Lian Zhen in the Life Palace

Lian Zhen and Tian Fu in the same palace: strong on the outside, steady inside, with very strong coordination and management skills.

With Lian Zhen and Tian Fu together in the Life Palace, a prisoner star pairs with a treasury star. The book says Lian Zhen is hard and contentious, while Tian Fu is gentle in temperament, clever and learned; the Complete Book also says Tian Fu "can relieve all calamities," but Master Ni says Tian Fu alone isn't read as relieving — only when meeting San Tai and Ba Zuo — and this platform follows Master Ni; with the two stars in the same palace, the competitive drive is reined in by steadiness, forming an "outwardly hard, inwardly steady" personality, meaning tough-looking outside but very stable within, good at coordinating the whole, and most likely holding a management role at work.

Lian Zhen in the Life or Body Palace (another key position in the chart) originally counts as the second romance star (governing love affinity); meeting Tian Fu, the treasury star, the romantic drive turns into skill at managing relationships. Tian Fu is also the treasury, and in the Life Palace it signifies ample food and clothing for life; when this pattern falls in the Xu palace with auspicious stars helping, the ancients described it as "gold at the waist, dressed in purple," meaning wearing a gold belt and purple robe — being a high official with standing. You act with boldness but not recklessness, dare to make the call and know how to control risk.

· Complete Book of Zi Wei Dou Shu · Volume 2 · Life Palace, entry on Tian Fu: "Tian Fu is Earth; in the Southern Dipper it transforms into the commanding star and is the lord of the Wealth Palace. The person has a square-round face, ruddy complexion and white teeth, a gentle disposition, intelligent and handsome, widely learned and adaptable, able to relieve all calamities."

Two stars of love affinity in the same palace: especially strong appeal to the opposite sex, multi-talented — beware of romantic entanglements.

With Lian Zhen and Tan Lang together in the Life Palace, two romance stars (governing love affinity) sit side by side — the heaviest romance combination in Zi Wei Dou Shu. Master Ni explains the meaning of these two stars: Tan Lang is the number-one romance star, governing wine, women, wealth, temper and gambling; Lian Zhen is the secondary romance star, taking the path of talent and charm. People with this pattern are good-looking, have strong appeal to the opposite sex and are multi-talented, and also easily stay entangled in love all their lives.

The Complete Book speaks very harshly here: "Tan Lang and Lian Zhen in the same degree, men mostly dissolute, women mostly wanton." Lian Zhen and Tan Lang in the Life Palace (both Fallen in Si and Hai): an unsettled temperament, fond of gambling and play; Master Ni says Lian and Tan Fallen in the Life Palace "certainly get involved in wine, women, wealth and temper" (Ni Haixia, Heavenly Records episode 11, 08:31), and also "Lian Zhen and Tan Lang mean early death, untimely death" "this Lian Zhen and Tan Lang emphasizes congenital illness, such as being born with an incurable disease, and also a tendency toward suicide" (same episode, 10:03, 10:12) — overindulgence is most to be avoided. Suited to paths related to people and aesthetics, but you must keep your desires in check, or you easily lose money through spending on love.

Zi Wei Dou Shu emphasizes seeing Yin and Yang together; below are neutral reminders based on the features of this chart — knowing what to watch for lets you turn danger into safety.

◆ This palace's main star 【Lian Zhen】 is Fallen and lacks energy; in personality traits you need to actively invest more effort and cannot rely on instinct alone.

· Complete Book of Zi Wei Dou Shu · Volume 2 · Life Palace, entry on Tan Lang: "Tan Lang belongs to Wood and transforms into the romance malefic. Tan Lang in Temple, tall and stout; in a Fallen palace, small in form, loud in voice and large in capacity; changeable in nature, calculating at heart, hasty in action and unable to keep still, clumsy when trying to be clever, fond of gambling, women and wine."

· Complete Book of Zi Wei Dou Shu · Volume 2 · Life Palace, entry on Tan Lang: "Tan Lang and Po Jun in a Fallen position, meeting auspicious stars or transforming into Ji, ultimately unfavorable; men become villains and thieves, women wanton; with malefics shining on the Life Palace, sleepless."

Dignified and rule-abiding outwardly, tough-natured and contentious inside — an assisting type, suited to being the deputy.

With Lian Zhen and Tian Xiang together in the Life Palace, the prisoner star pairs with the seal star. The Complete Book says Tian Xiang has an honest appearance, a steady character and no lack of food and clothing, and says Lian Zhen is hard-natured, unsettled in mind and fond of contention. So people with this chart look dignified and rule-abiding on the outside, but are rather tough inside and easily get into disputes when they see injustice.

Master Ni defines Tian Xiang as the star of assisting talent, an aide-type person, saying such people are suited to being assistants, secretaries and advisors, in high positions without real power, often as deputies; Lian Zhen in the Life or Career Palace belongs to the military-official system. So you're suited to assisting, executing and disciplinary kinds of work in places with established systems. The Complete Book also says that Tian Xiang and Lian Zhen further meeting Qing Yang easily invite lawsuits and punishment, so when disputes arise, step back first.

· Complete Book of Zi Wei Dou Shu · Volume 2 · Life Palace, entry on Tian Xiang: "Tian Xiang is Water; in the Southern Dipper it transforms into the seal and is the lord of career. The person has an honest, dignified appearance, is clean-living, fond of food and drink, with ample food and income."

Fierce, decisive and unwilling to lose; when strong, you can actually build up a family fortune — only when weak is it inauspicious.

Master Ni says that although this pattern carries the inauspicious name "death midway — a corpse buried midway on the road" (Ni Haixia, Heavenly Records episode 11, 09:29; the Tai Wei Rhapsody reads "Qi Sha and Lian Zhen in the same position, a corpse buried on the road"), when the stars are strong it can instead head a region and hold military command like a general, and it can't be read together with the sudden accidents of Lian Zhen with Po Jun. Qi Sha also appears with Po Jun and Tan Lang in the Three Sides and Four Directions (the palaces shining in from elsewhere), signifying great change, a love of pioneering, unwillingness to be ordinary and big ups and downs in life, suited to high-pressure industries like the military and police, competitive sports and entrepreneurship. But the Complete Book also says that with Qi Sha and Lian Zhen together in the Life or Body Palace (another key position in the chart), beware of injuries to the hands and feet, so don't be too hard-headed or take reckless risks.

· Complete Book of Zi Wei Dou Shu · Volume 2 · Life Palace, entry on Qi Sha: "Qi Sha is Fire and Metal, the general star of the Southern Dipper; meeting the emperor it becomes power; in all other palaces it is killing. The person has big eyes and an impatient nature, with unpredictable moods, and hesitates and ponders in action."

Most likely leaving home to stand on your own and living by a craft — a life of seeking success amid risk.

Lian Zhen (the prisoner star) and Po Jun (the star of consumption) share a palace only in Mao and You, where Po Jun is Fallen (weak). The old book says of Po Jun: "if Fallen and further adding malefics, breaking from the ancestors and clan, going to a distant land," meaning that with Po Jun Fallen and malefic stars added, the family estate can't be kept and you must leave home for afar. People with this chart mostly leave home early to stand on their own, with great ups and downs throughout life; Qi Sha, Po Jun and Tan Lang meeting at once (shining in from other palaces) signifies great change, a love of pioneering and unwillingness to be ordinary.

Zi Wei Dou Shu emphasizes seeing Yin and Yang together; below are neutral reminders based on the features of this chart — knowing what to watch for lets you turn danger into safety.

· Complete Book of Zi Wei Dou Shu · Volume 2 · Life Palace, entry on Po Jun: "Po Jun is Water; in the Northern Dipper it transforms into the star of consumption, governing wife and children, and servants. Body type: five shorts, thick back, broad eyebrows, slanted waist; tough-natured and unsociable, fond of contending for superiority. Prospering after abandoning the ancestors; fond of gambling and hunting."

· Complete Book of Zi Wei Dou Shu · Volume 2 · Life Palace, entry on Po Jun: "The single luminary Po Jun is hardest to bear; transforming into Lu, Ke or Quan brings extraordinary joy; if Fallen and further adding malefics, breaking from the ancestors and clan, going to a distant land."