Wu Qu and its three lines to wealth

A star whose opposite palaces match

Wu Qu (武曲) is the fourth star of the Zi Wei sequence, always four places before Zi Wei. In Zi Wei Dou Shu Quan Shu (紫微斗數全書), the juan 2 table grades it in pairs of opposite branches, as it does Tian Ji, so twelve positions make six rows.

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Ring sketch: colors follow the grades of the juan 2 Miao/Wang table, which iztro 2.6.0 matches on these twelve cells; opposite positions share a grade.

On the ring, Ox, Dragon, Goat and Dog are Miao (廟), Rat and Horse Wang (旺), Tiger and Monkey De (得地), Rabbit and Rooster Li (利益), Snake and Pig Ping (平和). Except for Dragon and Dog, every pair carries one fixed co-resident:

On these twelve cells the iztro 2.6.0 data matches the book, and it also records Wu Qu as Metal and Yin. The "idle palace" list in juan 2 names Wu Qu at one position only, Monkey, which the table grades De.

The three lines the book draws to wealth

Master Xiyi opens his passage on Wu Qu in juan 1 with this sentence:

Wu Qu is Metal: in the heavens it governs lifespan, in the reckoning it governs wealth.

The other two threads follow immediately:

It trades authority with Tai Yin; Tian Fu and Tian Xiang are its deputies; the Wealth and Property palaces are the places it is charged with.

Taken together there are three lines. The first is the palace pairing: the juan 2 roll of star elements writes "Wu Qu is Metal, Northern Dipper, turns into wealth, ruler of the Wealth palace", and juan 1 calls it the sixth star of the Northern Dipper (北斗). The second is partners: Tian Fu and Tian Xiang are its deputies. The third is trading authority: Tai Yin is named beside it. The topic of wealth does not belong to Wu Qu alone, since the same roll writes Tian Fu and Tai Yin as rulers of Wealth and Property.

Partners: Tian Fu and Tian Xiang appear on four positions only

"Deputy stars" can be tested by position. Tian Fu shares Wu Qu's palace only on Rat and Horse, and Tian Xiang only on Tiger and Monkey; elsewhere Wu Qu's co-resident is Tan Lang, Qi Sha, Po Jun, or nobody.

The other three partners have their own entries in the book, which we leave aside. All to remember is that "Wu Qu with Tian Fu and Tian Xiang to help" refers to those four positions, and not to every chart.

Trading authority and the Wealth palace, tested by position

Juan 3 has one more sentence tied to the Wealth palace:

Take the Wealth palace meeting Wu Qu or meeting Tai Yin.

The two stars stand in an "or" relationship here: seeing either one in the Wealth palace suffices. "Trading authority" is often read as the two stars having to meet, and one calculation settles that.

Working through all twelve landing points, the gap between Wu Qu and Tai Yin is always odd. Same palace is a gap of zero, opposite is six, a trine is four or eight, all even, so the two stars are never in each other's three-sides-four-directions. "Trading authority" rests on the book pairing them, not on the chart always showing them to each other.

The palace pairing can be worked out as well: the Wealth palace is four places before the Life palace, and Wu Qu is four places before Zi Wei. When Zi Wei sits in the Life palace the two fours coincide and Wu Qu must fall in the Wealth palace, a direct result of the two placement rules.

"Wu Qu meeting Lian Zhen": a demonstration of restraint

When juan 2 discusses how stars generate and restrain one another, it uses Wu Qu as the example:

If Wu Qu, a Metal star, shares a degree with Lian Zhen, then Wu Qu, though it is wealth, is of no use.

Right after it the book lists the pairs of elements that restrain: Metal entering the Fire quarter, Fire entering Water, Water entering Earth, Earth entering Wood. Wu Qu is Metal, Lian Zhen is Fire, and Fire restrains Metal, so in the example Wu Qu is "wealth, yet of no use".

By the placement rules of the site engine, Wu Qu is four places before Zi Wei and Lian Zhen eight places before it, so they always stand four places apart in a trine and never share a palace. The sentence therefore reads more like an illustration of "Metal in the Fire quarter" than a description of an actual pairing; take the principle of restraint from it, and do not hunt a chart for this pair in one palace.

1. 1

   Look up by opposite pairs

   Wu Qu has six rows; once you hold one row, the opposite position's grade is known too.

2. 2

   Test named partners with the co-resident table

   Tian Fu only on Rat and Horse, Tian Xiang only on Tiger and Monkey; for any other partner consult the table instead of memory.

3. 3

   On "trading authority" or "sharing a degree", count the gap first

   Subtract the branches: zero is the same palace, six opposite, four or eight a trine, and an odd number none of these.

How the Wealth palace and the other eleven topics divide up is in the twelve palaces of Zi Wei, and how opposite and trine positions are found is in three sides, four directions. Before Wu Qu comes Tai Yang and after it Tian Tong.