The Mysteries of Qimen Dunjia, Part 11: An In-Depth Guide to Divination Methods

Lecture 13: Detailed Explanation of Divination Methods

1. Preparatory Work Before Divination:

One compass;
Relevant maps (both the local area and the destination).

2. Supplement to Qimen Divination Methods:

• Divination for Planting: Use the Tian Chong star for low-growing crops and the Tian Fu star for tall plants, then read the interactions and auspiciousness of the palace they occupy.
• Divination for Locusts: Focus on the four gates—Death, Injury, Fright, and Blocked (Du). If they are affected by the Day Stem, a locust plague will occur; otherwise, it will not.
• Divination for Fishing and Hunting: The Injury Gate signifies the hunter, Xin the eagle, Yi the dog, and Gui the net. Judge by their auspiciousness and mutual interactions. If the Injury Gate is suppressed by an inauspicious star, it indicates a large take (heavy haul).
• Divination for Longevity: Map ninety years onto the Nine Palaces (ten years per palace). Judge by how close the Tian Chong star and the Death Gate are to the relevant palace.
• Divination for Marriage: Use the Tian Pan Yi Qi for the woman and Liu Geng for the man, noting their palaces. If the woman’s Yi Qi and the man’s Liu Geng mutually support (generate), the marriage can succeed; if they clash, marriage is difficult and harmony is unlikely. If the Yi palace is under a punitive configuration, the man may be violent; if it is harmoniously related, his disposition is gentle. Among the eight gates, Liu He (Six Harmony) can indicate a woodcutter; if Liu He generates Yi, it favors the woman; if it generates Geng, it favors the man.
• Divination for Travel: The Day Stem’s palace represents the traveler. Check the intended direction. If an auspicious Qimen star is in the Day Stem’s palace, the trip will be smooth. If no auspicious star is present but that palace’s Six Spirits support the Day Stem, the trip will still be smooth; otherwise, it is unfavorable. If this palace holds an inauspicious gate or an inauspicious star clashes with the Day Stem’s palace, it is a bad omen. If the travel direction is Void, or enters the Day Stem’s grave, or if the Day Stem’s year conflicts with the travel-direction palace’s Void, it is also unfavorable.
• Divination for Missing Children: In a Yang configuration, note which star the Liu He aligns with on the Tian Pan and search the corresponding palace of that star; in a Yin configuration, go to the Di Pan palace corresponding to Liu He. If, in Yang configuration, Liu He is in Kan, Gen, Zhen, or Xun, the child has not gone far and can be found nearby; if in Li, Kun, Dui, or Qian, the child is likely far away, possibly in another region. If Liu He falls into the Day Stem’s grave, the search will be difficult. If it falls into the Day Stem’s Void, search the palace that harmonizes with the Day Stem to find the child.
• Divination for Theft: If Xuan Wu directly applies, overcomes, or is generated, theft is indicated. If Xuan Wu is influenced by Yang stars (Peng, Ren, Chong, Fu), the thief is male; influenced by Yin stars (Ying, Rui, Zhu, Xin), the thief is female. In a strong palace it indicates a young thief; in a weak palace, an older thief. Upper-garment colors are indicated by the Tian Pan’s Six Spirits; skirt/pant colors by the Di Pan’s Six Spirits. For major thefts involving valuable goods or brazen acts, use the Tian Peng star to identify the thief. In theft charts, Gou Chen represents the pursuer and Du Men the capture direction. If Gou Chen’s palace overcomes Tian Peng, and Xuan Wu’s palace overcomes Gou Chen, the thief can be caught; conversely, if Tian Peng and Xuan Wu overcome Gou Chen, the thief’s power is too great and the pursuer will not act. If Gou Chen’s palace and the Tian Peng/Xuan Wu palace are harmonious, the pursuer may be colluding with the thief. If Gou Chen and Tian Peng occupy the same palace, the perpetrator is the investigator. For timing, use the Tian Pan palace corresponding to Geng: if it corresponds on the Di Pan to the year, the case resolves within the year; if to the month, within the month; if to the day, today; if to the hour, immediately. If none of these apply, resolution is difficult. If these four also align with Du Men, the chance of solving the case increases.
• Divination for Illness: The Tian Rui star indicates illness. To identify the affected area, first consider the palace where Tian Rui falls. Approach A: palaces as body parts—Li (head), Kun (right ear/right shoulder), Xun (left ear/left shoulder), Dui (right side), Zhen (left side), Qian (right leg/foot), Gen (left leg/foot), Kan (genital area). Approach B: palaces per the trigrams—Qian (head), Kun (abdomen), Kan (ears), Li (eyes), Zhen (feet), Xun (thighs), Gen (hands), Dui (mouth). Use either method flexibly. Approach C: five-element correlations to organs—the palace of Tian Rui indicates the diseased organ/meridian: Li (heart; fire patterns), Kun (stomach; bloating), Dui (lungs; phlegm/asthma), Qian (large intestine; sores/abscess), Kan (kidneys/bladder; diarrhea/hernia), Gen (liver; stroke). Factor in seasonal climate to judge hot/cold nature based on Tian Rui’s palace and its heavenly stem. To assess prognosis, again read the Tian Rui palace: life gate influence signals recovery; death gate influence signals danger. Tian Rui belongs to Earth; if in Qian or Dui, Earth generates Metal, making the illness hard to treat. If in Li, Fire generates Earth; if in the center (Earth), the condition lingers and is hard to heal. The same applies to Kun and Gen. If in Kan, improvement may be slow but eventual. If in Zhen or Xun, the illness is restrained by the palace and may heal without medication. Also consider the patient’s Day Stem strength. A weak or confined Day Stem meeting inauspicious configurations is a very bad sign. If Tian Rui’s palace is afflicted by inauspicious deities/configurations, even a strong Day Stem fares poorly; if the year is overcome by Tian Rui, it is also very unfavorable. If Tian Rui falls into that day’s Void, recovery is assured. Also note the ten stem in Tian Rui’s palace; the month/day that overcomes this stem indicates the recovery period.
• Divination for Pregnancy and Gender: Check which star is in the Kun palace; a Yang star (Peng, Ren, Chong, Fu) indicates a boy; a Yin star indicates a girl. If the Tian Qin star is in Kun, it indicates twins—Yang stems for boys, Yin stems for girls. For mother/child fortune, the Di Pan’s Tian Rui star represents the mother, and the Tian Pan star represents the child. If the Di Pan’s Tian Rui overcomes the Tian Pan star, delivery is smooth; if the Tian Pan star overcomes the Di Pan’s Tian Rui, delivery is difficult and may bring complications. If the Di Pan’s Tian Rui overcomes the Tian Pan star, the child may be in danger; with auspicious Qimen configurations, it becomes smooth. If the Tian Pan star falls into the Di Pan’s grave, stillbirth is possible. If both Tian and Di pans are under inauspicious gates/configurations, both mother and child are at risk.
• In antiquity, divination was used to assess personal fate and family conditions: On the Di Pan, the year stem signifies parents, the month stem siblings, the day stem oneself, and the hour stem children. For men, the palace of Yi Qi or Ding Qi represents the wife; for women, the palace of Liu Geng represents the husband. Strong, auspicious stars indicate good fortune and wealth; weak or confined stars without auspicious Qimen indicate poor fate. If the Tian Pan’s Liu Geng is in Qian, it signals the father’s early death; in Kun, the mother’s early death. If the Tian Pan’s Liu Geng is in the official-ghost palace, relationships with siblings are poor (compare the Di Pan stems to the Day Stem). If Liu Geng is in the hour stem, children are few and hard to raise. An auspicious Life Gate signifies abundant wealth. If the Tian Pan of the Life Gate is Liu Geng, it indicates leaving home. If the Life Gate is in Li, Kun, Dui, or Qian, and the Day Stem is in Kan, Gen, Xun, or Zhen, one must relocate to become wealthy. If both the Life Gate and Day Stem are in Kan, Gen, Zhen, or Xun, even ample ancestral wealth is hard to use. If both the Life Gate and Day Stem are in Kan, Gen, Zhen, or Xun, one can enjoy wealth and rank throughout life; if both are in Li, Kun, Dui, or Qian, success requires going elsewhere. If the Day Stem is Void and the hour is Void in opposition, youth is helpless; if the hour is Void and the Day Stem Void in opposition, old age is lonely. If the Day Stem is in the palace of absolute grave, life is sorrowful. If the Day Stem’s palace shows flying birds or a pit, it signals success and good fortune. Using the Di Pan year, month, and hour stems to read family members, if the corresponding Tian Pan is Xin (Heavenly Court) or Ren (Heavenly Prison), the life is gloomy and difficult. If the eight gates are encountered in reverse, disasters arise; with auspicious gates/configurations, fortune is smooth.
• Divination for Wealth: Use the Life Gate; assess the palace and the upper/lower stars for auspiciousness and interactions.
• Divination for Gaining Wealth: Use the Di Pan hour stem; check whether it is supported by auspicious gates and stars. Use the earthly branches for timing.
• Divination for Borrowing: Zhi Fu represents the owner; Tian Yi represents the lender. Judge by their interactions and auspiciousness.
• Divination for Debt Collection: Use the Injury Gate overcoming Tian Yi as the basis. The Injury Gate and Tian Yi together with Zhi Fu represent principal and interest (full amount)...
• Divination for Partnerships: The Di Pan Life Gate represents investors; the Tian Pan Life Gate represents partners. Mutual support is auspicious; opposition is inauspicious.
• Divination for Transactions: Zhi Fu represents the buyer; the Life Gate represents the goods; the Life Gate’s palace indicates the owner. Judge their interactions and auspiciousness.
• Divination for Competition: Zhi Fu moving first represents the guest side; Tian Yi moving later represents the host side. Then, by the attributes of the contested item, observe Qing Long or the Life Gate.
• Divination for Litigation: If Ding Qi falls into a Yang-stem palace or clashes with Tian Yu Liu Geng, or is afflicted by the Scenery (Jing) Gate, litigation arises; otherwise, it does not.
• Divination for Legal Cases: Zhi Fu represents the plaintiff, Tian Yi the defendant, the Open Gate the judge, and the Fright Gate the jury. Judge by their auspiciousness and interactions.
• Divination for Promotion: Meeting the Open Gate with auspicious strength and the Three Qis present is favorable.
• Divination for Academic Achievements: For major exams, the Day Stem is the candidate, Zhi Fu the chief examiner, Tian Yi the grading examiner, and the Scenery (Jing) Gate the essay.
• Divination for Minor Tests: Tian Fu represents the examiner, the Day Stem the student, and Ding Qi the essay.
• Divination for Meetings: The hour stem represents the visitor; the Rest Gate represents the person to be seen. Judge their interactions and auspiciousness, considering the Three Qis.
• Divination for Visiting Friends: The travel direction’s palace on the Di Pan represents the host; the Tian Pan represents the visitor. Judge their interactions and auspiciousness; determine timing with the Three Qis and auspicious gates.
• Divination for Appointments: The year stem represents elders, the month stem peers, the hour stem juniors, and the Day Stem oneself. Use Zhi as the boundary to see who arrives first; mutual support arrives, opposition does not.
• Divination for Travelers: Use the same method to locate the traveler’s palace. Yang, Open, clash, and overcoming indicate movement (arrival); the opposite indicates stillness. Observe Tian Peng for long distances and Tian Rui for nearby, and judge safety by their interactions and auspiciousness. The year, month, day, and hour configurations determine timing.
• Divination for Travel: The hour stem represents the traveler; the Day Stem represents constraints. Use the Open Gate to determine departure timing.
• Divination for Reconciliation: Geng and Bing represent the two families, and Jia Zi the mediator. If Jia Zi falls into a palace that mutually supports or opposes both families, it is auspicious; if it supports one and opposes the other, harmony is unlikely. Also weigh overall auspiciousness.
• Divination for Outsiders: Use the external party’s upper and lower palaces to see whether they have the Three Qis and auspicious gates; if so, it is auspicious; otherwise, it is not.