On the Lonely Stars (Gu Chen and Gua Su)

Original Text

先贤有云：老而无夫曰寡，幼而无父曰孤，此其义也。辰谓星辰，宿谓星宿，指其神也。人命犯此星辰，则孤寡如是。如亥子丑逐方三位，进前一辰见寅为孤，退后一辰见戌为寡。又过角为孤，退角为寡。其馀三方皆依此推。乃阴阳惆怅之义。且夫寅为春始，辰为春末，巳为夏始，未为夏末，申为秋始，戌为秋末，亥为冬始，丑为冬末，皆阴阳支离之神，四时代谢之方。《三车》云：造物中以生我者为母，克我者为夫，我克者为妻。亥子丑属北方水位，水用金为母，金绝于寅，是母绝也；用火为妻，火墓为戌，是妻墓也。巳午未，南方火位，火用木为母，木绝在申；用水为夫，水墓在辰。寅卯辰属东方木位，木用水为母，水绝在巳；用金为夫，金墓在丑。是取母绝为孤辰，夫墓、妻墓为寡宿，其义尤切。《珞录子》云：「骨肉中道分离，孤寡犹嫌于隔角。」《玉门集》云：「寅申巳亥为角，辰戌丑未为隔。进者为阳，不利父；退者为阴，不利母。」又云：「在阳宫妨父，在阴宫妨母。如寅卯辰人，巳为孤，丑为寡，寅辰为阳之位，丑巳为阴之位。男女生命见之，虽亲生儿女，多不和顺。」王氏云：「男命生于妻绝之中而逢孤辰，平生难于婚偶；女命生于夫绝之中而遇寡宿，屡嫁不能偕老。」如辛丑人得庚寅，寅为丑孤辰，丑为寅寡宿，寅丑互为寡宿。隔角言丑寅中有艮卦隔，乾坤艮巽四犹之角也。

《烛神经》云：「凡人命犯孤寡，主形孤骨露，面无和气，不利六亲。生旺稍可，死绝尤甚。驿马并，放荡他乡；空亡并，幼小无倚；丧吊并，父母相继而亡。一生多逢重丧叠祸，骨肉伶仃，单寒不利。入贵格，赘婿妇家；入贱格，移流未免。」《鬼谷遗文》云：「连属不言孤寡，如亥得寅戌，寅得丑巳；或支干朝会包裹贵人，虽犯孤寡，不以孤寡论。」《广录》云：「井栏斜冲，是孤辰寡宿。」更天干带倒食，谓之井栏倒食。若巳午未人再生夏三月，是带两重孤寡，主克妻害子，少六亲，不聚财，多生女；更带诸凶煞，主不令终。《珞录子》云：「凭阴察其阳祸，岁星莫犯于孤辰；恃阳鉴以阴灾，天年忌逢于寡宿。」盖言小运、太岁不可犯之，阳以孤辰为重，阴以寡宿为重。

Interpretation

The ancient sages said: "A woman who is old and without a husband is called a widow; a child who is young and without a father is called an orphan." This is the meaning. "Chen" refers to the stars, and "Xiu" refers to the constellations, which indicate their deities. If a person's fate is related to these stars, then they will be like the lonely and the widowed. For example, in the positions of Hai, Zi, and Chou in sequence, moving forward one position to see Yin is the "Gu" (lonely star), and moving backward one position to see Xu is the "Gua" (widowed star). Also, crossing the "Jiao" is the "Gu", and retreating from the "Jiao" is the "Gua". The same principle applies to the other three directions. This represents the meaning of melancholy in yin and yang. Moreover, Yin is the beginning of spring, Chen is the end of spring, Si is the beginning of summer, Wei is the end of summer, Shen is the beginning of autumn, Xu is the end of autumn, Hai is the beginning of winter, and Chou is the end of winter. They are all the deities of the separation of yin and yang and the places of the alternation of the four seasons. According to "San Che", in creation, what gives birth to me is the mother, what restrains me is the husband, and what I restrain is the wife. Hai, Zi, and Chou belong to the water element in the north. Water takes metal as its mother, and metal is in a state of extinction at Yin, which means the mother is extinct; it takes fire as its wife, and fire is in the tomb at Xu, which means the wife is in the tomb. Si, Wu, and Wei belong to the fire element in the south. Fire takes wood as its mother, and wood is in a state of extinction at Shen; it takes water as its husband, and water is in the tomb at Chen. Yin, Mao, and Chen belong to the wood element in the east. Wood takes water as its mother, and water is in a state of extinction at Si; it takes metal as its husband, and metal is in the tomb at Chou. So, taking the extinction of the mother as the "Gu Chen" (lonely star) and the tombs of the husband and wife as the "Gua Su" (widowed star) is especially meaningful. "Luo Lu Zi" said: "Family members are separated in the middle of life. One should still be wary of the 'Gua' and 'Gu' stars at the separated corners." "Yu Men Ji" said: "Yin, Shen, Si, and Hai are the 'corners', and Chen, Xu, Chou, and Wei are the'separated ones'. Moving forward is yang, which is unfavorable to the father; moving backward is yin, which is unfavorable to the mother." It also said: "In the yang palace, it harms the father; in the yin palace, it harms the mother. For example, for those born in the years of Yin, Mao, and Chen, Si is the 'Gu' and Chou is the 'Gua'. Yin and Chen are the positions of yang, while Chou and Si are the positions of yin. If men or women have these stars in their fates, even with their own children, there will often be disharmony." Wang Shi said: "If a man is born in the state where his wife is in a state of extinction and meets the 'Gu Chen', he will have difficulty in getting married in his life; if a woman is born in the state where her husband is in a state of extinction and meets the 'Gua Su', she will marry several times but not be able to grow old with her husbands." For example, for a person born in the year of Xin Chou who gets Geng Yin, Yin is the 'Gu Chen' for Chou, and Chou is the 'Gua Su' for Yin. Yin and Chou are mutually the 'Gua Su'. The term "separated corner" means that there is the Gen trigram separating Chou and Yin. Qian, Kun, Gen, and Xun are like the four corners.

According to "The Candle - Nerve Classic", "If a person's fate is marked by the 'lonely and widowed' stars, they will have a gaunt and bony appearance, a cold and unfriendly face, and it is inauspicious for their six - kindred. It is a bit better if the stars are in a prosperous state, but much worse if they are in a dead or declining state. If the 'traveling horse' star combines with it, the person will lead a dissolute life away from home; if the 'empty and lost' star combines with it, they will be without support in childhood; if the'sorrow and mourning' star combines with it, their parents will die one after another. Throughout their life, they will often encounter repeated funerals and disasters, their relatives will be few and scattered, and they will lead a solitary and unlucky life. If they enter the noble pattern, they will become a son - in - law living in their wife's family; if they enter the lowly pattern, they will inevitably be exiled." According to "The Legacy of Guigu", "If there are continuous and related stars and it is not explicitly about the 'lonely and widowed' stars, for example, when the earthly branch 'Hai' is combined with 'Yin' and 'Xu', or 'Yin' is combined with 'Chou' and 'Si'; or if the earthly branches and heavenly stems gather around the noble stars, even if the 'lonely and widowed' stars seem to be involved, they should not be regarded as the 'lonely and widowed' stars." According to "The Comprehensive Records", "When there is a diagonal conflict like a well - railing, it indicates the 'lonely and widowed' stars. If the heavenly stem also has the 'inverted food' star, it is called 'well - railing inverted food'. If people born in the earthly branches 'Si', 'Wu', and 'Wei' are born in the three summer months, they carry the 'lonely and widowed' stars twice. This means they will harm their wives and children, have few relatives, be unable to accumulate wealth, and have more daughters. If they are also accompanied by various evil stars, it means they will not have a good end." According to "The Records of Luoluozi", "Based on the yin to examine the yang's misfortune, the year star should not encounter the 'lonely' star; relying on the yang to see the yin's disaster, one's lifespan should avoid meeting the 'widowed' star." This means that the minor fortune and the year - star should not conflict with them. For the yang, the 'lonely' star is more important, and for the yin, the 'widowed' star is more important.