Life Ruler and Body Ruler — Two Stars Assigned to You

The previous chapter treated the Life and Body Palaces as cells on the board; this time we look at stars. Among all the stars spread across the twelve palaces, exactly two are assigned especially to you: the Life Master and Body Master.

The names are easy to confuse, but these are different from the Life and Body Palaces. The Life Palace is one cell on the board; the Life Master is one star selected by that cell. These are the “Life Master ○○ · Body Master ○○” values shown near the top of a report.

Neither value needs a fresh calculation; you read it from a fixed table. Each of the twelve Earthly Branches already points to a particular star. You do not need to memorize it — just know that the table exists.

The table reveals something interesting. Only seven stars can become Life Masters: Tan Lang, Ju Men, Lu Cun, Wen Qu, Lian Zhen, Wu Qu and Po Jun. Twelve branches share these seven, so repeated Life Masters are common. Body Masters draw from just six: Huo Xing, Tian Xiang, Tian Liang, Tian Tong, Wen Chang and Tian Ji.

Life and Body Masters therefore say little on their own. A Wu Qu Life Master does not simply make someone a Wu Qu person. A reading also asks which palace that star occupies in your chart. In the Wealth Palace it gives weight to money; in the Spouse Palace, to relationships.

In short, Life and Body Masters are Secondary indicators. The major stars in the Life Palace, the trine-and-opposition structure and the Four Transformations carry the main reading. These two values add one more layer. When you are first learning, it is fine simply to know they exist.