There are two versions of Eight Guas,one is the innate Eight Guas (先天八卦) ,which is the early version in ZhouYi;One is Aposteriori Eight Guas (后天八卦) ,In the early days,they were not taken seriously,but they gradually became popular after Shao Yong (邵雍) successfully applied them。
Innate Eight Guas such as figure below,the original text in the Narrate Gua of ZhouYi is, “天地定位,山泽通气,雷风相薄,水火不相射,八卦相错,数往者顺,知来者逆,是故易逆数也”。ZhouYi represents the sky with Q.T.,and K.S.I. represents the earth,so the position of the sky above is Q.T.,and the position of the earth below is K.S.I.。The top of the Q.T. Anode-line becomes Cathode-line,and it becomes the D.T.N.;The top of the K.S.I. Cathode-line changes to Anode-line,and it becomes G.F.B.。The lines of D.T.N. and G.F.B. mutually combine,so they communicate and aeratewith each other。The bottom of the Q.T. Anode-line becomes Cathode-line,and it becomes the X.B.I.;The bottom of the K.S.I. Cathode-line changes to Anode-line,and it becomes Z.F.J.。”相薄“ means close to each other。Mountains and swamps can coexist,that is,breathe together;wind and thunder are in close proximity to each other。Although we can see from the diagram below,they all seem to be in opposite positions。This is because the Q.T. and the K.S.I. are originally opposite,and the mountains(G.F.B.) and marsh(D.T.N. ),or thunder(Z.F.J.) and wind(X.B.I.),or water(K.M.F.) and fire(L.M.H.) derived from them are also opposed to each other。People often say that fire and water are incompatible,and the “shoot” (射) here is the meaning of pushing out or popping out,and the “相” here is the meaning of mutual entry。“水火不相射” ,the meaning of the whole sentence is,fire and water are incompatible,and pushing out or popping out each other。The eight Guas are intertwined and superimposed on each other,symbolizing all things in the world,revealing the character or fate of all things,as well as auspicious or dangerous,in the future or in the past,all in the 64 Guas。As we saw in the 《Sixty-four Gua Designs Brief Content》previous article,each Gua Design has numbers such as nine, or six, or one, two, three, four, five, etc,these numbers all represent auspiciousness or danger。 One, two, three, four, five,six,If you count numbers in this way,it is called a forward number (顺数) ; Conversely,six,five,four,three,two,one,if you count numbers like this,it is called an inverse number (逆数)。If I arrive the other people’s side,it is called to go;on the other hand,if others reach me,they are called to come。If you want to know what will happen if you go,you will forward number count them。And if you want to know what’s coming,inverse number count them。The past cannot be traced,so the sage made ZhouYi to understand what will come in the future,that is,to use the inverse number。In fact,the 35 Chinese characters of Heaven and Earth Positioning this passage gave birth to the innate Eight Guas。
Aposteriori Eight Guas such as figure below,the original text also in the Narrate Gua of ZhouYi,雷以动之,风以散之。雨以润之,日以烜之。艮以止之,兑以说之。乾以君之,坤以藏之。帝出乎震,齐乎巽,相见乎离,致役乎坤,说言乎兑,战乎乾,劳乎坎,成言乎艮。
Aposteriori Eight Guas represents the sky with L.M.H.,and K.M.F. represents the earth,so the position of the sky above is L.M.H.,and the position of the earth below is K.M.F.。Here,Thunder Move’s 61 Chinese characters in this passage gave birth to the Aposteriori Eight Guas, and in ZhouYi,the relationship with the 35 Chinese characters of heaven and earth positioning is contextual。Let’s take a look at what the 61 Chinese characters above say。The sage used thunder to symbolize the action of all things,wind to symbolize dissemination,rain to symbolize moisture,and sun to symbolize dryness。Moreover,it also uses the G.F.B. Gua to represent stop,the D.T.N. Gua to represent happiness,the Q.T. Gua to represent the gentleman,and the K.S.I. Gua to represent deep hiding。The Emperor of Heaven makes all things born in Z.F.J. Gua,and makes all things neat and aligned in X.B.I. Gua,and makes all things meet in L.M.H. Gua,nourishes all things in K.S.I. Gua,makes all things happy in D.T.N. Gua,fights in Q.T. Gua,makes all things industrious in K.M.F. Gua,and makes all things achieve final achievements and start anew in G.F.B. Gua。Judging from the Aposteriori Eight Guas,it depicts such a picture:The Z.F.J. Gua represents the east,clockwise through X.B.I. Gua,to the south of L.M.H. Gua,then through K.S.I. Gua,to the west of D.T.N. Gua,and then through Q.T. Gua,to the north of the K.M.F. Gua,and finally to the northeast of G.F.B. Gua,and the cycle repeats。
From ancient times to the present,gentlemen use Innate Eight Guas to start hexagrams,and use Aposteriori Eight Guas to predict。In the beginning,people used yarrow for divination,but it was inconvenient to carry。The grass is generally no more than three feet tall and is said to grow for thousands of years,making it one of the longest growing herbs。The stem of yarrow is long,straight and hard,and all the ancients believed that the use of this plant for divination had psychic effects.。When using yarrow,50 pieces of grass must be used.。This method of using 50 branches of yarrow is called DaYan (大衍)——The Fundamental Calculation。In the Key Concepts In Chinese Thought And Culture (中华思想文化术语),Dayan is elaborated as:This refers to the fundamental oracular calculation。The term “fundamental calculation,” which is from The Book of Changes (《周易·系辞上》),refers to the procedure for creating hexagrams by using fifty yarrow stalks。The diviner would repeatedly combine and separate groups of yarrow stalks according to a set of rules。The changes in the numbers of the stalks were used to ascertain the Yin and Yang,namely,the negative and positive,characteristics of each trigram,and the trigrams were in turn used to form a hexagram。This method of calculation was believed to represent the process through which everything was created and evolved,and it was used to explore and understand the rules which govern changes and their underlying trends。The number (of yarrow stalks) in the fundamental calculation is fifty,of which forty-nine are used。
Later,with the popularity of coins,people used coins that were easy to carry for divination。All it takes is three coins,tossed six times in a row in groups of three,to get an Innate Eight Gua。Not only that,with the successive introduction of the eight trigrams of the Trunk Of Sky,the Branch Of Earth,the six relatives (六亲,It refers to the following six relationships:myself,parents,brothers,children,officer,money),and Auspicious gods (吉神) or Evil breaths (煞气),the Senary-Layer-Divination Guas were formed,ushering in a period of vigorous development of ZhouYi。
In the absence of Internet,or even cell phone signal,or,more than the Internet,you trust the feeling of the heavy coins in your hand,as if they were connected to your heart,it’s a good idea to use coins if you need a divination。First of all,we need to prepare three coins of the same size and type in advance,and a blank piece of paper and a pen.。The coins is held quietly in your hand,and without anytime or anyspace can stop your imagination。Heaven and Man are United as One。Perhaps,you will think of your God,it doesn’t matter,everything will be as it is。You stare at the coins in your hand,focus on the question you’re about to ask,and silently repeat your question three or more times。Then release the hand holding the coins and let the coins fall naturally to the flat table,not to block the coins that are rolling around,but to let them stop rolling naturally。If you are sitting in a small car,you can toss coins in the empty seat next to you,and remember to clean up the clutter under the seat in advance to prevent the coins from falling under the seat。Then grab your pen and paper and record the results of this coin toss。
Keep in mind that the side of the coin has a face value is the obverse and the reverse side is the back。Let’s look at the three coin appearances together,there are four scenarios:
There are two coins obverse ,they are Anode-air,we employed a lengthy line to symbolize the concept of Anode-air,suchas “——”。
There are two coins back,they are Cathode-gas,we utilizing two shorter lines to represent Cathode-gas,such as “— —”。
If you see that all three coins are on the side of the face value,then represented by a small circle “——O”,then they all will turn into Cathode-gas。Because Anode-air and Anode-air do not merge each other,so the Anode-air at this time is called loneliness (孤)。
If you see that all three coins have the side that has no face value,then represented by a small fork “— —X”,then they all going to turn into Anode-air。Because Cathode-gas and Cathode-gas are also not combined each other,so the Cathode-gas at this time is called emptiness (虚)。
Anytime we toss three coins at the same time,one of the above four scenarios will occur。We need to repeat the three-coin flip six times at the same time,in the same place。Then,on a blank piece of paper,reserve space for six blank lines,and record the results of these six times in turn from bottom to top,Write down the year,month,day,and time at that time。
For example,in a certain process of divination,we get the following results in turn:
- and the sixth time you get two back
- the fifth time you get three obverse
- the fourth time you get three back
- the third time you get three obverse
- the second time you get two back
- The first time you get two obverse
Let’s write them on the right side of the paper as:
- and the sixth time you get two back**— —**
- the fifth time you get three obverse**——O**
- the fourth time you get three back **— —X**
- the third time you get three obverse**——O**
- the second time you get two back** — —**
- The first time you get two obverse**——**
The “——O” equivalent to moving “——”,while the “— —X” equivalent to moving “— —”,So this hexagram above is K.M.F. upper and L.M.H. lower called Succeed Gua,既济卦 in Chinese。Because there are exist “——O” or “— —X”,we need to evolve it further:turn “——O” into “— —”,and turn “— —X” into “——”。Finally we got a new hexagram:
- and the sixth time you get two back** — —**No change** — —**
- the fifth time you get three obverse **——O **change**— —**
- the fourth time you get three back** — —X **change**——**
- the third time you get three obverse **——O**change** — —**
- the second time you get two back**— — **No change**— —**
- The first time you get two obverse** —— **No change**——**
The new hexagram is Z.F.J. upper and Z.F.J. lower called Thunder Gua,雷卦 in Chinese。To describe the process in its entirety,that is called nine-three, six-four, and nine-five of the Succeed Gua moved and turned into the Thunder Gua。
If it doesn’t exist “——O” or “— —X”,we don’t need to evolve it further。As a beginner,we can go back to the Succeed Gua and Thunder Gua in Zhouyi,look at the Gua Designs,and Gua dictionary,and what the senary-diction say。More advanced prediction methods,but also need to add more elements。
故水火相逮,雷风不相悖,山泽通气,然后能变化,既成万物也。——Here is a summary of the benefits of transforming Innate Eight Guas into Aposteriori Eight Guas。The nature of water is the opposite of fire,because water moistens all things,while fire dries all things,and it seems that nothing can be accomplished。But in fact,on the contrary,everything is nourished by water and can grow,and fire provides warmth for everything,because of the change of Anode-air and Cathode-gas between water and fire。In the same way,thunder(Z.F.J.) and wind(X.B.I.) have changed from the opposition in the Innate Eight Guas to the adjacent in the Aposteriori Eight Guas。This is because opposition usually means harm,now thunder and wind are close together,which means they can’t hurt each other.。There are also mountains(G.F.B.) and marsh(D.T.N. ) which have also left their opposing positions。
乾,健也。坤,顺也。震,动也。巽,入也。坎,陷也。离,丽也。艮,止也。兑,说也。——Q.T. is being athletic like a celestial body ,also means being physically strong。K.S.I. bearing the sky like the earth,represents obedience。Z.F.J. is like thunder,it agitates all things and represents movement,but thunder is also ephemeral and cannot be eternal。X.B.I. is just like the wind,there are no holes that cannot be entered。K.M.F. is like water,water in a dangerous,or low-lying place represents difficulties and dangers。L.M.H. is just like the sun,it represents brightness。G.F.B. is like a still mountain, so it represents stopping。D.T.N. is just like the autumn of harvest,all things rejoice。
乾为马,坤为牛,震为龙,巽为鸡,坎为豕,离为雉,艮为狗,兑为羊。——Q.T. is horse。K.S.I. is cattle。Z.F.J. is dragon。X.B.I. is chicken。K.M.F. is wild boar。L.M.H. is Pheasant。G.F.B. is dog。D.T.N. is sheep。
乾为首,坤为腹,震为足,巽为股,坎为耳,离为目,艮为手,兑为口。——Q.T. is brain。K.S.I. is abdomen。Z.F.J. is feet。X.B.I. is thigh。K.M.F. is ear。L.M.H. is eye。G.F.B. is hand。D.T.N. is mouth。
乾,天也,故称乎父。坤,地也,故称乎母。——Q.T. is sky,that’s why it’s called Father。And K.S.I. is earth,that’s why it’s called Mother。
震一索而得男,故谓之长男。——With Q.T. and K.S.I. as parents,whoever gains the father’s Qi(气) will get the boy,and whoever gets the mother’s Qi will get the girl。The Six-one ,or incipient six,or original six of K.S.I. gains the Qi of Q.T. ,then get the boy,then the boy is the first child,called eldest son,so Z.F.J. is eldest son。
巽一索而得女,故谓之长女。——The Nine-one ,or incipient nine,or original nine of Q.T. gains the Qi of K.S.I. ,then get the girl,then the girl is the first child,called eldest girl,so X.B.I. is eldest girl。
坎再索而得男,故谓之中男。——The Six-two of K.S.I. gains the Qi of Q.T. ,then get the boy,then the boy is the second child,called second son。Due to its location in the middle,so K.M.F. is midlife son。
离再索而得女,故谓之中女。——The Nine-two of Q.T. gains the Qi of K.S.I. ,then get the girl,then the girl is the second child,called second girl。Due to its location in the middle,so L.M.H. is midlife girl。
艮三索而得男,故谓之少男。——The Six-three of K.S.I. gains the Qi of Q.T. ,then get the boy,then the boy is the third child,called juvenile,so G.F.B. is juvenile。
兑三索而得女,故谓之少女。——The Nine-three of Q.T. gains the Qi of K.S.I. ,then get the girl,then the girl is the third child,called maiden,so D.T.N. is maiden。
乾为天,为圆,为君,为父,为玉,为金,为寒,为冰,为大赤,为良马,为老马,为瘠马,为驳马,为木果。——Q.T. is sky,or round,or king,or father,or Jade,or gold,or chilly,or red,or a horse that is good at walking,or a horse that is good at traveling,or a horse with many bones,or a horse that is said to eat tigers,or the fruit of the tree。
坤为地,为母,为布,为釜,为吝啬,为均,为多子母牛,为大舆,为文,为众,为柄,其于地也为黑。——K.S.I. is land,or mother,or cloth,or cooker,or miserly,or average,or a cow with a lot of litter,or big truck,or miscellaneous pattern,or numerous,or the root of Fertility,or black earth。
震为雷,为龙,为玄黄,为旉,为大涂,为长子,为决躁,为苍筤竹,为萑苇。其于马也为善鸣,为馵足,为作足,为
广颡。其于稼也为反生。其究也健,为蕃鲜。——Z.F.J. is thunder,or dragon,or pale yellow,or spread,or wide road,or eldest son,or resolute and decisive,or irritable,or beautiful bamboo,or reed,or a loud horse,or the hind foot of a horse,or horse with white forehead,or crops grown in the shell,or athletes,or bright vegetation。
巽为木,为风,为长女,为绳直,为工,为白,为长,为高,为进退,为不果,为臭。其于人也为寡发,为广额,为多白眼,为近利市三倍,其究为躁卦。——X.B.I. is wood,or wind,or eldest girl,or straightened rope,or neat,or white,or long,or tall,or advance and retreat,or hesitancy,or smelly,or thinning of hair,or broad forehead,or people with many whites of their eyes,or triple the benefits of the market,or irritable。
坎为水,为沟渎,为隐伏,为矫輮,为弓轮。其于人也,为加忧,为心病,为耳痛,为血卦,为赤。其于马也,为美脊,为亟心,为下首,为薄蹄,为曳。其于舆也,为多眚。为通,为月,为盗。其于木也,为坚多心。——K.M.F. is water,or ditch,or hide,or can bend or straight,or quick shot,or waterwheel,or worry,or anxious,or otalgia,or red blood,or beautiful horse ridge,or palpitation,or downstream,or thin horseshoe,or mop the floor,or overweight vehicle,or drill holes,or Moon,or thief,or solid and hard wood。
离为火,为日,为电,为中女,为甲胄,为戈兵。其于人也,为大腹。为乾卦,为鳖,为蟹,为蠃,为蚌,为龟。其于木也,为科上槁。——L.M.H. is fire,or sun,or electricity light,or midlife girl,or armour,or weapon,or big belly,or sky,or Turtles,crabs,mussels,snail,or dry wood。
艮为山,为径路,为小石,为门阙,为果蓏,为阍寺,为指,为狗,为鼠,为黔喙之属。其于木也,为坚多节。——G.F.B. is mountain,or ghat,or small stones,gravel,or tower,or fruits,or closure of the monastery,or finger,or dog,or mouse,or animals that live at home or in the mountains,or more tree joint and hard wood。
兑为泽,为少女,为巫,为口舌,为毁折,为附决。其于地也为刚卤。为妾,为羊。——D.T.N. is marsh,or maiden,or witch,or mouth and tongue,or destroyed and broken,or attachment of fruits,or hard salt ground,or lover,or sheep。
The all content of this website is free to view。If you want to support the development of this website,such as better looking layout,more good content,safer website,faster pages, etc,you are welcome to donate。For more information,please contact sagadragon@greatsixdragon.net。