Yuanhai Ziping: The Ten Gods

The Hurting Officer (shangguan) -- its effects are uncanny in their accuracy. The Hurting Officer must injure the Officer completely. If the injury is incomplete and the Officer rises in strength, the disasters that follow are beyond description. When the Hurting Officer sees the Officer, a hundred calamities arise. If the Monthly Command sits in the Hurting Officer position, and the Four Pillars are configured such that all functions converge on the Hurting Officer, and one further enters a period of strong Self -- this is a truly noble destiny. People with the Hurting Officer dominant are multi-talented and proud, often regarding everyone under heaven as inferior to themselves. The noble are wary of them, and the common people dislike them. Should the Luck Cycle encounter the Officer even once, the disaster is unspeakable. Even if an auspicious spirit can partially resolve it, a foul illness will ravage the body; otherwise, one will face legal troubles during that period. If the Luck Cycle strips away the Officer and the Wealth spirit is not strong, such people enjoy peace and comfort. Examine carefully, and you will be right without fail. It is also said: the Hurting Officer means 'what I generate' -- yang seeing yin, yin seeing yang -- also called 'qi theft.' If the Seal is completely injured, leaving not a trace, and the Self is weak, one fears the Officer star but need not fear the Seven Killings. For example, if Jia uses Xin as Officer: when Ding Fire is strong, it can generate Earth Wealth. One most fears seeing the Officer star, and the Self must also be strong. If the Hurting Officer has not fully eliminated the Officer, and the Officer star is exposed in the Four Pillars, then should the annual or period luck encounter the Officer star, the disaster is beyond words. If the Hurting Officer has fully eliminated the Officer, leaving not a trace in the Four Pillars, and one enters a strong period or a Seal period, then nobility follows. Even if the Four Pillars have fully eliminated the Officer star and the Self is strong, if there is not a trace of Wealth qi, one will only be poor and thin. When encountering the Hurting Officer, it is best to see Wealth, for Wealth can generate the Officer. When using the Hurting Officer pattern, both the Stems-Branches and the annual luck must avoid seeing the Officer star. If the Officer star appears, this is called 'Hurting Officer seeing Officer' -- a hundred calamities arise. In the Hurting Officer pattern, one can only employ it when Wealth is visible. The killing power of the Hurting Officer is as severe as the Seven Killings injuring the body -- its effects are uncanny. Hurting Officer in the Year Pillar: parents incomplete. In the Month Pillar: siblings incomplete. In the Day Pillar: wife or concubine incomplete. In the Hour Pillar: children without heirs. In all other Hurting Officer cases, the Officer must be fully injured for auspiciousness, and Wealth must be visible. In mild cases, there is the disaster of distant exile; in severe cases, the calamity of punishment and execution. When the Hurting Officer is at war, life is difficult to sustain. If the Monthly Command is in the Hurting Officer position, and the Four Pillars harmonize, all converging on the Hurting Officer, and one enters a period of strong Self -- this is a noble destiny. People of the Hurting Officer type are talented yet arrogant, always considering others inferior. Gentlemen despise them; petty people fear them. Encountering an Officer period without Wealth to rescue: major disaster is certain. Otherwise, obscure foul illness will ravage the body, or legal punishment will follow. Even if the Four Pillars have fully injured the Officer star, a weak Self encountering a Wealth period will generate good fortune -- this is 'Hurting Officer seeing Wealth.' Examine carefully, and you will be right without fail. It is also said: if the Four Pillars contain the Officer and it is harmed, the disaster is heavy; if the Four Pillars lack the Officer and it is harmed, the disaster is lighter. Generally, when the Four Pillars show the Officer, or show the Hurting Officer and one takes its Wealth: if the Wealth period finds favorable ground, one prospers; entering a period that defeats Wealth, one dies. If within the period's Branches there is no Wealth period, even a hollow exposure in the Stems is unacceptable. Example: [Yi-Hai, Ji-Chou, Ding-Hai, Geng-Xu]. Ding takes Ren as Officer. Chou and Xu are inherently Hurting Officer positions, but Chou is also a Metal treasury, and the Hour Stem has Geng serving as Wealth. This person prospered during the Shen-You period, but upon entering Metal with qi exhausted, died. In general, once the Officer star is injured, entering an Officer period brings continuous disaster; the Grand Year functions likewise. Verse: 'Hurting Officer fully injured is most marvelous, / Yet too much injury reverses into harm. / Within this pattern, a thousand transformations -- / Tracing them requires dedicated ingenuity. / Fire-Earth Hurting Officer should injure fully; / Metal-Water Hurting Officer needs to see the Officer; / Wood-Fire seeing Officer, the Officer has strength; / Earth-Metal: remove the Officer, and Officer forms again; / Only the Water-Wood Hurting Officer pattern / Finds joy when both Wealth and Officer appear. / Hurting Officer cannot always be called inauspicious -- / With control, clothing and salary are abundant; / Food God on the Stem, combination in the Branches, / Grandchildren fill one's eyes, longevity like a pine. / Encountering the Hurting Officer is inherently unfavorable, / Yet Wealth present, Officer absent, is the foundation of fortune; / Hour, Day, Month Hurting Officer patterns -- / Enter a Wealth-strong period and nobility is certain. / Hurting Officer fully injured is most marvelous, / But if the Hurting Officer remains, disaster follows; / Relying on oneself to dominate others, competitive at heart, / Punishment and injury to kin bring yet more grief. / Hurting Officer cannot always be called inauspicious -- / Xin day, Ren-Chen: nobility lies within; / Born in autumn or winter, elegant qi emerges; / Born in the four earth seasons, Wealth is abundant. / Bing Fire with many roots, Earth also connected, / Formed in Shen month or formed on the Stem; / Simply travel Metal-Water to rise in fame and profit -- / Fire-Earth returning again, the count is not firm.'

If the Hurting Officer has fully injured the Officer, one can instead welcome the Officer star. If the Hurting Officer is evaluated for Wealth, disaster does not come lightly. If the Hurting Officer employs the Seal, overcoming through Killing is not as effective as overcoming through Punishment. If the Hurting Officer is evaluated for Wealth, having a Combination brings fame and reputation. Hurting Officer using Wealth: the Seal region is unfavorable. Hurting Officer seeing Officer: a Seal period does no harm. Mixed-qi Wealth and Officer: the Seal is not feared at all. Two Wu combining with one Gui: the woman will remarry. If Wife-Wealth is overcome, children will not be raised. Seal and Shoulder together: the Wealth region is not feared. Too many Seal roots with a strong Self: certainly poor. If the Seal is injured: the father and mother are harmed. Officer and Killer mixed: the father and mother are harmed. Wealth excessive, Self weak: the father and mother are harmed. Stem and Branch both overcoming: the wife is harmed. Xin-Mao and Wu-Yin do not fear many Killings. In a woman's chart, Shoulder means sisters competing for Combination -- much deceit. If Wealth has Rob Wealth, one need not fear exposing it to the Killing. Fire-destiny people are best when the Month Branch belongs to Fire and the Stem has Wood drawing out the Fire. Gui-You is a weak pattern; seeing the Killing brings certain misfortune. When Officer nobility is too abundant, at its peak it must topple. For Earth-destiny people, do not evaluate Embryo or Womb stages -- only evaluate the Day and Hour. They need not fear mixed Officer-Killer; this applies only to yang Stems, not yin Stems. Zi fears Yin-Wu Fire, not Water. Yin Wood does not fear Metal. Si Metal does not fear Fire. Ji Earth does not fear Wood. Wu Fire does not fear Water. Wei is the same as Shen Metal -- does not fear Water. Ji Earth and Xu Earth do not fear Wood. Mao Wood fears You Metal. Chen Earth fears Yin Wood. Yi day in the fifth month does not fear the Killing. If the Four Pillars inherently have illness, one must remove the illness; without removing the illness, no prosperity comes.

The Food God (shishen) means that which generates my Wealth spirit. For example, Jia belongs to Wood, Bing belongs to Fire, and this is called 'qi theft' -- hence the name 'Food God.' Why? Because Bing can generate the Wu Earth within my Wealth that feeds on Bing's Wu Wealth, and so it is named thus. People whose charts carry this star are blessed with abundant wealth and ample food, broad capacity and tolerance, stout physique, leisurely self-sufficiency, and they have children and longevity. The Food God consistently dislikes seeing the Officer star. It fears the Reversed Food (Owl Spirit), which would injure the Food God. It welcomes the Wealth spirit in mutual generation. Seeing the Food God as a single presence makes one a fortunate person, though ultimately not of the purest rank. It prefers a strong Self. It dislikes the Seal, for the Seal also threatens to injure the Food God. If the Luck Cycle reaches favorable ground, good fortune can manifest. In general, it resembles the Wealth spirit. Example: [Ji-Wei, Ji-Si, Ding-Wei, Xin-Chou]. Ding sees Ji as Food God. There is one Chou-Si combination forming a Metal bureau that yields Wealth. The Self is also not weak, so this person has both official rank and longevity. Example: [Yi-Si, Yi-You, Gui-You, Yi-Mao]. This chart shows three Yi as Food God, with Si-You-Chou combining into a bureau serving as Seal, and three Yi transforming into Hurting Officer. Gui uses Yi as Food God, but the Metal bureau overcomes the Yi Wood, and three Yi Wood plus Mao in strength overcome my Officer -- therefore neither fame nor profit materialized. Verse: 'The Food God with qi surpasses Wealth and Officer, / First requiring that it be strong and the Self's stem robust; / If instead it is injured and the Food is seized, / Busy toil and a thousand calamities result. / Food God undamaged: the pattern is exalted -- / Jia-Bing, Geng-Ren, noble qi is firm; / Ding-Ji, Yi-Xin bring much fortune, / And from the gate, bows and arrows produce heroes. / When Jia sees Bing, this is originally qi theft, / But Bing going on to generate Wealth earns the name Food God; / Broad-hearted, stout-bodied, clothing and salary are ample -- / Should the Seal approach, poverty and loneliness rule. / Wu day, Shen hour: the Food God is marvelous, / Only in autumn and winter are fortune and salary aligned; / If Jia-Bing or Mao-Yin come to shatter it, / Meeting yet not meeting, loneliness and sorrow prevail. / Longevity Origin combining and rising is most marvelous -- / Why worry about Seven Killings at the year or hour? / Suppressing violence, controlling the Killing, with the Stem strong, / This is a child of wealth and nobility among men. / Food God before, Killing behind: / Clothing and salary never lack, wealth and nobility abound; / Food God close to the Killing brings calamity instead, / All day long in the dusty world, running about in vain.'

What is meant by Direct Wealth (zhengcai)? It is analogous to the meaning of the Direct Officer -- yin seeing yang Wealth, yang seeing yin Wealth. In general, Direct Wealth is the wealth of one's wife. When a person's wife brings wealth to serve me, I must be vigorous and strong in spirit before I can enjoy it. If my Self is wilting and feeble, then even if the wife's wealth is abundant, I can only look at it and never enjoy a hair of it. Therefore Wealth should arrive at the right time; one does not want too much Wealth. If Wealth is excessive and my Day Master has strength to bear it, the Wealth should transform into Officer. If the Heavenly Origin is uniform in one qi but frail and weak, poverty is hard to remedy. The Self prefers to be strong and should not enter regions of overcoming and control -- overcoming and control mean the Officer-Ghost. One also fears that the month of birth is precisely the place where the Self is in Decline or Illness, and the Four Pillars have no parents (Seal) to generate it. If instead one welcomes Wealth and there is still more Wealth visible, this is called 'Wealth excess.' When strength cannot sustain the Wealth, disasters emerge from every quarter. Even if in youth one passes through resting and imprisoned positions, things do not go as wished, and troubles pile up repeatedly. But if in middle or late years one returns to the region of parents (Seal), or encounters a Three-Combination that can assist me, then one rises vigorously and irresistibly. Should youth ride the crest of strength but old age fall into exhaustion, not only will the road ahead be desolate, but disputes and troubles will multiply. For Wealth is the source of contention. If the Four Pillars mutually generate and additionally carry a noble pattern, not falling into Emptiness, and one further enters a strong period with Three-Combination generating Wealth -- these are all noble destinies. The depth of fortune beyond this follows the weight of the pattern. Wealth generating Officer in abundance requires a healthy Self. If Wealth is excessive, stealing qi, and the Self is inherently soft, and the annual luck further injures Wealth, strange disasters will surely arise. If Punishment and Seven Killings also accompany it, the misfortune is beyond words. It is also said: Direct Wealth prefers a strong Self and the Seal. It fears the Officer star, fears the Reversed Food, fears a weak Self, and fears Shoulder and Rob Wealth. One should not see the Officer star, lest it steal the Wealth's qi. It welcomes the Seal because the Seal can generate the weak Self. For example, if Jia Day uses Ji as Direct Wealth, and the Self is weak, disaster comes immediately. Any person born under Wealth below is certainly from a wealthy family. If not adopted, then born of a concubine, or in conflict with parents. A strong Self without Rob Wealth and without the Officer star is ideal. If the chart contains an Officer star well-placed, and the Luck Cycle welcomes Wealth stars that generate Officer in abundance -- this is favorable. If the chart additionally has Wealth stars well-placed, the Luck Cycle should avoid seeing the Officer star, lest it overcome the Self -- this is the fear of a weak Self. In general, Wealth need not be distinguished as Direct or Indirect; both welcome the Seal, and this will certainly generate good fortune. Example: [Xin-Chou, Ding-You, Ding-Si, Ding-Wei]. Ding Day sits on a Wealth position. Additionally, Si-You-Chou combine into a Metal bureau, so Wealth is strong. Metal obtains Wood's treasury at Wei, which can generate Ding Fire, so the Self is strong enough to sustain the Wealth. Luck Cycles in the east and south are appropriate -- great wealth indeed. Ding uses Ren as Officer and Geng Metal as Wealth to generate Ren Officer. The Self entering a strong region will certainly generate fortune. Generally, when using Wealth, not seeing the Officer star is ideal. Example: [Geng-Shen, Yi-You, Bing-Shen, Bing-Shen]. Bing Day sees three Shen as Wealth -- is this not splendid? Bing uses Gui as Officer and Xin as Wealth. Seeing three Shen and one You as Wealth, the Wealth is strong. But the Day is weak: Fire is Ill at Shen and Dead at You, meaning it has no qi. Luck Cycles traveling to the western Metal region make the Self excessively weak. Wealth in excess generates the Ghost, which defeats and overcomes the Self. Unable to sustain the Wealth, this person is therefore poor. Example: [Yi-Mao, Gui-Wei, Xin-You, Wu-Zi]. Xin Day sits on You; Yi Year sits on Mao. The Self and Wealth are both strong. Additionally, Gui-Wei serves as Food God and Wu-Zi as Seal to assist -- great wealth and nobility indeed. Example: [Wu-Zi, Ding-Si, Jia-Chen, Bing-Yin]. Jia Day born late in the fourth month, with Bing and Ding Fire both exposed on the Stems, generating the Wu Earth of the month. The Hour also returns to the Salary at Yin, so Wealth is strong. Jia Wood's Self is also strong. In early years, Wu-Wu and Ji-Wei periods -- traveling through these periods greatly strengthened Earth, so Wealth was thick. Upon reaching Geng-Shen and Xin-You western periods and seeing the Officer, everything became laborious. Though Gui-Hai serves as Jia Wood's Seal, one still fears Fire clashing with Water, and within Hai there is also Ren Water. At Ren-Chen, Ren Water is exposed in the period, and Chen was already present in the chart -- death without doubt. In the Hurting Officer seeing Wealth pattern, one fears seeing the Officer star; one only welcomes seeing Wealth. The great taboo is Ren Water overcoming Fire, for then Fire cannot generate Jia Wood's Earth Wealth.

What is meant by Indirect Wealth (piancai)? It is yang seeing yang Wealth, yin seeing yin Wealth. Indirect Wealth is the wealth of the multitude -- one only fears that brothers and sisters may seize it, leaving fortune incomplete. If the Officer star is present, disasters emerge from every quarter. Therefore it is said: Indirect Wealth is fine whether exposed or hidden; one only fears that there are those who would divide and seize it, turning it into Emptiness. If this occurs, the Officer will not materialize and the Wealth will not stay. The classic says: 'Turning one's back on Salary and chasing the Horse -- guarding a path of poverty and desolation.' If Wealth is weak, one must wait to pass through a strong region before prosperity comes. If Wealth is abundant, nowhere one goes is unfavorable -- one only fears the Self's momentum lacks force. People with Indirect Wealth are generous and not miserly, and when well-placed, their gains are endless. Abundant Wealth can also strengthen the Officer. Why is this said? Because when Wealth is abundant, it naturally generates the Officer. But such people, though passionate, are also deceitful. For Wealth can benefit the self but also invite slander. When the Luck Cycle travels through strong phases, fortune and salary arrive together. One only fears excessive strength, for then brothers will surely cause much ruin -- also unfavorable. When Wealth is abundant, one must see whether Wealth and the Day Master's strength are evenly matched. Entering the Officer region then generates salary. If Wealth is abundant but the Self is weak, and the Luck Cycle reaches the Officer region, then one is both drained by Wealth's qi-theft and overcome by the Officer's attack on the Self. Not only will salary not materialize, but disaster must be guarded against. If the Four Pillars inherently carry the Officer star, this can be read as a good chart. If the Four Pillars are full of Shoulder types (brothers), then even entering the Officer region, salary will be meager. Therefore it is said: 'The key lies in recognizing how to adapt.'

The Direct Officer (zhengguan): for example, Jia seeing Xin and the like. Yin seeing yang is the Officer, yang seeing yin is the Ghost -- yin and yang pair together to complete the Way. In general, one should travel to the region where the Officer is strong -- that is the Monthly Command. The Monthly Command is the Guiding Framework. When reading a chart, first examine the Guiding Framework, then look at the rest. Having established the Direct Officer, if the Luck Cycle further travels to a region where the Officer is strong, or if there is a completed bureau, and one does not enter the Hurting Officer's territory nor the region where Metal-Wealth is strong -- these are all places that generate fortune. The Direct Officer is a thing of noble qi. It greatly fears Punishment, Clash, Destruction, and Harm. If in the Year, Month, and Hour Stems the Officer star is repeatedly hidden and exposed, fortune may be meager. One must also examine whether the Year and Hour carry other pattern entries, and where fortune arises, before pronouncing on auspiciousness or misfortune. If one grasps a single thread and rigidly holds to it, one cannot adapt, and there will surely be the error of 'off by a hair, wrong by a thousand miles.' The classic says: 'Mastering adaptation is what makes one divine.' If the Direct Officer is too many, it reverses into misfortune. Why? Because a person's chart should obtain the qi of the Mean (zhonghe). Excess and deficiency are the same -- the qi of the Mean produces thick fortune, while biased and partisan overcoming produces calamity. Having used the Guiding Framework as Direct Officer, if in the Year and Hour Stems and Branches there is even one Indirect Officer (Seven Killings), the chart becomes mixed. One must carefully weigh and measure with due attention to proportion. It is also said: obtaining the Officer from the Monthly Command is correct. It welcomes a strong Self and the Seal. For example, Jia uses Xin as Officer and welcomes Earth to generate the Officer. One most fears Punishment, Clash, Destruction, Harm, the Yang Blade, and Seven Killings -- these make a poor chart. If the Hour Stem encounters the Killing, this is mixed Officer-Killer. When the Four Pillars have Punishment, Clash, Destruction, or Harm, the chart cannot be read as noble. The Officer coming to overcome me is harmful; me going to overcome the Officer is not. A single position with two Officers does no harm. If the Monthly Command contains the Direct Officer but the Hour Stem and Branch have the Indirect Officer, it becomes difficult to speak of it as Direct Officer. For example, Jia uses Xin as Officer, born after the mid-qi of the eighth month, when Metal is strong at You -- hence it is called Direct Officer. If the Heavenly Stems do not expose Xin, but the Earthly Branches have Si-You-Chou, then even though it is not after the eighth month's mid-qi, one can still speak of the Officer. The key requirement is a strong Self, with the Hour returning to a place where Jia Wood is strong. If the Year and Hour expose the Direct Officer and the Earthly Branches also have the Officer pattern, then one need not be restricted to after the eighth month's mid-qi. In general, the Officer star must obtain the Seal and a strong Self to prosper. If there is no Hurting Officer destroying the Seal and the Self is not weak, this is a noble chart. If the chart has the Officer star but the Luck Cycle enters a Hurting Officer period, this is inauspicious. One must wait for a Seal or Officer-strong period to prosper and certainly obtain office. Verse: 'The Direct Officer must be sought within the Month -- / Without destruction, without injury, nobility never ceases; / Jade bridle and golden saddle, true wealth and rank, / Two columns of ceremonial flags ascend to the Imperial Province. / The Direct Officer's proper qi is deduced from the Month -- / Without clash, without destruction, this is most marvelous; / In middle years when annual luck comes to assist, / General, minister, duke, or marquis -- all are possible. / The Direct Officer: benevolent virtue, nature pure, / Literary halls and compositions can establish one's career; / When Officer and Seal mutually generate and meet favorable luck, / Jade Hall and Golden Horse, seated as a court minister. / The Direct Officer above all requires a strong Self; / If qi is weak, one must seek a strong period's direction; / When annual luck further encounters a prosperous place, / Without clash, without destruction: glory and splendor. / Ji Stem as master, exposing the Officer star -- / The Guiding Framework must show Bing or Ding; / Metal-Water mutual generation forms a lower pattern, / But Fire coming to gather makes Wealth and fame strong. / Xin Day, exposing Bing, Month meets Yin -- / Within the pattern, a reverse transformation sends forth Wealth's root; / The Officer star must not be seen doubled, / And periods reaching Clash-Punishment fear You and Shen. / Eighth-month Officer star obtains its proper name; / Within the pattern, one greatly fears Mao and Ding; / If the pillars manage to remove these taboos, / Periods likewise bring nobility and renown.'

The Indirect Officer (pianguan): for example, Jia Wood seeing Geng Metal and the like. Yang seeing yang, yin seeing yin -- this is called the Indirect Officer. It cannot form a proper pairing, just as the classic says: 'Two women cannot dwell together, two men cannot coexist side by side.' The Officer is also the Seven Killings, and it requires control and subjugation. The Indirect Officer or Seven Killings is like a petty person -- ignorant, often violent, and without scruple. Yet a petty person can labor to support the gentleman and serve to protect and defend him. But if the petty person is not disciplined and restrained, and there is no method to control him, he cannot be tamed for use. Therefore Yang Xiong said: 'Manage him properly and he is tame and obedient, serving as a messenger; manage him badly and he turns cunning and becomes an enemy.' The petty person is cunning -- one must manage him properly. The moment control is lost and the petty person gains power, disaster appears immediately. The classic says: 'A person with the Indirect Officer is like one who sleeps embracing a tiger. Though one borrows its might, sufficient to awe the herd of beasts, the slightest lapse in vigilance means it will devour you -- this cannot be disregarded.' If the Three Punishments are all present, the Yang Blade sits on the Day or Hour, and there is also the Six Harm, and the Helmet Head (kuigang) clashes in opposition -- such a person's ferocity is beyond description. If control and subjugation are properly positioned, and the Luck Cycle further passes through the region of control and subjugation -- this is a chart of great nobility. But if the inauspicious spirits mentioned above all gather, and the Luck Cycle travels to the region where the Killing is strong, the disasters are beyond words. If there is one Killing, but control and subjugation are two or three, and the Luck Cycle further enters a period of control -- fortune reverses into misfortune. Why? Because when laws are exhausted, there is no law -- even one as fierce as a wolf cannot be controlled. Thus one cannot speak only of control and subjugation; one must find the proper balance of weight. It must not be too much, nor too little. Examine carefully and speak precisely, and fortunes and disasters will follow like shadows and echoes. It is also said: with control and subjugation it is the Indirect Officer; without control it is the Seven Killings. Like a petty person -- managed properly, he can be employed; managed poorly, he becomes a formidable enemy. It all depends on how one manages. Whenever this Killing appears, do not hastily call it inauspicious. Many who carry this Killing have noble destinies. If one encounters the Three Punishments, Six Harms, Yang Blade, or Helmet Head clashing -- such ferocity cannot be called 'control and subjugation.' But if the Luck Cycle travels through control and subjugation, this is a noble person's chart. If instead the inauspicious spirits mentioned above all gather and the Luck Cycle travels to where the Killing is strong, disaster is beyond words. In general, the Indirect Officer and Seven Killings most welcome a strong Self with control and subjugation. If there is inherent control, one can travel to the region where the Killing is strong. If there is no inherent control, one should travel through periods of control. A strong Self transforming the Killing makes it the Indirect Officer. A weak Self without control makes it the Seven Killings. When control follows more control in the Luck Cycle, this is called a Grand Period -- the Indirect Officer has no remaining embers of threat. The Monthly qi fears Clash and the Yang Blade. If the Self is weak and the Killing is strong, it is hard to control. If the Self is strong and the Killing is shallow, this is 'borrowing the Killing as authority through the Blade.' As for the saying that the Seven Killings does not fear Punishment and Clash -- examine this carefully. Verse: 'Indirect Officer like a tiger fears too many clashes -- / With strong period and robust Self, what can it do? / Weak Self and strong tiger become calamity; / Strong Self with proper control: nobility in the Mean. / Indirect Officer with Indirect Seal is hardest to discern; / Above and below mutually generating, fame and profit come; / Four Treasuries sitting on Wealth, inclined toward nobility -- / Casually stepping forth, one emerges as a duke or minister. / Wu-Ji encountering Officer and Killing: / Metal and Water additionally present in the pattern; / If Fire exists at birth, welcome Fire's arrival -- / When Fire retreats, dread Metal; fear Wood's invasion. / Indirect Officer with control transforms into authority; / With a flick of the wrist, ascending the clouds, prospering in youth; / When annual luck travels to the strong-Self region, / Merit and fame in great use, fortune doubly complete. / Indirect Officer cannot be categorically called inauspicious -- / With control, clothing and salary are abundant; / Food God on the Stem, Combination in the Branches, / Grandchildren fill one's eyes, fortune without end. / Yin Gui frequently meeting Ji brings injury; / The Killing star must use Wood to subdue it; / Though fame and profit can be high and prominent, / Alas, throughout life, longevity is not long. / Six Bing-born people with many Hai and Zi -- / The Killing star held by the Seal returns to the Mean; / Traveling east brings fame and profit to rise, / But periods reaching the west see affairs grind to a halt. / Spring Wood without Metal is nothing extraordinary; / Too much Metal instead invites danger; / Within the pattern, obtain the qi of the Mean, / And fortune, longevity, health, and peace suit all affairs.'

The Seven Killings (qisha), also called the Indirect Officer, welcomes a strong Self combining with the Killing, welcomes control and subjugation, and welcomes the Yang Blade. It fears a weak Self, fears seeing Wealth, and fears having no control. With a strong Self and qi, it becomes the Indirect Officer. With a weak Self and no control, it becomes the Seven Killings. Whenever this Killing appears, one cannot hastily call it inauspicious. Having the Direct Officer is not as good as having the Indirect Officer, for many of great wealth and high nobility carry it -- the key is that the Self must be strong and combine with the Killing. For example, Jia takes Geng as Seven Killings and welcomes Bing-Ding to control it. Yi combining with Geng is called 'Greedy Combination, Forgetting the Killing.' The Seven Killings should indeed be controlled, but one must not overdo the control -- for when anything reaches its extreme, it reverses into calamity. A strong Self further entering a strong-Self period produces fortune. A weak Self entering a weak-Self region: disaster does not lag behind. If the Four Pillars inherently have control, welcome traveling to the Seven Killings period. If there is no inherent control, the Seven Killings emerging creates disaster. Entering a strong-Self region with the Yang Blade additionally present: nobility beyond words. But one fears Wealth being strong, for Wealth can generate the Killing. When the annual or period luck reaches this, even with a strong Self there will be much disaster; with a weak Self it is even worse. Jia-Shen, Yi-You, Ding-Chou, Wu-Yin, Ji-Mao, Xin-Wei, Gui-Wei -- people born on these seven days are born under the Killing, with quick temperament and cleverness, ingenious mind and intelligence. If the Killing appears too many times, the person will die young or be poor and thin. Seeing it in the Month is heavy; seeing it in the Hour is lighter. Why? The Day's Seven Killings, seen in just one position: if the Year and Hour see it again, too many Killings bring disaster. One needs the region of control, and the Self must be strong with control to wield authority. One most fears Clash and the Yang Blade -- great misfortune. The Hour's Seven Killings in just one position requires a strong Self. If the Year, Month, and Hour have control in all three places, fortune follows. But one should enter a period where the Killing is strong; a Three-Combination reaching favorable ground also brings prosperity. Without control, one must travel to a period of control for fortune. Traveling to a Killing-strong period without control: disaster arises. The Hour's Seven Killings does not fear the Yang Blade, nor does it dread Clash. Example: [Xin-Chou, Yi-Wei, Yi-Mao, Bing-Zi]. This chart has a strong Self, born in the sixth month's middle period. The Year Stem exposes Xin-Chou as Seven Killings. Fortunately, Bing-Zi combines with the Xin-Chou Killing -- thus noble and authoritative. Example: [Jia-Wu, Bing-Yin, Geng-Zi, Bing-Zi]. This chart has a weak Self, seeing a Fire bureau. The Monthly Command Bing-Yin is the Seven Killings, and the Hour also shows Bing-Zi. Fire overcomes Geng Metal, and Metal is Dead at Zi. The Self is weak, the Killing is strong, and there is no control -- appropriately sickly and poor. Example: [Ding-Si, Wu-Shen, Ren-Zi, Wu-Shen]. This chart has a strong Self. Two Wu serve as Seven Killings, drawn back to Si. Ding combines with Ren, Wu combines with Gui. Metal has its Long Life at Si, and Wu has its Salary at Si. Both Ren and Wu are strong -- therefore noble.

For example, people born under Ren or Gui: if the Four Pillars are Chen, Xu, Chou, Wei, Si, or Wu, and the Heavenly Stems do not expose the Officer star or the Killing, then Officer and Killing are hidden and stored within the Branches in abundance. If the Four Pillars inherently have them, this is acceptable. If there is no control, one must travel to a Wood period, or a Three-Combination Wood bureau also works. In general, when the Officer star is too many, the chart becomes mixed. One must remove and clarify it before fortune can manifest. If the Officer star is already numerous and one further enters an Officer period, nothing is accomplished.

The Officer star must be pure and not mixed. Suppose Jia Wood uses Xin Metal as Officer. If the Year is Xin, the Month is You, and the Hour also shows the dead Officer -- even though there are many, since they are all of a single kind, no harm is done. But if there is Metal or Geng-Shen, then it becomes mixed with the Killing, which injures the Self. One must travel to the Fire region for control and subjugation, and then fortune manifests. The same principle applies to the other Day Masters.

What is meant by the Seal? That which generates me is the Seal Ribbon (yinshou). The classic says: 'Having an Officer without a Seal is not a true Officer; having a Seal without an Officer instead completes one's fortune.' Why is this said? In general, a person's life benefits from having something to assist, generate, and nourish it, allowing me to enjoy the completed bounty of all things -- is this not wonderful? Therefore such people are highly intelligent and also prosperous. The Seal fears Wealth, which tightens the purse. Thus if the Four Pillars and the Luck Cycle travel to an Officer-noble position, fortune instead materializes, because the Officer-Ghost can generate me. One only fears Wealth, for Wealth can in turn injure me. The wonder of the Seal is that such people mostly benefit from parental shelter and inherit parental assets -- they are people of ready-made comfort. If comparing two or three charts side by side, the one with the most Seals should be ranked highest. Such people also enjoy few illnesses throughout life and can eat and drink well. But if Wealth is excessive and at its peak, there will be much delay and obstruction. Though one welcomes the Officer-Ghost, if the Officer-Ghost is too many or enters another pattern, one cannot speak exclusively in terms of the Seal. For example: Jia-Yi Day born in Hai-Zi month; Bing-Ding Day born in Yin-Mao month; Wu-Ji Day born in Si-Wu month; Geng-Xin Day born in Chen-Xu-Chou-Wei month; Ren-Gui Day born in Shen-You month -- these are the Seals. The others follow by analogy. One most fears entering a period where the Seal is Dead or Extinct. If the Luck Cycle reaches Death or Extinction, and there is additionally something to steal it, one enters the Yellow Springs without doubt. The Seal Ribbon means 'that which generates me,' also called 'life qi.' Yang seeing yin, yin seeing yang is the Direct Seal (zhenyin); yang seeing yang, yin seeing yin is the Indirect Seal (pianyin). It welcomes the Officer star generating the Seal, and fears strong Wealth destroying the Seal. For example, a Jia person born in Hai-Zi month: Water is the Seal. One fears the Hurting Officer of Fire, fears Earth destroying the Seal, needs to travel to the region of generation and strength, and dreads the territory of Death and Extinction. If one enters the territory of Death and Extinction, or something injures the Seal, danger follows. People of the Seal are intelligent. They enjoy few illnesses throughout life, eat well and prosper, and inherit ready-made wealth and salary. If comparing two or three charts, take the one with the most Seals. One most fears Wealth riding at its peak, which surely produces delays. If the Officer-Ghost is numerous, or the chart enters another pattern, one cannot speak solely of the Seal. Generally, seeing the Seal in the Month and Hour is ideal, with the Month being most critical. First examine whether the Month has life qi after the Monthly Command -- if so, one surely gains parental support. Life qi in the Year means ancestral support. Life qi in the Hour means support from children and grandchildren, with longevity that endures and comfortable twilight years. If one carries the Seal, one should also carry the Officer star -- this is called 'Officer and Seal both complete' and is certainly a noble chart. Even if the Officer star is merely inherited and one gains parental support, fortune is also thick. One must enter an Officer-star period to prosper, or entering a Seal period also brings prosperity. If using the Officer does not shine, using the Seal is ideal. One most fears the Four Pillars or annual luck reaching the Wealth region, which injures the Seal. If the Seal is injured, the person will break from family and leave the ancestral home, or be adopted out. Reaching the territory of Death and Extinction, if not demotion or loss of position, then life will be cut short. Example: [Wu-Xu, Geng-Shen, Gui-You, Geng-Shen]. Gui Day born after the mid-qi of the seventh month. Month and Hour are both Geng-Shen; the Day itself sits on a Metal treasury. Hence the Seal. The Year Stem additionally exposes the Wu Officer -- this is 'Officer and Seal both complete,' an extremely noble chart. Example: [Gui-Hai, Gui-Hai, Jia-Yin, Jia-Zi]. This Day uses Gui as Seal, and the Seal is indeed strong. But without Wealth stars to assist, fortune is not thick. Example: [Jia-Yin, Geng-Wu, Wu-Xu, Ren-Zi]. This Day Wu uses Ding as Seal. Having Yin-Wu-Xu as a Fire bureau is good. Unfortunately, Ren-Zi Water in the Hour is strong and can clash the Seal -- therefore this person lost their eyesight. The life qi is Bing-Ding Fire, which belongs to Wood's generation. Example: [Ji-Mao, Ding-Mao, Bing-Chen, Ren-Chen]. This chart uses Mao as Seal and Gui as Officer. The Year at Mao, the Day at Chen -- thus Officer and Seal are both complete, bringing early advancement. At age 42-43, the Gui-Hai period is also fine. But at Geng-Shen year, the Water Seven Killings is born at Shen, and Geng-Shen destroys the Seal -- therefore inauspicious. Verse: 'Month meeting the Seal welcomes the Officer star; / Periods entering the Officer region, fortune is surely pure; / Dead-Extinct periods are unfavorable for the Self; / Later entering Wealth periods, nothing succeeds. / Seal and Officer star with pure period qi, / Meeting the Indirect Officer instead sharpens the spirit; / If one travels to Dead-Extinct and Wealth territory, / Without rescue, one becomes a person of the underworld. / Seal without deficit enjoys fields of fortune; / As an official, inheriting shelter, with fields and gardens; / The household receives imperial writs, overflowing with grain, / Daily expenses and provisions cost ten thousand coins. / Seal without deficit relies on ancestors; / Bright household and property illuminate the family line; / When annual luck encounters Officer at its peak, / Wealth and nobility doubly complete, stepping into the Moon Palace. / Month generating the Day Master welcomes the Officer star; / Periods entering the Officer region, salary is surely pure; / Dignified appearance and much property, / An official in the corridors and temples serving as duke or minister. / Layer upon layer of life qi but no Officer -- / Read it as a lofty craftsman's or artisan's chart; / If Officer-Killer does not come and there is no rank, / Even as an artisan, one is lonely and cold. / Layer upon layer of Seal, the pattern is pure and marvelous; / But one must carefully examine Stems and Branches; / Branches showing the Lustful Pool, Stems carrying Combination -- / A dissolute wastrel who ruins the family. / Seal, Stems, and Branches naturally welcome each other; / Merit, fame, wealth, and salary rise high; / If a Wealth period comes to injure the Seal, / Retire from office, remove the cap, avoid disaster. / Layer upon layer of Seal enjoys ready-made bounty; / Only the Food God is feared for dark mutual punishment; / If one does not return to the Springs in youth, / Lonely misery, far from home, chronic illness lingering. / Bing-Ding in Mao month, many Officer-Killings -- / Four Pillars without root fear the Water region; / Wet Wood does not generate flameless Fire; / The Self prospering only if in the South. / The Seal is not suited to an excessively strong Self; / Even if nothing goes wrong, life is merely ordinary; / Unless the original chart has many Officer-Killings, / Then there is fame, serving as a pillar of state. / Ren-Gui meeting Shen: fear Fire's destruction; / Having Earth in the pattern, nobility then becomes clear; / Northern Water periods are all auspicious; / If Yin clashes, nothing is favorable. / Wood meeting Ren-Gui: Water drifts the raft; / Day Master without root vainly passes autumn; / If annual luck encounters a Wealth-strong period, / Reversing misfortune into fortune, one meets a lord. / Greedy Wealth destroying the Seal cannot be called inauspicious -- / One must investigate the subtle principle thoroughly; / If the period removes the Wealth and fortune returns, / Entering another Wealth period ends one's lifespan. / When the Seal passes through the Dead-Extinct region, / It fears Wealth and equally fears Emptiness; / Encountering these, disaster of many kinds is certain -- / Drowning, fire, punishment, or self-hanging. / Seal on the Stem's top repeatedly sees Shoulder; / If the period further assists, the Self will surely be harmed; / Do not say this pattern has no wonder -- / Periods entering the Wealth region: fortune and salary are real.'

The Reversed Food (daoshi) means that which clashes with the Wealth spirit -- also called the 'Swallowing Gobbling Killing.' When using the Wealth spirit, one greatly fears seeing it; when using the Food God, one also fears it. The Reversed Food works like this: Jia seeing Ren and the like. Jia sees Bing as the Food God, which can generate Wu Earth -- the Wealth within which Bing feeds on Wu Wealth. But Ren overcomes Bing Fire, and Bing Fire can no longer generate Jia Wood's Earth Wealth. This is why it is said: 'When Jia uses the Food God, one greatly fears seeing the Reversed Food.' Anyone whose chart carries these two together will have shallow fortune and short lifespan. Additionally, seeing Geng as Seven Killings: Bing-Ding Fire can control it, but one fears seeing Water, which reverses into disaster. Whenever this appears in a chart, it is as though an elder relative controls one's body, leaving no freedom. Such people act with hesitation and regret, begin things but never finish, see wealth repeatedly form and repeatedly fail, have a lopsided appearance and short stature, and are timid and fearful at heart -- nothing materializes. Example: [Ding-Wei, Ding-Wei, Ji-Hai, Ding-Mao]. Ji-Hai Day: Ji upon Hai, the Self is weak at Hai. Adding Hai-Mao-Wei combining into a Wood bureau to overcome the Self, and the Year, Month, and Hour all exposing three Ding to feed on Ji. In early years, traveling through southern periods, relying on Fire to generate Earth, the Self was still strong. Upon entering the Yi-Si period -- Ji's Seven Killings -- the Yi drew out the Hai-Mao-Wei Wood bureau. The annual luck Gui-Hai: therefore death. This chart's misfortune comes not only from the Reversed Food and Seven Killings, but the Gui-Hai year also illustrates the same principle as 'the Killing destroying the Seal.' Example: [Jia-Xu, Bing-Yin, Jia-Xu, Ren-Shen]. Jia-Xu Day: Jia sees Bing as Food God. Born in the first month, Jia Wood is strong, and both the Self and Food God are strong -- originally a noble chart. Unfortunately, the Hour shows Ren-Shen: Ren Water injures the Bing Fire, and Shen Metal clashes with Yin Wood. Additionally, within Shen there is Geng as Seven Killings. Therefore neither fame nor profit materialized. Entering the Ji-Si period at the Metal-generation territory, and encountering Geng-Zi year: Geng Metal is the Seven Killings, and seeing Zi Water again -- death by unnatural causes.

Also called 'Reverse Blade' (ni ren). For example, Yi seeing Jia is Rob Wealth. Yi takes Geng as husband. Seeing Bing overcome Geng, hence it harms the husband. For a man's chart, it harms the wife. The five yang [Stems] seeing the five yin is Defeat Wealth (baicai), and it primarily harms the wife and injures children. The five yin seeing the five yang is Rob Wealth (jiecai), and it primarily causes loss and waste. One must guard against petty people -- it does not harm the wife. Yi takes Wu-Ji as Wealth; Jia is seen to seize Ji and ruin Wu. Ding takes Geng-Xin as Wealth; Bing can seize Xin and break Geng. The pattern is the same for all others. An elder brother seeing a younger brother: the younger brother can defeat the elder's wealth and seize the elder's wife. A younger brother seeing an elder brother: the elder can rob the younger's wealth but does not dare take the younger's wife. Wealth is what all people desire. When brothers encounter it, there is often competition. Those like Bo Yi and Shu Qi are rare indeed. In a man's chart, seeing much Rob Wealth harms the wife. In a woman's chart, seeing much Hurting Officer harms the husband. This is the definitive principle.