Turning Away from Official Rank and Chasing Away Wealth

原文

背禄逐马

背禄者，甲以辛为官为禄，甲生春夏，金绝则无官矣，故为背禄。逐马者，甲以己土为财为马，被乙及亥卯未劫夺，甲无财矣，故为逐马。余例推。如壬子、壬子、丁未、乙已，定取壬为官禄，壬，亥月建禄，丁生子月，癸旺是煞，壬禄已过为背，向者有禄，背者无禄；丁取庚为财为马，子月庚死，此为背禄逐马，逢煞运，行劫地，亦不发福，无根元故也。《珞录子》云：“背禄逐马，守穷途而惶”，与此不同，能见赋中。

译文

Overall Paraphrase

"Turning Away from Official Rank" refers to the scenario where Jia Wood takes Xin Metal as the Official Star (i.e., the Rank God). If Jia Wood is born in spring or summer, when Metal energy is weak or exhausted, the Official Star loses its function, as if turning away from its official position. "Chasing Away Wealth" refers to Jia Wood taking Ji Earth as the Wealth Star (i.e., the Horse Star). If it encounters Yi Wood or the Hai-Mao-Wei Wood combination that plunders the Wealth Star, Jia Wood loses its source of wealth, as if horses are being driven away. Other heavenly stems can be analogized according to this principle.

For example, the birth chart: Renzi, Renzi, Dingwei, Yisi. In this chart, the Day Master Ding Fire takes Ren Water as the Official Star (Rank God). However, Ren Water only possesses the energy of establishing rank in the Hai month. Ding Fire is born in the Zi month (deep winter), when the prevailing energy is Gui Water (the Seven Killings). The Ren Water Rank God has already passed its season and become ineffective, forming "Turning Away from Official Rank" — facing the Rank God brings its benefits, turning away leaves no rank to utilize. Simultaneously, Ding Fire takes Geng Metal as the Wealth Star (Horse Star). In the Zi month, Geng Metal is in the 'death' position, rendering the Wealth Star powerless. This constitutes the pattern of "Turning Away from Official Rank and Chasing Away Wealth." If further encountering a Seven Killings major cycle or a Peer/Competitor year, it is still difficult to achieve prosperity and wealth, fundamentally because the birth chart lacks a solid foundation 🌱. The statement in Luoluozi, "Turning away from official rank and chasing away wealth, guarding a destitute path in anxiety," differs in logic from the explanation here; refer to the book's verses for details.

🧠 In-Depth Understanding

Core Concepts 💡

Nature of Rank and Wealth: "Rank" corresponds to career opportunities (Official Star), and "Wealth" corresponds to financial resources (Wealth Star). Both need to be timely and well-positioned to be effective.
Energy Timing: The strength of the Five Elements changes with the seasons; losing timeliness leads to functional failure (e.g., Metal 'dies' in winter, Water 'exhausts' in summer).
Foundation is Paramount: If the birth chart lacks a foundation for the Day Master (e.g., Ding Fire lacks root), even favorable Ten God combinations are difficult to sustain.

Modern Interpretation 🌟

Turning Away from Official Rank → Misaligned Opportunities
- In the case, Ding Fire is born in deep winter (Water strong, Fire weak). Forcing the Official Star (Ren Water) becomes pressure instead.
- Modern Insight: When one's own energy is insufficient (e.g., lacking health/ability), high positions or responsibilities can lead to collapse.
Chasing Away Wealth → Resource Drain
- The Wealth Star (Geng Metal) is in the 'death' position, and the Partial Resource Star Yi Wood transforms the wealth source (spending wealth on study/unsuccessful investments).
- Modern Insight: Poor financial management (following investment trends), partnership disputes (Peers plundering wealth) easily lead to losses.
Key Bottleneck: The original chart lacks root (Ding Fire lacks Yin-Wu-Xu support) → weak resilience and execution ability, making it hard to seize opportunities even when they arise.

Practical Value ⚡

Career Choice: Those with "Turning Away from Official Rank" in their chart are suited for technical fields, freelance work (avoiding highly competitive tracks). In the case, the Partial Resource Star Yi Wood represents skills/specialized knowledge, which can be relied upon for stability.
Wealth Management: Those with "Chasing Away Wealth" need enforced savings, should avoid partnership businesses, and prioritize fixed asset allocation ⛰️.
Major Cycle Strategy: During "Killing cycles" (periods of pressure), lie low and accumulate. Act during "Resource cycles" (learning periods) or "Peer/Competitor cycles" (cooperation periods).

Philosophical Reflection 🤔

The ancients used "Rank and Wealth" as metaphors for life's resources, actually revealing the law of matching energy with time and space:

Untimely effort (Turning Away from Official Rank) ≈ striving intensely in a sunset industry
Unprotected wealth (Chasing Away Wealth) ≈ making quick money without an asset moat
Deep-seated Contradiction: The eternal博弈 between personal ambition (Official Star) and realistic conditions (Day Master's foundation).

📚 Related Knowledge

Concept	Explanation
Ten God Relationships	The balancing logic among Official Star (career), Wealth Star (resources), and Peers/Competitors (competition)
Five Element Strength	Geng Metal in Zi month 'death' → Metal energy dormant in winter; Ding Fire 'rootless' → lacks Wood/Fire earthly branch support
Pattern Breaking Point	In this example, Yi Wood transforms the Seven Killings into a useful element → the ability to convert pressure (Gui Water) into knowledge (Yi Wood Partial Resource)

Further Reading

San Ming Tong Hui · On Mixed Official and Killing Stars: Detailed explanation of the synergy and conflict between Official Stars and Seven Killings.
Di Tian Sui · General Theory of Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches: Deep principles of how Five Element energy changes with the monthly order.
Modern Research: Taiwanese scholar Liang Xiangrun's Zi Ping Fundamentals Summary includes empirical statistics on "Rank and Wealth."

🌩️ Contemporary Warning: The concept of "Turning Away from Official Rank and Chasing Away Wealth" in fate analysis is by no means fatalism. It reminds us —

To pivot timely when an industry's momentum wanes (Turning Away from Official Rank)

Establishing wealth firewalls (avoiding Chasing Away Wealth) is more important than making quick money

Core competence (Day Master's foundation) is the fundamental key to coping with change