# Surrounded palaces (/en/docs/python/surpalaces)

The four palaces of SurroundedPalaces and its five predicates.



The surrounded set is the most commonly used reading scope in Zi Wei Dou Shu. A matter cannot be read
from its own palace alone: the stars of the opposite palace and the two trine palaces bear on it just
as much, and only all four together give the full picture.

<Callout type="info">
  The examples on this page all chart in `en-US`, so the display values in the output are the English
  translations.
</Callout>

## The four palaces [#the-four-palaces]

| Field      | Offset | Traditional name  | Meaning                                       |
| ---------- | ------ | ----------------- | --------------------------------------------- |
| `target`   | +0     | The palace itself | The matter itself                             |
| `opposite` | +6     | Opposite palace   | The facing side; the most immediate influence |
| `career`   | +4     | Career position   | One of the trine                              |
| `wealth`   | +8     | Wealth position   | One of the trine                              |

All four fields are `Palace` objects, so every method of the [palace object](/en/docs/python/palace)
is available on them.

<Callout type="info" title="Wealth and career positions are relative names">
  `wealth` and `career` mean "the trine positions relative to this palace", not the two fixed palace
  names among the twelve. Anchored on the Soul palace they happen to land on the Wealth and Career
  palaces (+8 and +4) — that is where the names come from; anchored elsewhere they are other palaces.
</Callout>

## Three ways to get one [#three-ways-to-get-one]

```python
# from the chart
sp = chart.surrounded_palaces("soulPalace")

# from a palace
sp = chart.palace("soulPalace").surrounded_palaces()

# from a star (the surrounded set of the palace it sits in)
sp = chart.star("ziweiMaj").surrounded_palaces()
```

All three give the same result; pick whichever matches what you already have.

***

## have / not\_have / have\_one\_of [#have--not_have--have_one_of]

**Purpose** Test whether the four palaces together hold the given stars.

**Zi Wei meaning** A phrase like "Ziwei is in the surrounded set" asks exactly whether a star appears
anywhere among these four palaces, without asking which one.

**Signature**

```python
def have(self, stars: list[str]) -> bool
def not_have(self, stars: list[str]) -> bool
def have_one_of(self, stars: list[str]) -> bool
```

**Parameters**

| Parameter | Type        | Required | Default | Description                                                                           |
| --------- | ----------- | -------- | ------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `stars`   | `list[str]` | Yes      | —       | A list of star keys; star names **in the chart's charting language** are accepted too |

**Return value**

| Method        | Meaning                                                                              |
| ------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| `have`        | Every star in the list appears among the four palaces (not necessarily the same one) |
| `not_have`    | No star in the list appears                                                          |
| `have_one_of` | At least one star in the list appears                                                |

**Example**

```python
from x_iztro import MajorStar, MinorStar

sp = chart.surrounded_palaces("soulPalace")

print(sp.have([MajorStar.ZIWEI, MajorStar.TIANXIANG]))
print(sp.have_one_of([MajorStar.QISHA, MajorStar.POJUN]))
print(sp.not_have([MinorStar.HUOXING]))
```

**Output**

```text
True
False
True
```

Ziwei is in the Soul palace and Tianxiang in the Wealth palace — different palaces, but both within
the four, so `have` is true.

**Edge cases and pitfalls**

<Accordions>
  <Accordion title="have does not require the same palace">
    `have([A, B])` means "A and B both appear among these four palaces", not that they sit together.
    For same-palace tests use the palace's
    [`has`](/en/docs/python/palace#has--not_have--has_one_of).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What an empty list returns">
    `have` and `not_have` return `True` for an empty list; `have_one_of` returns `False`.
  </Accordion>
</Accordions>

***

## have\_mutagen / not\_have\_mutagen [#have_mutagen--not_have_mutagen]

**Purpose** Test whether the four palaces carry a given natal mutagen.

**Zi Wei meaning** "Ji is in the surrounded set" means one of these palaces holds a star the
birth-year stem sent ji to — a common condition when locating a source of pressure.

**Signature**

```python
def have_mutagen(self, mutagen: Mutagen) -> bool
def not_have_mutagen(self, mutagen: Mutagen) -> bool
```

**Parameters**

| Parameter | Type  | Required | Default | Description             |
| --------- | ----- | -------- | ------- | ----------------------- |
| `mutagen` | `str` | Yes      | —       | One of the mutagen keys |

**Return value** `bool`.

**Example**

```python
from x_iztro import Mutagen

sp = chart.surrounded_palaces("soulPalace")

print("lu in the surrounded set:", sp.have_mutagen(Mutagen.LU))
print("ji in the surrounded set:", sp.have_mutagen(Mutagen.JI))
print("no ke in the surrounded set:", sp.not_have_mutagen(Mutagen.KE))
```

**Output**

```text
lu in the surrounded set: False
ji in the surrounded set: False
no ke in the surrounded set: True
```

This chart's natal mutagens land in four palaces: Taiyang with lu in Children, Wuqu with quan in
Wealth, Taiyin with ke in Friends, Tiantong with ji in Health. The Soul palace's surrounded set is
Soul, Surface, Wealth and Career — only the quan falls inside it, so both the lu and the ji test
`False` while a quan test would be `True`.

**Edge cases and pitfalls**

<Callout type="info">
  This looks at the **natal mutagen** marks on stars, unrelated to mutagens flown by palace stems.
  For those, use the palace's flying-star methods.
</Callout>

***

## to\_text [#to_text]

**Purpose** The surrounded palaces' semantic text: one section each for the target palace, its
opposite, and the wealth and career positions.

**Signature**

```python
def to_text(self) -> str
```

**Example**

```python
sp = chart.surrounded_palaces("soul")

print(sp.to_text().split("\n")[0])
```

**Output**

```text
Target Palace: soul (renwoo)
```

When the target palace is detached from a chart there is no charting context and `ValueError` is
raised. The full format is on [Semantic text](/en/docs/guide/guides/to-text).