TL;DR: In Vietnamese Tử Vi (Vietnamese astrology), Military Song and Greedy Wolf share a palace only in Sửu and Mùi. Tử Vi đẩu số tân biên (Vân Đằng Thái Thứ Lang) records the verse “Tham, Vũ, Mộ trung cư tam thập tổng phát phúc”, explained as blooming only after the age of thirty; Tử Vi áo bí biện chứng học (Việt Viêm Tử) records nearly the same and explains it as a hard youth. Both books only record the verse and its explanation, and do not say why it comes late; both treat meeting Hỏa Tinh and Linh Tinh as a further good sign, while Tham Vũ in the Thân palace is weaker. This is what the books of the Tử Vi discipline say, not a scientific conclusion about destiny.
What are Vũ Khúc and Tham Lang, and why do they often travel together?
This article follows the Vietnamese Tử Vi books, chiefly Tử Vi đẩu số tân biên by Vân Đằng Thái Thứ Lang, Tử Vi áo bí biện chứng học by Việt Viêm Tử and Tử Vi nghiệm lý toàn thư by Thiên Lương. Tử Vi đẩu số tân biên records Vũ Khúc as a Bắc Đẩu star, Âm Kim, a wealth star governing money and fortune, and Tham Lang as a Bắc Đẩu star, Âm Thủy, governing fortune and misfortune and authority[1]. By the rules of star placement the two occupy the same palace only at Sửu and at Mùi, when Tử Vi is placed at Tỵ or at Hợi; the book calls this position Tham Vũ đồng hành[1].
This is a convention of an old divination art, not a verified scientific fact. The two stars travel together because of the rules of star placement, and their good or bad meanings come from generations of interpretation layered on top of one another.
Why is Vũ Khúc and Tham Lang at Sửu and Mùi called late prosperity?
The books speak of late prosperity through verses. Tử Vi đẩu số tân biên records the verse “Tham, Vũ, Mộ trung cư tam thập tổng phát phúc” and explains that when the Mệnh palace is at one of the Tứ Mộ (Thìn, Tuất, Sửu, Mùi) and holds Tham Lang, or Vũ Khúc, or both together, fortune opens only after the age of thirty[1]. For Sửu and Mùi specifically the book also has the verse “Tham, Vũ tiền bần nhi hậu phú”: hardship in youth, comfort only after thirty, and growing wealth with age[1].
Why it should be late, these books do not explain; they only record the verse and its gloss. In the brightness table of Tử Vi đẩu số tân biên, Sửu and Mùi are miếu địa for both Tham Lang and Vũ Khúc, so “late” here does not mean the stars are weak[1]. The idea that the Tứ Mộ are places of storage, so that energy must build up for a long time before it opens, is a common line of interpretation; the three books above do not put it that way.
| Factor | What the books say |
|---|---|
| Same-palace position | Only at Sửu and Mùi, when Tử Vi is placed at Tỵ or Hợi |
| Brightness | Tham Lang is miếu địa at Sửu and Mùi; Vũ Khúc is miếu địa at Thìn, Tuất, Sửu and Mùi (Tử Vi đẩu số tân biên) |
| Verse “Tham, Vũ, Mộ trung cư tam thập tổng phát phúc” | Fortune opens only after thirty (Tử Vi đẩu số tân biên) |
| Verse “Tham Vũ Mộ-trung cư tam thập tái phát phúc” | Hardship in youth, comfort only some thirty years on (Tử Vi áo bí biện chứng học) |
| What the books count as better | Meeting Hỏa Tinh or Linh Tinh (both books) |
| What the books count as poor | Tham Vũ in the Thân palace with a poor Mệnh palace and no auspicious stars (both books) |
What do Vietnamese Tử Vi texts say about the Tham Vũ same-palace pattern?
In Tử Vi đẩu số tân biên, beyond the late-prosperity verse for the Mệnh palace, Vân Đằng Thái Thứ Lang also notes a graver case: “Tham Lang, Vũ Khúc đồng thủ Thân vô cát, Mệnh phản bất tường”, meaning when Tham Vũ share a palace at Sửu or Mùi and the Mệnh palace is not bright and good, one easily falls into a lifetime of toil. The book also warns that meeting Phá Quân in aspect without good stars in support easily leads to indulgence in wine and women at harm to oneself.
Another noteworthy point in the same book is the section on the Huynh Đệ palace: when Vũ Khúc shares a palace with Tham Lang, the number of siblings may reach three, all later wealthy but parted early. This detail shows the texts do not only examine the Mệnh palace but extend the Tham Vũ pattern to various other palaces.
Why does “late prosperity” not mean “no prosperity”?
This is where many readers of the texts go wrong. “Late prosperity” in Tử Vi does not mean a lifetime without achievement, but that the path of career and wealth usually becomes distinct after a certain age. The verse itself uses the words “phát phúc”, that is, there is still fortune to open, only it opens later.
The verse in Tử Vi đẩu số tân biên about old age points the same way: “Tham, Vũ đồng hành, vãn cảnh biên di thần phục”, which the book glosses as a Mệnh palace at Sửu or Mùi with Tham Vũ together bringing authority in old age and the respect of many[1]. This is what the book says, not a law for everyone.
What conditions turn the late prosperity pattern good or bad?
Tử Vi áo bí biện chứng học by Việt Viêm Tử stresses Hỏa Tinh and Linh Tinh. According to the book, the Tham Vũ đồng hành pair at Mùi or Sửu joined by Hỏa or Linh is a superior pattern; the book also writes that the pair very much needs to meet Thiên Hình, Hóa Kỵ and Đà La, although in its section of verses the same book records Tham Vũ meeting Hóa Kỵ as bad[3]. Tử Vi đẩu số tân biên has a verse in the same direction: “Tham Lang ngộ Hỏa, Linh, Tứ Mộ cung hào phú gia tư, hầu bá chi qúy”, glossed as a Mệnh palace at one of the Tứ Mộ with Tham Lang meeting Hỏa Tinh or Linh Tinh meaning wealth and high office[1].
In the opposite direction, both books count Tham Vũ in the Thân palace as poor. Tử Vi áo bí biện chứng học writes that the Tham Vũ same-palace pattern falling in the Thân palace is bad, and that only a good Mệnh palace still allows a comfortable life[3]. Tử Vi đẩu số tân biên records “Tham, Vũ, Thân cung vi hạ cách”: a Thân palace at one of the Tứ Mộ holding Tham, or Vũ, or both together is a low pattern[1].
Tử Vi nghiệm lý toàn thư by Thiên Lương looks at this pair through its standing on the board. He places Sửu and Mùi among the six yin palaces, which he calls the stage of complicated scenes, Tham Vũ among them[2]. In the chapter on the saying “the main is not equal to the chiếu, the chiếu is not equal to the giáp”, he recalls the Tham Vũ đồng hành verse and explains that Tham Vũ at Sửu wins respect in old age because it is flanked by Cự Nhật at Dần and Đồng Âm at Tý[2].
Points on which the texts disagree
The two books do not record the late-prosperity verse in the same words. Tử Vi đẩu số tân biên has “tam thập tổng phát phúc” and applies it also to a single star alone in a Tứ Mộ palace[1]. Tử Vi áo bí biện chứng học has “tam thập tái phát phúc” and glosses it as Vũ Khúc and Tham Lang in the Mệnh palace at Thìn, Tuất, Sửu or Mùi meaning hardship in youth and comfort only some thirty years on[3]. As for accompanying stars, Tử Vi áo bí biện chứng học adds the group Thiên Hình, Hóa Kỵ and Đà La, which Tử Vi đẩu số tân biên does not mention.
Both books take the age of thirty as the marker and both count Hỏa Tinh and Linh Tinh as the stars that improve this pattern. Thiên Lương does not discuss the age marker; he explains the verse about old age through the flanking Nhật Nguyệt[2].
Nhật Nguyệt's suggestion
Nhật Nguyệt's suggestion: to find out whether a chart has Tham Vũ in the same palace, cast the chart and see where Tử Vi is placed. With Tử Vi at Tỵ, Vũ Khúc and Tham Lang are both at Sửu; with Tử Vi at Hợi, both are at Mùi. Then see whether that palace is the Mệnh palace or the Thân palace, since the books read the two cases very differently, and look for Hỏa Tinh and Linh Tinh in the palace and in the palaces that shine on it.
