父母 · Fùmǔ · Parents Palace
Parents
Parents, mentors, and everyone with authority over you.
What it covers
Parents first, then the extension the classics make explicitly: teachers, mentors, bosses, institutions — anyone standing above you in a structure.
It also reads support received: what was given to you before you could ask for it.
How to read it
天梁 here is the classical shelter reading — protection available, mentors who appear when needed. Harsher configurations describe early independence: not necessarily bad parents, often just support that ended sooner than it does for other people.
It sits opposite the Friends palace, which gives a useful contrast: authority above you against peers beside you. People who read poorly on one often read strongly on the other.
A common misreading
A difficult Parents palace is not an accusation against anyone's family, and it is not a prediction about their health. It describes the shape of the relationship to authority — which shows up in every job you ever have, long after the family part is settled.
Read your Parents palace for how you handle authority — it outlives the family it started with.
