Standing建祿

Standing is the stage of rising on your own two feet and drawing a stipend. The stipend that officials once drew from the state had its own name, and the stage borrows it for an adult who earns a fair share by their own work, without leaning on anyone. Chinese texts also call this seat by a name meaning arriving at office. In this fourth stage the strength takes on real work and uses its skill, so it is read for self-reliance, diligence, and the steadiness of standing on your own feet.

• 建to set up, to establish (Korean reading: geon)
• 祿official stipend (Korean reading: rok)

Establishing a stipend: stepping up to a post where your own strength earns your pay.

Standing is three seats from Sprouting, counted forward for yang stems and backward for yin stems. For the eight stems other than Earth, the main hidden stem of the Standing branch is the Day Master's own stem, so each meets Standing in a branch that carries its own character. The two Earth stems follow Fire instead, and the main hidden stems of their Standing branches are yang Fire and yin Fire, not Earth.

In a chart holding Standing, self-reliance is read first: a wish to get things done with your own hands. Standing in the day or month branch is often explained as a steady working manner and a habit of owning your responsibilities. Several Standing seats can make methods set firm and accepting help feel awkward, though reaching out is fine. Without Standing, skills may come alive most when people pool their effort.

A 庚 (Geng) Day Master reaches Standing at 申 (Shen), whose main hidden stem is 庚 itself. For a 戊 (Wu) Day Master the Standing branch is 巳 (Si), whose main stem is 丙 (Bing), so it counts as Indirect Resource, not Companion.

• A common idea

  Standing means a salaried job suits you.

  How we read it

  The idea comes from reading the stipend as a wage tied to work and money. This service does not use Standing to choose a career or income type; it describes only the wish to stand on your own.

• A common idea

  A Standing branch is a Companion in every case.

  How we read it

  That holds for the eight non-Earth stems, but Earth stems follow Fire, so their Standing branch holds Fire as its main stem. This service judges the Ten Gods and the Twelve Life Stages from separate tables.

The traditional stipend table agrees with this service. It puts 甲 (Jia) at 寅 (Yin), 乙 (Yi) at 卯 (Mao), 丙 (Bing) and 戊 (Wu) at 巳 (Si), and 丁 (Ding) and 己 (Ji) at 午 (Wu). It puts 庚 (Geng) at 申 (Shen), 辛 (Xin) at 酉 (You), 壬 (Ren) at 亥 (Hai), and 癸 (Gui) at 子 (Zi). Giving Earth the table of Water would move the Standing of 戊 to 亥, as for 壬.