Zi Wei Dou Shu Major Stars: All 14 Stars Explained

Daoist star lore sorts the major stars into three sets. The Northern Dipper has Zi Wei as its lord, with Tan Lang first, Ju Men second, Lian Zhen fifth, Wu Qu sixth and Po Jun seventh; the third and fourth places belong to Lu Cun and Wen Qu, which are not major stars. The Southern Dipper is led by Tian Fu, with Tian Liang second, Tian Ji third, Tian Tong fourth, Tian Xiang fifth and Qi Sha sixth.

Tai Yang and Tai Yin, the sun and the moon, are the central stars, and their brightness follows day and night. Tai Yang shines in the daytime branches from Yin to Wu and dims in Xu, Hai, Zi and Chou; Tai Yin is brightest in the night branches from You round to Yin and fallen in Mao, Chen and Si. Dipper labels help you grasp star nature, but readings still rest on palace, brightness and transformations.

In the common table of the Complete Book, the ten stems produce 40 transformations, shared among eleven major stars plus Wen Chang, Wen Qu, Zuo Fu and You Bi. Tian Fu, Tian Xiang and Qi Sha never take Hua Lu, Hua Quan, Hua Ke or Hua Ji. Explanations vary; a common one is that Tian Fu is a treasury that keeps, Tian Xiang a seal that mirrors its neighbours, and Qi Sha a general who relies on its own force. A few old editions put Tian Fu or Tian Xiang into the Geng or Ren row; ezfate follows the common table.

The rest are not shared evenly either. Tian Ji and Wu Qu take all four. Tai Yin takes the most: Hua Lu, Hua Quan and Hua Ji once each and Hua Ke twice, in Geng and Gui years. Zi Wei takes only Hua Quan and Hua Ke, and Tian Liang and Po Jun never take Hua Ji. Of the ten Hua Ji, eight go to major stars and the other two to Wen Qu and Wen Chang.

Stars that never transform are still moved by transformations. Tian Xiang always sits between Ju Men and Tian Liang: Hua Lu or Lu Cun on one side with Tian Liang on the other is called wealth and shelter flanking the seal, while Qing Yang and Hua Ji on the two sides is punishment and Ji flanking the seal. Tian Fu always faces Qi Sha and likes a Lu star in its trine to fill the treasury; with Di Kong or Di Jie it is called an empty vault. Qi Sha shares a palace with Lian Zhen in Chou or Wei, Wu Qu in Mao or You and Zi Wei in Si or Hai, and their Hua Lu or Hua Ji redirects it.

Besides the major stars, fourteen minor stars come up in almost every reading. The six auspicious stars work in pairs: Wen Chang and Wen Qu for talent and exams, placed by birth hour; Zuo Fu and You Bi for help from peers, placed by birth month; Tian Kui and Tian Yue for benefactors, placed by year stem. A pair works best complete, so Zuo Fu and You Bi both in the Life Palace's trine make support easier to find.

The six malefic stars are Qing Yang and Tuo Luo, which flank Lu Cun and bring friction and delay; Huo Xing and Ling Xing, placed by year branch and hour, which bring haste and sudden events; and Di Kong and Di Jie, placed by hour, which bring loss and the unexpected. Rather than trying to cancel them, treat their palace as the one that needs more care; sometimes they add drive, as when Tan Lang meets Huo Xing. Lu Cun brings steady income and Tian Ma movement, and the two together mean wealth that comes through travel.