The Mysteries of Qi Men Dun Jia, Part 9: Steps for Divination

Lecture Eleven: Steps for Judgment

Qimen Dunjia is a system that encodes time and space. In ancient times, people often had to choose the optimal timing and direction for their activities, which usually meant selecting the most auspicious moments and orientations.

Although “best” and “auspicious” are not identical concepts, they usually coincide. In the past, the choice of auspicious times and directions could be made by comparing various auspicious configurations, specific palaces, charts, and the characteristics of the stars. When practitioners did not analyze every pattern in depth, they would often first note the clusters of red characters on the chart and, at the same time, consider the explicit taboos marked on the ground chart to form an overall impression. According to the classics, the items marked in red as auspicious include the three auspicious Doors—Kai, Xiu, and Sheng; the Three Extraordinary Elements—Yi, Bing, and Ding; the four auspicious spirits—Jiu Di, Jiu Tian, Tai Yin, and Liu He (Six Harmonies); as well as the positions of Zhi Fu, Zhi Shi, and Tian Yi, which preside over the “Three Extraordinary Elements and Eight Doors” at that moment, together with any positions aided by the timely stems—all are deemed auspicious. If these auspicious factors overlap in the same direction across the four charts—heaven, earth, humanity, and the top chart—forming double, triple, or even quadruple layers, the omen is even more favorable. In weighing auspicious indicators, give priority to auspicious Doors, then auspicious Stars, and then auspicious deities. A sector that has auspicious Doors but lacks Extraordinary Elements can still be considered auspicious; however, a sector that has Extraordinary Elements but lacks auspicious Doors is not considered auspicious. If both Extraordinary Elements and Doors are absent, treat that direction as inauspicious.

Ancient texts also stress that the above auspicious directions are only surface indicators: before making a judgment, you must check whether the time stem overcomes the day stem, forming the inauspicious “Five Unencountered Time” pattern. It is equally important to examine whether any major taboos marked on the ground chart are violated: Punishment—the Six Instruments forming a striking punishment; Control—Doors pressing down on palaces; Grave—the Three Extraordinary Elements entering the grave, or the time stem entering the grave. If any of these major inauspicious patterns are present, an auspicious-looking direction becomes inauspicious. If none appear, and the auspicious Doors and Stars coincide with a strong, favorable time, the direction can be judged auspicious.

When judging auspiciousness, do not overlook generating and overcoming (life and death) relationships and the relative strength or weakness across the various charts—this applies to the Eight Doors, Nine Stars, Three Extraordinary Elements, and Six Instruments. Not only do they interact with one another differently, their external strength also varies significantly with the seasons and directions. Thus, what is auspicious can be weakened or turn inauspicious, and what is inauspicious can be softened or turn auspicious. For example, the Kai Door corresponds to metal; when Yi enters the Kun Palace (earth) or the Gen Palace (earth), earth generates metal. This is even more favorable in autumn and winter, when metal is strong or when earth nourishes metal—true auspiciousness arising from both place and time. The Stars in the heavenly chart are similar: they must be in a strong, favorable season and month to be effective; otherwise, their power is greatly reduced. For the Three Extraordinary Elements and Six Instruments, analyze their relationships with the Doors, the palaces, and the ground chart, as well as their generating/overcoming dynamics at that time. For instance, if Yi (wood) enters the auspicious Xiu Door, the Kan, Zhen, and Xun Palaces produce a “water generates wood” or similarly harmonious relationship; however, if Xun encounters a metal Door and the Dui Palace, metal overcomes wood.

Ultimately, a crucial principle in judging auspiciousness is to distinguish between the subject and the object; otherwise it is easy to reverse the conclusions and reach the opposite judgment. Distinguishing subject from object means deciding which side of a pair of opposing aspects represents the main purpose of the activity. This distinction is usually straightforward and can be analyzed from four angles: 1) the first mover is the subject, the second mover is the object; 2) the moving side is the object, the stationary side is the subject; 3) the active party is the object, the passive party is the subject; 4) the heavenly chart is the object, the earthly chart is the subject. To see whether a layout favors the subject or the object, beyond specific configurations and generating/overcoming, also consider the opening and closing of yin and yang. Generally, during the five yang times (when the time stem is Jia, Yi, Bing, Ding, or Wu), it favors the object; during the five yin times (when the time stem is Ji, Geng, Xin, Ren, or Gui), it favors the subject.

Therefore, aside from various specific patterns, for convenience in comprehensively observing and analyzing complex judgments of auspiciousness and inauspiciousness, remember this mnemonic, which serves as a summary: First observe the time stem; second, look for punishment; third, check for entry into the grave; fourth, watch for Doors pressing; then assess the interactions of life and death; and consider the opening and closing of yin and yang to distinguish between subject and object. ------ By following these nine procedural steps, you may not need to check countless patterns yet can still reach a sound overall judgment of auspicious and inauspicious directions—and the two approaches will largely agree.