Trigram Numbers, Divination Methods & Correspondence Tables

Qian is one; Dui is two; Li is three; Zhen is four; Xun is five; Kan is six; Gen is seven; Kun is eight.

Metal generates Water; Water generates Wood; Wood generates Fire; Fire generates Earth; Earth generates Metal. Metal overcomes Wood; Wood overcomes Earth; Earth overcomes Water; Water overcomes Fire; Fire overcomes Metal.

Qian and Dui belong to Metal; Kun and Gen belong to Earth; Zhen and Xun belong to Wood; Kan belongs to Water; Li belongs to Fire.

Zhen and Xun (Wood) flourish in spring; Li (Fire) flourishes in summer; Qian and Dui (Metal) flourish in autumn; Kan (Water) flourishes in winter; Kun and Gen (Earth) flourish in the Chen, Xu, Chou, and Wei months.

In spring, Kun and Gen decline; in summer, Qian and Dui decline; in autumn, Zhen and Xun decline; in winter, Li declines; in the Chen, Xu, Chou, and Wei months, Kan declines.

Jia and Yi belong to Wood of the East; Bing and Ding belong to Fire of the South; Wu and Ji belong to Earth of the Center; Geng and Xin belong to Metal of the West; Ren and Gui belong to Water of the North.

Zi: Water, Rat. Chou: Earth, Ox. Yin: Wood, Tiger. Mao: Wood, Rabbit. Chen: Earth, Dragon. Si: Fire, Snake. Wu: Fire, Horse. Wei: Earth, Goat. Shen: Metal, Monkey. You: Metal, Rooster. Xu: Earth, Dog. Hai: Water, Pig.

Qian: three unbroken lines. Kun: six broken segments. Zhen: an upturned bowl. Gen: an overturned bowl. Li: empty in the middle. Kan: full in the middle. Dui: open at the top. Xun: broken at the bottom.

The secret within the Yi exhausts heaven and earth; creation's celestial mechanism reveals what has not yet come to pass. Within it, spiritual intelligence governs fortune and misfortune; from ancient times, it must never be transmitted lightly.

Every thing has always had its own body; every body in turn contains its own heaven and earth. If one can know that the myriad things are complete within oneself, one will be willing to establish the root of the Three Powers separately. Heaven in its unity divides the work of creation; the human being gives rise to statecraft within the heart-mind. Even the immortals have two kinds of teaching: the Way is not transmitted in vain—it rests entirely with the person.

When generating a hexagram, regardless of how large the number may be, use that number as the trigram number. If it exceeds eight, divide successively by eight. If one eight does not divide evenly, divide again by two eights, three eights, and so on until it divides evenly, using the remainder as the trigram. If the number is exactly divisible by eight, it is the Kun trigram, and no further division is needed.

To determine the moving line, divide the total number of the doubled hexagram by six, and use the remainder as the moving line. If the number is less than six, simply use that number as the moving line without further division. If it exceeds six, divide by one six; if it still does not divide evenly, divide by two sixes, three sixes, and so on until it divides evenly, using the remainder as the moving line. When one line moves, examine it: if it is a yang line, it changes to yin; if a yin line, it changes to yang. When selecting the line, the hour should be added.

The mutual hexagram uses only the eight trigrams; there is no need to identify the sixty-four hexagram name. For the mutual hexagram, remove the first and sixth lines of the doubled hexagram, then divide the four middle lines into two trigrams and see which trigrams they form. It is also said: Qian and Kun have no mutual hexagram—use their changing hexagram instead.

The year, month, and day form the upper trigram. The year, month, day, plus the hour number form the lower trigram. The total of year, month, day, and hour numbers determines the moving line. For the year: Zi is one, Chou is two, continuing through Hai as twelve. For the month: the first month is one, continuing through the twelfth month as twelve. For the day: the first day is one, continuing through the thirtieth day as thirty. Add the year, month, and day numbers together, divide by eight, and use the remainder as the upper trigram. For the hour: Zi is one through Hai as twelve. Add the hour number to the year, month, and day total, divide by eight, and use the remainder as the lower trigram; divide by six, and use the remainder as the moving line.

Whenever one sees countable objects, use that count to form the upper trigram, and pair it with the hour number to form the lower trigram. Then divide the combined total of the trigram number and the hour number by six to obtain the moving line.

Whenever one hears sounds, count the number of sounds to form the upper trigram, and add the hour number to form the lower trigram. Sounds such as the cries of animals or the sounds of people striking and knocking can all be counted to generate a hexagram.

When the number of characters is even, divide them equally in half: one half forms the upper trigram, the other half the lower trigram. When the number is odd, the smaller portion forms the upper trigram, following the principle that heaven is light and clear, and the larger portion forms the lower trigram, following the principle that earth is heavy and turbid.

One character represents the Supreme Ultimate before differentiation. In cursive script, being chaotic and unclear, no hexagram can be derived. In regular script, take the character's strokes: left strokes are yang, right strokes are yin. Count the left strokes for the upper trigram; count the right strokes for the lower trigram. Use the full yin-yang stroke count of the character to determine the moving line. Strokes like 'chi' (step radical) and 'pie' (left-falling) are counted as left; strokes like 'heng' (horizontal), 'yi' (turning), and 'dian' (dot) are counted as right. Two characters represent the Two Modes, divided equally: one character for the upper trigram, one for the lower. Three characters represent the Three Powers: one character for the upper trigram, two for the lower. Four characters represent the Four Images, divided equally into upper and lower trigrams. For four characters and above, one need not count strokes but may instead use the four tones: level tone counts as one, rising tone as two, departing tone as three, entering tone as four. Five characters represent the Five Phases: two characters for the upper trigram, three for the lower. Six characters represent the assembly of the six lines, divided equally into upper and lower. Seven characters represent the Seven Luminaries aligned: three characters for the upper trigram, four for the lower. Eight characters represent the eight trigrams in their positions, divided equally. Nine characters represent the meaning of the Nine Divisions: four characters for the upper trigram, five for the lower. Ten characters represent the complete number, divided equally. From eleven characters up to one hundred, all can generate hexagrams. For eleven and above, the tonal method is no longer used; only the character count is employed. If the count is even, half forms the upper trigram and half the lower. The combined total of the two trigrams determines the moving line.

For objects measured in zhang and chi, use the zhang count as the upper trigram and the chi count as the lower trigram. Combine the zhang and chi numbers to determine the moving line. Cun measurements are not used.

Use the chi count as the upper trigram and the cun count as the lower trigram. Combine the chi and cun numbers and add the hour to determine the moving line. Fen measurements are not used.

When divining on behalf of others, the methods are varied. One may generate a hexagram by listening to the person's speech, observing their character and bearing, taking signs from their body, taking signs from objects they carry, noting their clothing color, observing external objects encountered, using the year, month, day, and hour, or having them write down their question. Listening to speech: if they speak one sentence, divide its characters to generate the hexagram. If they speak two sentences, the first sentence forms the upper trigram and the second the lower. If they speak at length, use only the first sentence heard, or the very last sentence heard; the rest are not used. Observing character and bearing: an old man corresponds to Qian; a young girl to Dui; and so forth. Taking signs from the body: if the head moves, it is Qian; if the feet move, Zhen; if the eyes move, Li; and so forth. Taking signs from objects: whatever the person happens to hold—gold, jade, or round objects correspond to Qian; earthenware or square objects to Kun; and so forth. Noting clothing color: if the person wears blue-green, it is Zhen; if red, Li; and so forth. Observing external objects: if at the moment of generating the hexagram one sees water, it is Kan; if fire, Li; and so forth. Year, month, day, and hour: apply the same method as in the Plum Blossom example. Written question: if the querent comes to divine and writes down their question, divine from those characters.

When one wishes to divine for oneself, one may use the year, month, day, and hour, or respond to sounds heard, or observe external objects encountered at that moment—all can generate a hexagram. These three methods follow the same procedures described in the preceding section on divining for others.

When a group of creatures is in motion, no hexagram should be cast. When one sees a single creature, use that creature as the upper trigram and the direction from which it comes as the lower trigram. Combine the creature's trigram number, the directional trigram number, and the hour number to determine the moving line, and use this total to render judgment on the creature—as in the Later Heaven divinations of lowing oxen and crowing chickens. Furthermore, for oxen, horses, dogs, pigs, and the like, at the time of birth, divine using the birth year, month, day, and hour. If one is purchasing such an animal, one may also divine from the time of the initial purchase.

For inanimate objects such as rivers, mountains, and rocks, no hexagram should be cast. For houses and trees, one may cast a hexagram at the time of initial construction or planting. For implements and utensils, one may divine at the time they are completed or acquired—such as pillows, chairs, and the like. Otherwise, one does not divine without cause. In the case of plum blossoms, the divination was prompted by seeing sparrows fighting over a branch and falling to the ground. For the peony, it was prompted by someone asking a question. For the flourishing tree, a dead branch fell of its own accord, and only then was divination performed.