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Bushi Zhengzong · The Orthodox Tradition of Divination
Rhapsodies on Penetrating the Mysteries and Scattered Gold
Read in English. Switch to Original for word notes, or select text to ask a question.
Months one and nine: the second point of the fifth watch;
months two and eight: the fourth point of the fifth watch.
In months three and seven, dawn light is the Yin hour;
in months four and six, sunrise is Yin without difference.
In month five, the sun is three zhang above the ground;
in months ten and twelve, the second point of the fourth watch.
In midwinter, just at the beginning of the fourth watch,
it is the Yin hour: you must remember this.
Reading note: Watch, point, and zhang retain the source's time and height expressions; no modern clock conversion is supplied. The source's 平光 is rendered as dawn light.
Rhapsody on Penetrating the Mysteries
The lines of the Changes do not form recklessly;
how could numinous lines move at random?
Once the body and image are formed,
absence shows a worried countenance.
First discuss the Useful Spirit;
next you must look at the Source Spirit.
A Threefold Combination meeting the Useful is favorable;
Emolument and Horse are especially good.
Moving lines first establish what is settled;
next discuss the Void.
Six Clashes govern clashing and joining;
penalty and control both govern injury.
When Self and Response both move,
there must be a change of arrangements.
Dragon moving brings joy to the household;
Tiger moving governs mourning.
Gouchen and Vermilion Bird moving:
fields and land, and written compositions.
Wealth moving brings concern for elders;
Parents moving injures children.
Descendants moving delays men;
Brothers moving brings calamity to women.
For travel, Self should move;
Returning Soul does not leave the territory.
The Useful moving and meeting a Threefold Combination:
the traveler returns to the village at once.
For a household, flourishing Wealth and Dragon
bring riches foremost in the village.
When the Parent line prospers,
official rank reaches marquis or king.
If the Blessing Spirit holds Self,
official litigation certainly does no harm.
Gouchen controlling Dark Warrior:
there is no need to hurry in catching a thief.
For a father's illness, Wealth as a killing influence is disliked;
flourishing Wealth means the mother does not last long.
Without a Ghost, illness is hard to treat;
a flourishing Ghost governs madness.
Consult the Calendar for Examining Ghosts;
prayers and thanks bring peace and health.
For marriage, also examine control of the Useful;
for childbirth, look at yin and yang.
If you ask about fengshui,
three, four, and Self bring flourishing good fortune.
The formula of Birth, Tomb, and Extinction
must be examined closely in every hexagram.
Ten thousand words cannot exhaust it;
these are only the main outlines.
Each distinction has its own category;
there is no thing it does not contain.
Reading note: The compressed 无者形忧色 and 三四世 are retained without supplying an absent subject or an unprinted conditional. The illness, rank, and ritual claims belong to the supplied verse.
Rhapsody of Scattered Gold
Descendants moving generate Wealth; Parents should not stir.
Brothers moving control Wealth; Descendants moving can resolve it.
Wealth moving generates Ghost; Brothers must not shake.
Descendants moving control Ghost; Wealth moving can dissolve it.
Parents moving generate Brothers; control from Wealth is avoided.
Ghost moving controls Brothers; Parents moving can drain it.
Ghost moving generates Parents; Descendants must not cross or become heavy.
Wealth moving controls Parents; Ghost moving can mediate.
Brothers moving generate Descendants; Ghost must not shake.
Parents moving control Descendants; Brothers moving do no harm.
Descendants rising control Ghost; Parents moving do no harm.
But if Brothers move, Ghost must suffer injury.
Wealth rising controls Parents; Brothers moving bring no worry.
But if Descendants move, the parent's life is hard to retain.
Parents moving control Descendants; Wealth moving causes no trouble.
But if Ghost rises, the child must die.
Ghost rising controls Brothers; Descendants moving can rescue them.
If Wealth crosses or becomes heavy, the brothers do not last long.
Brothers rising control Wealth; Ghost rising is no obstruction.
But if Parents rise, Wealth suffers control and harm.
Reading note: The source has 鬼动巽入 at the fourth pair. The English reads the generating-Parents relation given in the parallel received verse, explicitly rather than silently correcting the Chinese. The rest of the listed conditions and outcomes remain as supplied.
This whole section discusses control within generation, control, regulation, and transformation, to show good concealed within ill and ill concealed within good.
For example, Metal moving originally generates Water. But if Fire also moves, it controls Metal, and Metal cannot generate Water.
For example, Fire moving can control Metal. But if Water also moves, it controls Fire, and Fire cannot injure Metal.
For example, Metal meeting moving Fire is controlled. But if Earth also moves, Fire eagerly generates Earth and forgets to control Metal. This is called greed for generation forgetting control, and Metal instead becomes favorable.
For example, Fire moves to control Metal while the Earth line is still. If Wood also moves, Wood assists Fire in controlling Metal: it must be unfavorable.
Students should infer through the Five Phases' generation, control, regulation, and transformation. Then good and ill will be clear.
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