On the Ten Celestial Stems and Twelve Earthly Branches - 4
Original Text
然亦有月令无用神者，将若之何？如木生寅卯，日与月同，本身不可为用，必看四柱有无财官煞食透干会支，另取用神；然终以月令为主，然后寻用，是建禄月劫之格，非用而即用神也。
用神专寻月令，以四柱配之，必有成败。何谓成？如官逢财印，又无刑冲破害，官格成也。财生官旺，或财逢食生而身强带比，或财格透印而位置妥贴，两不相克，财格成也。印轻逢煞，或官印双全，或身印两旺而用食伤泄气，或印多逢财而财透根轻，印格成也。食神生财，或食带煞而无财，弃食就煞而透印，食格成也。身强七煞逢制，煞格成也。伤官生财，或伤官佩印而伤官旺，印有根，或伤官旺、身主弱而透煞印，或伤官带煞而无财，伤官格成也。阳刃透官煞而露财印，不见伤官，阳刃格成也。建禄月劫，透官而逢财印，透财而逢食伤，透煞而遇制伏，建禄月劫之格成也。
财旺生官者，月令星旺，四柱有官，则财旺自生官；或月令财星而透食神，身强则食神泄秀，转而生财。财本忌比劫，有食神则不忌而喜，盖有食神化之也。或透印而位置妥贴者，财印不相碍也（参观财格佩印节）。如年乾透印，时乾透财，中隔比劫，则不相碍；隔官星则为财旺生官，亦不相碍，是为财格成也。
何谓败？官逢伤克刑冲，官格败也；财轻比重，财透七煞，财格败也；印轻逢财，或身强印重而透煞，印格败也；食神逢枭，或生财露煞，食神格败也；七煞逢财无制，七煞格败也；伤官非金水而见官，或生财而带煞，或佩印而伤轻身旺，伤官格败也；阳刃无官煞，刃格败也；建禄月劫，无财官，透煞印，建禄月劫之格败也。
成中有败，必是带忌；败中有成，全凭救应。何谓带忌？如正官逢财而又逢伤；透官而又逢合；财旺生官而又逢伤逢合；印透食以泄气，而又遇财露；透煞以生印，而又透财，以去印存煞；食神带煞印而又逢财；七煞逢食制而又逢印；伤官生财而财又逢合；佩印而印又遭伤，透财而逢煞，是皆谓之带忌也。
成中之败，亦变化万端，此不过其大概也。如财旺生官，美格也，身弱透官，即为破格。伤官见官，为格之忌，透财而地位配置合宜，则伤官生财来生官，反可以解，种种变化，非言说所能尽，在于熟习者之妙悟耳。
何谓救应？如官逢伤而透印以解之，杂煞而合煞以清之，刑冲而会合以解之；财逢劫而透食以化之，生官以制之，逢煞而食神制煞以生财，或存财而合煞；印逢财而劫财以解之，或合财而存印；食逢枭而就煞以成格，或生财以护食；煞逢食制，印来护煞，而逢财以去印存食；伤官生财透煞而煞逢合；阳刃用官煞带伤食，而重印以护之；建禄月劫用官，遇伤而伤被合，用财带煞而煞被合，是谓之救应也。
八字妙用，全在成败救应，其中权轻权重，甚是活泼。学者从此留心，能于万变中融以一理，则于命之一道，其庶几乎！
用神既主月令矣，然月令所藏不一，而用神遂有变化。如十二支中，除子午卯酉外，馀皆有藏，不必四库也。即以寅论，甲为本主，如郡之有府，丙其长生，如郡之有同知，戊亦长生，如郡之有通判；假使寅月为提，不透甲而透丙，则如知府不临郡，而同知得以作主。此变化之由也。
故若丁生亥月，本为正官，支全卯未，则化为印。己生申月，本属伤官。藏庚透壬，则化为财。凡此之类皆用神之变化也。
变之而善，其格愈美；变之不善，其格遂坏，何谓变之而善？如辛生寅月，逢丙而化财为官；壬生戌月逢辛而化煞为印。癸生寅月，不专以煞论。此二者以透出而变化者也。癸生寅月，月令伤官秉令，藏甲透丙，会午会戌，则寅午戌三合，伤化为财；加以丙火透出，完全作为财论，即使不透丙而透戊土，亦作财旺生官论。盖寅午戌三合变化在前，不作伤官见官论也。乙生寅月，月劫秉令，会午会戌，则劫化为食伤，透戊则为食伤生财，不作比劫争财论。此二者因会合而变化者。因变化而忌化为喜，为变之善者。
何谓变之而不善？如丙生寅月，本为印绶，甲不透乾而会午会戌，则化为劫。丙生申月，本属偏财，藏庚透壬，会子会辰，则化为煞。如此之类亦多，皆变之不善者也。
又有变之而不失本格者。如辛生寅月，透丙化官，而又透甲，格成正财，正官乃其兼格也。乙生申月，透壬化印，而又透戊，则财能生官，印逢财而退位，虽通月令，格成伤官，戊官忌见。丙生寅月，午戌会劫，而又或透甲，或透壬，则仍为印而格不破。丙生申月，逢壬化煞，而又透戊，则食神能制煞生财，仍为财格，不失富贵。如此之类甚多，是皆变而不失本格者也。
Interpretation
However, what should be done when there is no useful god in the monthly order? For example, when a wood element person is born in the Yin or Mao months, the day and the month belong to the same element, and the self-element cannot be used as the useful god. One must look at whether there are the elements of wealth, official, killing, and food in the four pillars that penetrate the heavenly stems or gather in the earthly branches, and then select another useful god. Nevertheless, the monthly order should always be the primary consideration, and then the useful god can be sought. This is the pattern of the established salary and the monthly robbery. It is not the useful god itself but is related to the useful god.
Use the divine method to specifically search for the month's stem and branch, and match them with the four pillars, then there must be success or failure. What is meant by success? For example, when an official star meets the wealth and seal stars, and there are no punishments, clashes, breakings, or harms, the official pattern is successful. When wealth generates an official star and the official star is prosperous, or when wealth is born by the eating god and the body is strong with the presence of the peer star, or when the wealth pattern reveals the seal star and the positions are appropriate without mutual conflict, the wealth pattern is successful. When the seal star is weak and meets the killing star, or when there are both the official and seal stars, or when both the body and the seal star are prosperous and the eating god or hurting officer is used to vent the qi, or when there are many seal stars and meets the wealth star with the wealth star having a weak root, the seal pattern is successful. When the eating god generates wealth, or when the eating god is accompanied by the killing star without the wealth star, and one abandons the eating god to follow the killing star and the seal star is revealed, the eating god pattern is successful. When the body is strong and the seven - killing star is controlled, the killing pattern is successful. When the hurting officer generates wealth, or when the hurting officer is paired with the seal star with the hurting officer being prosperous and the seal star having a root, or when the hurting officer is prosperous and the body is weak while the killing and seal stars are revealed, or when the hurting officer is accompanied by the killing star without the wealth star, the hurting officer pattern is successful. When the yang blade reveals the official or killing star and the wealth and seal stars are also shown, without the presence of the hurting officer, the yang blade pattern is successful. For the patterns of the established salary and the monthly robbery, when the official star is revealed and meets the wealth and seal stars, or when the wealth star is revealed and meets the eating god or hurting officer, or when the killing star is revealed and is controlled, the patterns of the established salary and the monthly robbery are successful.
When wealth is prosperous and gives rise to officialdom: If the star in the monthly pillar is prosperous and there is an official star in the four pillars, then the prosperous wealth will naturally give rise to the official star. Or if there is a wealth star in the monthly pillar and the gourmand star is revealed, when the body is strong, the gourmand star will release its elegance and then give rise to wealth. Wealth generally dislikes the peer and robber stars, but with the gourmand star, it doesn't dislike them but rather welcomes them, because the gourmand star can transform them. Or if the seal star is revealed and its position is appropriate, the wealth and the seal will not hinder each other (refer to the section on the wealth pattern with the seal). For example, if the seal star is revealed in the heavenly stem of the year pillar and the wealth star is revealed in the heavenly stem of the hour pillar, with the peer and robber stars in between, they will not hinder each other; if the official star is in between, it is a case of prosperous wealth giving rise to the official star, and they also will not hinder each other. This is the formation of the wealth pattern.
What is meant by the "defeat" of a pattern? When an official (zhengguan or qisha) is damaged, restrained, punished, or clashed, the official pattern is defeated; when the wealth is meager while the resource (bi or jian) is strong, or when wealth is revealed along with a seven - killing, the wealth pattern is defeated; when the seal is weak and meets wealth, or when the body is strong, the seal is excessive, and a seven - killing is revealed, the seal pattern is defeated; when the gourmet god meets an owl, or when it generates wealth and reveals a seven - killing, the gourmet god pattern is defeated; when a seven - killing meets wealth without restraint, the seven - killing pattern is defeated; when the hurting officer (except in the case of metal - water combinations) meets an official, or when it generates wealth and brings a seven - killing, or when it is paired with a seal but the hurting officer is weak and the body is strong, the hurting officer pattern is defeated; when a yang blade has no official or seven - killing, the yang blade pattern is defeated; when in the patterns of established salary or monthly robbery, there is no wealth or official, and a seven - killing or seal is revealed, the patterns of established salary and monthly robbery are defeated.
There are failures within successes, which must be due to the presence of unfavorable factors; there are successes within failures, which entirely depend on favorable counter - factors. What are the so - called "unfavorable factors"? For example, when the proper official star meets with wealth but also with the damaging star; when the official star is revealed but also gets combined; when the wealth is strong enough to generate the official star but also meets with the damaging star and combination; when the printed star is revealed and the eating god vents its qi, and at the same time the wealth is revealed; when the killing star is revealed to generate the printed star, but then the wealth is revealed to remove the printed star and leave the killing star; when the eating god is accompanied by the killing star and the printed star but also meets with the wealth; when the seven - killing star is controlled by the eating god but also meets with the printed star; when the damaging official star generates the wealth but the wealth gets combined; when one has the printed star but it gets damaged; when the wealth is revealed but meets with the killing star. All these are called "unfavorable factors".
Success within failure also varies in countless ways, and this is just a general overview. For example, when wealth is prosperous and generates the official, it is an excellent pattern. But if the body (self-element) is weak and the official is revealed, it breaks the pattern. The encounter between the damaging officer and the official is a taboo in the pattern. However, if wealth is revealed and the positional configuration is appropriate, then the damaging officer generates wealth which in turn generates the official, and this can even resolve the problem. Such various changes cannot be fully described in words; it lies in the subtle understanding of those who are well - versed in it.
What is meant by rescue and response? For example, when the official star is attacked by the damaging star, the seal star can be revealed to resolve it; when there are mixed killing stars, the killing stars can be combined to clarify the situation; when there are punishments and clashes, the stars can be combined to resolve them. When the wealth star is attacked by the robbery star, the food - god star can be revealed to transform it, or the official star can be generated to restrain the robbery star; when encountering the killing star, the food - god star can restrain the killing star to generate wealth, or the wealth star can be preserved while the killing star is combined. When the seal star is attacked by the wealth star, the robbery star can be used to resolve it, or the wealth star can be combined to preserve the seal star. When the food - god star is attacked by the owl star, the killing star can be used to form a pattern, or the wealth star can be generated to protect the food - god star. When the killing star is restrained by the food - god star, and the seal star comes to protect the killing star, the wealth star can be used to remove the seal star and preserve the food - god star. When the damaging star generates wealth and the killing star is revealed, the killing star can be combined. When using the official or killing star with the yang blade and there are damaging or food - god stars, the heavy seal star can be used to protect it. When using the official star with the month - establishing salary or month - robbing stars, if encountering the damaging star, the damaging star can be combined; when using the wealth star with the killing star, the killing star can be combined. This is what is called rescue and response.
The ingenious application of the Eight Characters (in fortune - telling) lies entirely in the success, failure, and the factors of rescue and response. Among them, the relative importance and influence are quite flexible. If scholars pay attention to this, and can integrate all the changing situations with a single principle, then they will almost master the art of fortune - telling!
When the useful god (a concept in traditional Chinese fortune - telling) is determined by the month's branch, however, the month's branch may contain multiple elements, and thus the useful god can change. Among the twelve earthly branches, except for Zi, Wu, Mao, and You, the rest all have hidden elements, not just the four storage branches (Chen, Xu, Chou, and Wei). Take Yin as an example. Jia is the main element, like a prefecture having a prefect. Bing is in its prosperous state here, like a prefecture having an assistant prefect. Wu is also in its prosperous state, like a prefecture having a judicial officer. Suppose the month's branch is Yin. If Jia doesn't appear in the heavenly stems but Bing does, it's like the prefect not being in the prefecture, and the assistant prefect taking charge. This is the reason for the change.
Therefore, if a person is born in the month of Hai (the 12th earthly branch) under the sign of Ding (the 4th heavenly stem), it is originally a proper official. But if the earthly branches are fully Mao (the 3rd earthly branch) and Wei (the 8th earthly branch), it will transform into a seal. If a person is born in the month of Shen (the 9th earthly branch) under the sign of Ji (the 6th heavenly stem), it originally belongs to the hurting officer. But if Geng (the 7th heavenly stem) is hidden and Ren (the 9th heavenly stem) is revealed, it will transform into wealth. All such cases are the transformations of the favorable elements.
If the transformation is favorable, the overall configuration becomes more excellent; if it is unfavorable, the configuration is ruined. What is meant by a favorable transformation? For example, when a person is born in the Yin month of the Xin year and meets Bing, the Wealth is transformed into an Officer. When a person is born in the Xu month of the Ren year and meets Xin, the Killing is transformed into a Seal. When a person is born in the Yin month of the Gui year, it cannot be simply regarded as a case of having a Killing element. These two situations are examples of transformation through the appearance of certain elements. When a person is born in the Yin month of the Gui year, the Month Branch contains the Hurting Officer as the dominant qi. If Jia is hidden and Bing appears on the Heavenly Stem, and there are also Wu and Xu to form a Sanhe combination of Yin-Wu-Xu, then the Hurting Officer is transformed into Wealth. Moreover, if Bing is revealed, it is completely regarded as a Wealth configuration. Even if instead of Bing, Wu Earth is revealed, it can still be regarded as a situation where the prosperous Wealth generates an Officer. This is because the Sanhe combination of Yin-Wu-Xu has caused the transformation first, so it is not considered a case of Hurting Officer meeting Officer. When a person is born in the Yin month of the Yi year, the Month Branch contains the Robbery as the dominant qi. If there are Wu and Xu to form a Sanhe combination, the Robbery is transformed into Hurting Officer or Eating God. If Wu Earth is revealed, it is a case of Eating God or Hurting Officer generating Wealth, and it is not considered a case of Peer Robbing Wealth. These two situations are examples of transformation through combinations. When something that was originally inauspicious is transformed into something auspicious through such transformations, it is a favorable transformation.
What is meant by "changing to the worse"? For example, when Bing is born in the Yin month, it is originally a seal绶 (a kind of favorable element combination in traditional Chinese fortune - telling). If Jia does not appear in the Heavenly Stems but combines with Wu and Xu, it will transform into a robbery element. When Bing is born in the Shen month, it originally belongs to the partial wealth element. If Geng is hidden and Ren appears in the Heavenly Stems, and it combines with Zi and Chen, it will transform into a killing element. There are many such cases, all of which are examples of changing to the worse.
There are also cases where the pattern changes but the original pattern remains intact. For example, when Xin is born in the Yin month, Bing appears and transforms into an official, and then Jia also appears, forming a pattern of proper wealth, with the proper official being the secondary pattern. When Yi is born in the Shen month, Ren appears and transforms into a seal, and then Wu appears. Since wealth can generate an official, the seal steps back when encountering wealth. Even though it is in harmony with the monthly order, the pattern becomes an injured official, and Wu as an official should be avoided. When Bing is born in the Yin month, Wu and Xu combine to form a robbery, and then either Jia or Ren appears. In this case, it remains a seal pattern and the pattern is not broken. When Bing is born in the Shen month, it encounters Ren and transforms into a killing, and then Wu appears. The eating god can control the killing and generate wealth, so it still remains a wealth pattern, and one can still achieve wealth and honor. There are many such cases, all of which are examples where the pattern changes but the original pattern remains intact.