亥子丑三会

成方之义

The term 三会 refers to the gathering of three earthly branches into the force of one direction. Among the four such gatherings, 亥子丑三会水局 belongs to the north and corresponds to winter. The three branches 亥，子, and 丑 occupy consecutive positions in the twelve-branch cycle: 亥 closes the autumn sequence, 子 stands at the centre of winter, and 丑 opens the transition toward spring. Because they are adjacent and share the same directional quarter, their combination is called 成方, meaning the formation of a directional square.

Within this group, 子 is the branch of midwinter. It is the eleventh month of the lunar year and the point where water reaches its fullest seasonal expression. The three branches do not merely symbolise winter; they are understood to pool their energies into the water element when all three appear together in a chart. This pooling is not produced by a single acting branch but by the collective alignment of the northern side of the branch ring.

与三合之别

三会 and 三合 are distinct systems of branch combination, and their internal logic differs. 三会 takes three adjacent branches of the same direction, as in 亥，子, and 丑 for the north. 三合 selects three branches positioned in a triangular relation around the branch ring. The classical comparison states that 三会取三方，犹如朋友同道, while 三合取对位，犹如夫妇相依. In other words, the three branches of a 三会 combination are like companions travelling the same road, sharing a directional purpose, whereas the three branches of a 三合 combination are like spouses bound by complementary opposition.

The distinction affects how the two types of combination are read. A 三会 emphasises spatial continuity and seasonal unity. Its three branches sit side by side, and their union is one of shared orientation. A 三合 emphasises birth, prosperity, and storage arranged across the cycle, and its three branches are separated by regular intervals. The 亥子丑 group is therefore a matter of the northern direction itself, not of a triangular water network.

四正与四墓

In the 亥子丑三会水局，子 holds the position of 四正. The 四正 branches are 子，午，卯, and 酉, and each stands at the cardinal point of its season. 子 is the cardinal branch of water and occupies the stage of 帝旺, the peak of the element’s strength. Within the northern combination, 子 is therefore the central axis of the water force.

丑 holds the position of 四墓. The 四墓 branches are 辰，戌，丑, and 未, and they are associated with storage and closure. In the seasonal sequence, 丑 is the final month of winter, when the outward movement of the year is still in retreat and the earth is closed in storage. Its function within the 三会 is to contain and consolidate the direction’s energy.

A key point is that the element stored by a 四墓 branch is not necessarily the element of its own direction. In the 三合 system, 丑 is the storage of metal. The 三合 metal bureau is 巳酉丑, and within that structure 丑 serves as the metal storehouse. Since metal generates water in the five-element cycle, 丑 as the metal storehouse supplies a generative source that supports the water of the 亥子丑 gathering. Thus the storage branch in this directional combination does not simply hold water; it holds the element that feeds water.

The attribution of the 四墓 branches comes from the 三合 system. In the water bureau 申子辰，辰 is the water storehouse. In the wood bureau 亥卯未，未 is the wood storehouse. In the fire bureau 寅午戌，戌 is the fire storehouse. In the metal bureau 巳酉丑，丑 is the metal storehouse. The 三会 combinations borrow these same four storage branches. 亥子丑 therefore uses 丑 as its storage point, but the stored element is metal, and metal’s generative relationship to water is what joins 丑 to the northern gathering.

命例

A chart shows the four pillars 壬寅，癸丑，丙子，己亥. The pattern is 伤官格. The 亥子丑三会水局 relation falls on the hour, day, and month pillars. In this configuration, the three branches 亥，子, and 丑 appear together across the month, day, and hour positions, while the year branch is 寅. Because the three northern branches are present in the same chart, the directional gathering is formed. The absence of the year branch from the combination does not prevent the gathering, since the three required branches are all present among the four pillars.

Worked example (solar 1963-02-02 22:00, female, computed by this site's engine):

Pattern: 伤官格 · Strength: 极弱 (engine verdicts)

常见误区

One common misunderstanding is to treat any two of the three branches as a full 三会. The method of checking requires all three branches to appear among the year, month, day, and hour pillars. Only when 亥，子, and 丑 are all present is the combination complete. If only two of them appear, the condition is 半会, a half gathering, and its force is lighter than that of the full formation.

Another misunderstanding is to assume that the storage branch always stores the element of its own direction. In the case of 丑, the stored element is metal, not water. This is because the 四墓 attributions are fixed by the 三合 system, and 丑 is the metal storehouse. The generative chain from metal to water is what allows 丑 to participate in the northern water gathering.

It is also incorrect to suppose that once a 三会 is formed, the individual branches keep their original functions unchanged. When the three northern branches complete the directional gathering, their strength is drawn into the collective water force, and the original primary qi of each branch is markedly weakened. The arrangement of the three branches among the four pillars matters as well; the closeness or distance between them directly affects the strength of the combination. Branches placed close together in the pillar sequence gather more tightly, while intervening branches or wider gaps weaken the cohesion.

Finally, the 三会 should not be confused with the 三合 water bureau. The 三合 water bureau is 申子辰, and it operates by a different structural principle. The 亥子丑 group is a gathering of adjacent northern branches, while 申子辰 is a triangle across the cycle. In a chart where both structures appear, they must be assessed separately, because one is a directional square and the other is a triangular relation of birth, prosperity, and storage.