Arching Combination in Bazi (拱合)
Understand how some Bazi schools infer an absent middle branch from two outer members, why the missing branch remains absent, and how to use arching cautiously.
Overview
Arching Combination (拱合) is a school-sensitive inference in which two present branches are said to arch toward a missing member or group center. It is weaker than actually having the third branch and must not populate the chart with a fictional node. The exact pair, inferred target, season, roots, adjacency, and competing relations must be disclosed.
At a glance
- Method
- Two branches imply a missing center under a declared school rule
- Evidence rank
- Below an actual full group or canonical half trine
- Disclosure
- Present branches, inferred branch, and convention
- Boundary
- The inferred branch is not added to the natal chart
- Notional member
- Carries no hidden stems or independent score unless it actually arrives
- Timing
- A real transit member is evaluated only within its own active layer
State the arching rule before using it
Schools differ on which outer pairs qualify and how much force they receive.
Name the adopted list and the branch or phase said to be arched.
- Declare the convention.
- Avoid mixing school tables.
Keep present and inferred evidence separate
Only the two actual branches belong to the chart inventory.
Season, roots, adjacency, exposure, and continuity may support a directional tendency without creating the missing node.
- Label inference explicitly.
- Do not fabricate hidden stems.
Rank actual structures above inferred ones
A real trine, meeting, harmony, clash, or timing branch provides stronger evidence than an arching suggestion.
If the missing member later arrives, recalculate as a time-bounded actual group.
- Prioritize observed symbols.
- Upgrade only when the branch appears.
Do not use inference as certainty
拱合 cannot prove hidden wealth, an absent person, secret support, marriage, pregnancy, or a future event.
It remains a cautious structural hypothesis under a disclosed method.
- No invisible-person narrative.
- No outcome prediction.
Sources and editorial basis
- 《三命通會》 (Sanming Tonghui)《三命通會》拱夾與地支會合諸論：兩支所拱須有明確固定結構，虛拱不能當作實有之支A historical compilation covering stems and branches, Ten Gods, Nayin, Shen Sha, and multiple classical pattern systems.
- 《淵海子平》 (Yuanhai Ziping)《淵海子平》夾拱與三合諸論：拱出的方向須靠原局氣勢與歲運引發，不等同完整成局A foundational Ziping reference for branch months, hidden stems, roots, and stem-branch relationships.
- OpenFate Editorial Methodology拱合頁標示流派規則、兩支位置、所拱對象與支持證據，禁止把虛擬第三支加入藏干或重複計分OpenFate separates deterministic chart calculation, traditional interpretation, and modern editorial explanation.