The Solitary Phoenix: A Fate That Breaks Relationships

The “Lone Phoenix” affliction, also known as the “Groaning Star” affliction, is considered unfavorable for marital relationships. It is believed to cause harm to the wife for men and the husband for women, and may lead to remarriage or unsatisfactory sexual relations. It’s important to note that the “Lone Phoenix” day primarily refers to a woman’s birth chart.

I. Origin of the “Lone Phoenix Curse”: The
“Lone Phoenix Curse” originates from Volume Nine of the book *Sanming Tonghui* by Wan Minying of the Ming Dynasty: General Discussion of Various Curse Gods and Inauspicious Stars: Lone Phoenix and Widowed Swan Curse. The original text reads: “Wood and Fire meeting Snake Fire is inauspicious…”

Why must the Golden Pig be so arrogant?

Where are the Earth Monkey and Wood Tiger?

“Sometimes, I dance with a lone phoenix.”

The woman is destined to be widowed, and the man to be orphaned. With both the hour and day pillars clashing, the woman will find it difficult to have a husband and heir. Adding to this the emptiness and the isolation and conflict of the hour and day pillars, the consequences are self-evident. How should we understand the original text? Analysis:

   The Lone Phoenix Killing Star appears in the Day Pillar, which is
   extremely inauspicious when Wood and Fire meet the Snake (
   referring to those born on the days of Yi Si and Ding Si). Why should the Golden Pig be so arrogant (referring to those born on the day of Xin Hai).
   Where is the husband of the Earth Monkey and Wood Tiger (referring to those born on the days of Wu Shen and Jia Yin)?
   The Lone Phoenix Dances in the Hour Pillar (the Hour Pillar also refers to the Lone Phoenix Killing Star, or the Day and Hour Pillars being in a state of Fuyin; broadly speaking, the Lone Phoenix Killing Star appearing in the Day Pillar or the Day Branch being in a Fuyin position in three other Earthly Branches is even more inauspicious).
   Later, the *Yuan Hai Zi Ping* supplemented this, Volume 3: General Principles for Women,
  *Lone Phoenix Killing Star* says:

“Mu Hu is widowed and has no husband.”

How can a golden pig have a husband?

A red and yellow horse lies alone.

    “A black rat guards an empty room.”
    This signifies a widowed woman and an orphaned man. With both the hour and day pillars clashing, the woman will find it difficult to have a husband and heir. Adding to this the emptiness and the isolation and conflict of the hour and day pillars, the consequences are self-evident.
    Original text analysis:
    “Wood Tiger widow without a husband (Jia Yin day),
    Metal Pig without a husband (Xin Hai day),
    Red and Yellow Horse lying alone (Bing Wu, Wu Wu days),
    Black Rat guarding an empty room (Ren Zi day). “
   The *Shenfeng Tongkao* (a classic text on geomancy) states in the “Song of the Lonely Phoenix”:
   “Wood and Fire Snake without a husband,
     Metal Pig without a husband,
     Earth Monkey lying alone,
     Wood Tiger a settled widow.”
     From this, it can be seen that…

Those born on the following eight days—乙巳, 丁巳, 辛亥, 戊申, 甲寅, 丙午, 戊午, and 壬子—will experience extremely difficult marriages.

    Second: Why did the ancients designate these days as “Lonely Phoenix Days”? What is the underlying principle in the I Ching?
     Principle One:
    The marriage palace is the husband star’s death place and gestation place, a place where the husband star is powerless. On
  the Jia Yin day, known as “Wood Tiger Widow Without Husband,” Yin is the death place of Geng metal and the gestation position of Xin metal. For a woman, this means her marriage palace is the husband’s death place, and the husband star is powerless, thus she will find it difficult to enjoy her husband’s blessings or protection.
   On the Xin Hai day, known as “Golden Pig Without Husband,” Hai is the death place of Bing fire and the gestation position of Ding fire. Similarly, the marriage palace is the husband’s death place, and the husband star is powerless, thus she cannot receive her husband’s protection and care.
  The same principle applies to the Wu Shen day, known as “Red and Yellow Horse Lying Alone.”
    Principle Two:
    The marriage palace is the husband star’s natural enemy—the Hurting Officer. The Hurting Officer harms the official star representing the husband; it controls and attacks the official star. With a tiger devouring the husband star in the marriage palace, what man would feel comfortable entering the marriage palace? Furthermore: Ancient people said: A woman whose Day Master sits on a Hurting Officer
(伤官) is prone to scolding her husband. If a husband comes home to be scolded, naggard, and criticized, what man would want to stay there? For example, those born on the days of Yi Si (乙巳), Ding Si (丁巳), Xin Hai (辛亥), and Wu Shen (戊申) have a Hurting Officer in their Husband Palace.
    The third principle of Yi Jing (易经) is that
    the Marriage Palace is characterized by a strong, arrogant, and unyielding nature, refusing to listen to the husband
. For example, those born on the days of Bing Wu (丙午), Wu Wu (戊午), and Ren Zi (壬子) have a Yang Blade (阳刃) sitting on their Day Master. Bing Zi (丙子) and Wu Wu (戊午) are also called Yin Yang Sha (阴阳煞), indicating that men will marry beautiful wives and women will marry handsome husbands.
   The fourth principle of Yi Jing
   is the Lonely Phoenix Sha (孤鸾煞), also known as the Groaning Sha (呻吟煞) or the Eight Exclusive Lust Sha (八专淫欲煞), which indicates a woman who is particularly fond of sexual activity. If a husband’s Yang essence is depleted without restraint, his marrow will dry up, his blood will be depleted, and he will be susceptible to dampness and evil influences. Yin energy will accumulate while Yang energy will dissipate; how can a husband’s lifespan be long then?

Three: Proverbs related to the Lonely Phoenix Star:
1. A lonely life with few complaints, destined for the Lonely Phoenix Star; early widowhood, a solitary life.
2. A Lonely Phoenix Star indicates no children, but the presence of an official star brings a child.
3. A Lonely Phoenix Star meeting a husband star indicates many children.
4. The Lonely Phoenix Star is most favorable with the Seven Killings Star, and the Peach Blossom Star is favorable when accompanied by an official star. 5.
A person born in the year of Ding Si with the Lonely Phoenix Star is a clever and poetic woman
. 6. A Lonely Phoenix Star in one’s destiny indicates the husband weeps for the wife, and the wife weeps for the husband.

4. Friendly Reminder:
1. The Lonely Phoenix Day is merely an indication of marital difficulties. Not all women born on a Lonely Phoenix Day will experience marital problems. Do not assume this applies to you and create unnecessary anxiety! The success and quality of a marriage depend on the overall combination of the birth chart and which of the Ten Gods enters the marriage palace. Not all women’s husbands are determined by the Officer and Killer Stars!

For example, this woman’s birth chart is: Ji You, Geng Wu, Xin Si, Geng Yin. Although it is not a Lonely Phoenix Day, her marriage is seriously troubled. Her husband died in a car accident in 2005, and she remarried in 2010. This is because the characters for her husband in this birth chart are Geng Wu in the month pillar and Geng Yin in the hour pillar. Geng Wu in the month pillar is her ex-husband, and Geng Yin in the hour pillar is her second husband.

2: If a woman’s fate is afflicted by the Lone Phoenix Star, and if the following auspicious and inauspicious stars are also considered, her marriage may indeed encounter problems. As for which major luck cycle and annual luck cycle will cause these problems, it is necessary to refer to the combination of the eight characters and the timing of their triggering in the annual luck cycle.

  (I): The Red Beauty Star (红艳煞)
   appears when Bing (丙) meets Yin (寅) and Xin (辛) meets Ji (鸡), signifying passionate love and desires, yet few know its depth. When Gui (癸) meets
   Shen (申) and Ding (丁) meets Wei (未), the person is cheerful and carefree. When Jia (甲) and Yi (乙) meet Wu (午) and Shen (申), and Geng (庚) meets
   Xu (戌), the person is merely a wife to many.
   When Wu (戊) and Ji (己) fear Chen (辰) and Ren (壬) fear Zi (子),
   the person becomes a prostitute. Even daughters of wealthy families and officials will secretly meet under the flowers and moon.

The person with the Red Beauty star in their birth chart is often promiscuous and lustful; those born under this star are prone to extramarital affairs. For women, it indicates a high likelihood of illicit relationships, premarital loss of virginity, and a tendency to cohabitate after starting a relationship. If the earthly branch contains the Day Master’s Lu (禄) and also carries the Traveling Horse (驿马), the person is likely to be dissolute or even a prostitute.
Those with the Red Beauty star in their own birth chart (e.g., Day Master 甲午, 甲申, 丙寅, 丁未, 戊辰, 庚戌, 辛酉, 壬子) are even more lustful.

(ii): Mourning Gate and Hanging Guest: The first two branches of the year and day are Mourning Gate, and the last two are Hanging Guest.

  (III):
    The three branches before the year and day branches are called “Hook Sha” and
   the three branches after are called “Jiao Sha”. For Yang men and Yin women, the three branches before the year branch are called “Hook Sha” and the three branches after the year branch are called “Jiao Sha”. For Yin men and Yang women, the three branches before the year branch are called “Jiao Sha” and the three branches after the year branch are called “Hook Sha”.

(IV): The Disaster Star (灾煞) appears in the Earthly Branches of Shen 　　
-Zi-Chen (申子辰), Wu (午), Hai-Mao-Wei (亥卯未), You (酉), Yin-Wu-Xu (寅午戌), Zi (子), and Si-You-Chou (巳酉丑), Mao (卯).　　 Method of checking: Use the year branch as the primary indicator; if it appears in any of the four pillars’ earthly branches, it is the Disaster Star. The Disaster Star is a star that is clashed with or restrained by the General Star. For example, in Yin-Shen-Zi-Chen (寅申子辰), the General Star is Zi (子), and the one that clashes with Zi is Wu (午), which is the Disaster Star. The Disaster Star fears being restrained, but its birth location brings auspiciousness. If it appears in all four pillars, blessings are few and misfortunes are continuous. This star signifies violent death and bloodshed; in water or fire, beware of burning or drowning; in earth, beware of falling or plague. It is extremely inauspicious when it clashes with the self; if there are auspicious stars assisting, it often indicates military power.

(V): For
Yang men and Yin women, their Yuan Chen is as follows: Zi year sees Wei, Chou year sees Shen, Yin year sees You, Mao year sees Xu, Chen year sees Hai, Si year sees Zi, Wu year sees Chou, Wei year sees Yin, Shen year sees Mao, You year sees Chen, Xu year sees Si, Hai year sees Wu.　　
For Yin men and Yang women, their Yuan Chen is as follows: Zi year sees Si, Chou year sees Wu, Yin year sees Wei, Mao year sees Shen, Chen year sees You, Si year sees Xu, Wu year sees Hai, Wei year sees Zi, Shen year sees Chou, You year sees Yin, Xu year sees Mao, Hai year sees Chen.

(VI): Death God’s Calamity

1.   The “Death God” (亡神)
    appears in the branches of Yin, Wu, and Xu (寅午戌) with Si (巳); Hai, Mao, and Wei (亥卯未) with Yin (寅); Si, You, and Chou (巳酉丑)
    with Shen (申); and Shen, Zi, and Chen (申子辰) with Hai (亥). The year branch or day branch is the primary consideration, and the four pillars should form a three-combination (三合局) for use. Without a combination, it is unusable. If it is in the same pillar as an auspicious deity, it indicates strategic brilliance and divine calculation. If it is in the same pillar as an inauspicious deity, it indicates harm to one’s wife and children, and legal troubles are unavoidable.
2.   The Robbery Star (劫煞 ) appears in the Earthly Branches Shen-Zi-Chen (申子辰) and Si (巳); Hai-Mao-Wei (亥卯未) and Shen (申); Yin-Wu-Xu (寅午戌) and Hai (亥); Si-You-Chou (巳酉丑) and Yin (寅). Check the other Earthly Branches based on the Year Pillar or Day Pillar.