Three Sides and Four Squares: How to Read San Fang Si Zheng

You only need the branch trines: Shen Zi Chen, Hai Mao Wei, Yin Wu Xu and Si You Chou. The three branches in each group sit four steps apart, and that is the trine. Add the branch six steps away, directly opposite (Zi and Wu, Chou and Wei, Yin and Shen, Mao and You, Chen and Xu, Si and Hai clash in pairs), and that is the opposite palace. A palace in Zi, for example, has its trine in Shen and Chen and its opposite in Wu, so its four palaces are Zi, Shen, Chen and Wu.

Palace names are even easier. Counting the palace itself as the first, the fifth and ninth palaces are its trines and the seventh is opposite, so the Life Palace's set is the Wealth Palace, the Career Palace and the Travel Palace opposite. The twelve palaces form four triangles: Life, Wealth and Career; Siblings, Health and Property; Spouse, Travel and Fortune; Children, Friends and Parents. The first triangle faces the third, and the second faces the fourth. Each palace's set is its own triangle plus the palace facing it in the opposite triangle.

The four palaces do not count equally. The palace itself is the subject: its stars, their brightness and any transformations set the keynote. The opposite palace comes next, shining straight in with influence only a little weaker, and it is the source of borrowed stars when the palace is empty. The two trine palaces come last, offering support or restraint. Think of them as background music: quieter, but considerable once it adds up.

Beyond the four, also look at the two palaces on either side, the flanking palaces. They are not part of the set, but they press right up against the palace. A matched pair of auspicious stars on either side, such as Zuo Fu and You Bi, Wen Chang and Wen Qu, or Tian Kui and Tian Yue, makes a helpful flank; Qing Yang and Tuo Luo, or Huo Xing and Ling Xing, make a malefic flank whose pressure often feels more direct than malefics in the trine. Lu Cun always has Qing Yang on one side and Tuo Luo on the other, so the palace holding Lu Cun is always flanked by them.

Suppose the Life Palace is in Yin with Zi Wei and Tian Fu, and the person was born in a Jia (甲) year. Step one, the palace itself: Zi Wei is Wang in Yin and Tian Fu Miao, together steady and opinionated, attentive to status and security. Step two, the opposite Travel Palace in Shen holds a Miao Qi Sha, so a strong push outward shines in from across the chart. This is no mere caretaker; the drive to make a mark away from home is real.

Step three, the trine: the Wealth Palace in Xu holds a Miao Wu Qu, strong earning power; the Career Palace in Wu holds Lian Zhen (Ping) and Tian Xiang (Miao), suited to management or professional work inside a system. Step four, the transformations: in a Jia year Lian Zhen takes Hua Lu in the Career Palace and Wu Qu takes Hua Ke in the Wealth Palace, so both enter the Life Palace's set. Po Jun's Hua Quan in the Spouse Palace and Tai Yang's Hua Ji in the Children Palace sit outside it and are read separately.

Last, the flanks. In a Jia year Lu Cun sits in Yin, right in the Life Palace, with Qing Yang in Mao and Tuo Luo in Chou on either side, so the Life Palace is flanked by the pair. That suggests secure resources but pressure from the people closest to you, and decisions that can feel hemmed in. Step by step, the four palaces and their two neighbours add up to a full outline of the chart.