FIELD GUIDEChinese traditions, clearly mapped

M06 · LESSONS 56–73

Module 6 · Divination: Xiao Liuren, Meihua Yishu, and Liuyao (Lessons 56–73)

This module compares three traditional divination systems: Xiao Liuren's compact six-position cycle, Meihua Yishu's number-and-image approach, and Liuyao's six-line chart with najia, Five-Phase relations, and host/guest positions. The aim is to reconstruct procedures, distinguish calculation from interpretation, and keep dated, falsifiable records of judgments so hindsight does not rewrite them.

Lesson 56 · Xiao Liuren: The Six Positions and Casting Procedure#

Learning goals#

  • Memorize the six positions, their order, and traditional labels.
  • Cast by finger-counting and by formula.

Lesson#

Xiao Liuren is a folk divination method. The name gong here means a position in a repeating sequence. Lunar month, day, and double-hour are counted through six positions; the final position is interpreted through traditional symbolic labels. These labels are not event probabilities. The method is also called zhangzhong jue (“palm method”) and is often attributed in folk texts to Li Chunfeng of the Tang, but an attribution alone does not establish authorship. Greater Liuren is a separate chart-based system despite sharing the name “Liuren.”

Position Traditional label Mnemonic One-line reading
Da’an Auspicious Stability Steady; do not rush
Liulian Inauspicious Delay Repetition and indecision
Suxi Auspicious Quick good news News arrives quickly
Chikou Inauspicious Dispute Guard against arguments or mishaps
Xiaoji Auspicious Small gain Help is available; modest progress
Kongwang Inauspicious Empty / unrealized The matter may come to nothing

The sequence is Da’an → Liulian → Suxi → Chikou → Xiaoji → Kongwang, then repeats. On the left hand, the lower joints are Da’an (index), Kongwang (middle), and Xiaoji (ring); the fingertips are Liulian, Suxi, and Chikou respectively. Start at Da’an for lunar month one, count to the month; from that position count day one to the lunar date; from the day position count Zi hour to the current double-hour. Double-hour indices run Zi = 1, Chou = 2, through Hai = 12.

The shortcut is (lunar month + lunar day + double-hour index − 2) mod 6: remainders 1–5 map to the first five positions; remainder 0 maps to the sixth, Kongwang. The subtraction corrects for counting the starting position as one at each of the three stages. Example: lunar month 10, day 3, Shen hour (9): 10 + 3 + 9 − 2 = 20; remainder 2 gives Liulian. Finger-counting and arithmetic encode the same procedure, so agreement catches counting mistakes but cannot establish that an interpretation is accurate.

State how you handle an intercalary month; traditions also differ on whether the day changes at Zi hour or at midnight. Time zone can change which lunar date applies. Record those input conventions so another reader can reproduce the result.

Practice#

  1. Cast five times by finger-counting and by the formula.
  2. Use a calendar to find the current lunar date and double-hour, then cast once.
  3. Choose and document a rule for intercalary months and the Zi-hour day boundary.

Check your understanding#

  1. What is the result for lunar month 3, day 5, Chen hour?
  2. Recite the six positions in order.
  3. Does Xiao Liuren use lunar month/day or stem-branch month/day?

Answers: 1. 3 + 5 + 5 − 2 = 11; remainder 5, Xiaoji. 2. Da’an, Liulian, Suxi, Chikou, Xiaoji, Kongwang. 3. Lunar month and day.

Lesson 57 · Xiao Liuren: Interpretation and Practice#

Learning goals#

  • Apply the six traditional labels to a clearly defined question.
  • Keep a record written before the outcome is known.

Lesson#

The six labels—stability, delay, quick news, dispute, modest progress, and unrealized outcome—are traditional interpretive categories, not six kinds of real-world event or calibrated probabilities. Context supplies the analogy: Liulian in a parcel question might be read as delay, for example. The position name alone does not determine what will happen.

The “three-position” reading treats the positions reached by month, day, and hour as cause, process, and outcome. It adds a narrative layer to the final position. For a question such as “Will the parcel be delivered by 6 p.m. today?”, fix the deadline and the evidence that counts, write the interpretation beforehand, and use the carrier’s delivery record to score it. “Possibly delayed” should not be counted as a hit if delivery happened on time.

Record every attempt, not only striking matches. Three auspicious and three inauspicious labels do not establish a 50% baseline for a particular question. A 50% baseline applies only under defined conditions such as balanced, equally likely binary outcomes. For uneven outcomes, vague categories, or “cannot determine,” estimate a relevant baseline from comparable cases rather than assuming one.

Practice#

  1. Make three predictions today and record their outcomes tonight.
  2. Apply the three-position reading to one, keeping the symbolic narrative separate from observable facts.
  3. Create a log template that preserves the question, time, method, prediction, deadline, and result.

Check your understanding#

  1. How might Chikou be read in a lost-item question?
  2. What do the three positions represent in this method?
  3. Why do three auspicious and three inauspicious labels not prove a 50% guessing baseline?

Answers: 1. Traditionally, conflict or that someone may have taken it; this is not evidence. 2. Cause, process, and outcome. 3. The count of labels says nothing about the base rate for a defined real-world question.

Lesson 58 · Meihua Yishu: Casting Methods#

Learning goals#

  • Understand the method's traditional attribution and disputed textual history.
  • Calculate a hexagram from time, numbers, an object, or sound.

Lesson#

Meihua Yishu (“Plum Blossom Changes”) is a traditional method that converts a time, number, observed object, or sound into trigrams and a moving line. An upper or lower trigram is one of the two three-line figures in a six-line hexagram. The Later Heaven sequence is not used here: the casting convention uses the Earlier Heaven trigram numbers—Qian 1, Dui 2, Li 3, Zhen 4, Xun 5, Kan 6, Gen 7, Kun 8. A moving line is the line selected to change from yin to yang or yang to yin.

The received book is traditionally attributed to the Northern Song scholar Shao Yong and includes the “Plum Blossom” story, but its authorship and compilation date are debated; one discussion of its textual history is available in this study of the received text. Treat the story as a textual teaching example, not a verified contemporary record. The method emphasizes images and the ti-yong (subject/object) relation, and often does not center the hexagram statements.

For time casting, use the Earthly Branch index for year and hour (Zi = 1 through Hai = 12), and lunar numbers for month and day. Divide the upper-trigram sum by 8; add the hour index for the lower-trigram sum; divide the total by 6 for the moving line. A remainder of 0 means trigram 8 or line 6. Example: a Bingwu year (Wu = 7), lunar month 10, day 3, Shen hour (9): upper 7 + 10 + 3 = 20, remainder 4 = Zhen; lower 29, remainder 5 = Xun; 29 mod 6 = line 5. The result is Thunder over Wind, Heng (Duration), line five moving.

For two-number casting, use the first number for the upper trigram, the second for the lower, and their sum (optionally plus the hour index) for the moving line. For object casting, the seen object supplies the upper trigram and its Later Heaven direction the lower; state the directional chart used. For sound casting, count the heard occurrences and apply the number method. Different input conventions can produce different figures; reproducible arithmetic does not by itself demonstrate predictive power.

The traditional “Plum Blossom Divination” story uses a Chen year, lunar month 12, day 17, Shen hour: 5 + 12 + 17 = 34 (remainder 2, Dui); adding Shen 9 gives 43 (remainder 3, Li); 43 mod 6 gives the first line. This produces Lake over Fire, Ge (Revolution), first line moving.

Practice#

  1. Cast for 2026 (Bingwu, Wu = 7), lunar month 10, day 3, Shen hour.
  2. Cast from the last four digits of a phone number, documenting the rule.
  3. Choose an object outside a window and record how its direction is determined.

Check your understanding#

  1. Which trigram corresponds to remainder 0?
  2. If line four moves, is it in the upper or lower trigram?
  3. Which indices are used for year and hour?

Answers: 1. Kun. 2. The upper trigram. 3. Earthly Branch indices. Practice 1: Thunder over Wind, Heng, line five moving.

Lesson 59 · Meihua Yishu: Original, Nuclear, and Changed Hexagrams#

Learning goals#

  • Derive a nuclear hexagram and a changed hexagram.
  • Separate the mechanical construction from a traditional time-based reading.

Lesson#

A solid line is yang and a broken line yin. Read a hexagram from the bottom line upward. The original hexagram is the cast figure. To construct the nuclear hexagram, use original lines 2–4 as the lower trigram and lines 3–5 as the upper. To construct the changed hexagram, reverse the moving line and leave the other five lines unchanged. Some Meihua readings treat the original, nuclear, and changed hexagrams as present situation, process, and outcome; that is an interpretive framework, not time information inherent in the line drawing.

Example: Thunder over Wind, Heng, line five moving has lines yin–yang–yang–yang–yin–yin from bottom to top. Lines 2–4 are yang–yang–yang (Qian, lower); lines 3–5 are yang–yang–yin (Dui, upper), so the nuclear figure is Lake over Heaven, Guai. Changing line five from yin to yang gives Dui over Xun, Lake over Wind, Da Guo. Calculate the line pattern first, then discuss meaning.

For Lake over Fire, Ge, first line moving, the nuclear figure is Heaven over Wind, Gou; changing the first line gives Lake over Mountain, Xian. Qian and Kun are special cases whose nuclear figures remain themselves; some practitioners therefore read the original and changed figures without treating the nuclear figure as new information. This is a reading choice, not a calculation error.

Practice#

  1. Find the nuclear and changed figures for the hexagram you cast in Lesson 58.
  2. Find the nuclear figures of Qian and Kun and explain why they add no new line pattern.
  3. Find the nuclear and changed figures for Water over Fire, Ji Ji, first line moving.

Check your understanding#

  1. In the traditional time-based reading, what role is assigned to the nuclear hexagram?
  2. How do you find the changed hexagram?
  3. What is the nuclear hexagram of Lake over Fire, Ge?

Answers: 1. The process or middle stage. 2. Reverse the moving line. 3. Heaven over Wind, Gou. Practice 2: Qian’s nuclear figure is Qian and Kun’s is Kun. Practice 3: Nuclear: Fire over Water, Wei Ji. Changed: Water over Mountain, Jian.

Lesson 60 · Meihua Yishu: The Ti-Yong Relationship#

Learning goals#

  • Identify the ti (subject) and yong (object) trigrams.
  • Apply the five Five-Phase relationships and trace the traditional Plum Blossom example.

Lesson#

In Meihua Yishu, the trigram without the moving line is usually ti, the subject; the trigram containing it is yong, the object or matter asked about. The nuclear and changed figures are also compared with ti. First locate the moving line, then assign ti and yong, then check their phases. Reversing the assignment reverses the reading.

Relationship Traditional label Symbolic gloss
Yong generates ti Greatly favorable Outside support
Same phase (bihe) Favorable Agreement or harmony
Ti controls yong Slightly favorable Can achieve it with effort
Ti generates yong Slightly unfavorable Energy or resources flow outward
Yong controls ti Unfavorable Constraint or pressure

For example, if ti is Xun (Wood) and yong is Kan (Water), Water generates Wood: yong generates ti. If ti is Xun Wood and yong is Qian Metal, Metal controls Wood: yong controls ti. These relation names can be checked against the Five-Phase cycle; their auspicious labels remain internal to the tradition.

The received “Plum Blossom” story begins with Lake over Fire, Ge, first line moving: lower Li is yong, upper Dui is ti. The text relates Li Fire controlling Dui Metal, then uses images from Dui and the nuclear Xun to narrate a girl breaking a flower and falling. The changed Gen Earth generating Dui Metal is interpreted as easing the image. This is a traditional divinatory story, not independently verified history or medical judgment. Bodily imagery must not be used to diagnose or predict injury.

For Heng, line five moving, upper Zhen is yong and lower Xun is ti; both are Wood, so the opening relation is bihe. The nuclear Dui and Qian are Metal, which controls the Wood ti; the changed Dui also controls it. This is how the example's internal reading is assembled, not evidence of an actual outcome.

Practice#

  1. Assign ti and yong to your cast figure and compare their phases.
  2. Explain why the Plum Blossom story associates the injury with the thigh.
  3. Give a daily-life example of ti generating yong.

Check your understanding#

  1. If the moving line is in the upper trigram, which trigram is ti?
  2. What is the traditional label for ti controlling yong?
  3. Which figure is said to moderate the harmful image in the Plum Blossom story?

Answers: 1. The lower trigram. 2. Slightly favorable. 3. The changed Gen trigram (Earth generates Dui Metal).

Lesson 61 · Meihua Yishu: Seasonal Qi and Correspondence Images#

Learning goals#

  • Apply the seasonal wang-xiang-xiu-qiu-si phase scheme.
  • Distinguish a symbolic analogy from an observed fact.

Lesson#

Seasonal gua qi adjusts the relative strength assigned to trigrams in some Meihua rules. The five labels—prosperous, supported, resting, constrained, and weak—are evaluated against the ruling phase. Under the course's scheme, in winter Water is prosperous, Wood supported, Metal resting, Earth constrained, and Fire weak. Thus in the Heng example Xun Wood is supported, while controlling Metal is resting. This is an internal weighting rule, not a statistical estimate of real-world pressure.

Traditional leixiang (categorical images) extends trigram associations into a possible scene. Qian may symbolize authority and Dui speech, so an interpreter might analogize a Qian/Dui obstacle to a supervisor's view or a verbal disagreement. That does not establish that a supervisor objects; independent evidence is needed. Record the symbol, the real-world observation, and alternative explanations separately.

Season Prosperous Supported Resting Constrained Weak
Spring Zhen, Xun Li Kan Qian, Dui Kun, Gen
Summer Li Kun, Gen Zhen, Xun Kan Qian, Dui
Autumn Qian, Dui Kan Kun, Gen Li Zhen, Xun
Winter Kan Zhen, Xun Qian, Dui Kun, Gen Li
Seasonal Earth months Kun, Gen Qian, Dui Li Zhen, Xun Kan

The seasonal month is commonly assigned by solar terms, not by the first day of a Gregorian or lunar month. Schools may weight the factors differently. In categorical divination, the question selects the relevant image: weather for a weather question, the home for a house question, or the patient as ti in a traditional illness question. These are historical rules, not evidence or medical advice.

Practice#

  1. Add seasonal phase status to the figure from your log and note whether the traditional reading changes.
  2. Write a symbolic scene, then list what would count as independent evidence for it.
  3. In spring, assess Kun Earth as ti and Zhen Wood as yong.

Check your understanding#

  1. What is Li Fire's status in winter?
  2. If a weak yong controls ti, how does this scheme adjust the relation?
  3. What might Kun as the generating trigram symbolize?

Answers: 1. Weak. 2. The controlling force is treated as reduced. 3. People, a mother, or a platform, depending on the question. Practice 3: Spring Wood is prosperous and Earth weak; the yong is strong while the ti is weak.

Lesson 62 · Meihua Yishu: External Signs and Timing#

Learning goals#

  • Recognize the “three essentials” and “ten responses.”
  • Set and preserve one testable time window.

Lesson#

The “three essentials” (san yao) are what is heard, seen, and thought at casting time. The “ten responses” (shi ying) classify possible sources of an omen: direct correspondence, nuclear figure, changed figure, direction, day, moment, external surroundings, weather, terrain, and human interaction. Explanations vary among texts. An external sign does not apply itself; the interpreter should state why a particular observed event was selected.

Common analogies include laughter or singing as Dui (speech/joy), an argument as Dui or Zhen, a passing vehicle as Zhen (movement), rain or water sounds as Kan, an elder arriving as Qian, and a closing door as Gen (stopping). These are conventional correspondences, not information about the future.

An yingqi (response period) is the time window assigned by a traditional reading, such as three days or a particular month. Because units can be changed after the fact, record one deadline before the outcome is known. For “receive an email within three days,” specify the start time, time zone, sender or message definition, and exact cutoff. If it does not arrive by then, score it against that original standard; do not turn three days into three weeks.

Preserve every log entry and distinguish clear hits, misses, ambiguous results, and indeterminate outcomes. A wide choice of external signs and timing rules can make a tradition rich to study, while also creating selection bias. Use actual delivery status or official notices for real decisions.

Practice#

  1. Record one external sign at the time of a cast.
  2. Estimate timing three ways, then select and prerecord one deadline.
  3. Review old logs for deadlines changed after the result.

Check your understanding#

  1. What are the three essentials?
  2. What trigram might a closing door evoke in this system?
  3. Why is response timing vulnerable to hindsight bias?

Answers: 1. Ear, eye, and mind. 2. Gen, stopping. 3. Many units and methods allow a matching window to be selected after the result.

Lesson 63 · Meihua Yishu: Question Types and a Written Judgment#

Learning goals#

  • Follow a seven-step reading procedure.
  • Write a conclusion that can be scored against a fixed criterion.

Lesson#

“Reading a hexagram” means organizing its figures according to a chosen traditional procedure. This lesson's seven steps are: define the question; calculate original, nuclear, and changed figures; assign ti and yong; check generation and control; adjust by seasonal phase; use correspondence images to describe a possible scene; then state the external sign, one timing window, and a concise judgment. Each step should be traceable to the input and rule. Do not jump from a hexagram name directly to a conclusion.

For “Will I receive a reply about the contract by Friday?”, specify which Friday, the time zone, what counts as a reply, and the casting convention before interpreting. A judgment is a claim internal to the system and should not replace direct communication. At review, compare the preregistered wording with the record; silence cannot later be reinterpreted as a successful prediction of “they are considering it.”

Traditional category readings address money, jobs or exams, travel, illness, and lost objects. Here they are studied as historical symbolic practice. A figure cannot diagnose illness, assess treatment, or evaluate an investment. Medical, financial, and legal decisions require appropriate evidence and qualified help.

Question Traditional focus
Money Yong generating ti or ti controlling yong is read as gain; the reverse relations as loss
Work or exams A controlling trigram's authority associations and the strength of ti
Travel Harmony or support is read as smooth; Kan may symbolize obstruction
Illness Historical bodily analogies are for history only, not diagnosis or treatment
Lost objects Images may be used to suggest a direction or setting

Practice#

  1. Complete the template below for a cast figure.
  2. Rewrite three past log entries as testable statements.
  3. Use the illness category only to analyze the historical symbolic procedure, without drawing a health conclusion.
Question:
Original / nuclear / changed figures:
Ti __ (phase) · yong __ (phase) · relation:
Seasonal status of ti and yong:
Images and the analogy being made:
External sign:
One preregistered deadline:
One testable statement:

Check your understanding#

  1. What are the seven steps, in order?
  2. In the traditional illness category, what does ti represent?
  3. What makes a judgment suitable for review?

Answers: 1. Question; figures; ti/yong; phase relations; seasonal status; images; then external sign, timing, and judgment. 2. The patient within the symbolic model. 3. One clear statement, fixed criteria, and a deadline written beforehand.

Lesson 64 · Meihua Yishu: A Practical Exercise#

Learning goals#

  • Practice casting, preregistration, and review across methods.

Lesson#

The aim is not to cast more often but to control the record. If you cast for one question using time, numbers, and an object, prerecord that these are three parallel methods and keep all three readings. Do not select only the one that resembles the eventual outcome. Keep a timestamp, inputs, algorithm version, wording, scoring rule, and review date.

For “Will I receive a meeting invitation by Wednesday?”, define the sender, whether a calendar event or verbal invitation counts, the exact cutoff, and time zone. If the question changes, create a new entry instead of editing the old one. Disagreement among methods need not be forced into a vaguer shared interpretation. Xiao Liuren uses a lunar month/day/hour cycle; Meihua emphasizes numbers and images; Liuyao maps six lines to stems and branches (najia), six relations (liu qin), and other chart rules. This compares how models organize information, not which one reliably predicts the future. For real plans, use current evidence.

Practice · About 60 minutes#

  1. Cast for three real but low-stakes questions, using time, number, and object methods once each. Write the seven-step reading for each.
  2. Cast once more for one question using Xiao Liuren; compare the results and state which you find more persuasive and why.
  3. Review all records from the past week and score them against their original criteria.

Review#

  • Which step was easiest to miscalculate?
  • Did you reinterpret a figure after learning the outcome?
  • Was any prediction too vague to score?

Lesson 65 · Assessment: Meihua Yishu and Xiao Liuren#

Learning goals#

  • Review casting rules, structural calculations, and basic terminology for both methods.

Lesson#

Xiao Liuren counts lunar month, day, and hour through six positions. Meihua Yishu maps numbers to Earlier Heaven trigrams and uses a moving line. For any remainder, moving-line, or ti/yong problem, write the inputs and arithmetic before naming the figure. The calculation can be checked; auspicious or inauspicious interpretation belongs to the tradition.

For Bingwu year, lunar month 10, day 3, Shen hour, Wu = 7 and Shen = 9. The upper trigram sum is 20 (remainder 4, Zhen); the lower is 29 (remainder 5, Xun); 29 mod 6 gives line five. The result is Thunder over Wind, Heng, fifth line moving. The moving line is in the upper trigram, so lower Xun is ti, upper Zhen yong; both are Wood, a bihe relation. Derive the nuclear and changed figures from the lines, not from a story. Health-related categories remain historical subject matter only.

Closed-book assessment · 45 minutes · 100 points · pass: 80#

  1. Give the six Xiao Liuren positions in order and the shortcut formula. (10)
  2. Find the position for lunar month 11, day 8, You hour. (6)
  3. State the three time-casting formulas and the Earlier Heaven numbers. (10)
  4. Cast for Bingwu year, lunar month 10, day 3, Shen hour; give original, moving line, nuclear, changed, and ti/yong. (20)
  5. List the five ti/yong relations and their traditional labels. (10)
  6. In winter, ti is Li and yong is Kan. How does the seasonal scheme affect a controlling relation? (8)
  7. Why does the Plum Blossom story infer a thigh injury, and what moderates the image? (10)
  8. Name the three essentials and give three traditional timing methods. (10)
  9. Complete the judgment template for a real, low-stakes question. (16)

Selected answers: 2. 11 + 8 + 10 − 2 = 27; remainder 3, Suxi. 4. Thunder over Wind, Heng, line five moving; nuclear Lake over Heaven, Guai; changed Lake over Wind, Da Guo; ti Xun below, yong Zhen above, bihe. 6. Winter Water is prosperous and Fire weak, so the scheme treats yong as strong and ti weak. 7. The received story uses Xun's thigh image and Li Fire controlling Dui Metal; changed Gen Earth generates Dui Metal and is read as easing the image.

Lesson 66 · Liuyao I: Coin Casting and the Eight Palaces#

Learning goals#

  • Cast six lines with three coins and record moving lines.
  • Use the Eight Palaces sequence to identify palace and host/guest lines.

Lesson#

Liuyao (“Six Lines”) interprets a six-line yin-yang figure through a traditional chart. A solid line is yang and a broken line yin. Three coins are tossed six times; record each toss from the bottom line upward. This coin method is a later, simpler procedure than yarrow-stalk divination, and the two methods have different chances of producing old yin or old yang. Single-back and double-back results are static lines; three backs (“old yang”) changes to yin, while no backs (“old yin”) changes to yang. Choose which side counts as “back” before casting and do not change it midstream.

The Eight Palaces group all 64 hexagrams into eight families, each named after a pure hexagram (its upper and lower trigrams match). Najia assigns stems and branches to lines; liu qin assigns six relational labels. “Original palace,” the first through fifth generations, “wandering soul,” and “returning soul” are positions in a classification sequence, not claims about literal spirits. Shi (host) and ying (guest) mark two chart positions. The tradition associates the system with Jing Fang of the Western Han, but textual history and attribution are complex.

Example: Earth over Heaven, Tai, has lines yang–yang–yang–yin–yin–yin from bottom upward. In the standard Eight Palaces sequence it belongs to the Kun palace as a third-generation hexagram; shi is line 3 and ying line 6. The sequence, not the hexagram name's meaning, determines this classification.

Palace Pure 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th Wandering soul Returning soul
Qian Metal Qian Gou Dun Pi Guan Bo Jin Da You
Kan Water Kan Jie Tun Ji Ji Ge Feng Ming Yi Shi
Gen Earth Gen Bi Da Xu Sun Kui Lü Zhong Fu Jian
Zhen Wood Zhen Yu Xie Heng Sheng Jing Da Guo Sui
Xun Wood Xun Xiao Xu Jia Ren Yi Wu Wang Shi He Yi Gu
Li Fire Li Lü Ding Wei Ji Meng Huan Song Tong Ren
Kun Earth Kun Fu Lin Tai Da Zhuang Guai Xu Bi
Dui Metal Dui Kun Cui Xian Jian Qian Xiao Guo Gui Mei

To generate a palace sequence, start from the pure hexagram and change line 1 for first generation, then line 2, and so on through line 5. Change line 4 back to obtain the wandering-soul figure; reverse the lower trigram to return to the original palace for the returning-soul figure. Shi is the corresponding generation line; it is line 6 for a pure figure, line 4 for wandering soul, and line 3 for returning soul. Ying is two positions away (1/4, 2/5, 3/6).

Practice#

  1. Cast a hexagram with coins and record the original and changed figures.
  2. Generate the eight figures of the Kan palace from the rules.
  3. Find the palace, shi, and ying of your cast.

Check your understanding#

  1. What line does “old yin” make, and does it move?
  2. Which palace contains Earth over Heaven, Tai, and where is shi?
  3. Where is shi in a returning-soul hexagram?

Answers: 1. Old yin, moving; it changes to yang. 2. Kun palace, third generation; line 3. 3. Line 3.

Lesson 67 · Liuyao II: Najia#

Learning goals#

  • Memorize the Eight Trigrams najia table.
  • Assign stems and branches to the six lines of a hexagram.

Lesson#

Najia (literally “receiving the Jia stem”) assigns Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches to the lines according to the upper and lower trigrams. The lower trigram supplies inner lines 1–3; the upper supplies outer lines 4–6. “Yang trigrams proceed forward; yin trigrams proceed backward” describes the fixed branch sequence for each trigram, not a reversal of line order. First assign from line 1 upward, then arrange the chart for reading.

Trigram Inner lines 1–3 Outer lines 4–6 Direction
Qian Jia-Zi, Jia-Yin, Jia-Chen Ren-Wu, Ren-Shen, Ren-Xu Yang, forward
Kan Wu-Yin, Wu-Chen, Wu-Wu Wu-Shen, Wu-Xu, Wu-Zi Yang, forward
Gen Bing-Chen, Bing-Wu, Bing-Shen Bing-Xu, Bing-Zi, Bing-Yin Yang, forward
Zhen Geng-Zi, Geng-Yin, Geng-Chen Geng-Wu, Geng-Shen, Geng-Xu Yang, forward
Xun Xin-Chou, Xin-Hai, Xin-You Xin-Wei, Xin-Si, Xin-Mao Yin, backward
Li Ji-Mao, Ji-Chou, Ji-Hai Ji-You, Ji-Wei, Ji-Si Yin, backward
Kun Yi-Wei, Yi-Si, Yi-Mao Gui-Chou, Gui-Hai, Gui-You Yin, backward
Dui Ding-Si, Ding-Mao, Ding-Chou Ding-Hai, Ding-You, Ding-Wei Yin, backward

Branches in the yang sequence skip one each time: Zi, Yin, Chen, Wu, Shen, Xu. The yin sequence runs in reverse. Qian starts at Zi; Kan at Yin; Gen at Chen; Zhen at Zi; Kun at Wei; Xun at Chou; Li at Mao; Dui at Si. Qian uses Jia inside and Ren outside; Kun uses Yi inside and Gui outside. Each branch has a Five-Phase association, and later liu qin labels depend on the palace phase, so najia is a foundational input rather than an interpretation by itself.

For Earth over Heaven, Tai (lower Qian, upper Kun), lines 1–3 are Jia-Zi, Jia-Yin, Jia-Chen; lines 4–6 are Gui-Chou, Gui-Hai, Gui-You. Historical and lineage versions may differ; state which table you use.

Practice#

  1. Reproduce the najia table from memory.
  2. Assign najia to Water over Heaven, Xu, and Fire over Wind, Ding.
  3. Assign the table to your coin-cast figure.

Check your understanding#

  1. Which branches belong to Li's inner lines?
  2. Which branches belong to Kan's outer lines?
  3. Which two trigrams use different inner and outer Heavenly Stems?

Answers: 1. Mao, Chou, Hai. 2. Shen, Xu, Zi. 3. Qian (Jia/Ren) and Kun (Yi/Gui). Practice 2: Xu: Jia-Zi, Jia-Yin, Jia-Chen, Wu-Shen, Wu-Xu, Wu-Zi. Ding: Xin-Chou, Xin-Hai, Xin-You, Ji-You, Ji-Wei, Ji-Si.

Lesson 68 · Liuyao III: Liu Qin and Liu Shen#

Learning goals#

  • Assign the six relations from the palace phase.
  • Assign the six spirits from the day stem.

Lesson#

The liu qin (“six relations”) are not six literal relatives. They name each line's Five-Phase relation to the palace phase: the phase that generates the palace is Parents; the phase generated by it is Offspring; the phase that controls it is Official Ghosts; the phase it controls is Wealth; the same phase is Siblings. These labels support symbolic interpretation in the system. For example, in a Kun Earth palace, Metal is Offspring because Earth generates Metal; Wood is Official Ghosts because Wood controls Earth.

In Earth over Heaven, Tai, the palace is Kun Earth. Its top You Metal line is Offspring, Hai Water is Wealth, Chou Earth is Siblings, Chen Earth is Siblings, Yin Wood is Official Ghosts, and Zi Water is Wealth. A changed figure's lines continue to use the original palace phase for liu qin.

The liu shen (“six spirits”) are a separate sequence assigned by the day stem, starting at line 1 and moving upward. Jia/Yi begins with Azure Dragon, Bing/Ding with Vermilion Bird, Wu with Hooked Earth, Ji with Crawling Serpent, Geng/Xin with White Tiger, and Ren/Gui with Black Tortoise.

Day stem 1 2 3 4 5 6
Jia / Yi Azure Dragon Vermilion Bird Hooked Earth Crawling Serpent White Tiger Black Tortoise
Bing / Ding Vermilion Bird Hooked Earth Crawling Serpent White Tiger Black Tortoise Azure Dragon
Wu Hooked Earth Crawling Serpent White Tiger Black Tortoise Azure Dragon Vermilion Bird
Ji Crawling Serpent White Tiger Black Tortoise Azure Dragon Vermilion Bird Hooked Earth
Geng / Xin White Tiger Black Tortoise Azure Dragon Vermilion Bird Hooked Earth Crawling Serpent
Ren / Gui Black Tortoise Azure Dragon Vermilion Bird Hooked Earth Crawling Serpent White Tiger

Traditional associations include Azure Dragon with celebration, Vermilion Bird with speech or documents, Hooked Earth with land or delay, Crawling Serpent with alarm or strangeness, White Tiger with injury, and Black Tortoise with secrecy or theft. These are auxiliary symbolic labels, not evidence of illness, theft, or disaster. The useful checks here are whether the tables and Five-Phase relations have been applied consistently.

Practice#

  1. Assign liu qin to Qian, palace Metal.
  2. Add liu qin and liu shen to your cast.
  3. Memorize the spirit sequence for each day-stem group.

Check your understanding#

  1. In a Kun palace, what relation is Yin Wood?
  2. Which relation is usually consulted for an exam or contract?
  3. What is the spirit at line 6 on a Bing day?

Answers: 1. Official Ghosts. 2. Parents. 3. Azure Dragon. Practice 1: Qian pure hexagram, bottom to top: Zi Water (Offspring), Yin Wood (Wealth), Chen Earth (Parents), Wu Fire (Official Ghosts), Shen Metal (Siblings), Xu Earth (Parents); host at line 6, guest at line 3.

Lesson 69 · Liuyao IV: Yong Shen, Yuan Shen, Ji Shen, and Chou Shen#

Learning goals#

  • Choose a yong shen for a defined question.
  • Identify the generating, controlling, and obstructing relations around it.

Lesson#

In Liuyao, the yong shen (“useful spirit”) is the line category chosen to represent the topic. Under this introductory convention, use Wealth for money, Parents for exams or documents, and Official Ghosts for a job or position. Do not confuse this Liuyao term with Meihua Yishu's ti-yong. Split a compound question into separate claims so the selected line cannot be changed after the outcome.

The phase that generates the yong shen is the yuan shen (source spirit); the phase that controls it is the ji shen (adverse spirit); a phase that generates the ji shen and thereby indirectly checks the yuan shen is the chou shen (hostile spirit). For Wealth as yong shen, Offspring generates Wealth, Siblings control Wealth, and Parents generate Siblings. The relation labels can be checked against the Five-Phase cycle.

If two lines share the chosen relation, a school may prefer the moving line, the stronger one, a line in a key host/guest position, or one not in void. If the category is absent from the visible hexagram, some rules locate a hidden spirit (fu shen) from the palace's pure hexagram. These selection rules vary; choose and state a convention before interpreting.

Practice#

  1. Find source, adverse, and hostile spirits when the yong shen is Official Ghosts, then Parents.
  2. Choose a yong shen for a low-stakes practice question, then identify the three relations.
  3. In Tai, two lines are Wealth. If line 5 moves, apply the lesson's selection rule.

Check your understanding#

  1. What yong shen is used for an exam under this convention?
  2. What is the adverse spirit for Offspring?
  3. What is a hostile spirit?

Answers: 1. Parents. 2. Parents, which controls the Offspring phase in the Five-Phase cycle. 3. A phase that generates the adverse spirit and thereby checks the source spirit. Practice 1: Official Ghosts: source Wealth, adverse Offspring, hostile Siblings. Parents: source Official Ghosts, adverse Wealth, hostile Offspring. Practice 3: Use the moving fifth-line Wealth.

Lesson 70 · Liuyao V: Strength, Xun Kong, and Month Break#

Learning goals#

  • Compare line phases with the month branch and day branch.
  • Identify void branches, month break, hidden movement, and day break.

Lesson#

The month command (yuejian) is the branch of the casting month; the day branch (rizhi) is the branch of the casting day. Liuyao rules use them to assess a line's phase strength. A line opposed by the month branch is in yue po (month break). A line struck by the day branch is in a day clash: some systems call a strong, static line thereby stirred “hidden movement” (an dong), and a weak one “day break” (ri po). Traditions differ in how they weigh these factors.

Xun kong (void) means the two branches omitted from the ten-day stem-branch sequence containing the casting day. For example, Bing-Shen is in the Jia-Wu ten-day cycle, which contains Jia-Wu through Gui-Mao and omits Chen and Si; therefore Chen and Si are void. First identify the complete stem-branch day and its cycle; a Shen day alone is not enough.

Traditional phrases such as “temporarily unrealized” and “filling the void” should not be turned into promises that a real event will be delayed or fulfilled. The chart terms can be calculated; a prediction's reliability requires separate, preregistered observation.

Practice#

  1. In Zi month, assess Zi Water, Yin Wood, Wu Fire, Shen Metal, and Chen Earth; identify the month-break line.
  2. Mark strength, void, and month break for the selected line in your chart.
  3. Find the void branches for Bing-Shen day.

Check your understanding#

  1. What is a Wu Fire line called in Zi month?
  2. What is a strong, static line called when clashed by the day branch?
  3. How should a void line be described within this traditional model?

Answers: 1. Month break. 2. Hidden movement (an dong). 3. Temporarily unrealized, to be reconsidered under the chosen rule when void is filled or clashed. Practice 1: Zi Water prosperous; Yin Wood supported; Wu Fire month break; Shen Metal resting; Chen Earth constrained (other combinations may be considered separately).

Lesson 71 · Liuyao VI: Moving Lines, Six-Clash, and Six-Combination Figures#

Learning goals#

  • Interpret a moving line's relation to its changed line.
  • Recognize advancing/retreating spirits and the course's clash/combination lists.

Lesson#

A moving line is the original line that changes; the new line at that position is its changed line. If the changed line generates the original moving line, it is “generated from behind” (hui tou sheng); if it controls it, it is “controlled from behind” (hui tou ke). Some traditions call changes along a phase sequence “advancing spirit” (for example, Shen to You) and the reverse “retreating spirit” (You to Shen). These are chart relationships, not forces proven to increase or decrease in reality.

The course's list of “Six-Clash hexagrams” includes the eight pure hexagrams, Heaven over Thunder, Wu Wang, and Thunder over Heaven, Da Zhuang. Its “Six-Combination” list is Pi, Tai, Yu, Fu, Jie, Kun, Lü, and Bi. Traditional texts may associate clashes with dispersal or change, and combinations with joining or delay, but the same structure can be read differently by question and school. “Clash always bad; combination always good” is not a reliable rule.

Example: Tai's fifth line, Gui-Hai Water, moves and changes to Wu-Xu Earth in Water over Heaven, Xu. Earth controls Water, so this is “controlled from behind.” Then check whether the changed Earth is void, broken, or supported by month and day. Lay out the reasoning before applying a traditional gloss.

Practice#

  1. For your chart, classify a changed line as generated, controlled, advancing, or retreating.
  2. In Tai, let the fifth Hai Water move; identify the changed line and relation.
  3. Locate the listed clash and combination hexagrams in the Eight Palaces table.

Check your understanding#

  1. What is Shen changing to You called?
  2. How many figures are in this lesson's Six-Combination list?
  3. Can a static line control a moving line under this lesson's convention?

Answers: 1. Advancing spirit. 2. Eight. 3. No. Practice 2: It changes to Xu Earth, which controls Hai Water: controlled from behind.

Lesson 72 · Liuyao VII: A Complete Worked Chart#

Learning goals#

  • Apply the charting steps in order.
  • Keep a worked traditional interpretation distinct from a real prediction.

Lesson#

This fictional example asks, “Will the project payment arrive this month?” The casting month is Zi, the day Geng-Shen, and the figure is Earth over Heaven, Tai, line 5 moving to Water over Heaven, Xu. The chart can be calculated and checked, but any conclusion about a payment is only an illustration of a traditional reading. Use contracts, communication, and bank records for real decisions.

  1. Chart the lines. Kun palace, Earth, third-generation figure. From top down: You Metal, Offspring, guest; Hai Water, Wealth, moving; Chou Earth, Siblings; Chen Earth, Siblings, host; Yin Wood, Official Ghosts; Zi Water, Wealth. The changed fifth line is Xu Earth, Siblings. On Geng-Shen day, Zi and Chou are void.
  2. Choose the yong shen. For money, use Wealth. It appears twice; this convention chooses moving line 5, Hai Water. Offspring Metal is its source; Siblings Earth is adverse.
  3. Assess strength. Water is in season in Zi month; Shen Metal generates it, so the chosen line is strong in this scheme.
  4. Read the change. Hai Water changes to Xu Earth, which controls it (“controlled from behind”), suggesting a traditional symbolic concern about reduction or interception. Xu is constrained in Zi month and drained by Shen day under this scheme, so its controlling force is treated as limited.
  5. Check host and guest. Host line Chen Earth is Siblings, a traditional cost/competition image. Guest line You Metal is Offspring, the source of Wealth, and is read as a favorable payment-intention symbol.
  6. State the bounded reading. Within these selected rules, the example could be phrased as “It may be resolved this month, possibly with a deduction or in installments.” This is a hypothesis for a classroom log, not a forecast. Specify “received” and the month-end deadline beforehand, then score against bank records without changing the criterion.

The clues do not all point in one direction. A sound traditional reading explains how conflicting symbols are weighted rather than choosing whichever one supports the desired answer. A complex chart does not remove the interpreter's choices.

Practice#

  1. Complete the same six steps for your own cast figure.
  2. Change the example to Wu month. How does the seasonal scheme affect Hai Water?
  3. Compare the information inputs used by Liuyao and Meihua Yishu.

Check your understanding#

  1. Why choose fifth-line Wealth instead of the first-line Wealth in the example?
  2. Why does “controlled from behind” not automatically become “the payment will not arrive”?
  3. Why is guest-line Offspring read as favorable within the model?

Answers: 1. The fifth-line Wealth is moving under the stated selection rule. 2. The Wealth line is strong while the changed Earth is weak under the example's seasonal/day rules. 3. Offspring generates Wealth and is its source.

Lesson 73 · Assessment: Liuyao#

Learning goals#

  • Review coin casting, chart construction, yong shen, strength, and moving-line rules.

Lesson#

“Charting” means placing najia, six relations, six spirits, and host/guest positions onto a cast figure. Then select the yong shen for a fixed question and assess month/day strength, void, break, and line changes. Preserve each input and table: a wrong branch assignment will affect the six relation and void calculations that follow. This exam evaluates whether the method can be reconstructed, not whether it predicts actual events.

For Fire over Wind, Ding, use the course's palace table to identify Li palace, second generation; then assign najia, use Li Fire to assign the six relations, and mark shi at line 2 and ying at line 5. If a different manual differs, identify which table you followed. Sort mistakes into line order, table recall, Five-Phase direction, and interpretive assumptions; the first three can be recomputed, while interpretations require an explicit school and reason. Do not act on chart readings about health or finances.

Closed-book assessment · 50 minutes · 100 points · pass: 80#

  1. Define single, split, heavy, and crossed coin results. (8)
  2. List the Kun palace figures and host-line positions. (10)
  3. Reproduce the najia table. (16)
  4. Chart Fire over Wind, Ding: najia, six relations, host/guest. (14)
  5. Give the yong shen for exams, work, and money; then the source, adverse, and hostile spirits for Wealth. (12)
  6. Define month break, hidden movement, and void. (12)
  7. List the eight advancing-spirit pairs. (8)
  8. Name the Six-Clash and Six-Combination figures from this course. (10)
  9. Complete the six-step reading for a cast figure. (10)

Selected answers: 2. Kun pure (host 6); Fu (1); Lin (2); Tai (3); Da Zhuang (4); Guai (5); Xu, wandering soul (4); Bi, returning soul (3). 4. Li palace Fire, second generation: line 1 Xin-Chou Earth, Offspring; line 2 Xin-Hai Water, Official Ghosts, host; line 3 Xin-You Metal, Wealth; line 4 Ji-You Metal, Wealth; line 5 Ji-Wei Earth, Offspring, guest; line 6 Ji-Si Fire, Siblings. 5. Parents, Official Ghosts, Wealth; source Offspring, adverse Siblings, hostile Parents.

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