Taiyi Golden Mirror Cosmic Board Classic: Volume 9 — Military Intelligence and Ritual

ENEMY MOVEMENT AND INACTIVITY: The classic states: To know whether the enemy is active or still, use the day and hour to determine it. If the guest's reckoning yields the five-eight combination and the gates are blocked and sealed, the enemy will not come. If the gates are complete, generals deployed, with no ambush, press, block, or opposition, and both host and guest converge before Taiyi — all intelligence is favorable, and the enemy comes to surrender, not to attack. TRUTHFULNESS OF ENEMY ENVOYS: The classic states: To know whether an envoy speaks truth, use Taiyi's controlling relationship, determined by the hour. If Taiyi can control the Guest Eye and the Guest Major General, the enemy envoy speaks truthfully and can be trusted. If the Guest Eye overcomes Taiyi's palace, the opposite — the words are false and cannot be trusted. DETECTING ENEMY SPIES: The classic states: To know whether the enemy has sent spies, observe the Celestial Eye to determine it. If the Guest Eye occupies the Yin Controller position, this means enemy agents have entered our territory — prepare defenses accordingly. ENEMY DIRECTION AND STRENGTH: The classic states: When dust rises and signal fires are lit — to determine how many enemy generals there are, whether they have generals or not, and from which direction they approach: if the general-position falls in a yang palace, there are bandits; in a yin palace, there are none (yang = odd, yin = even numbers). If the reckoning yields 16 or above with yin-yang in harmony: the bandits approach with generals and soldiers in great numbers. If 15 or below: the bandits are few and leaderless. If the Celestial Eye is on the left, they approach from the east; on the right, from the west.

MILITARY RITUALS FOR EACH TAIYI PALACE: When Taiyi resides in Palace 1: sacrifice facing northwest, using three portions of dried beef, three cups of wine, spread on white silk. The Major General prostrates twice and prays: 'Taiyi of Palace 1, ten thousand spirits — protect our three armies, let no enemy dare oppose us.' Reckoning of 1: deploy with infantry in the front, chariots and cavalry behind, the Major General in the center. Upon exiting the gate, no plundering. When in Palace 2: sacrifice facing due south, using three portions of dried beef, three cups of wine, on red silk. [Same prayer formula.] When in Palace 3: sacrifice facing northeast, using three portions of dried beef, three cups of wine, on yellow silk. When in Palace 4: sacrifice facing due east, using four portions of dried beef, four cups of wine, on blue-green silk. When in Palace 6: sacrifice facing due west, using six portions of dried beef, six cups of wine, on white silk. When in Palace 7: sacrifice facing southwest, using seven portions, seven cups, on yellow silk. When in Palace 8: sacrifice facing due north, using eight portions, eight cups, on black silk. When in Palace 9: sacrifice facing southeast, using nine portions, nine cups, on blue-green silk. If the reckoning yields exactly 5, 15, 25, or 35 — all gates are blocked and sealed. It is unfavorable to dispatch troops. One should dig deep moats, raise high ramparts, mark the ground, and defend — this is auspicious.

INITIAL-STRIKE GENERAL IN THE TWENTY-EIGHT LODGES: The ancient method states: The Initial-Strike General is the essence of Mars. Following the yearly reckoning's shifts, it occupies the twenty-eight lodges, and in each year governs specific affairs. EASTERN SEVEN LODGES: At Horn: great personages have worries, troops deploy. At Gullet: the populace suffers plague. At Base: there is a treacherous minister within, fire disaster feared. At Chamber: the ruler and generals face disaster. At Heart: the feudal kings have worries. At Tail: the inner palace is alarmed, the empress faces disaster. At Winnowing-Basket: warfare erupts. NORTHERN SEVEN LODGES: At Dipper: ranks and salaries are disrupted, passes and bridges blocked. At Ox: rice prices soar, the people starve, sacrificial animals die. At Girl: the empress suffers illness, fire disaster feared. At Emptiness: the feudal lords have worries, governmental orders change, possibly an amnesty. At Danger: the year brings much illness and death, also construction and military mobilization. At Encampment: powerful figures conspire in secret, the harvest fails. At Wall: literature flourishes, troops deploy. WESTERN SEVEN LODGES: At Strider: a subordinate minister creates mischief. At Bond: bandits in the mountain forests, roads impassable. At Stomach: the five grains are not harvested. At Pleiades: the northern peoples fall ill, Yan-Zhao sees warfare. At Net: warfare erupts, punishments and penalties are invoked. At Beak: generals defect, cattle and horses sicken. At Triaster: relocation occurs, generals have worries. SOUTHERN SEVEN LODGES: At Well: rivers and waterways overflow, minor military action. At Ghost: the empress loses power, the people suffer plague. At Willow: the people starve and become displaced. At Star: fire disaster feared. At Extended Net: ritual protocols frequently change. At Wings: yin-yang sequence disrupted, excessive rain. At Chariot-Board: there is mourning and death. TAIYI AND GRAND YEAR IN OPPOSITION: The classic states: When the Grand Year opposes Taiyi, this portends dynastic collapse and military conscription. When Taiyi is in Palace 3 and the Grand Year is at wei or shen: a broom-star (comet) should appear in the northeast to assist the Grand Year — the southwestern state falls first, the northeastern state falls after.