A Bipolar Heart: The Double Effect of 廉貞 and 巨門
AI translated from the original Chinese.
In readings I often tell clients that "part of destiny can be chosen," but I often deliberately avoid saying that "part of destiny cannot be chosen," because talking about what "cannot be chosen" slides into fatalism. Though I have studied Dou Shu for over twenty years, I have always resisted fatalism. Why? Simple: so many people are born at the same time as us; will every one of them have the same destiny as us? A moment's thought tells you it's impossible.
So when reading charts, I sometimes see special patterns, but as long as the subject doesn't raise the question, I deliberately ignore them until the subject asks about it themselves. This principle echoes the "no question, no answer" principle I mentioned in an earlier article. In the 8 years I've studied with my teacher, he has always stressed in class: "When you see a client has a special pattern, if the client doesn't bring it up, don't bring it up either. Don't frighten the client." Telling a client about a special pattern may show off the accuracy of a reading, but for negative special patterns, it's best not to volunteer it.
Even so, in these 10 months of readings there have been times I touched on taboos by accident, such as blurting out that someone had a psychic constitution, or that their household was in turmoil. I didn't feel much at the time, but looking back it always unsettles me. My teacher often says: "In readings, don't play the immortal." Trying to play the immortal may at first let you bask in how uncannily accurate your readings are, but what is the point? A reading is for others, not for oneself. Someone truly cultivated can address the matter at hand without showing off; showing off and making a mystery of things should not be a reader's attitude. These 10 months of readings in 2020 have taught me more and more the true meaning of "don't play the immortal." Helping resolve the client's doubts is what matters most.
Recently I met just such a client. While I was still wondering about her physical and mental state, she said directly that she has bipolar disorder and has long been on medication to control it. Let's see what a bipolar heart looks like:
Can we discuss physical and mental state from this chart? Many Dou Shu books on the market say the 福德宮 (Fortune Palace) represents one's physical and mental state, but that is wrong. If physical and mental health is in trouble, it is an illness, and at most one would use the 疾厄宮 (Health Palace) to interpret it. Using the Fortune Palace to read mental state is a serious mistake.
In this chart the Health Palace is in 戌, holding 天同 (Tian Tong), with 擎羊, 陀羅, 火星 and 鈴星 (Qing Yang, Tuo Luo, Huo Xing, Ling Xing), all four malefics, meeting in its three sides and four directions. Generally one would indeed say the Health Palace is poor, with 天同-related problems. But 天同 is Water, which at most points to the kidneys; there's no way to connect it to poor mental health.
So as usual, let's transform the chart and discuss physical and mental state:
The subject's main star is 巨門 (Ju Men), in the 寅 Palace, with 鈴星.
破軍 (Po Jun) is the lord of illness, so illness should be read mainly through 破軍. 破軍 is in 酉, sharing the palace with 廉貞 (Lian Zhen). The 酉 Palace's stem is 丁, which makes the subject's main star 巨門 become 化忌.
As I mentioned in an earlier article, 廉貞 and 巨門 both govern a person's mental health. In this chart, 廉貞 sits with 破軍 and makes the subject's main star 巨門 become 化忌, meaning that 廉貞, symbol of mental state, and 破軍, symbol of illness, together damage her main star 巨門. Under such an impact, physical and mental health easily suffers. Hence her bipolar disorder.
Whether depression or bipolar disorder, these are common mental health conditions today. They may be related to endocrine imbalance (I'm not a doctor and dare not speak rashly; please forgive any errors), and cannot be compared to what people call "being in a bad mood." When your mind catches a cold, seeing a doctor is perfectly normal. So how do we tell whether medication helps? The key is 天刑 (Tian Xing).
天刑 symbolizes the effect of medicine. The subject's 天刑 is in the 寅 Palace with stem 庚, which makes 太陽 (Tai Yang) become 化祿, turning the original 巨門 化忌 into 化祿. This means medication can treat it effectively. So with a doctor's professional judgment and medication, she can effectively improve her bipolar condition.
In Taipei today, many mental health clinics have opened (I rarely go to other counties, so I'm not sure about elsewhere). This doesn't mean more people have mental health problems; it means people today are gradually able to accept that the mind can catch a cold, and no longer look at it strangely. So if your mental health is poor, never shy away from seeing a doctor. Besides the help of family and friends, what matters most for recovery is the help of professionals. Timely medical care is what effectively maintains a patient's physical and mental health. If someone around you needs help, encourage them to seek professional help. Otherwise, with poor mental health over the long run, it's not only their own body and mind that suffer; it also affects our dear family and friends.
Finally, I must stress: readers must never compare their own charts with this case. Even if your chart resembles this one, charts are endlessly variable, and comparing yourself with a case will only create unnecessary worry, which is the last thing this article intends.