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Bushi Zhengzong · The Orthodox Tradition of Divination
Eighteen Questions · The Hidden Spirit
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Question Nine: When the Useful Spirit does not appear, we look beneath which line it is hidden. How do we judge whether it can emerge?
Answer: There are four conditions under which a Hidden Spirit can emerge:
First: the day or month generates it, or it occupies the day or month.
Second: the Flying Spirit generates the Hidden, or a moving line generates it.
Third: the day, month or a moving line Clashes with or controls the Flying Spirit.
Fourth: the Flying Spirit is empty, broken, in Rest or Imprisonment, or at Tomb or Extinction through the day.
There are also four conditions under which a Hidden Spirit cannot emerge:
First: it is in Rest and Imprisonment without qi, or is controlled by the day or month.
Second: the Flying Spirit flourishes, receives Generation and assistance from day and month, and controls or harms the Hidden Spirit.
Third: the Hidden Spirit is at Tomb or Extinction through the day, month or Flying line.
Fourth: the Hidden Spirit is concealed and imprisoned, together with Cycle Void and Month Break.
These four are conditions of an unusable Hidden Spirit: although present, it is as if absent, and can never emerge. Whenever the Useful Spirit is flourishing but meets Cycle Void, it emerges on the day it leaves Void.
Divination: Waiting for an official document—on what day can it be collected? Divination: A fugitive servant.
Hexagram: Mountain over Fire, Bi. Hexagram: Water over Mountain, Jian.
Palace: Gen Earth. Cycle Void: Wu, Wei. Missing lines: Descendants, Parents. Palace: Dui Metal. Cycle Void: Zi, Chou. 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; 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.
White Tiger; Yin Officer; Ren; Mao. Green Dragon; Zi Descendants; Ding; Chen.
Soaring Snake; Zi Wealth; Chen. Dark Warrior; Xu Parents; Si.
Gouchen; Response; Xu Brothers. White Tiger; Self; Shen Brothers.
Vermilion Bird; Hai Wealth; Shen Descendants. Soaring Snake; Shen Brothers.
Green Dragon; Chou Brothers; Wu Parents. Gouchen; Wu Officer; Mao Wealth.
Dark Warrior; Self; Mao Officer. Vermilion Bird; Response; Chen Parents.
Judgment: Wu Fire Parents is the Useful Spirit, hidden beneath Chou Earth at the second line and also in Cycle Void. I promised that it would leave Void on Jia Wu day and the document would be collected. This was verified: it corresponded to the day of departure from the cycle.
Judgment: For a servant, use Wealth as the Useful Spirit. Take Mao Wood from the second line of Dui: it is hidden beneath Wu Fire at the second line of this hexagram. Wu Fire is the Flying Spirit and Mao Wood the Hidden Spirit. Shen Metal holding Self controls Mao Wood, so the servant cannot ultimately escape. But Hidden generating Flying is called draining qi: the stolen property must be exhausted at a household with furnace fire. I promised capture on Jia Zi day. On Zi day, he was found sheltering and gambling at a blacksmith’s house and was captured at Shen hour. Zi day corresponded because it Clashed with and controlled Wu Fire, the Flying Spirit, and generated Mao Wood, the Hidden Spirit, raising it up.
The Golden Counsels says, “Without lifting the Hidden, effort is in vain; without pushing aside the Flying, it is equally futile.” This hexagram verifies it.
Divination: A father’s illness. Divination: A son’s illness.
Hexagram: Earth over Thunder, Fu. Hexagram: Earth over Wind, Sheng.
Palace: Kun Earth. Cycle Void: Zi, Chou. Missing line: Parents. Palace: Zhen Wood. Cycle Void: Zi, Chou. Missing lines: Descendants, Brothers.
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; You Descendants; Bing; Mao. Green Dragon; You Officer; Bing; You.
Dark Warrior; Hai Wealth; Chen. Dark Warrior; Hai Parents; Chen.
White Tiger; Response; Chou Brothers. White Tiger; Self; Chou Wealth; Wu Descendants.
Soaring Snake; Chen Brothers. Soaring Snake; You Officer.
Gouchen; Yin Officer; Si Parents. Gouchen; Hai Parents; Yin Brothers.
Vermilion Bird; Self; Zi Wealth. Vermilion Bird; Response; Chou Wealth.
Judgment: Si Fire Parents is hidden beneath Yin Wood at the second line. Flying generates Hidden, and Hidden meets Birth: I promised recovery the next day. This was verified.
Judgment: Wu Fire Descendants is hidden beneath Chou Earth at Self. Chou Earth is in Cycle Void and easy to draw aside. Recovery must occur on Wu day. This was verified.
Divination: Will the general market price of mulberry leaves be high or low? Divination: What ghost or spirit is causing the illness?
Hexagram: Water over Fire, Ji Ji. Hexagram: Wind over Heaven, Xiao Xu.
Palace: Kan Water. Cycle Void: Zi, Chou. Missing line: Wealth. Palace: Xun Wood. Cycle Void: Xu, Hai. 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.
Soaring Snake; Response; Zi Brothers; Geng; Chen. Vermilion Bird; Mao Brothers; Wu; Yin.
Gouchen; Xu Officer; Shen. Green Dragon; Si Descendants; Chen.
Vermilion Bird; Shen Parents. Dark Warrior; Response; Wei Wealth.
Green Dragon; Self; Hai Brothers; Wu Wealth. White Tiger; Chen Wealth; You Officer.
Dark Warrior; Chou Officer. Soaring Snake; Yin Brothers.
White Tiger; Mao Descendants. Gouchen; Self; Zi Parents.
Judgment: Wu Fire Wealth is the Useful Spirit, hidden beneath Hai Water at Self. Shen day generates and supports Hai Water, and Wu Fire Wealth also meets Extinction at Hai. The leaf price must be low. A bystander said, “The current price is three qian, which is not low. Are you calling three qian a low price?” I answered, “No. It is still early. People consider three qian expensive now, but it is the usual price set for this time of year. The question concerns the general price, which must be judged at the main market.”
The bystander asked, “On which days will the main market be dear or cheap?” I answered, “In the Jia Zi cycle, Hai Water is in Void: only Si and Wu days will be good for selling. In the Jia Xu cycle, Hai Water occupies the cycle and Wu Fire Wealth cannot rise, so the price will fall gradually.” This was verified.
Judgment: For questions about ghosts and spirits, use Officer as the Useful Spirit. Here Officer and Ghost is hidden beneath the Chen line, combines with the Flying Spirit, and also combines with the day. I thought: hidden Combination is an image of concealment. You Metal is a spirit of upright qi, and the third line is the room. I therefore said, “A sacred image concealed in your house is causing the disturbance.” He replied, “How remarkable! A Guanyin scroll is indeed hidden in a cupboard.” It was later sent to a monastery, and the illness recovered.
On Geng Chen day in the seventh month, the same hexagram was obtained and I gave the same judgment. He said, “There is a bronze image of Patriarch Bodhidharma inside a case.” I told him to send it to a monastery, and his ailment also recovered.
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