge Kang belongs to Metal and is hard and strong; in autumn Metal is prosperous and does not fear Fire. As for the several degrees of the boundary, Rahu is in all cases abhorred, and in all four seasons becomes calamity. If born in the summer season, Fire smelts Kang Metal to flying ash and vanishing smoke, and the Wood of the lodge Jiao still less can bear it. If born in the spring season, the degrees of the lodge Jiao are on the contrary level and steady. If born in the winter season, the degrees of the lodge Zhen suffer no damage. In these two cases, even meeting Fire and Rahu, one will not come to peril and distress. Distinguishing by this method, good and ill have a sure mark.

假如酉宮安命，與辰宮何以分別？酉為西垣，太白本地。若逢秋令，火羅不忌。若逢夏令，見火不利。春冬平平，水孛洩氣。四季土旺，金神所喜。限行官祿，恩鄉得意。齊地貴人，稱遂無比。辰宮官祿，與酉不同。太陰為主，夜生則榮。加盤俱換，須要研窮。

Question: establishing destiny in the You palace, how is it distinguished from the Chen palace? Answer: You is the western enclosure, precisely the home position of Taibai, Venus. If born in the autumn season, Metal is prosperous and holds power, and does not fear Mars and Rahu; if born in the summer season, Fire is prosperous and overcomes Metal, and seeing Fire is then not favourable. Spring and winter are ordinary, because Water and Yuebo will leak away Metal's qi. In the four seasonal months of Chen, Xu, Chou and Wei, Earth is prosperous and generates Metal, which is precisely what the Metal spirit likes. A travelling limit that walks to the palace of Office and Emolument, which is moreover a region where the Favour Star resides, means things go as one wishes; meeting further the Noble of the land of Qi, that is the You quarter, one is successful beyond compare. As for the Office and Emolument of the Chen palace, it differs from the You palace: the Chen palace takes the Moon as governor, and only one born at night is glorious. After the heavenly plate has alighted, all the palaces have changed position; this layer must be studied and exhausted with care.

假如巳宮安命，或見土而死，或見土不死，何斷？若逢夏令，當云以火。土必得時，安能克我。若逢秋令，得金為母。土能生金，金能生水。若遇春令，得木為鬼。克戰餘奴，不能克水。若逢冬令，土旺水旺。不能相傷，本身皆壯。若知四季，水無所望。仔細推詳，依經勿忘。假如申上安命，與巳宮何以別之？申宮水局，巳宮一般。四季如前，十分細觀。

Question: establishing destiny in the Si palace, some who see Saturn die, some who see Saturn do not die—how does one judge? Answer: the Si palace belongs to Water; if born in the summer season, one must speak from Fire: Fire generates Earth, Earth obtains the time and is prosperous in summer, yet it is busy receiving Fire's qi—how would it still come to overcome this Water of mine? If born in the autumn season, Metal is Water's mother: Earth can generate Metal, Metal can again generate Water, and Earth on the contrary becomes a helper. If born in the spring season, Wood is generated by Water and can overcome Earth; Wood here acts as "ghost," going to war with the surplus servant-stars, and Earth then has no hand free to overcome Water. If born in the winter season, Earth is prosperous and Water also prosperous; the two cannot injure each other, and each is strong. As for the four seasonal months of Chen, Xu, Chou and Wei, Earth is most in command, and Water then has nothing to hope for. All this must be pressed with care, following the classic, and must not be forgotten. Asked further: establishing destiny in the Shen palace, how is it distinguished from the Si palace? Answer: the Shen palace is the head of the Shen-Zi-Chen Water configuration, and is in the main the same as the Si palace; the method of inference for the four seasons is as stated above, and one need only observe with the greatest care.

假如午未上安命屬日月，若見眾星，何以斷之？午未二宮，乃屬日月。羅計朔望，遇此為蝕。若非朔望，為我奴僕，反凶為吉。甚是獲福。若遇紫炁，刑傷孤獨。若不傷財，重重白服。四餘作黨，傷官敗祿。

Question: establishing destiny in the Wu palace and the Wei palace, these two palaces belonging respectively to the Sun and the Moon, if one further sees the many stars, how should one judge? Answer: the two palaces Wu and Wei are precisely the home positions of the Sun and Moon. If Rahu and Ketu alight here on a new-moon or full-moon day, they form the image of a solar or lunar eclipse, and govern the inauspicious. If it is not at the time of new moon or full moon, Rahu and Ketu on the contrary become my servants and are driven by me; the inauspicious turns to the auspicious, and the fortune obtained is still thick. If one meets Purple Vapour, it governs punishable injury and solitude; even if wealth is not broken, one must repeatedly wear white mourning, that is, the house repeatedly has deaths. If the four remainders Rahu, Ketu, Purple Vapour and Yuebo form one party, they will injure the Officer star and ruin the qi of emolument.