Officialdom (临官) in BaZi

At a glance

Group

Twelve Life Stages · stage 4

Life-cycle image

Taking office, becoming self-supporting

Keywords

independence, capability, self-reliance, steadiness, practicality

Strength

Strong: mature strength, second only to Prosperity

Related ideas

The Officialdom branch is the Day Master's Lu (Jia at Yin, Yi at Mao, ...); meeting it in the month forms the Jian Lu structure (建禄格)

How to find the Officialdom

Count from the Day Master: Yang stems forward from Birth, Yin stems backward. Jia's Birth is Hai, so three steps forward, Yin, is Jia's Officialdom; Yi's Birth is Wu, so three steps backward, Mao, is Yi's Officialdom. The table shows each Day Master's Officialdom branch, its Lu.

What Officialdom means traditionally

Officialdom is “taking office”: having the ability and the position to stand on one's own. A Day Master sitting on Officialdom, or meeting its Lu, is traditionally described as independent, capable and practical, someone who prefers to make their way by their own skill rather than lean on others.

Its strength is mature but not as extreme as Prosperity, so it is usually seen as steady, sustainable strength. If the Day Master is already strong, meeting Officialdom too can mean stubbornness and inflexibility.

How to read it in a chart

Day branch

a Day Master sitting on Officialdom is called “Exclusive Lu” (专禄: Jia Yin, Yi Mao, Geng Shen, Xin You), traditionally read as self-reliant, with an independent, capable partner.

Month branch

meeting Officialdom in the month means the month is the Day Master's Lu, the Jian Lu structure (建禄格): making one's own way rather than relying on inheritance.

Year and hour pillars

Officialdom there is often read as becoming independent early, or steady work and income in that phase.

Luck pillars and years

an Officialdom period is traditionally a time when abilities are put to use, good for taking on more responsibility.

Related ideas

Lu (禄)

the Officialdom branch is the Day Master's Lu, for example Jia's Lu is at Yin, Bing's at Si, Geng's at Shen, Ren's at Hai.

Jian Lu structure (建禄格)

the month is the Day Master's Lu. Because the month is taken by the Day Master itself, the structure is read from the Ten Gods that show in the stems.

Exclusive Lu (专禄)

a day pillar that is itself the Lu (Jia Yin, Yi Mao, Geng Shen, Xin You), traditionally a self-reliant, opinionated day pillar.

Common misconceptions

• Officialdom does not promise an official post or salary; the old name is a metaphor for maturity and independence.
• The Lu branch is not wealth luck; it stands for the Day Master's own strength and roots.
• The life stages alone cannot tell you the Day Master's strength; read them with the month, the balance of the phases and the structure.