What Is Concealed Salary (拱祿) in BaZi?
Learn the five Concealed Salary day-hour pairs, the missing Lu branch they arch, the fill-in restriction, and why the pattern does not promise income or rank.
Overview
Concealed Salary is a classical day-hour pattern in which two pillars share one stem and their branches flank that stem’s missing Lu branch. San Ming Tong Hui records five day-hour arrangements and requires month-command and full-chart support; a matching pair alone is not a salary or career guarantee.
At a glance
- Lookup unit
- Natal day pillar plus hour pillar
- Zi Lu pairs
- 癸亥–癸丑 · 癸丑–癸亥
- Wu Lu pairs
- 丁巳–丁未 · 己未–己巳
- Si Lu pair
- 戊辰–戊午
- Key restriction
- Missing Lu branch should not be filled
- OpenFate engine
- Not currently calculated
The five day-hour arrangements
San Ming Tong Hui lists 癸亥 day with 癸丑 hour and the reverse 癸丑 day with 癸亥 hour, both arching the missing 子 branch where Gui receives Lu. It also lists 丁巳 day with 丁未 hour and 己未 day with 己巳 hour, which arch 午, plus 戊辰 day with 戊午 hour, which arches 巳.
The day and hour stems must be identical, and the two branches must sit on either side of the relevant Lu branch. A single Lu branch elsewhere, two merely similar pillars, or a day-hour pair outside the five recorded arrangements does not satisfy this rule.
- Match one complete day-hour pair before interpreting the pattern.
- Derive the branch between the two pillars and verify that it is the shared stem’s Lu.
Why “fill-in” changes the pattern
The pattern depends on an omitted branch being arched by its two neighbors. Classical wording therefore warns against 填實, when that missing Lu branch appears directly in the natal chart or is supplied by another layer under the source convention being used.
Whether a luck cycle or year merely activates the relation or invalidates it is an interpretive question, not a universal calculator fact. A reproducible reading should state which pillars were checked, what counts as fill-in, and whether the claim concerns the natal chart or timing.
- Keep natal formation and later timing layers separate.
- State the fill-in convention instead of silently changing the rule.
Month command and chart support remain decisive
The source explicitly says to examine the month command and supporting branches. Strength, roots, useful elements, exposed Ten Gods, combinations, clashes, and the stability of the day-hour relation determine whether the candidate pattern is meaningful.
OpenFate’s current Bazi engine does not calculate Concealed Salary. This article documents the five-pair rule for study and source comparison; it does not add an undisclosed career, wealth, or status signal to an existing report.
- Treat the pair as a candidate pattern, not a completed verdict.
- Do not imply that documentation equals live engine support.
Concealed Lu is not concealed money
The word Lu historically overlaps with stipend, office, and support, but the pattern cannot prove hidden income, promotion, inheritance, a government role, or financial security. It also cannot measure employability or professional merit.
Career and money decisions should use contracts, cash flow, qualifications, market conditions, and appropriate professional advice. The pattern is cultural interpretation, not evidence for hiring, lending, investing, or tax planning.
- Never convert the classical name into a financial promise.
- Use real-world evidence for consequential career and money choices.
Sources and editorial basis
- 《三命通會》 (Sanming Tonghui)卷六「拱祿拱貴」：五組日時、拱取祿支、忌填實與月令扶助A historical compilation covering stems and branches, Ten Gods, Nayin, Shen Sha, and multiple classical pattern systems.
- OpenFate Editorial Methodology古典俸祿、官位語彙不得轉譯為現代收入、升遷或財務保證OpenFate separates deterministic chart calculation, traditional interpretation, and modern editorial explanation.