Special Structures and Follow Patterns (Cong Ge)

Most charts are still read through strong vs weak Day Master and support-and-curb useful gods. When the Day Master becomes so extreme that it can no longer stand as an ordinary chart, you move into special structures. The follow pattern (cong ge) is the most typical—and the easiest to misread.

A follow pattern is not a normal strength question. It is about the Five Elements fully going with the tide: the Day Master is extremely weak and follows another force, or extremely strong and gathers into one side. Di Tian Sui says “true follow—how many people in the world?”—both rarity and a warning that formation conditions are strict. Telling true from fake follow is what makes major luck and annual luck readable: riding the trend, or pulled between pattern and ordinary chart.

What is a follow pattern? Core formation conditions

The essence of follow is the Day Master out of season and without root, while another force dominates the chart. The day stem must be born in a month where it is resting, imprisoned, dead, or extinct; branches must lack strong root and stems must lack clear support (Seal, Friend); global force concentrates on one Ten God or element, and the Day Master can only abandon self and follow.

This differs from climate-adjusting useful gods in regular charts: in follow patterns, the favorable force is often the very force being followed.

Follow patterns fall into two broad classes:

1. Follow-weak patterns (extremely weak Day Master, follows outward force)

• Follow Wealth: Direct and Indirect Wealth overwhelmingly strong; Day Master without root or Seal; Output may feed Wealth without Friends dividing it. Formation usually needs the month to command Wealth, or branches forming Wealth combinations with Wealth on the stem. Such lives often rely on others’ resources, spouse, or investment; luck favors Output feeding Wealth and Officer/Seven Killings restraining Friends; Friends breaking Wealth are most unfavorable.
• Follow Officer or Seven Killings: Officer or Seven Killings extremely strong on the stem; Day Master without Output controlling Killings or Seal transforming Killings; month commands authority; branches not broken by clash. Often authority and status—government or management; luck most fears Seal generating the self, leading to Killings attacking the body.
• Follow Output (Follow Food/Hurting Officer): Food God or Hurting Officer extremely strong; Day Master drained beyond recovery without Seal or Friend protection. Common in creativity, technique, performance; Wealth cycles help passage; Seal snatching Food is unfavorable.

2. Follow-strong / dominant-element patterns (extremely strong Day Master, one side dominates)

Also called Qu Zhi, Yan Shang, Jia Se, Cong Ge, and Run Xia—the five dominant frames. Friends and Seal overwhelm the chart; Officer, Wealth, and Output are suppressed or weak. Strong personality—suited to independent business or deep specialization; luck favors Friend and Seal; Officer, Wealth, and Output cycles may break the pattern.

Follow-momentum pattern: when Wealth, Officer, and Output are all strong and the Day Master has no root and cannot follow a single god, it follows the overall dominant tide; passage cycles help; talent is broad but swings are larger.

True follow vs fake follow

When the chart shows an extremely weak Day Master, do not call follow immediately—distinguish fake follow first. The key is purity and whether hidden support remains.

True follow

No root, no support; no leftover qi in hidden stems or dark arching of Seal/Friend; the followed god forms square or combination without opposition. Rare; luck is extreme—when trend supports, rise can be sharp; when it clashes with dominance, fall can be sharp. Di Tian Sui’s “true follow—how few in the world” means harsh conditions.

Fake follow

Surface can follow, but flaws remain: trace Friend or Seal (hidden branch, combined or clashed, or subdued by the followed force)—follow not complete.

Common cases: Follow Wealth with Friend hidden root; Follow Killings with Seal on stem broken by Wealth. Fake follow is more common and more flexible—when luck combines away the opposing force, it may temporarily act like true follow; when luck supports the flaw, the chart returns to regular strong/weak. The saying “fake follow can still prosper” reflects this.

In practice, many fake-follow charts run well early, then reverse when later luck clashes with dominance—adjust industry and strategy early.

Practical judgment and common pitfalls

Judging follow must combine True Solar Time, solar terms, and longitude (see the charting chapter). Focus on three points:

1. Does the Day Master have root (main qi, leftover qi, tomb/storage—broken by clash or combination)?
2. Is the followed god truly dominant (month in season, stem exposed, combination formed)?
3. Are opposing Ten Gods exposed or hidden?

Common errors: treating ordinary weakness as follow; ignoring hidden stems; reading stems only, not branches. After software casting, still review qi momentum and pattern logic by hand. Yin stems (Yi, Ding, Ji, Xin, Gui) follow more easily; Yang stems (Jia, Bing, Wu, Geng, Ren) resist follow—be extra cautious.

Other special structures

• Jian Lu: day branch is Lu, month branch same type—suited to professional skill.
• Yang Ren: blade star riding Killings—civil and martial mix, prone to impulse.
• Kui Gang: Kui Gang stems with branch support—firm, decisive, concentrated power.
• Jin Shen: Jin Shen on blade—military/police or decisive trades.

Each must be judged as formed or broken before useful gods—do not apply labels mechanically.

Classic case study

Fake follow Wealth example (anonymized practice case):

Male chart: Xin-Hai, Yi-Wei, Bing-Shen, Ji-Chou

Bing Fire born in Wei month—fire trapped, earth strong; Bing lacks strong root; earth and metal Wealth gather; Output feeds Wealth—surface strongly resembles Follow Wealth. Hai hides Jia Wood Seal in the dark—fake follow.

Early wealth through investment and spouse support; mid-life Officer/Killings cycle suppresses Seal, career rises again; later Friend cycles may see money in and out—watch health and relationships.

Follow practice hinges on: whether the followed force is single-minded, hidden Seal/Friend breaking pattern, luck with or against dominance. Cases differ widely—do not map one ancient example onto celebrities. Fake follow often feels “almost follow, not quite”—when luck clears the breaking character, pattern may clarify temporarily; when luck supports the breaker, read as regular weak/strong. Check cycle by cycle; avoid one verdict for life.

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