The Mysteries of Qi Men Dun Jia, Part 4: Time and the Heavenly Stems

Lecture 5: Time and the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches

Although this course focuses on the Time School of Qimen, the specific active chart used for timing is ultimately determined by the solar terms and the day’s Heavenly Stem and Earthly Branch. For that reason, the first four lectures did not cover timing. Once a specific chart has been selected based on the solar terms and the day’s Stem–Branch, the active chart must then be rotated according to the correct hour, which is primarily determined by the Heavenly Stem and Earthly Branch of that hour. The Earthly Branch of the hour is relatively straightforward: it corresponds to the actual time of divination and can be inferred from local time adjusted to Beijing time (Local Time = Beijing Time - (Local Sunrise Time - Beijing Sunrise Time)). The correspondence is as follows:

• (23:00–01:00)       Zi (Rat)
• (01:00–03:00)      Chou (Ox)
• (03:00–05:00)      Yin (Tiger)
• (05:00–07:00)      Mao (Rabbit)
• (07:00–09:00)      Chen (Dragon)
• (09:00–11:00)      Si (Snake)
• (11:00–13:00)      Wu (Horse)
• (13:00–15:00)      Wei (Goat)
• (15:00–17:00)      Shen (Monkey)
• (17:00–19:00)      You (Rooster)
• (19:00–21:00)      Xu (Dog)
• (21:00–23:00)      Hai (Pig)

Knowing only the Earthly Branch of the hour is not sufficient for accurate rotation. To rotate the active chart correctly, you must also determine the Heavenly Stem of the hour, which can be inferred from the day’s Heavenly Stem together with the hour’s Earthly Branch.

Lecture 6: Direct Symbols and Direct Commands

Direct Symbols refer specifically to the Nine Stars—not all stars in general, but the particular star that is operative at a given moment. Because the active chart changes with Yin–Yang variation, configuration, and time, the Direct Symbol also changes. In the active chart, each palace governs ten time periods, and after ten periods it moves to the next palace. Using the 60 Jiazi as an example, each cycle head (such as Jiazi, Wuxu, etc.) is marked in a palace of the Earth Plate, and each such placement specifies the Direct Symbol for that period. Direct Commands refer to the Eight Doors—again, not all doors in general, but the specific door determined at that moment, corresponding to the palace where the current cycle head resides.