BaZi: 用神 Useful God - 救应 Rescue Response

Again from ZPZQ (it's my favorite book, okay I'm a nerd)

原文：成中有败，必是带忌；败中有成，全凭救应。

Within success if there's failure, (the chart) brings along taboos, within failure if there's success, it relies of the rescue response.

何谓带忌？

What does it mean by 'bringing along taboos'?

如正官逢财而又逢伤；

Such as Direct Officer meeting Wealth and also meeting Hurting Officer

透官而又逢合；

Direct Officer protrudes but it is combined

财旺生官而又逢伤逢合；

Prosperous wealth engendering Officer but officer meets HO or combination

印透食以泄气，而又遇财露；

Seal structure with protruding Food to exhaust Qi, also meeting exposed Wealth

透煞以生印，而又透财，以去印存煞；

Devil protrudes to engender Seal, also Wealth is protruding, thus it discards the Seal to save the Devil

食神带煞印而又逢财；

Food God carries Devil and Seal meeting Wealth.

七煞逢食制而又逢印；

7K is being controlled by Food and meeting Seal (counters Food)

伤官生财而财又逢合；

Hurting Officer engendering wealth, and wealth is combined

佩印而印又遭伤，透财而逢煞，是皆谓之带忌也。

Adorned with Seal but Seal is injured, Wealth is protruding but meets Devil, all these are regarded as bringing along Taboos.

原文：成中之败，亦变化万端，此不过其大概也。如财旺生官，美格也，身弱透官，即为破格。伤官见官，为格之忌，透财而地位配置合宜，则伤官生财来生官，反可以解，种种变化，非言说所能尽，在于熟习者之妙悟耳。

There are indefinite possibilities for charts to have failure within success, the above are only general (examples). Such as Prosperous wealth engendering Officer, a beautiful structure, but DM is weak and Officer penetrates, that is a broken structure. HO meeting Officer, is most dreadful for a DO structure, but Wealth protrudes and it's in a good position, so HO would engenders wealth and wealth engenders Officer, that could solve the problem, all these changes cannot be put into words, so one has to be familiarized.

忌 Ji - is literally translated as taboo, something inauspicious, unfavorable and dreadful. Hence the phrase 忌神 Ji Shen - commonly known as unfavorable God, but can be called Taboo God, Dreadful God or Inauspicious God. The God that breaks the structure. 

How do we know if the God is dreadful? By determining which is the Useful God and then establish the structure by following the basic rules (I am repeating this ad nauseum but it is completely necessary)

Benevolent Gods - Officer, Wealth, Food and Seal like to be engendered or protected.

Not Benevolent Gods - Devil, Owl, Hurt and Blade like to be countered or transformed.

When the structure is establish, look for one character that could break the structure, if there's no such character, the structure establishment is considered successful which is highly auspicious, otherwise, the existence of Taboo God breaks the structure and the structure becomes lowly.

ZPZQ gives some examples of Taboo Gods

Such as:

- A DO engendered by Wealth structure meets HO, (HO is almost always taboo for DO, Metal - Water HO being the only one exception)

- A DO structure with DO protrudes but it is combined away (the combining god is taboo)

- A Wealth engendering DO structure meets HO or DO is combined away

- A Seal structure that uses Food for elegant exhaustion meets exposed Wealth (Wealth is taboo as it breaks Seal)

- A Seal structure with protruding 7K is a Devil and Seal mutually engendering structure, but if the structure has Wealth, Wealth would break the Seal and saves the Devil. (Wealth is the taboo)

- A Food structure that controls 7K, when there is wealth, Food would engender wealth and wealth would engender 7K, Food would not control 7K anymore, so Wealth is the taboo.

- A Hurting Officer engendering Wealth structure, wealth is combined (robbed), so the combining god is taboo (compare shoulders or rob wealth is the taboo)

- A Hurting Officer adorns with Seal structure, if there's Wealth  Seal will be broken by Wealth and Wealth would be the taboo

- A Hurting Officer structure with Wealth protruding is HO engendering Wealth structure, if 7K is also protruding, wealth would in turn engenders 7K, 7K is the Taboo God

So from here we can conclude that the Taboo God is the God that damage the overall chart structure, it can be: 

1. The God that damages the Useful God

2. The God that damages the God that is used by the Useful God (useful god)

3.`The God that protects the not Benevolent Gods 

4. The God that combines away the Benevolent Gods

Next, what happens if there's a Taboo God? Then the chart needs a rescue response.

ZPZQ says

原文：何谓救应？

What is the rescue response?

如

Such as:

官逢伤而透印以解之，杂煞而合煞以清之，刑冲而会合以解之；

Officer meeting HO and Seal penetrates to solve the problem, Officer is mixed with Devil and Devil is combined, Officer is punished or clashed but meetings and combinations solved the problem.

财逢劫而透食以化之，生官以制之，逢煞而食神制煞以生财，或存财而合煞；

Wealth meeting Rob Wealth and Food penetrates to transform Rob Wealth, or with Officer to control Rob wealth, Wealth meeting Devil and Food controls Devil and engenders Wealth, or Food combines with 7K to save Wealth.

印逢财而劫财以解之，或合财而存印；

Seal meeting Wealth but Rob Wealth solved the problem, or combines with Wealth to save the Seal.

食逢枭而就煞以成格，或生财以护食；

Food meeting the Owl and thus follows the Devil to establish the structure, or engenders Wealth to protect the Food.

煞逢食制，印来护煞，而逢财以去印存食；

Devil is controlled by Food, but Seal is protecting the Devil, meeting Wealth would discard the Seal and save the Food.

伤官生财透煞而煞逢合；

Hurting Officer engendering Wealth with protruding Devil,devil is combined away

阳刃用官煞带伤食，而重印以护之；

YangRen uses Officer or Devil but brings alont Hurt and Food, heavy Seal would protect the Officer or Devil

建禄月劫用官，遇伤而伤被合，用财带煞而煞被合，

JianLu and YueJie use Officer, meeting Hurting officer and the HO is combined away, JL and YJ use Wealth and Wealth engendering 7K, 7K is combined away

是谓之救应也。

These are called rescue response. 

If there's a Taboo God in the chart, we need a rescue response, the God that comes to rescue is the Minister God. It's like the King with all his problems and his minister has to clean up his sh*t, or something like that. 

When there's a Taboo God, there's a sickness, when there's a sickness, we need medicine, the medicine is the Minister God. SFTK teaches the same concept as ZPZQ, but it is called Sickness and Medicine, referring to an old ode that says: 

有病方为贵, 无伤不是奇

With Sickness and Medicine it is a noble (chart), without injury it is not wonderful. 

An indication that a chart with a Taboo and Rescue response are noble charts.