The Rotating Disk Method in Qi Men Dun Jia

The procedure for setting up the Pan Qimen Dunjia (Disk Qimen Dunjia) chart follows the steps below:

1. Arrange the nine stars in the fixed order Peng, Ren, Chong, Fu, Ying, Rui (Qin), Zhu, and Xin, moving clockwise through the nine palaces. Whether using Yin or Yang Dunjia, the palaces always progress clockwise.

2. Arrange the eight doors in the fixed order Xiu, Sheng, Shang, Du, Jing, Si, Jing, and Kai, also moving clockwise, regardless of Yin or Yang Dunjia.

3. Arrange the eight deities in the fixed order Zhi Fu, Teng She, Tai Yin, Liu He, Bai Hu, Xuan Wu, Jiu Di, and Jiu Tian. In Yang Dunjia they are placed clockwise; in Yin Dunjia they are placed counterclockwise.

Below is an example illustrating how to lay out the Disk Qimen Dunjia.

For example, at 8:00 a.m. on April 7, 2002, consult the Qimen almanac. The heavenly stems and earthly branches for that moment are:

Year: Ren Wu; Month: Jia Chen; Day: Yi Si; Hour: Geng Chen; Spring Equinox, Lower Yuan; Yang Dunjia, 6th configuration (following the leap method).

Step one: Determine the Xun head for the hour pillar. The hour pillar Geng Chen belongs to the Jia Xu Xun. The Jia Xu Xun head is concealed beneath Ji within the Liu Yi, so the hour pillar’s Xun head is Jia Xu Ji.

Step two: This is the Yang Dunjia 6th configuration. In the Yang Dunjia 6th configuration, place the leading Wu from the San Qi Liu Yi in the Qian 6 palace; then place Ji in the Dui 7 palace, Geng in the Gen 8 palace, Xin in the Li 9 palace, Ren in the Kan 1 palace, Gui in the Kun 2 palace, Ding in the Zhen 3 palace, Bing in the Xun 4 palace, and Yi in the Zhong 5 palace. As shown in the diagram:

Because the Xun head is Jia Xu Ji, Ji falls in the Dui 7 palace, where the ruling star is Tian Zhu and the ruling door is Jing. In Qimen, the star in the palace containing the hour pillar’s Xun head is called the “Zhi Fu,” and the door in that palace is called the “Zhi Shi.” Therefore, the Zhi Fu is the Tian Zhu star and the Zhi Shi is the Jing door.

Step three: Place the Zhi Fu in the palace of the hour stem, then place the remaining stars clockwise. In this example, the hour stem is Geng, which is in the Gen 8 palace, so put the Zhi Fu in the Gen 8 palace. Here, the Xun head Jia Xu Ji is in the Dui 7 palace, whose main star is Tian Zhu, so move the Tian Zhu star to the Gen 8 palace of the hour stem Geng, as shown:

Next, following the Disk Qimen order of the nine stars, place Tian Xin in the Zhen 3 palace, Tian Peng in the Xun 4 palace, Tian Ren in the Li 9 palace, Tian Chong in the Kun 2 palace, Tian Fu in the Dui 7 palace, Tian Ying in the Qian 6 palace, and Tian Rui (Qin) in the Kan 1 palace, completing the nine-star layout as shown:

Step four: Place the Zhi Shi. Count from the palace of the Xun head to the palace of the hour. In this example, the Xun head Jia Xu Ji is in the Dui 7 palace. Counting from Dui: Jia Xu is in Gen 8, Yi Hai in Li 9, Ding Chou in Kan 1, Wu Yin in Kun 2, Ji Mao in Zhen 3, and Geng Chen in Xun 4, which is precisely the hour palace. Therefore, place the Zhi Shi, the Jing door, in the Xun 4 palace, as shown:

Next, starting from the Zhi Shi (the Jing door) in the Xun 4 palace, place the eight doors clockwise to complete the door layout: the Kai door goes to Li 9, the Xiu door to Kun 2, the Sheng door to Dui 7, the Shang door to Qian 6, the Du door to Kan 1, the Jing door to Gen 8, and the Si door to Zhen 3, as shown:

Step five: Place the eight deities. This part is straightforward: put the eight-deity Zhi Fu in the palace of the hour stem, then place the rest clockwise for Yang Dunjia and counterclockwise for Yin Dunjia. Here, the hour stem Geng is in the Gen 8 palace and this is Yang Dunjia, so place the eight-deity Zhi Fu in Gen 8, as shown:

Then, following the eight-deity order, place Teng She in Zhen 3, Tai Yin in Xun 4, Liu He in Li 9, Bai Hu in Kun 2, Xuan Wu in Dui 7, Jiu Di in Qian 6, and Jiu Tian in Kan 1, completing the eight-deity layout as shown:

The final step is to annotate each moved star with the Three Qi and Six Yi of its native palace. For example, the native palace of the Tian Peng star is Kan 1, whose Three Qi and Six Yi is Ren; therefore, write Ren above the Tian Peng star after it is moved to Xun 4. Write Geng above Tian Ren in Qian 6; Ding above Tian Chong in Kun 2; Bing above Tian Fu in Dui 7; Xin above Tian Ying in Qian 6; Gui above Tian Rui in Kan 1; Yi above Tian Qin; Ji above Tian Zhu in Gen 8; and Wu above Tian Xin in Zhen 3. This completes a full Qimen chart, as shown:

April 7, 2002, 8:00 a.m.

Year: Ren Wu; Month: Jia Chen; Day: Yi Si; Hour: Geng Chen; Yang Dunjia, 6th configuration

Zhi Fu: Jia Xu Ji, Tian Zhu star; Zhi Shi: Jing door

In this way, a complete Yang Dunjia Qimen chart is finished. Note that the Tian Rui star and the Tian Qin star fall into the same palace because the Tian Qin star’s native position is the central Zhong 5 palace, which corresponds to the earth element and typically links to the Kun 2 palace. Hence, Tian Rui and Tian Qin appear together. There is another placement method: in Yang Dunjia, place Tian Qin in the Gen 8 palace (so Tian Qin and Tian Ren fall together), while in Yin Dunjia, Tian Qin and Tian Rui fall together. These two methods can be used interchangeably. Many scholars hold that, in both Yin and Yang Dunjia, the Tian Qin star in the Zhong 5 palace should always be associated with the Kun 2 palace. Personally, I believe the method that places Tian Qin in Gen 8 for Yang Dunjia and in Kun 2 for Yin Dunjia aligns better with the principles of the I Ching and can serve as a standard approach.