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Bushi Zhengzong · The Orthodox Tradition of Divination
Eighteen Questions · Month Break
Read in English. Switch to Original for word notes, or select text to ask a question.
Question Eight: A line at Month Break seems broken and useless, yet the event corresponds to Break. One would call it not broken, yet it remains broken and useless to the end. Why?
Answer: The spirits’ mechanism appears in Break, and the basis of misfortune and blessing lies in movement. A moving broken line with Generation and no Control has methods of leaving Break, being filled and having Break combined away. A still broken line with Control and no Generation remains broken to the end.
Divination: Litigation. Divination: Will there be an official appointment in the future?
Hexagram: Earth over Heaven, Tai. Hexagram: Dui as Metal, changing to Heaven over Water, Song.
Reading note: The supplied Dui image is designated Metal; that phase wording is retained.
Palace: Kun Earth. Cycle Void: Xu, Hai. Missing line: Parents. Palace: Dui Metal. Cycle Void: Wu, Wei. Missing line: [no entry supplied].
Six Beasts; Self/Response; hexagram.
Line; Qian.
Branch; Six Spirits; stems and branches; Six Spirits; Hidden.
Spirit; Hexagram Body; Day.
Chen; Month Commander; Tai Sui; Six Beasts; Self/Response; hexagram.
Line; stems and branches; Six Spirits; stems and branches; Six Spirits; Hidden.
Spirit; Hexagram Body; day designation; Month Commander; Tai Sui.
Green Dragon; Response; You Descendants; Ding; Xu. Gouchen; Self; Ｘ; Wei Parents; Xu Parents; Ji; Hai.
Dark Warrior; Hai Wealth; Mao. Vermilion Bird; You Brothers; Chou.
White Tiger; Chou Brothers. Green Dragon; Hai Descendants.
Soaring Snake; Self; Chen Brothers. Dark Warrior; Response; Chou Parents.
Gouchen; Yin Officer; Si Parents. White Tiger; Mao Wealth.
Vermilion Bird; Zi Wealth. Soaring Snake; Ｏ; Si Officer; Yin Wealth.
Judgment: With Six Combinations among the lines, the case must be heard. But Xu, the Month Commander, Clashes with Self, making Month Break. Mao day controls Self: defeat is certain. He was indeed beaten. This corresponds to the day’s Control and Month Break.
Judgment: Wei Earth Parents holds Self and changes into an Advancing Spirit at Wei Earth. Although it is in Cycle Void, the day Clashes with it, so it is no longer empty. Si Fire Officer moves to generate Self and changes into Yin Wood’s Birth. Plainly there is an appointment. He asked, “In what year?” I answered, “In Si year you must receive the royal stipend.” He obtained a county post in Si year: the year filled the Break.
Reading note: The supplied second judgment repeats Wei for the advancing change, whereas its table shows Wei changing to Xu. The prose and table are both retained without silently harmonizing that discrepancy.
Divination: A father recently went out; on what day will he return? Divination: Later prospects for official rank.
Hexagram: Qian as Heaven, changing to Lake over Heaven, Guai. Hexagram: Gen as Mountain, changing to Mountain over Earth, Guan.
Reading note: The supplied second changed image says Mountain over Earth while naming Guan; both are retained.
Palace: Qian Metal. Cycle Void: Wu, Wei. Missing line: [no entry supplied]. Palace: Gen Earth. Cycle Void: Chen, Si. Missing line: [no entry supplied].
Six Beasts; Self/Response; hexagram.
Line; Qian.
Branch; Six Spirits; stems and branches; Six Spirits; Hidden.
Spirit; Hexagram Body; Day.
Chen; Month Commander; Tai Sui; Six Beasts; Self/Response; hexagram.
Line; stems and branches; Six Spirits; stems and branches; Six Spirits; Hidden.
Spirit; Hexagram Body; day designation; Month Commander; Tai Sui.
Vermilion Bird; Self; Ｏ; Xu Parents; Wei Parents; Wu; Chen. White Tiger; Self; Yin Officer; Gui; Wu.
Green Dragon; Shen Brothers; Zi. Soaring Snake; Ｘ; Zi Wealth; Si Parents; Mao.
Dark Warrior; Wu Officer. Gouchen; Xu Brothers.
White Tiger; Response; Chen Parents. Vermilion Bird; Response; Ｏ; Shen Descendants; Mao Officer.
Soaring Snake; Yin Wealth. Green Dragon; Wu Parents.
Gouchen; Zi Descendants. Dark Warrior; Chen Brothers.
Judgment: Parents holds Self, is broken, changes into Void and changes into Retreat. Rigidly following a rule, one would say the father cannot return: perhaps he turns elsewhere, or comes and turns back. I judged from a Vermilion Bird line moving and holding Self: news on Mao day, return on Wei day. News arrived on Mao day and he reached home on Yi Wei day. Mao day brought news because Break met Combination; Wei day brought return because Parents changed into Wei Earth and it left Cycle Void that day.
Judgment: Yin Wood Officer holds Self and Shen Metal moves to control it. There must be an ominous dispute in the seventh month this year. Asked its cause, I answered, “Response moves to control Self: it must be an enemy.” Asked whether it harms his rank, I answered, “Without Zi Water moving to take its place in the sequence, it certainly would. Fortunately Zi Water receives and passes on Generation, which would ordinarily be good. But it is broken and changes into Void, so demotion cannot be avoided.”
In the seventh month the parties impeached each other and a great dispute arose. It ended in Zi month with demotion and reassignment. In the fourth month of Zi year he was restored to his original grade and held two successive appointments. This verifies that Zi Water, the Source Spirit, was initially empty and broken, unable to generate Self, causing trouble; later, when year and month filled it, it became useful again.
Divination: Will a son’s illness be favorable? Divination: The fengshui of a burial site.
Hexagram: Gen as Mountain, changing to Mountain over Water, Meng. Hexagram: Lake over Mountain, Xian.
Palace: Gen Earth. Cycle Void: Chen, Si. Missing line: [no entry supplied]. Palace: Dui Metal. Cycle Void: Zi, Chou. Missing line: Officer.
Six Beasts; Self/Response; hexagram.
Line; Qian.
Branch; Six Spirits; stems and branches; Six Spirits.
Hidden.
Spirit; Hexagram Body; Day.
Chen; Month Commander; Tai Sui; Six Beasts; Self/Response; hexagram.
Line; stems and branches; Six Spirits; stems and branches; Six Spirits; Hidden.
Spirit; Hexagram Body; day designation; Month Commander; Tai Sui.
Dark Warrior; Self; Yin Officer; Jia; Yin. Soaring Snake; Response; Wei Parents; Geng; Chou.
White Tiger; Zi Wealth; Wu. Gouchen; You Brothers; Shen.
Soaring Snake; Xu Brothers. Vermilion Bird; Hai Descendants.
Gouchen; Response; Ｏ; Shen Descendants; Wu Parents. Green Dragon; Self; Shen Brothers.
Vermilion Bird; Ｘ; Wu Parents; Chen Brothers. Dark Warrior; Wu Wealth.
Green Dragon; Chen Brothers. White Tiger; Chen Parents; Si Officer.
Judgment: Shen Metal Descendants is the Useful Spirit and is at Month Break. The day also controls it, and it changes into returning Control. With Control and no Generation, hurry home: your son has died. Before he arrived, someone reported, “Your son died at Shen hour.” The corresponding hour filled it, when it received Control.
Judgment: The day with Green Dragon holds Self. The approaching dragon ridge comes from the left; both Dragon and Tiger possess qi and must curve around in an embrace. But Wei Earth at Response is at Month Break. Response is the distant facing hill; the position before Self is the nearer facing feature. Hai Water fortunately receives Shen day’s Generation, so there must be water facing the site. Take water as its facing feature, rather than a mountain as its orientation. The intervening line is the open ground before the grave: strong, it must be broad and spacious.
He said, “Every point is correct. Will burial be good?” I answered, “Follow my judgment: take water as the facing feature and abandon the mountain as the orientation. I promise great prosperity.” He followed it, and after burial things occurred as predicted.
Divination: Is buying this house favorable?
Hexagram: Lake over Fire, Ge, changing to Lake over Heaven, Guai.
Palace: Kan Water. Cycle Void: Wu, Wei. Missing line: Wealth.
Six Beasts; Self/Response; hexagram.
Line; Qian.
Branch; Six Spirits; stems and branches; Six Spirits; Hidden.
Spirit; Hexagram Body; Day.
Chen; Month Commander; Tai Sui.
Soaring Snake; Wei Officer; Xin; Shen.
Gouchen; You Parents; Mao.
Vermilion Bird; Self; Hai Brothers.
Green Dragon; Hai Brothers; Wu Wealth.
Dark Warrior; Ｘ; Chou Officer; Yin Descendants.
White Tiger; Response; Mao Descendants.
Judgment: The Month Commander generates Self and You Metal secretly moves to generate Self. But the change into Yin Wood Descendants is at Month Break and also controlled by Metal. Beware the loss of a son. He bought the house anyway. Within half a month of moving in, his son developed smallpox and died. Later he brought this hexagram and asked, “My son did die. Can this house be inhabited from now on?” I answered, “Divine again before deciding.”
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