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Chapter 10 of 14
神煞章
The ancients said: "A woman who loses her husband in old age is called a widow; a child who loses his father at a young age is called an orphan." This is the original meaning of Guchen (Lonely Star) and Gusu (Widow Star). Chen refers to celestial bodies, and Su refers to star constellations, which together designate a kind of divine omen. If one's fate is afflicted by these two stars, one will fall into a state of solitude and bereavement, just as the literal meaning suggests. For example, the three adjacent earthly branches Hai, Zi, and Chou form one group; advancing one position forward, seeing Yin is Guchen; retreating one position backward, seeing Xu is Gusu. Having passed the corner position, it is Guchen; having retreated from the corner position, it is Gusu. The remaining three groups are deduced in the same manner, embodying the meaning of separation of yin and yang and melancholy unfulfillment.
The fortune-telling meaning of Guchen and Gusu is very straightforward: if one's fate is afflicted by these two omens, it is unfavorable to one's six relatives (parents, siblings, spouse, and children), and one easily falls into solitude. By examining the state of the spouse star, one can infer marital conditions. For example, if a woman's fate has a husband star that is neither strong nor prominent, and the spouse palace is subjected to punishment and clash, and she also encounters Guchen and Gusu, then her marriage is likely to be unsteady— either she marries late, or she tends to experience separation and divorce after marriage. For a man, one examines the wife star, and the principle is the same as for a woman.
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, Chou is the end of winter. These earthly branches are all at the nodes where yin and yang alternate, marking the positions of seasonal transitions. The Sanche says: "In creation, the one who generates me is the mother, the one who overcomes me is the husband, and the one I overcome is the wife." Hai, Zi, and Chou belong to the northern water position. Water has metal as its mother, and metal reaches its absolute-end (jue) at Yin— this is where the mother ends. Water has fire as its wife, and fire is interred (mu) at Xu— this is where the wife is buried. Shen, You, and Xu belong to the western metal position. Metal has fire as its husband, and fire reaches its absolute-end at Hai. Metal has wood as its wife, and wood is interred at Wei. Si, Wu, and Wei belong to the southern fire position. Fire has wood as its mother, and wood reaches its absolute-end at Shen. Fire has water as its husband, and water is interred at Chen. Yin, Mao, and Chen belong to the eastern wood position. Wood has water as its mother, and water reaches its absolute-end at Si. Wood has metal as its husband, and metal is interred at Chou. Therefore, taking the position where the mother reaches its absolute-end as Guchen, and taking the position where the husband or wife is interred as Gusu— this explanation is particularly apt and profound.
The Luoluzi says: "Blood relatives separate midway through life; loneliness and widowhood are especially taboo when combined with corner-separation." The Yumen Ji says: "Yin, Shen, Si, and Hai are corners; Chen, Xu, Chou, and Wei are separations. Advancing is yang, unfavorable to the father; retreating is yin, unfavorable to the mother." It also says: "In the yang palace, harm befalls the father; in the yin palace, harm befalls the mother. For example, for those born in Yin, Mao, or Chen, Si is Guchen and Chou is Gusu. Yin and Chen are yang positions; Chou and Si are yin positions. When men and women encounter this in their fates, even their biological children will largely be discordant." Wang says: "If a man is born at the absolute-end position of the wife star and also encounters Guchen, he will find it difficult to marry throughout his life. If a woman is born at the absolute-end position of the husband star and also encounters Gusu, even marrying multiple times, she cannot grow old with a partner." For example, a Xin Chou person encountering Geng Yin: Yin is Chou's Guchen, Chou is Yin's Gusu— Yin and Chou are each other's lonely and widowed stars. The so-called corner-separation means that between Chou and Yin, the Gen trigram interposes, as Qian, Kun, Gen, and Xun are the four cardinal corners.
When one's fate is afflicted by Guchen and Gusu, one is prone to an ugly appearance, an expressionless face, like a zombie-like countenance.
The Zhushen Jing says: "Whenever one's fate is afflicted by Guchen and Gusu, it indicates a solitary and gaunt appearance, protruding bones, no harmony in the face, and being unfavorable to six relatives. Conditions are milder in the positions of vigor (sheng) and prosperity (wang), but especially severe in death and absolute-end positions. Combined with the Traveling Horse on the same pillar, one will wander in foreign lands, unrestrained and reckless. Combined with Void (kongwang), one is without support in early childhood. Combined with the Mourning Gate and the Visitor's Lament, one's parents will pass away successively. Throughout life, one encounters repeated funerals and successive misfortunes, with family members scattered and destitute. If entering a noble pattern, one will be married into the wife's family; if entering a base pattern, one will inevitably suffer from drifting and displacement." The Guigu Yiwen says: "If the earthly branches are connected in continuity, then loneliness and widowhood are not considered. For example, Hai obtains Yin and Xu, Yin obtains Chou and Si; or if the heavenly stems circulate in court assembly and noble stars wrap around, although one commits Guchen and Gusu, it is not treated as such." The Guanglu says: "The well-rail oblique clash is Guchen and Gusu. If the heavenly stem also carries the inverted food (partial seal), it is called 'well-rail inverted food.' If those born in Si, Wu, or Wei are also born in the three months of summer, they carry a double layer of loneliness and widowhood, which indicates harming one's wife and children, having few reliable relatives, not accumulating wealth, and begetting many daughters. If it also carries other vicious omens, it indicates an untimely death." The Luoluzi says: "Rely on yin to observe the calamity of yang; the Year Star should not commit Guchen. Rely on yang to discern the disaster of yin; one's natural span should avoid encountering Gusu." This speaks of the Mini Transport and the Year Star not committing loneliness or widowhood. For the yang destiny, Guchen is more serious; for the yin destiny, Gusu is more serious.
The Monk Ying says: "Zi, Wu, Mao, and You possess the death-breath, while Chen, Xu, Chou, and Wei are the four burial grounds. If a person encounters these, it is loneliness after loneliness. Often, those born in Yin, Mao, or Chen reside in Wu; those in Si, Wu, or Wei reside in You; those in Shen, You, or Xu encounter Zi; those in Hai, Zi, or Chou encounter Mao— these are Guchen corner-separations. Chen, Xu, Chou, and Wei follow the same rule." Here, Yin, Shen, Si, and Hai are regarded as the corners of heaven and earth. Standing apart from these four positions is therefore called "Guchen." Alternatively, taking Yin day with Chou hour, Si day with Chen hour, Shen day with Wei hour, or Hai day with Xu hour, and naming it the "Melancholy Kill." It portends sighs and regret, even in wealth and honor. Gentlemen will suffer reproach, and ordinary people will endure punishment— not merely solitude and widowhood.
For example, Zi day with Xu hour, Chou day with Mao hour, Chen day with Wu hour, or Wei day with You hour— examining them in reciprocal exchange, in the case of gentlemen, it portends fatal abscesses, while for ordinary people, death from bloody calamity. When the day and hour commit this, it harms one's wife and children; when the fetal year commits this, it harms one's parents— named the "Bloody Light Kill." Shen Zhi also proposes: Zi person sees Hai, Hai person sees Zi; Chou person sees Xu, Xu person sees Chou; Yin person sees You, You person sees Yin; Mao person sees Shen, Shen person sees Mao; Chen person sees Wei, Wei person sees Chen; Si person sees Wu, Wu person sees Si— each counting forward two positions in sequence. If the day and hour encounter this, it definitely portends solitude and widowhood, losing one's six relatives in early years. If the year and hour commit this, if one is not adopted or succeeds to another house, one will inevitably harm one's parents. This is yet another interpretation.
The above is the entirety of the content on Guchen, Gusu, and Gejiao Sha, provided for all to reference and use.
The essence of Guchen and Gusu is the "spirit of yin–yang severance," whose calculation logic is rooted in the cycle of "birth—prosperity—burial—end" within the seasonal flow. In the system of Twelve Life Stages, each season has four key nodes: beginning (birth), zenith (prosperity), contraction (burial), and termination (death). Guchen takes the position of "mother's death" —where the one that generates me reaches its end; Gusu takes the position of "the burial of husband or wife" —where the one I overcome or the one who overcomes me enters the storehouse of burial. Together, they point to a single core image: the severance of nurturing relationships and intimate relationships.
The ancients systematized this omen system, essentially expressing a sharp observation of "heavenly times gone awry": when a person is born, if the earthly branches of the Four Pillars happen to fall at the "edge zones" of the season—not in the thriving place of vitality, but in the deathly burial ground where all things wither—then the innate "field" of that person tends toward solitude, estrangement, and an environment of discord and disharmony.
The Gejiao Sha goes further, incorporating the relationship of "corners" and "separations" among earthly branches. Yin, Shen, Si, and Hai are the four remnant corners; Chen, Xu, Chou, and Wei are the four square separations. Between corner and separation lie positions where yin and yang qi find it difficult to circulate, hence the indication of "separation from blood kin."
From a modern perspective, what Guchen and Gusu describe is not some supernatural force, but the ancients' empirical summary of correlations between birth time and personality tendencies, and interpersonal relationship patterns. Understood psychologically:
"Solitary in form, uncovered bones, no harmony in the face" — In modern psychology, this can correspond to the external features of "socially avoidant personality" or "affective expression disorder." If a person grows up lacking close emotional connection experiences, they often appear cold and aloof in interpersonal interactions, forming a vicious cycle.
"Unfavorable to six relatives" — In modern society, this manifests more as tension in family-of-origin relationships, difficulty in parent–child communication, and weak ability to form intimate bonds. Modern people are no longer in the "extended family" mode of cohabitation, yet loneliness and social isolation have become even more pronounced.
"Combined with the Traveling Horse, wandering recklessly in foreign lands" — This actually describes a migratory personality type: when the tendency toward solitude is compounded by a tendency toward movement, a person will choose to constantly change environments to escape emotional distress— exceedingly common in modern society. Frequently changing cities, jobs, and relationships are all variants of "wandering recklessly in foreign lands."
"In a noble pattern, married into the wife's family" — From a modern view, this describes a dependent mate-selection strategy: one's own independence is insufficient, and one tends to seek survival support through marriage, paralleling phenomena such as the "marriage mule," "uxorilocal marriage," and "full-time dependents in the family."
The "connection negates solitude and widowhood" in the Guigu Yiwen — This is an extremely important condition of exemption. Translated into modern language: if a person, though bearing solitary and widowed omens, possesses in the overall chart structure a strong force of connection, integration, and smooth circulation, then the impact of solitude and widowhood is resolved. This is like the "compensatory mechanism" in modern psychology—innate tendencies are not decisive, unchangeable factors; later environment, relationship quality, and personal growth all can buffer and transform them.
In contemporary fortune-telling practice, Guchen and Gusu can be applied in several operational directions:
Reference for marital matching: When either party in a couple carries Guchen or Gusu, special attention should be paid to the star conditions in the Spouse Palace. If the spouse star is strong and vital, free from punishment and clash, the response to solitude and widowhood can be greatly weakened; if the spouse star is failing materially, one should choose to wed a partner whose eight characters have stronger complementarity, or advise marrying later.
Personality alert and self-growth: If you discover that you are born with Guchen and Gusu, do not panic. In modern terms, it is more of a prompt that "relationship building requires deliberate practice." You can actively cultivate social skills, learn emotional expression, build a stable interpersonal support network, and use "later-formed connections" to counterbalance "innate dispersal."
Career and lifestyle choices: People with solitary and widowed markers are suited to creative work requiring independent completion, such as writing, research, artistic creation, programming, and consultation. Rather than painfully forcing oneself into lively team collaboration, it is better to play to one's strengths—converting "loneliness" into "focus" and "deep thinking ability."
Symbolic avoidance in passing years: When the Mini Transport or the Year Star arrives at the Guchen or Gusu position (earthly branch), it is advisable to reduce impulsive decisions in major relationships that year— such as not hastily divorcing, not easily giving up on a relationship, not cutting ties with family, while reinforcing communication with intimate partners.
The deeper philosophical meaning of Guchen and Gusu lies in the inverse observation of "the interaction of yin and yang", a fundamental principle of the universe in Yi learning. According to the philosophy of change, all things are born from the interaction and union of yin and yang qi; "solitary yin does not give birth, solitary yang does not grow." Guchen and Gusu represent precisely the state of severed interaction—the mother's breath has departed, the husband or wife is buried, and the individual's "life connection force" is weakened at the source.
Yet a still deeper principle has it that solitude and widowhood are not an endpoint, but a starting point for transformation. Taoist philosophy suggests: "In reversal is the movement of the Dao." If a person can confront their isolated condition, they may, in solitude, attain a clarity and profundity rarely accessible to others. From Zhuangzi's "alone communing with the spirit of heaven and earth" to the "existential loneliness" of modern philosophy, a state of solitude has always carried two possibilities: foundering in the sorrow of aloneness, or ascent into the freedom of aloneness.
The exemption principle of "connection negates solitude and widowhood" also leaves a vital exit in this seemingly pessimistic system of fate: Destiny is not a judgment of isolated points, but a comprehensive calculation of the overall configuration. When "loneliness" is wrapped in a greater connective force, when "scattering" is held by a deeper cohesion, solitude and widowhood cease to be fate's shackles and become only a path walked alone along the way.
| Concept | Relation |
|---|---|
| Twelve Life Stages | Guchen takes the "death" position; Gusu takes the "burial" position— concrete applications of the Twelve Life Stages within the omen system |
| Traveling Horse | In conjunction with lone/widow stars, indicates loneliness amid movement, wandering far from home |
| Emptiness (Kongwang) | In conjunction with lone/widow stars, portends losing support in childhood and having nothing to rely on |
| Mourning Gate / Visitor's Lament | In conjunction with lone/widow stars, portends parental harm and repeated funerals and misfortunes |
| Well-Rail Inverse Food | The specific combination of lone/widow stars plus partial seal, indicating harm to wife and children, and thin relational fabric among six relatives |
| Corners of the Four Voids | Yin, Shen, Si, and Hai are the four corners; Chen, Xu, Chou, and Wei are the four separator branches— constituting the structural foundation of the Gejiao Kill |
Contemporary studies by Chinese fortune-telling scholars on Guchen and Gusu proceed in two directions:
First, the empirical-statistical school attempts to validate correlations between Guchen/Gusu and marital condition, divorce rates, and late-marriage rates through large-sample data. Preliminary statistical results in some divorced cases show that the frequency of lone/widow stars is slightly above random distribution, though not enough to rise to statistically significant support.
Second, the psychological-hermeneutic school treats Guchen and Gusu as a prototype symbol of "early attachment patterns," suggesting a high correspondence with the "dismissive-avoidant attachment" in modern attachment theory. This school argues that Guchen and Gusu reveal not a "person destined for loneliness," but a "psychological blueprint that drifts toward loneliness." Its value lies in providing a framework of self-awareness—when a person recognizes the structural source of their own lonely tendencies, they become more able to break it, creating an interpersonal reality that differs from the presupposition.
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