Tianliang Star

The star stands for care, principle and ties with elders. Wherever it sits, that area of life is where you tend to worry for others and give advice.

A chart has twelve cells, called palaces. Each palace covers one area of life, and the Life Palace is the cell about you.

Enter your birth date and hour in the free Ziwei Doushu calculator. The chart labels are in Chinese, so look for the cell showing 天梁. The palace name on that cell is where the star sits for you. If it sits in the Life Palace itself, this is called Tianliang in the Life Palace (Tianliang Zuo Ming).

Its element is Earth, and it is the second star of the Southern Dipper group. The Complete Book of Ziwei Doushu (Ziwei Doushu Quanshu) says: "Tianliang is Earth, the second star of the Southern Dipper." The same passage calls it "the ruler of parents," which is why the star is so often linked with elders.

The star is at Temple in Zi, Yin, Mao, Chen, Wu and Xu, and Fallen in Si, Shen and Hai. It is Prosperous in Chou and Wei and Gaining Ground in You.

Each of the twelve cells is marked with an Earthly Branch, running from Zi to Hai. Brightness says how freely a star works in that cell. There are seven levels. The strongest is Temple and the weakest is Fallen, with five steps in between: Prosperous, Gaining Ground, Beneficial, Neutral and Not Gaining Ground.

At Temple, your caring side tends to come across as steady and reliable. At Fallen, the same warmth can more easily turn into meddling or lecturing.

With Tianliang in your Life Palace, you tend to be mature and principled, and you are willing to carry things for others. When friends hit trouble, you are often the first person they call.

How this plays out also depends on the Three Directions and Four Squares (San Fang Si Zheng). That is the group of four palaces you read together, starting from the Life Palace.

Where you tend to shine

• In a dispute, you are willing to step in and speak up for what is fair.
• You look after people without expecting anything back, so they find you reliable.
• You seem mature even when young, so elders trust you easily.

Where you tend to get stuck

• Once you are sure you are right, you rarely give ground, so you may seem stubborn.
• You mean well with advice, but it can sound like a lecture.
• You treat other people's problems as your own and can't put them down, even when tired.

There are six pairings, set by the branch of your Life Palace. In three, the star shares the palace with another major star, and in the other three it sits alone. "Sharing the palace" means sitting in the same cell, and the opposite palace is the cell directly across.

• Yin and ShenIt shares the palace with Tiantong. You tend to be gentle and warm, and you look after people with care.
• Mao and YouIt shares the palace with Taiyang. You tend to be warm-hearted and upright, and ready to speak up for others.
• Chen and XuIt shares the palace with Tianji. You tend to think fast and analyze well, and you are good at advising people.
• The other sixIt sits alone, so its maturity and principles show most directly. Look closely at the star across from it too.

With this star in your Life Palace, you tend to suit work that means caring for people or holding to principles. Your direction also depends on the Career Palace, the palace that covers work.

• Medicine and careYour urge to look after people becomes a profession.
• Social work, counselingYou help people through hard times and find a way forward.
• Teaching and trainingYou like to teach, and you are patient with newcomers.
• Law, public serviceYou keep to the rules, which suits checking things on others' behalf.
• Insurance, consultingYou think through the risks first, then give advice.

The star can take three of the four transformations, but never the obstacle one. These are the Four Transformations (Si Hua), four ways a star can change: Hua Lu (wealth), Hua Quan (power), Hua Ke (fame) and Hua Ji (obstacle).

If your birth year ends in 2, such as 1982, it takes Hua Lu. A year ending in 5 gives it Hua Quan, and one ending in 9 gives it Hua Ke. If you were born before Lunar New Year, count the previous year.

Each ten-year Decade Cycle (Da Xian) and each single year can also give the star a transformation.

Wherever the star sits, that area of life is where you tend to look after people.