Children: the star and the palace

In Four Pillars of Destiny (BaZi), children are also looked at through the star and the palace together. The star is Authority in a man’s chart and Output in a woman’s. The palace is the hour pillar: look at the hour branch first, then the hour stem.

The children star

The True Interpretation of Ziping (子平真诠; Qing dynasty, 18th century) says that Authority is generated by Wealth, and since a man’s chart takes Wealth as the wife, Authority is the children. On children, the original notes to Dripping Heavenly Marrow (滴天髓) also look at children through the Officer. A woman’s chart takes Output, which she generates, as the children; on women’s charts, the original notes look at children through the Hurting Officer.

Dripping Heavenly Marrow says in verse that children are the root and branches passed down a lifetime, and that you look at whether Seven Killings links up with the element the chart favors. When the children star is of use to the chart, children tend to be a source of strength; when it harms the chart, there is something to be mindful of.

The True Interpretation of Ziping · On Matching Family Relations to Palaces and Elements; Dripping Heavenly Marrow · Children, original notes; Dripping Heavenly Marrow · Women’s Charts, original notes; The Deep Sea of Ziping · General Discussion of Family Relations; Comprehensive Guide to the Three Fates · On Family Relations

If the children star does not appear in your chart, that relation simply does not stand out in this chart; it is not a verdict. The hour pillar is still looked at.

The children palace: the hour pillar

所以八字到手，要看子息，先看时支。

Our translation: So when you have the eight characters in hand and want to look at children, look first at the hour branch.

The hour pillar does two jobs: the hour branch is the palace, and the character on the hour stem is weighed with it. The order is the hour branch first, then the hour stem.

First the hour branch. The day branch is the spouse palace, and the hour pillar is the children’s palace. The True Interpretation of Ziping says the method for the children’s palace and star is much the same as for the spouse, so the hour branch is looked at the way the day branch is: if the character in the hour branch is of use to the structure, that is good; if it harms the structure, there is something to be mindful of. If the hour branch is struck by a clash or a punishment, note that separately too.

Then the hour stem. The book says that when the hour stem is of use, as when a Wealth structure has a Food Star revealed on the hour stem, or a Direct Officer structure has Wealth revealed there, children tend to bring good things; when the hour stem is poor and what it reveals leaves the structure broken, there is something to be mindful of. Commentary on the True Interpretation of Ziping (子平真诠评注; ROC, 1936) adds that an hour stem of use means one that is useful to the structure, and need not be Authority.

The True Interpretation of Ziping · On Wife and Children; Commentary on the True Interpretation of Ziping · On Wife and Children

This series looks at children as a matter of the bond and how you get along. It sets no number of children and names no gender for any child.

Try it on your chart

1. In a man’s chart, find Direct Officer and Seven Killings; in a woman’s, the Food Star and the Hurting Officer. Note those revealed on the stems, and those that are the main stem of a branch.
2. Look at the hour branch: which relationship is its main stem, and does it help or harm the structure? Is it struck by a clash or a punishment?
3. Then the hour stem: is the character revealed there of use to the structure?
4. Put star and palace together and write down the tendencies around children: where the support lies, and what to be mindful of.

See also: Family relations: the star and the palace

See also: Spouse: the star and the palace

See also: Chart structure starts from the month

See also: The enabler: the structure’s supporting element

See also: How a structure forms, breaks and recovers