What Is the Salary Star?
In a Nutshell
Read from the Day Master against the chart's branches — Jia finds Yin, Yi finds Mao, Bing and Wu find Si, Ding and Ji find Wu, Geng finds Shen, Xin finds You, Ren finds Hai, Gui finds Zi; "Lu" is the image of an official's salary, one's livelihood.
Quick facts
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| How to find it | Jia → Yin; Yi → Mao; Bing, Wu → Si; Ding, Ji → Wu; Geng → Shen; Xin → You; Ren → Hai; Gui → Zi |
| Reference | The Day Master, checked against the Four Pillars' branches |
| Image | An official's salary — food, clothing, livelihood |
| Same position | The Arrival (lín guān) stage of the Twelve Stages; also called Establishing Salary (Jiàn Lù) |
What is the Salary Star?
The Salary Star (Lu Shen), shortened to "Lu," is a Symbolic Star in the Four Pillars, found by taking the Day Master and scanning the chart's branches: Jia finds Yin, Yi finds Mao, Bing and Wu find Si, Ding and Ji find Wu, Geng finds Shen, Xin finds You, Ren finds Hai, Gui finds Zi. For example, with a Jia Wood Day Master, any branch of Yin (Tiger) in the chart means you carry the Salary Star. Note the pairings "Bing and Wu" and "Ding and Ji": Wu Earth follows Bing Fire and Ji Earth follows Ding Fire — a standard convention in Stem-Branch symbolism.
"Lu" in ancient China meant an official's salary, extended to the image of one's food, clothing, and livelihood — that is the metaphor the star takes. The branch where the Salary Star lands is exactly the Day Master's "Arrival" (lín guān) stage, the fourth of the Twelve Stages, which is why the Salary Star is also known as "Establishing Salary" (Jiàn Lù): the Arrival position *is* the salary position. As a side note, the branch right after the Salary Star is the Sheep Blade — Jia's salary is in Yin, Jia's blade in Mao; salary and blade stand side by side, so the two are usually taught together.
The classical record is *San Ming Tong Hui*, juan 3, "On the Ten Stems' Salaries" (Lùn Shí Gān Lù), opening with "Jia's salary is in Yin, Yi's salary in Mao" and explaining: "Lu means noble rank and salary — to hold power and enjoy it, that is called Lu." The quotation has been checked against a public collated edition of the Ming Wan Mingying text. The Salary Star also appears in Chart Pattern theory as the "Establishing Salary structure," where the Month Pillar holds the Day Master's Arrival stage — see the Chart Pattern entries for that.
MoZhu's Symbolic Stars lookup tool marks the Salary Star automatically; for the whole chart, read it together with the Ten Gods and Chart Pattern tools. Like all Symbolic Stars, it is a reference only. This page covers the definition, the finding rule, and the symbolism; it draws no conclusions from the star.
Classical sources
Sān Mìng Tōng Huì (Comprehensive Guide to the Three Destinies), juan 3 · Lùn Shí Gān Lù ("On the Ten Stems' Salaries")
Paraphrase: "Jia's salary is in Yin, Yi's in Mao, Geng's in Shen, Xin's in You, Ren's in Hai, Gui's in Zi — 'Lu means noble rank and salary: to hold power and enjoy it, that is called Lu.'" The exact original wording is quoted in the Chinese version.
*For entertainment purposes only.*