Tai sui, Tsui Po and San sha
The three malific annual stars of feng shui
by Jayashree Bose

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Tai Sui (Grand duke of jupiter), Tsui Po (year breaker) and San Sha (three killings) are three malific annual stars that change position every year. The directions these positions represent are considered inauspicious for that particular year. However, their detrimental effect (loss of money, health problems etc) can only be felt if they are disturbed. Disturbance can be caused by renovation work, digging earth or construction work. The study of these stars fall under the San He branch of feng shui however their basis is in Bazi - Chinese astrology.

Tai Sui (Grand Duke of Jupiter)
Tai Sui is also known as the Grand Duke of Jupiter. Even though Tai Sui is called the Grand Duke of Jupiter, it does not represent the actual planet Jupiter. Tai Sui is an intangible star whose movement is directly opposite to that of the planet Jupiter.

The position of Tai Sui corresponds to the year earthly branch (the animal sign of the year) of any given year. Tai Sui has a twelve years cycle and the Chinese zodiac system also has twelve animals. In the compass it occupies 30 degrees. The position of Tai Sui changes in the first day of the first month of the Chinese solar calendar, generally this day falls on 4th February in the Georgian Calendar. Given below is a chart of the exact degrees Tai Sui occupies in the next 5 years.

Tsui Po generally doesn't create any problems until it is disturbed. By disturbance it means renovations, repairs, construction, digging of earth in other words any form of earth works is to be avoided in the area. If one needs to do earth works in this area it is advisable to choose a good date from the Chinese almanac (Tong shu).

It is considered all right if your house faces the Tsui Po direction but one needs to exert caution if one's house is sitting (your house behind) on Tsui Po. This rule is same as the Tai Sui rule that states that a house can sit on Tai Sui that would mean the house faces Tsui Po but it is considered bad to be facing Tai Sui and sitting on Tsui Po. For a layman not to get lost amongst all these rules it is best to remember not to disturb the area where these stars reside for the particular year.

San Sha (Three killings)
San Sha is also known as three killings. Probably the reason behind the name is because three earthly branches are involved. In bazi twelve animals have a triplicity formation called the frames, grouping three earthly branches to represent a particular element. The frames constitute of one cardinal sign, one mutable or traveling (as called by the Chinese) sign and one fixed or earth sign, The Chinese astrological triplicity/frames are as follows - Monkey, Rat and Dragon form the water frame; Pig, Rabbit and Goat form the wood frame; Tiger, Horse and Dog forms the fire frame and finally Snake, Rooster and Ox form the metal frame.

Given below diagram of the Chinese animals along with the triplicity formation (frames).

To understand this further one needs a little understanding of the Chinese seasons. The Tiger marks the beginning of spring and ends at the Dragon, therefore Tiger, Rabbit (cardinal direction - East) and Dragon represent the entire spring season. In the same manner Snake, Horse (cardinal direction - South) and Goat represent summer; Monkey, Rooster (Cardinal direction - West) and Dog represent autumn and Pig, Rat (Cardinal direction - North) and Ox represents winter.

Given below is the diagram of the Chinese seasons along with the Chinese animals.

The triplicity frame denotes the year, opposite to the frames cardinal direction lies the San Sha location for eg. in the year of the Monkey(Shen), Rat (Cardinal direction North) or Dragon (Chen), the San Sha's location is Horse (Wu). San Sha is always located in the cardinal directions. Now, Horse belongs to the summer season whereby we take into account Snake and Goat. For making it simple in the year of the Monkey, Rat or Dragon we say that San Sha is in South.

Given below location of San Sha for the next five years.

Disturbing the San Sha can cause betrayal, robbery, and loss of money, injuries, illnesses and fatalities. The degree of ill effect however varies ranging from a small amount of money loss to bankruptcy or a common flu to major illness.

Avoid digging, construction, any form of earth works in the San Sha area for that particular year. If it is absolutely essential to do renovation and repair works then it is advisable to consult the Chinese Almanac (Tong Shu) for appropriate date selection.

San Sha can show its malicious side particularly when it is located in the same area with Tsui Po, this happens every three years i.e. 2002, 2005, 2008 and so on. These years one needs to be careful not to disturb the particular area.

The ancient texts do mention that it is acceptable to have your house facing San Sha but it is quite detrimental to sit (house behind) on San Sha. This is said probably because one of the names of San Sha is Robbery Sha and robbers do have a tendency to attack from behind then the front of the property.

Tai Sui, Tsui Po and San Sha are stars that need to be carefully looked into while you are planning to build a house or contemplating some form of earth works. As the trigger for these stars is ground breaking (earth works), disturbance of the area like digging, renovation etc, one needs to be careful or you might just face the wrath of these stars.