Eight Grids: Favorable and Unfavorable Factors (1) The Official Officer Grid

First, I'll talk about the Zheng Guan (Regular Officer) Pattern. It belongs to the first pattern among those used in a proper and harmonious way.

When it comes to the structure of the Bazi (Eight Characters in Chinese astrology), we distinguish between strength and weakness, and between favorable and unfavorable elements, and talk about the "useful god". These three words represent the most mainstream knowledge in the study of Bazi. What is the "useful god"? It refers to the favorable element. For example, the "Direct Officer" structure itself is the "useful god", and the "useful god" should not be damaged. Therefore, the first thing to be avoided in the "Direct Officer" structure is the "Hurting Officer". This is an old - fashioned saying: "When the Hurting Officer meets the Direct Officer, countless disasters will occur." For those with the "Hurting Officer" in the "Direct Officer" structure, their ideals and actions will bring trouble to themselves. Even if they can achieve an official position, they will still encounter many troublesome things. So, the first thing to avoid is the "Hurting Officer".

The second taboo is the combination of the official and the seven-kill. In a woman's Bazi (natal chart), the combination of the official and the seven-kill is most taboo. However, it's different for men and women. The reason why a woman's Bazi should avoid the combination of the official and the seven-kill is related to the husband star, including the obvious and hidden husband stars. For men, the combination of the official and the seven-kill is taboo because it may overly restrain the day master. Both the proper official and the seven-kill can restrain the day master. When the official and the seven-kill appear together in the Heavenly Stems, they will overly restrain the day master. What will happen then? The person will be timid! They are afraid of the wind at the bow and the ghost at the stern, and are easily bullied. Not to mention having no opportunities, even when there are opportunities, they are very timid and don't like taking risks. Since the theory of Bazi basically focuses on glory, wealth and honor, to put it bluntly, it's better to have bad luck while pursuing glory and wealth than to live a peaceful but unremarkable life. This is its basic theory. As for personal choices, it depends on one's basic personality. So, when the official and the seven-kill appear together in the Heavenly Stems, the person will be extremely timid and dare not make any decisions. How can they do things then! Before starting a business, they worry about losing money. They are full of pessimistic thoughts everywhere. Therefore, the combination of the official and the seven-kill should be avoided.

What is the third thing the proper official is afraid of? It is afraid of the proper official being involved in combinations, that is, the five combinations in the Heavenly Stems: the combination of Jia and Ji, Yi and Geng, Bing and Xin, Ding and Ren, Wu and Gui. Well, when the pattern of the proper official involves combinations, the power and authority cannot be independent. I'm an official and have power. I should be able to do whatever I want! If I can't make decisions on anything, then what's the value of it? This official position won't lead to great achievements! So when the proper official is involved in combinations, power cannot be concentrated. Everyone, don't try to figure out the principles of fate based on your own birth charts. You may not want to be an official, but there are quite a few people who do. For example, those who run for the position of county magistrate. Once they are elected as county magistrates, they definitely hope to become mayors. Therefore, the proper official should not be involved in combinations. Not to mention the position of township head, even for a section chief, you can't let others share your power! Once it involves combinations, you'll have no power and just hold an empty position.

Fourth, the Direct Officer should not be clashed, and the structure should not be clashed. Remember when I talked about punishments, clashes, combinations, and congregations before, I mentioned that if there is a clash between the year and the month pillars, it only lasts for thirty years. After the age of thirty, the clash stops. If there is a clash among the Ten Gods and the Direct Officer is clashed, it clashes with the husband of a female's chart. If the structure is clashed, it's different. Once you clash the structure, it affects your career. As long as you are engaged in a career, you will face clashes! People with the Direct Officer structure and a clash in their charts will have a lifetime full of trivialities, disputes, and troubles arising from within. I know a police chief. When a problem occurred with the head of a police station under his command, he lost his position, even though it had nothing to do with him! There are many inside stories that I don't know. For example, if you have a fixed business operation of three million and happen to encounter a large-scale parade or something, it's simply not enough. Once you face a clash, you'll always come across those very troublesome things.

There is also a fifth point. The Day Master cannot be weak. In the Bazi (Eight Characters), the Day Master must have a root. If there is no root, it's like sitting on a seat you don't want to sit on. So, in the pattern of favorable use, there are five favorable conditions and five unfavorable conditions. For example, it is favorable if there is no Hurting Officer, and unfavorable if there is a Hurting Officer; it is favorable if the Officer is not clashed, and unfavorable if the Officer is clashed. Therefore, when it comes to the favorable and unfavorable factors in fate, even if it's the same pattern of the Proper Officer, and the Day Master and the Officer are in balance, once there is a clash or a combination, the situation will be different. So, I've heard some people in official positions tell me that their personalities are not suitable for being officials at all. It's just because there are too many clashes and combinations. There's nothing they can do. Even if their fate shows the pattern of the Proper Officer, they still have to be officials. Well, these are the five basic conditions for the pattern of the Proper Officer. Now, what we're talking about is the theory of fate, just armchair speculation. We need to think carefully about every aspect. But does thinking carefully mean you can tell fortunes? Well, that depends on experience. Based on what I just said, for the pattern of the Proper Officer, there should be no Hurting Officer, no confusion between the Officer and the Seven Killings, no combination of the Officer, no clash, and the Day Master should be strong. Where can you find such a pattern of the Proper Officer? There is simply none. This is the standard version.

If it is originally a Proper Officer pattern and there is also an Hurting Officer, or there are clashes and combinations, there is a problem! So, having problems in one's destiny makes one noble. Just cure the problem, and it'll be fine! It's like mining. It's impossible to directly dig out gold. There's a large amount of ore, which needs to be slowly smelted. It's the same with the Eight Characters. If there are inauspicious elements and problems, what should we do? Rely on the Major Luck Cycle and the Annual Luck to get rid of or combine away the bad things, and then it'll be okay! So, previously when we talked about the Eight Characters, the Major Luck Cycle, and the Annual Luck from a negative perspective, if you have a very good Proper Officer pattern, but an Hurting Officer comes to clash with it and ruins it. Conversely, it can also work. When there is an encounter between the Hurting Officer and the Proper Officer, if the Major Luck Cycle combines away the Hurting Officer, the obvious bad thing disappears, and it'll be ten years of good luck! This is a matter of details. If there is a problem, what should we do? Just look for the remedy! So, this emphasis on the "problem" and the "remedy" belongs to the aspect of the Useful God. When I explain further, if you can't memorize the generation and restraint relationships among the Ten Gods, it'll be a bit troublesome. But if you can, it'll be very easy.

First: When the Direct Official encounters the Hurting Officer, the Hurting Officer is the problem. The solution is to get rid of the Hurting Officer. Another way is when the Luck Pillar moves into the Wealth Luck. This "wealth" here doesn't refer to banknotes but one of the Ten Gods! The Hurting Officer generates Wealth, and Wealth generates the Direct Official. The Hurting Officer will then generate the Wealth, and the Wealth in turn generates the Direct Official. In this way, the Hurting Officer is dealt with. This is called the Mediation Useful God. The Mediation Useful God emphasizes reconciliation. For example, if I'm at odds with someone, what should I do? Find someone we both know, invite him to dinner, and make peace through him. So when the Direct Official in the Bazi encounters the Hurting Officer, one should enter the Wealth Luck. Of course, this "wealth" also refers to money. The main idea is that the Hurting Officer generates Wealth, and Wealth generates the Direct Official. During this Luck Pillar period, it's no longer the case of the Hurting Officer meeting the Direct Official! Then what if there is no Wealth? Another method - use the Seal. The Direct Official generates the Seal, and the Seal restrains the Hurting Officer. Just like in normal life when making friends, if I'm on bad terms with you and I can't find someone to mediate, what should I do? I'll find someone more powerful than you to suppress you. This is called the Remedy Useful God. Of course, it's better to use the Mediation Useful God. So there are two ways to deal with the situation of the Hurting Officer meeting the Direct Official. One is to use Wealth for mediation, which is the Mediation Useful God. The other is to use the Direct Official to generate the Seal and the Seal to restrain the Hurting Officer, which is the Remedy Useful God. In this way, the problem of the Hurting Officer is resolved.

Second, what should be done when there is a combination of official and killing stars? This is quite similar to the situation of a female's fate. Just combine the killing star and keep the official star! For Jia, Xin is the proper official star and Geng is the seven-killing star. Yi and Geng combine. When the major fortune cycle reaches the Yi cycle, it combines with Geng and takes it away. Isn't that all right! I'll use a very inappropriate analogy. If you're walking on the street with one girlfriend and happen to meet another one on the way, what should you do? Never mind what to do, just get rid of one of them! This analogy is really inappropriate! Just combine the killing star and keep the official star. Combine the seven-killing star away and it'll be okay. Well, there are always solutions in fortune-telling. There is no such thing as a naturally good fate. If the eight characters of one's birth date are strange, it depends on whether there is exactly such a ten-deity in the major fortune cycle or the annual luck cycle to get rid of the bad ones. Conversely, if you don't have the hurting officer star or the seven-killing star originally, but during two fortune cycles, one has the hurting officer star and the other has the seven-killing star, won't you just mess things up for yourself!

Third, an official should not form a combination (with others). This rule is not that strict. When an official forms a combination, it means your power is taken away by others. Well, I'll take a step back and say that even if we have no power, it's okay to be a county magistrate. We can hand over the power to others and just hold the title. So, forming a combination is not a serious matter, unless you are a very ambitious person.

Fourth, when the official is in conflict, it has to rely on combination. For example, when Jia meets Xin as the proper official, and Ding restrains Xin, which means the proper official is in conflict. Then, isn't it okay to get rid of Ding? Who can combine with Ding? Ding and Ren combine. If there is a Ren in the grand luck to combine with Ding, then it's fine. If the heavenly stem representing the day master has no root, it's okay if there is a root in the grand luck.

So this is about the theory of fate. Do you have this stage of fortune? Do you have bad luck or good luck? In theory, when it comes to real fortune - telling, we are now entering the realm of the theory of fate! I've mentioned three cases. Those mentioned earlier were all people in official positions. Although there was the situation of "the revealing of the Seven Kills (a negative element in the Four Pillars) when there is an Officer (a positive element)", which means they couldn't hold the official position, it doesn't necessarily mean they have no money. Whether they have money or not still depends on the Wealth element in the Four Pillars. Although their pattern is the "Regular Officer Pattern", if there is no Wealth element in the Four Pillars, holding an official position doesn't make much sense. An honest official without support, without the Wealth element, is just like a poor and lonely official, sitting on a cold bench and unable to get what he wants. If there is the situation of "the revealing of the Seven Kills when there is an Officer", there will be endless troubles. However, if there is the Wealth element, despite the troubles, there will still be money.

So what exactly happened to the injured? We need to conduct further research to find out.

The first one. There are always troubles at work, and that's still the minor issue!

Second, if there's an error, you'll lose your job. Well, let me explain it in a bit more detail. For example, in the case of the Zheng Guan (True Officer) pattern but with the conflict of the Shang Guan (Hurting Officer) and the Officer, from the age of 30 to 40, you'll lose your job. After the age of 40, if the major fortune cycle no longer has the influence of the Shang Guan, you can still come back. So, it depends on the time period. If you lose your job when you're in your fifties or sixties, you won't be able to get it back. The most serious situation is troublesome. If there's not only the conflict of the Shang Guan and the Officer but also the Three Punishments and the Six Clashes, you might even end up in jail! It's a matter of degree, and there are still details to consider.

In terms of the standard usage of the "Regular Official Pattern" alone, it's as follows. There should be no "Injuring Officer" element, the official element should not be combined, there should be no "Seven Killings" element, and there should be no clashes or punishments. The Day Master should mainly have roots. If these rules are violated, the "Illness-Curing Useful God", the "Intermediary Useful God", and the methods of combination and restraint should be used for handling. What exactly will happen depends on which major luck period you are in. Is there any punishment, clash, combination, or conjunction? If not, it's just about matters related to positions. If there are such factors, the situation can range from minor to major. This is the first pattern among those I've mentioned.

Actually, for the eight patterns, as long as you thoroughly understand the Pattern of the Direct Officer, you'll get the hang of it. They're all the same, just with a few words changed. Well, this is the proper application of patterns, which is from *The True Interpretation of Zi Ping* written by Shen Xiaozhan. Well, when it comes to studying the positioning of the Ten Gods, you don't need to buy a lot of books. If you really want to study fortune - telling, you need at least five books: The first one is *The True Interpretation of Zi Ping*, the second one is *San Ming Tong Hui*, the third one is *Yuan Hai Zi Sui*, the fourth one is *Shen Feng Tong Kao*, and the fifth one is *Yuan Hai Zi Ping*. These five books are the most important ones in fortune - telling. You should carefully ponder over the Pattern of the Direct Officer when you get back. Previously, when we talked about the generation and restraint of the Ten Gods, we were referring to the Six Relatives. Now, we're talking about patterns. The Direct Officer represents a teacher. Once the Pattern of the Direct Officer is formed, it has nothing to do with a teacher.

What was just mentioned about the Zhengguan (Direct Officer) pattern was based on the most standard one, that is, the Direct Officer is both revealed in the heavenly stem and hidden in the earthly branch. There is a Direct Officer in the heavenly stem of the monthly pillar and a Direct Officer in the earthly branch of the monthly pillar. Well, apart from good and bad fortune, this Zhengguan pattern also has a time limit. Before the age of thirty, if we talk about it in the present context, it doesn't have much use. What kind of official position can you hold at the age of thirty? In the Qing Dynasty, one could pass the imperial examination in their twenties, which was a sign of early success! It was really great. Having the root represents its timeliness. If there is a Direct Officer in the earthly branch of the monthly pillar and it is revealed in the heavenly stem of the hourly pillar, it is also a Zhengguan pattern. Then its timeliness starts from the twenties and lasts until around the fifties. For this kind of Zhengguan pattern, whether it brings glory, wealth and honor or bad luck, it's all part of the process. Its timeliness allows one to experience it from their twenties until the age of fifty, which is quite normal.

Then, in addition to talking about your wealth and honor, I also need to talk about the duration of your fortune, which is directly related to it. Suppose the heavenly stem of the day pillar sits on the proper official star, and the proper official star in the earthly branch of the day pillar appears at the heavenly stem of the hour pillar. It is still a proper official pattern, but the timing is different. This person will not hold an official position until after his thirties and will hold it until his fifties. Well, when I talk about this "official", it doesn't entirely refer to a county magistrate. In the Qing Dynasty, the distinction between officials and clerks was more strict. Generally speaking, most people were clerks. For example, private secretaries were all clerks. Maybe this person has always been a civil servant and will not be promoted to a senior supervisor until his thirties. Then, on the contrary, if there is a proper official star at the heavenly stem of the year pillar, where are its roots? There are roots in the earthly branch of the month pillar and the earthly branch of the hour pillar, that is, there are two roots. This kind of interpretation should follow common sense.

I often mention when determining the ten gods that when discussing fate theory, it must conform to common sense. If there is a positive official star in the year pillar, it doesn't mean you'll be an official because you're still young! If its root penetrates to the monthly branch or the hourly branch, the source of your official position is related to your family. If its root penetrates to the monthly branch and you're in your twenties, although your official position is related to your family, when it penetrates to the hourly branch, you won't be affected by your family during the period of the monthly order. You can do things on your own. As for the positive official star in the hourly branch, it's still related to your family members. Well, from a good perspective, you'll hold an official position for a long time! From a bad perspective, you can't retire! For any pattern whose root penetrates to the hourly branch, one can't retire. It doesn't mean you can't retire formally. Civil servants have a retirement age and have to retire. But for a pattern whose root penetrates to the hourly branch, even if you don't need to go to work, you'll still have things to take care of. This is the issue of the penetrating root.

There is also one root, two roots, three roots, and four roots. The earthly branches of the year, month, day, and hour all have roots. This is called multiple roots. There is a proper official in the heavenly stems, and there are proper officials in all four earthly branches. In the theory of the five - element in fortune - telling, it emphasizes the doctrine of the mean. There should be neither too much nor too little, nor too extreme. Two proper officials are enough, and three are too many. The so - called saying goes that too many officials do not bring honor, and too much wealth does not bring prosperity. I've also met some people who know every official, but can't get anything done. When you ask them about whom to invite, they can talk eloquently, just because they know too many officials. If a person has four officials in the earthly branches, it means that he is very good at socializing and knows everyone, but can't handle things. What if all the proper officials are in the heavenly stems? Then everyone can see and know that he has connections with officials, but still, he can't get things done.

Well, let me give you an example. There's a person who was a classmate of Sun Yat-sen. Do you think he had the ability? Generally, people would think he surely did, but actually, that's not necessarily the case. Because he just put on a show, and people thought he had the ability, but in fact, he didn't. So, in terms of the overall situation, apart from distinguishing between the "illness" and the "remedy", we also need to talk about multiple "roots". Some roots may all float in the Heavenly Stems, while others are all in the Earthly Branches, and these need to be distinguished. This is something that is related and needs to be mentioned. I also need to add one more thing. When I just talked about a strong Day Master, I was referring to the "roots". There are five types of roots, but only one type of strength. Actually, what supports the Day Master are the Peer, Rob Wealth, Lu, Blade, and Seal. When the Peer and Rob Wealth in the Heavenly Stems have the same Five Elements as the Day Master, it's called "gaining friends". For example, if the Day Master is Bing, and there are Bing and Ding in the Heavenly Stems, you've gained friends, and this supports the Day Master. But you need to know that the Peer can overcome the Wealth. Although it helps you, it can also lead to financial losses and be harmful to your wife.

Lu refers to the state of Lin Guan. It means having a root as I just mentioned. For Jia, its Lu is in Yin; for Yi, its Lu is in Mao. Isn't this also the same as Bi Jian? Why doesn't it lead to financial loss or harm to one's wife? Because it is in the earthly branch, people don't know about it. If people don't know, it's as if it doesn't exist. Ren refers to Yang Ren, which is the Yang Ren among the divine signs. When it appears in the heavenly stem, it is called Jie Cai; when it appears in the earthly branch, it is called Yang Ren. It also helps strengthen the self. Finally, there is Zheng Yin. Yin nourishes the Day Master, and all these support the self.

The effects of different methods of strengthening the Day Master are different. For the Zheng Guan (Regular Official) pattern, the Day Master needs to be strong. As I just said, having a root is the most standard answer. If you use Bi Jian (Peer), Jie Cai (Rob Wealth), or Yang Ren (Yang Blade) to strengthen the body, it's okay, but they will all overcome wealth! That is, the Zheng Guan pattern will always involve losing money. The way the Zheng Guan pattern loses money is different from that of ordinary people. Ordinary people lose money by being deceived, while for those with the Zheng Guan pattern, the money is probably spent on socializing and entertainment. If you use Yin (Print), the official will generate the print. Now, to supplement what I just said, the Day Master mainly needs to have a root. Then, when it comes to Bi Jie (Peer and Rob Wealth), Lu (Salary), Ren (Blade), and Yin (Print), this part may sound very literary and theoretical to you. The entire theory of Bazi (Four Pillars of Destiny) lies right here. Other theories are scattered, and only the pattern theory forms a complete system. Scholars who talk about Bazi usually base their discussions on this. Those who talk about patterns don't usually talk much about the six relatives, and those who talk about the six relatives don't usually talk much about patterns. Why don't they talk about both? It's a matter of status. In the Qing Dynasty, for those who held official positions above the seventh rank, as it was said in "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", "A great man need not worry about not having a wife." Why talk about wives! There will definitely be one! Even if they have no money, it's not something an official would talk about. As for those who have no chance of becoming an official, they can only talk about wives, wealth, children, official salary, and longevity! Whether the husband and wife get along well or not! Whether they have lost money to others or not!

So those who talk about the overall situation of the birth chart don't usually talk about the relationships with relatives. This is a matter of status. When you really do fortune - telling, only one in ten cases involves discussing the overall situation of the birth chart. Although it accounts for a small proportion of the population, we must understand it. If we don't, we won't be able to do fortune - telling for the upper - class society. For example, when it comes to the phrase "losing money", everyone experiences it. And the situation of having one husband with two wives is quite troublesome. But if someone says they are going to run for a legislative councilor, they won't be afraid of losing money. It's definitely going to cost money. So people have different tastes. Now what we are talking about is the overall situation of the birth chart. For the Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) of the two lists in the orthodox Qing Dynasty, their fortunes were calculated in this way.