Family relations: the star and the palace
Family relations in Four Pillars of Destiny (BaZi) are the closest relatives: parents, spouse, children and siblings. The books find them in a chart in two ways: the star, the relationship to the Day Master that stands for a relative, and the palace, the pillar where that relative sits. Only the star and the palace taken together give the full picture.
By Sheng Pin Kai·Last updated
Two ways of matching relatives to a chart
The True Interpretation of Ziping (子平真诠; Qing dynasty, 18th century) says a person’s relatives, too, are matched to the eight characters, in two ways: by the position of the four pillars, which gives the palace, and by the ten relationships, which gives the star.
The True Interpretation of Ziping · On Matching Family Relations to Palaces and Elements
The family star: matching by the ten relationships
With the day stem as the reference, each relative corresponds to one family of the ten relationships:
| Relative | Star |
|---|---|
| Mother | Resource |
| Father | Wealth: the Wealth stem that combines with the mother star |
| Spouse | Wealth in a man’s chart; Authority in a woman’s |
| Children | Authority in a man’s chart; Output in a woman’s |
| Siblings | Peer, not counting the day stem itself |
For why Wealth is the wife and Authority the husband, see the lesson on the spouse. One family can stand for more than one relative: Wealth is the father, and also the wife in a man’s chart. The books also match parents and children another way; see the lesson on parents and the lesson on children.
Commentary on the True Interpretation of Ziping (子平真诠评注; ROC, 1936) warns that this matching is a general guide, not to be applied rigidly; the palaces and what the chart favors must be weighed as well.
The True Interpretation of Ziping · On Matching Family Relations to Palaces and Elements; The Deep Sea of Ziping · General Discussion of Family Relations; Comprehensive Guide to the Three Fates · On Family Relations; Commentary on the True Interpretation of Ziping · On Matching Family Relations to Palaces and Elements
The family palace: matching by the four pillars
其由宫分配之者，则年月日时，自上而下，祖父妻子，亦自上而下。Our translation: Matched by palace, the year, month, day and hour run from top to bottom, and ancestors, parents, wife and children also run from top to bottom.
The year pillar is the ancestors, the month pillar the parents, the day pillar you and your spouse, and the hour pillar the children. The Commentary says a palace is taken on the branch: the day branch is the spouse palace, and the hour branch the children’s palace.
For parents, the books read the year and month pillars together (see the lesson on parents), so this series calls the two pillars together the birth family.
| Palace | Relative |
|---|---|
| Year and month pillars | The birth family: parents above all; ancestors only in outline |
| Day branch | Spouse; the day stem is you |
| Hour pillar | Children: the hour branch first, then the hour stem |
Siblings have no palace of their own; the books place them in the birth family (see the lesson on siblings, friends, colleagues and business partners).
The True Interpretation of Ziping · On Matching Family Relations to Palaces and Elements; Commentary on the True Interpretation of Ziping · On Matching Family Relations to Palaces and Elements; Dripping Heavenly Marrow · Parents; The True Interpretation of Ziping · On Wife and Children
Reading the family star and palace together
The True Interpretation reads both the palace and the star for the spouse, and children the same way. When the two point different ways, the star leads: if the spouse star helps the structure form, the spouse is often still a support even when the day branch is of no use. But a day branch struck by a clash is noted separately, and a good star does not erase it.
Whether the star, or what sits in a palace, is good depends on the structure taken from the month branch: Wealth on the day branch does not suit a Resource structure, yet can be a strength in others. So set the structure first, then look at family relations.
The True Interpretation of Ziping · On Wife and Children
How clearly a chart shows each relative
The True Interpretation says that what a chart shows comes through more clearly the closer it lies to the person. Spouse and children concern you directly and show clearly; ancestors and siblings show less.
If you cannot find a relative’s star in your chart, it does not mean that relative is missing from your life. That relation does not stand out in this chart; its palace is still read. The Commentary asks the same question, what to do when a chart has no Wealth or Resource, and answers that the chart must be weighed as a whole, without holding rigidly to one rule.
What a chart shows about family relations is a set of tendencies: the help your relatives give you, and how smoothly you get along.
The True Interpretation of Ziping · On Wife and Children; Commentary on the True Interpretation of Ziping · On Matching Family Relations to Palaces and Elements
Try it on your chart
- Write down your Day Master. Using the table in the lesson on the ten relationships, mark the relationship of every stem and every hidden stem in the four pillars.
- Using the star table above, find each relative’s star, and note whether it is revealed or held as a branch’s main stem.
- Using the palace table above, mark each relative’s palace and note any clash or punishment on it.
- Check the star and the palace against your structure: do they help it, or harm it?
Related lessons
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