What Does He Sell? He Sells Chickens! The 火貪 Pattern
AI translated from the original Chinese.
Many beginners in Zi Wei Dou Shu rejoice when they meet auspicious stars and worry when they see malefic ones. But in fact, in Dou Shu, "the auspicious is not wholly auspicious, nor the ominous wholly ominous." An auspicious star doesn't necessarily have a positive effect, and a malefic star doesn't necessarily have a negative one. Whether a pattern is positive or negative depends on the generating and overcoming of the Five Elements.
The auspicious stars below are generally seen as positive, but in special situations they can have negative effects:
- 文昌 (Wen Chang), 文曲 (Wen Qu): meeting 破軍 (Po Jun) they form the poor-scholar pattern; meeting 廉貞 (Lian Zhen) there is talk of early death.
- 左輔 (Zuo Fu), 右弼 (You Bi): in a negative pattern, they mean misfortune keeps continuing.
- 天魁 (Tian Kui), 天鉞 (Tian Yue): in a negative pattern, they govern loneliness.
As for the ominous stars, in special situations they can have positive effects:
- 擎羊 (Qing Yang), 陀羅 (Tuo Luo): in the four tomb positions, without a negative pattern, they become the driving force of the chart.
- 火星 (Huo Xing), 鈴星 (Ling Xing): meeting 貪狼 (Tan Lang), they form the so-called 火貪格 and 鈴貪格, also called the sudden-fortune pattern.
- 地空 (Di Kong), 地劫 (Di Jie): meeting negative romance stars such as 天姚 (Tian Yao) and 咸池 (Xian Chi), they reduce the negative romance quality.
The uses of the six auspicious and six malefic stars are not limited to the above; these are just a few simple examples of good and ill reversing.
So beginners needn't stare at their charts, rejoicing at the auspicious and worrying at the ominous. Next, let's talk about an auspicious pattern formed by a malefic star: the 火貪格 (Fire-Greed pattern).
The 火貪格 is a positive pattern because 貪狼 is Wood and 火星 is Fire, and Wood generates Fire, so the 火貪格 is positive. In actual reading experience, with the 火貪 pattern one can usually speak of earning "marketplace money," "money made amid the bustle." Put plainly, people with the 火貪格 often make money by "running a stall" or "selling at markets."
The following case is a typical example of the 火貪格. Let's look at his chart.
In this chart, his 官祿宮 (Career Palace) has 天梁 (Tian Liang), 天魁 and 陀羅: "sitting with nobility, facing nobility," and 天梁 is Earth, so it doesn't fear harm from 陀羅, which is Metal. But how do we see what his real occupation is? Let's transform the chart:
In the chart above, the subject's main star is 天相 (Tian Xiang) in the 辰 Palace, with stem 戊. This 戊 makes 貪狼 become 化祿, strengthening the 寅 Palace. Let's use the 寅 Palace as the pivot to discuss his occupation.
The 寅 Palace (with its three sides and four directions: 戌, 午, 申)
- 貪狼 has one 化祿, and the 化祿 of the 戌 and 申 palaces reach 寅, so the 寅 Palace is supported by three 化祿.
- The subject's main star 天相, with stem 戊, makes 貪狼 become 化祿. Now 貪狼 has four 化祿.
- 祿存 (Lu Cun) in the 寅 Palace often means one can make a living through this palace's main star.
- 貪狼 meeting 天馬 (Tian Ma) and 天姚: goods coming in and going out, with "marketing" ability
- The subject's main star 天相 in 辰 carries the power of 鈴星 and auspiciously transforms the 寅 Palace, so 貪狼 forms the 鈴貪格.
- 貪狼 in 寅, with 申 bringing a 火星, forms the 火貪格.
- The 寅 Palace is flanked by 化權 and meets a Quan star from 戌; Quan stars indicate entrepreneurship.
Overall judgment: the subject makes money selling in a busy area, with considerable income.
What Actually Happened:
- Me: From your boyfriend's chart, he seems to earn marketplace money.
- Her: What's marketplace money?
- Me: Roughly, making money from a stall or at a market.
- Her: Yes, he sells chickens.
- Me: Huh? Chickens?
- Her: Yes, chickens!
- Me: Real chickens?
- Her: Yes.
My ignorance made a fool of me. Hearing "sells chickens," I couldn't react for a moment. But why not just say "sells chicken meat"! Only then did I realize I hadn't read the chart through, so I added:
- 貪狼 is Yang Wood and can symbolize animals.
- In the 酉 Palace, the twelve zodiac animals give the Rooster; with stem 癸, 破軍 becomes 化祿 and 貪狼 becomes 化忌.
The chart indeed shows "selling chickens." The 寅 Palace has 化祿 concentrated, 祿存 in the same palace, 火星 coming to meet it, plus Quan stars supporting it: the 寅 Palace is very strong.
Times have changed. People used to think those earning "marketplace money" were mostly the poor, but later I heard that plenty of people have earned several buildings' worth by selling vegetables and meat. Only then did I realize how lucrative this line of work is. Even so, making money at a stall generally means putting up with all kinds of raw, fishy smells, and a life of winter and summer, sun and rain, leaving early and coming home late. Not everyone can bear such a life, so even with a high income, not many want to take it up. That the subject took over the family business so young and has run it for many years must be thanks to the positive effect of the 火貪格.