Eight Mansion's Wandering Stars Part 3
- by Master HC HungSimple 8-Mansions fengshui (易学易用八宅风水)
This is an entry level book on 8-Mansions fengshui by the Hong Kong master and prolific writer Bai heming (白鹤鸣), first published in 1996. It is not meant to be an academic treatise, but the writing style is clear, concise and easily understood.
" ... Every Star is affected by the element of the Palace it enters, and the Star’s positive or negative character is enhanced or reduced, according to the general theory of interactions between elements. For example, if the shengqi Star of a qian house or qian person enters dui Palace, and as shengqi is of Wood element whereas dui is Metal, the benevolent shengqi Star is countered by the Palace element, and that reduces its benevolence. Another example: the negative jueming Star of a kun house or kun person enters kan Palace. jueming Star is Metal, whereas kan Palace is Water. As the jueming Star is being depleted, its capacity to do harm is diminished. In general, positive Stars entering favorable Palaces (being grown or supported) will become more positive, and conversely if they enter unfavorable Palaces (being countered or depleted) they will become less positive. Likewise, negative Stars entering favorable Palaces (being grown or supported) will become more negative, and in unfavorable Palaces (being countered or depleted), their capacity to do harm will be reduced. This concept is similar to the strength of stars in different palaces according to Purple Star destiny analysis... "
In addition, the author drew up a chart showing the varying strengths of the 8 Wandering Stars in different Palaces. In the chart he indicated a Star countering the Palace element as being neutral, and said the Star is not much affected. This view is unique.
The author went on to detail the steps a student should take in assessing the effect of the Wandering Stars:
- The reader should first understand the intrinsic positive or negative nature of each Star. This is very important. A positive Star will always be a positive Star. Under no circumstances will it turn negative. Likewise, a negative Star is always a negative Star. It cannot turn positive;
- Examine the distribution of 8-Mansions Wandering Star map of the house. Study the interplay between the Star’s intrinsic element and the Palace element in each Palace to evaluate the relative strength of the Stars;
- Consider the timeliness of the Stars according to the Stems and Branches of years and months to predict when the positive or negative nature of a particular Star is likely to strike.
Bai’s view is simply and clearly stated. Some of his interpretations are fairly novel, for instance, the introduction of a ‘neutral’ state. In the old classics, it’s either positive or negative and nothing in between. Bai’s assertion that a positive Star cannot turn negative is very logical. However, his reference to Purple Star principles runs contrary to what I’ve been taught: according to the zhong zhou School (中州派) of Purple Star destiny analysis, a negative Star entering a harmonious Palace will be placated and hence behave relatively well, whereas the same Star entering a hostile Palace will turn rebellious and ferocious.
Bai’s approach casts the Star as the main player, i.e. the effect of the Palace element on the Star element is paramount. Point No. 3 will be discussed later under “The Time Dimension”.
The Complete Book of 8-Mansions Techniques (八宅造福周书)
This is a modern book by Taiwanese master Huang yifeng (黄一凤), published in 1998. Despite it being a modern work, the author chose to write in classical prose, putting style before readability. Notwithstanding that inconvenience, the book does have some interesting things to say about Stars and Palaces.
" ... Palace can mean a door, house or room. Star refers to the 3 positive Stars shengqi, tianyi and yannian, and the 4 negative Stars jueming, wugui, huohai and liusha. When a Stars flies into a mutual growth Palace or a mutually supportive Palace, then a positive Star becomes more positive, and a negative Star becomes less negative. It’s like a malicious person becoming more civil and less inclined to cause trouble. If the Star and Palace counter each other, then positive loses its positive nature, and negative becomes even more negative. In this case, Star countering Palace is worse than Palace countering Star. Palace is the host, and Star the guest. It is permissible for the host to triumph over the guest, but not for the guest to intimidate the host... "
Huang takes the view that a negative Star becomes less negative in a growth or supportive environment, which is in direct opposition to Bai’s view. Huang considers it less serious for the host Palace to counter the guest Star. Note the use of the term “loses its positive nature”. Does that mean becoming negative or just neutral?
Click here for part 4
(Article kind courtesy of Master HC Hung)
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