BAZI KNOWLEDGE BASE
Why Fate-Star schools disagree: catalogs, anchors, variants and error checks
Two Fate-Star reports can differ without one simply omitting a marker. Catalog scope, alternate tables, Year or Day anchors, target positions, timing and interpretive weight can all change results. Compare fields before choosing a version; merging outputs destroys reproducibility.
Six fields locate most disagreements
Compare catalog, source and edition, anchor, target table, permitted pillar/time scope, and interpretive priority. Final labels alone cannot reveal where the disagreement arose.
Variant characters, aliases and translations can also create false duplicates. Preserve the Chinese name and rule identifier.
| Difference | Example |
|---|---|
| Catalog | 60 entries versus 10 displayed |
| Version | Different Geng targets in same-name tables |
| Anchor | Year Branch versus Day Branch |
| Target scope | Branch only versus complete pillar |
| Timing | Natal only versus timing layers |
| Priority | Primary Lu Ming reading versus Ziping supplement |
Does Geng-day Heavenly Nobleman target Chou–Wei or Yin–Wu?
Clarify’s current table groups Geng with Jia and Wu at Chou–Wei; another transmitted table places Geng at Yin–Wu. Do not add both into one result. Display the rule version so the same chart can be recalculated under each.
This is a table-version difference, not a birth-time error. Do not choose retrospectively by which description appears more accurate.
Which problems are variants and which are errors?
Alternate tables, anchor traditions and priority can be genuine school differences. Assembling a pillar from different locations, replacing a target branch with a hidden stem (an additional element symbol traditionally assigned inside a lower chart symbol), ignoring an unknown hour, double counting and writing annual symbols into the natal chart (the chart calculated for the birth moment) are execution errors.
Calling every error a school difference makes validation impossible. Each report must first be internally consistent.
How should a website change rule versions?
A new version should publish changed rows, affected markers and result differences while retaining reproduction of older reports. A content guide may explain a variant without silently changing the calculation engine.
This Knowledge Base draft changes local reading content only; it does not change Clarify’s Fate-Star algorithms.