Tianxiang Star

Tianxiang is a major star of trust, tact and mediating between people. A chart has twelve cells, called palaces, and each covers one area of life. 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 天相. The palace name on that cell is where the star sits for you. If it is your Life Palace, this is called Tianxiang in the Life Palace (Tianxiang Zuo Ming).

Tianxiang is at Temple in Zi, Chou, Yin, Wu and Shen, where it works most freely. It is Fallen in Mao and You, where it struggles most. In Chen, Si, Wei, Xu and Hai, it is Gaining Ground.

Each of the twelve cells is marked with an Earthly Branch, 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.

A star's brightness in a given branch is the same for everyone.

With Tianxiang in your Life Palace, you tend to be reliable and tactful, and you care how you come across. When friends fall out, you are often the one both sides will listen to. 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.

Where you tend to shine

• You do what you say, so people trust you with things.
• You can see both sides, which makes you good at mediating.
• You care about manners and image, and you handle occasions well.

Where you tend to get stuck

• You hate to offend, so decisions can make you hesitate.
• You mind what others think and may bend too far to fit in.
• You like clear rules, so things with no precedent can unsettle you.

They sit there because Jumen, Tianxiang and Tianliang are all counted from Tianfu. They land on the third, fourth and fifth cells after it. So in branch order, the cell before Tianxiang always holds Jumen, and the cell after always holds Tianliang:

Wherever the star sits, these two are its neighbours.

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

The twelve branches face each other in pairs, and each pair is one pairing:

Chen and Xu: with Ziwei

It shares the palace with Ziwei. You tend to have your own views and a good sense of limits, so you are more likely to end up leading others.

Yin and Shen: with Wuqu

It shares the palace with Wuqu. You tend to be practical and quick to get things done, and you take money and duty seriously.

Zi and Wu: with Lianzhen

It shares the palace with Lianzhen. You tend to hold firm principles and care about rules and fairness.

The other six branches: alone

Tianxiang is the only major star in the cell. In Mao and You it is Fallen, so it matters more whether your four key palaces hold auspicious stars. These are the stars that can help you.

With this star in your Life Palace, you tend to suit work built on trust and mediating between people. When choosing work, also check your Career Palace, the palace that covers your work.

• Admin and secretarialKeeping processes and details in order.
• PR and HRBridging different sides and their interests.
• Legal and consultingChecking things by the rules and advising others.

Elsewhere, the star's nature stays the same. It simply shows up in what that palace covers.