There is a school of analysis that does predictions based or "shensha" which I translate as star(?).

You use the heavenly branch of the day and the earthly branch of the yr you were born. Below is a list of stars that can be used:-

1. Tien Yi Gui Ren (Star of the nobleman - Lilian Too translation)

  Based on the heavenly branch (HB) of the day you were born:-
Jia (yang wood) - ox, goat
Yi (yin wood) - monkey, rat
Ping (yang fire) - rooster, pig
Ting (yin fire) - rooster, pig
Wu (yang earth) - ox, goat
Ji (yin earth) - rat, monkey
Geng (yang metal) - ox, goat
Xin (yin metal) - horse, tiger
Ren (yang water) - rabbit, snake
Gui (yin water) - rabbit, snake

  SOme old texts refer this as the most auspicious and powerful star in a chart which can overcome the malefic effects of other stars that you have in your analysis. If you have this star in your ba zhi (the 4 earthly branches) you are very smart and wise. If it appears in your 10 yr pillar, this period where your there are significant positive changes in your career life. A good stage of life to start a great project.

  How do you find out the intensity or favourability of this star on your chart? You need to know your "yongshen". "Yongshen" is the medicine for your ba zhi, it can be one or more than one elements.

2. Jiang Xing (General star)

  Based on the earthly branch horoscope sign of yr of birth.
Rat - rat
ox - rooster
tiger - horse
rabbit - rabbit
dragon - rat
snake - rooster
horse - horse
goat - rabbit
monkey - rat
rooster - rooster
dog - horse
pig - rabbit

  This star, if it is favourable in your chart, brings great power and authority. It also denotes someone who has good helpers.

3. I ma (travelling horse)

  Based on the earthly branch horoscope sign of yr of birth.

  Rat - tiger
ox - pig
tiger - monkey
rabbit - snake
dragon - tiger
snake - pig
horse - monkey
goat - snake
monkey - tiger
rooster - pig
dog - monkey
pig - snake

  I ma as the name suggest means travelling horse. It is associated with movements and changes: migration,travelling, moving houses, changing jobs etc.

In feng shui, the tiger, snake, monkey and pigs are associated with the direction of  I ma. If you are a rat, you can put a picture or statue of the tiger at that direction to activate the I ma.

4. Death star (Lilian too's translation warrior star)
Rat - pig
ox - monkey
tiger - snake
rabbit - tiger
dragon - pig
snake - monkey
horse - snake
goat - tiger
monkey - pig
rooster - monkey
dog - snake
pig - tiger

In the negative sense : gossips and court cases litigations, bad interpersonal relationships. +ve aspect: you will gain something from this experience.

5. Wen chang (the star of scholarstic brilliance - Lilian too's translation)

   Based on the heavenly branch (HB) of the day you were born:-

Jia (yang wood) - snake
Yi (yin wood) - horse
Ping (yang fire) - monkey
Ting (yin fire) - rooster
Wu (yang earth) - monkey
Ji (yin earth) - rooster
Geng (yang metal) - pig
Xin (yin metal) - rat
Ren (yang water) - tiger
Gui (yin water) - rabbit

   +ve aspects: you have the characteristics of a scholar, ability to become an expert in your chosen skills. -ve aspects: jack of all trades but master of non.

   This is quite a popular feng shui formula based on your Ba zhi.

This is just a few of the stars out of a few hundreds combination available. I think most books dealing with ba zhi will have some entries about them.

Every star has it's +ve and -ve attributes. How do you know work which star is favourable for you? That's when you need your "yongshen". During an analysis of your eight characters or ba zhi, the astrologer usually analyse the strength of your element (HB of day of birth), then he will find the "yong shen".

"yong shen" is the medicine of an ailing ba zhi (usually one or two). It's the element(s) that tips the existing bad calculation for the better.  If the element of the star is favourable for the "yongshen" then the star has great +ve effects of the star on you and vice versa.

With this knowledge you can try writing at your "wen chang" hour, or put your desk in a "wen chang" position if your star is positive in your chart.

The knowledge of your "yong shen" will play an important aspect of time and planning, in deciding your feng shui. The ancient sages didnt do just predictions, their main aim was to change destiny. I believe most taoist beliefs to challenge destiny they are the ancient alchemists who employ this knowledge of yin/yang and 5 elements.

I would like to hear from others on how they use their analysis, do they use the knowledge of their "yongshen" directly in their life? Do they use it to try to create a "desired synchronicity" to manifesting? Do you use the knowledge of yin/yang and 5 elements creatively?

Part 1.....

Hello Alee,

I think i have seen your nickname from LT site also, on that side i dont write a lot.

Shen Sha is created to make easy money, lets think for a moment, a computer machine also can produce ShenSha, what you need to do is to insert coin, and you can read the Shen Sha and what it means.

For my reading, I use 5 elements and the interactions.

Let me know if you have further questions

Well I use the 5 element interactions too but I am not very skillful in determine the yong shen of a bazi.

I use shen sha to have a glimpse of some of the theme one has in his bazi.

Since I dont learn from a master, my learning mostly comes from books both chinese and english. As a Hong Kong master explains, shen sha has it's own element also, so the influence on one bazi depends on the element interactions too.