Yuanhai Ziping: Rhymed Essays I

Verse: 'Creation and transformation: first examine the Day Master in detail -- / Sitting on Officer or Seal, assess Decline and Strength. / The heavenly season is the Monthly Command, called the Guiding Framework; / Whether present or absent, if Strong then weigh it heavily. / In general, the Officer star should be pure: / Direct and Indirect mixed produces no feeling. / Exposed Officer, hidden Killing is the path to fortune; / Exposed Killing, hidden Officer is the seed of disaster. / If Killing and Officer are both exposed, what then? / Mixed Wealth-Officer: take the Wealth and deliberate. / Strong Officer fears more Officer and taboos Punishment-Clash; / Light Officer seeing Wealth becomes fortunate. / Hurting Officer in the Year is most despicable; / One especially fears the Hurting Officer that cannot be purged. / Hurting Officer using Wealth becomes fortunate; / Wealth extinct and Officer declining, fortune the same. / Greedy Combination forgetting the Officer: glory is insufficient; / Greedy Combination forgetting the Killing: fortune for oneself. / Pity the weak Self that fears much Wealth; / Further passing through the Officer region: disasters pursue each other. / Wealth much, Self weak, and the Food God arrives; / Food God meeting the Killing surely brings disaster. / Meeting in Heaven, Combining on Earth, with Punishment and overcoming -- / This requires the expert to carefully deduce and judge.'

The birth Day as master issues the ruler's command, governing the law of the four seasons. The feelings of yin-yang, rigidity and softness; the Way of internal-external, obstruction and free passage. Advancing and retreating tilt against each other; movement and stillness attack each other. One seizes the urgency of fixed-prosperous entry and exit, and seeks the grandeur and subtlety of aid-recovery, dispersal and gathering. The method for selecting the Day has three essentials: the Stem is Heaven, the Branch is Earth, and what is stored within the Branch is the Human Origin. These divide into the Four Pillars: the Year is the root, the Month is the shoot, the Day is the flower, and the Hour is the fruit. Further selecting from the Four Pillars: the Year represents the ancestors, from which one knows the principles of rise and decline across generations. The Month represents the parents, from which one knows whether parental shelter and benefit exist. The Day is oneself. One should deduce the Stem, searching and applying the eight characters as the source of internal-external generation, overcoming, acceptance, and rejection. If the Stem is weak, one seeks the support of strong qi. If there is surplus, one desires the compensation of deficiency. Same-Stem is brothers. For example, Yi takes Jia as elder brother and fears heavy Geng. Jia takes Yi as younger sibling and fears much Xin. The Stem overcoming is wife and Wealth. When Wealth is abundant and the Stem is strong, things go as desired. If the Stem is declining, it instead becomes disaster. When Stem and Branch are the same, Wealth is damaged and the wife is harmed. For men, take what overcomes the Stem as heirs. For women, take what the Stem generates as children. Survival or loss follows the same rule. Distinguish by the Hour's domain, and one should deduce the regions of poverty, baseness, wealth, and nobility. The 'Song of Penetrating Folly' says: 'The truth and falsity of the Five Phases few people know; / The knower must be leaking heaven's secrets.' The common practice of taking Jia-Zi as 'Gold in the Sea' -- before Lou Jing's time, no one had discussed Metal within the Sea. Or taking the Year as master: one can then know that tens of millions of wealthy and noble people share the same birth year, and Jia-Zi year can serve as a warning of the natal taboo day. Taking the Month as siblings: for a Fire-destiny person born in the You-Xu-Hai-Zi months, one says siblings are without strength. Taking the Day as wife: if at a position of Clash, Punishment, overcoming, or Killing, one says the wife or concubine is harmed. Taking the Hour as children: if occupying the region of Death and Extinction, one says children will be few. All of this is not of human making, but caused by the yin and yang of creation. The shallow practitioners of the age, not knowing this principle, secretly confuse the vulgar. It cannot be transmitted in words alone; one must investigate the subtle and profound.

The Four Pillars arranged in order, the Three Powers ranked in sequence -- one focuses exclusively on the Day's Heavenly Origin, matching it with the eight characters' Stems and Branches. There are visible and invisible forms, present at all times. Spirit stars and malefics intertwine, and light and heavy must be weighed. If the Hour encounters the Seven Killings, seeing it is not necessarily inauspicious. If the Month controls it and the Stem is strong, the Killing instead becomes authoritative power and Seal. Wealth, Officer, Seal fully present, stored within the monthly season. Officer star and Wealth qi at Long Life, stationed at Yin, Shen, Si, and Hai. Geng-Shen Hour meeting a Wu Day is called 'Food God in the region of Stem strength.' If the Year-Month violate Jia, Bing, Mao, or Yin, this is 'encountering yet not encountering.' (Combined Salary pattern) Month generating the Day Stem without Heavenly Wealth: this is named the Seal. (Seal pattern) Day's Salary residing at the Hour without Officer star: titled 'Blue Clouds Finding the Path.' (Returning Salary pattern) Yang Water repeatedly meeting the Chen position: this is the region of 'Ren Riding the Dragon's Back.' (Ren Riding Dragon Back pattern) Yin Wood uniquely meeting the Zi Hour: the territory of 'Six Yi Rat Nobility.' (Six Yi Rat Nobility pattern) Geng Day entirely encountering Moistening-Downward: one fears the directions of Ren, Gui, Si, and Wu. The Hour meeting Zi-Shen: fortune is halved. (Well-Fence Fork pattern) If one encounters the Hurting Officer in the Monthly structure, what seems inauspicious is not necessarily so. Within are Direct and Inverted Salary Flying -- fearing the Officer star and also disliking entanglement. Six Gui Days with the Hour meeting the Yin position: the Year-Month fear the Wu and Ji directions. (Punishment-Combination pattern) Jia-Zi Day encountering Zi Hour again: fear Geng, Xin, Shen, You, Chou, and Wu. (Zi Reaching Si pattern) Xin and Gui Days frequently meeting Chou territory: the Officer star is not welcomed. Year-Hour meeting Zi and Si palaces: empty fame, empty profit. (Chou Reaching Si pattern) Embracing Salary, Embracing Nobility: filling in the actual brings misfortune. (Embracing Salary/Nobility patterns) Indirect Wealth at the Hour: other palaces should not see it. (Hour Indirect Wealth pattern) Six Xin Days meeting Wu-Zi: fear the Wu and Wei positions; Luck Cycles welcome the west. (Six Yin Facing Yang pattern) When the Five Phases encounter the Monthly Branch's Indirect Officer, the Year-Month-Hour should also have control. Some charts 'remove the Officer, keeping the Killing'; others 'remove the Killing, keeping the Officer.' Four Pillars purely complex with control: one occupies the first rank of honor. A single Direct Officer position, with Officer-Killing mixed: baseness instead. Wu Day in Wu Month: do not read it as the Blade. If the Hour and Year have much Fire, read it instead as Seal. Though the Monthly Command encounters the Established Salary, one especially taboos meeting the Killing, which brings misfortune. When Officer star and Seven Killings alternate: combining with the Killing to make it noble. When the Officer star in the pillars is too strong: the Heavenly Origin bears the name of frailty. Day Stem excessively strong without support: if not a monk, then a Daoist. Seal born in the Month: Year and Hour taboo seeing the Wealth star. Luck Cycles entering the Wealth region: one should retire and step aside. Rob Wealth and Yang Blade: especially taboo at the Hour. If Year and Luck Cycle both arrive, disaster comes instantly. The Ten Stems turning their back on Salary: Year and Hour welcome the Wealth star. Luck Cycle reaching Shoulder: titled 'Turning Back on Salary, Chasing the Horse.' Five Phases' proper Nobility: one fears the palace of Clash, Punishment, overcoming, and Destruction. Four Pillars' Stems and Branches: one welcomes the territory of Three-Combination and Six-Combination. Day Stem without qi: the Hour encountering the Yang Blade is not inauspicious. Officer-Killing evenly balanced: keep what is welcomed, discard what is loathed. Earthly Branches and Heavenly Stems with many Combinations: this is also called 'Greedy Combination forgetting the Officer.' Four Pillars with Killing strong and Luck Cycle pure: a strong Self makes for pure and noble officialdom. Whenever the Heavenly Origin is too weak: within the weakness, revival is regenerated. Seven Killings fully prominent in the pillars: even with a strong Self, extreme poverty. A woman's chart without Killings: a single Nobility can make her a worthy wife. Nobility numerous, Combinations many: certainly a nun, prostitute, or servant. Indirect Officer at the Hour: if control is excessive, merely a poor scholar. Four Pillars with Hurting Officer: entering the Officer period surely brings ruin. The Extinction point of the Five Phases is precisely the 'Embryo Origin.' The birth Day encountering it is called 'Receiving Qi.' Thus yin and yang are hard to fathom and cannot be deduced by a single rule. The essential thing is to receive the qi of the Mean. The spirit divides noble from base. I have briefly laid out the writings left by the ancient sages, compressed and expanded by the broad learning of present worthies. If one thoroughly masters this method and examines it carefully, chart-reading will be without error.

Human beings receive from Heaven and Earth; destiny belongs to yin and yang. Living within the canopy of Heaven and Earth, all are within the Five Phases. To know nobility or baseness, first observe the Monthly Command -- the Guiding Framework. Next determine auspiciousness or misfortune. Focus on the Day Stem as the master and root. The Three Origins should form a pattern; the Four Pillars welcome seeing Wealth and Officer. The Useful Spirit (yongshen) must not be damaged. The Day Master should ideally be healthy and strong. The Year injuring the Day Stem is called 'master and root not in harmony.' Within Year, Month, and Hour, one greatly fears Killing and Officer mixed. The Useful Spirit is determined from the birth Month; one should investigate its depth. Development is found in the Day and Hour; one must examine strength and weakness in detail. Officer star of proper qi: one fears Clash, Punishment, and overcoming. Indirect Wealth at the Hour: one fears encountering Shoulder types (brothers). Life-qi Seal: the Officer period is favorable, but one dreads the Wealth region. Seven Killings and Indirect Officer: one welcomes control, but not excessively. Hurting Officer again entering an Officer period: unforeseen disaster arrives. Yang Blade Clashing and Combining with the Grand Year ruler: sudden calamity strikes. Both wealthy and noble: certainly because strong Wealth generates the Officer. If not early death then poverty: surely because a declining Self encounters the Ghost. Six Ren born at the Wu position: titled 'Salary and Horse in the Same Region.' Gui Day born toward the Si palace: called 'Wealth and Officer Doubly Fine.' Wealth much, Self weak: precisely a 'poor person in a rich man's house.' Killing transformed into authority: a noble guest emerging from a humble gate. Ascending the examination rolls: the Officer star reaching an unbroken palace. Donating grain and registering one's name: the Wealth treasury occupying a place of generation and strength. Officer-Nobility too extreme: the moment it reaches its peak, it must topple. Seal injured: if so, splendor will not last long. Officer and Seal present, without destruction: material for the corridors and temples of court. Without Officer or Seal, but having a pattern: useful for the imperial court. Name inscribed on the golden placard: requiring a strong Self encountering the Officer. Gaining the role of assisting the sage-ruler: nobility lies in Clashing the Officer and encountering Combination. Neither pattern nor structure: seeing it, how can it be called remarkable? Weak Self encountering the Officer: afterwards, effort is spent in vain. Even a petty person's chart can have the Direct Seal and Officer star. Even a gentleman's pattern can carry the Seven Killings and Yang Blade. A person fond of killing: the Yang Blade surely violates the Indirect Officer. A vegetarian with a compassionate heart: the Seal thus encounters the Heavenly Virtue. Lifelong health and few illnesses: the Day Master is elevated and strong. A lifetime of peace: Wealth and destiny have qi. Never violating official punishment: the Seal and Heavenly Virtue share the same palace. Little joy and much worry: because the Day Master is weak of itself. Self strong, Killing shallow: borrowing the Killing as authority. Killing heavy, Self light: lifelong damage. In decline, the Officer transforms into Ghost; in strength, the Ghost transforms into Officer. Month generating the Day Stem: Luck Cycles should not welcome the Wealth region. Day Master without support: instead welcomes Luck Cycles entering Wealth territory. Hour returning to Day Salary: lifelong dislike of the Officer star. Yin facing Yang (Xin Day, Wu-Zi Hour): especially taboo Bing-Ding and the Li position. The Grand Year is the ruler of all Killings. Entering the chart is not necessarily disaster; but if encountering the region of combat, it will surely punish the natal chart. The Year injuring the Day Stem: any disaster will be light. The Day violating the Year ruler: calamity will surely be heavy. If the Five Phases have rescue, that year instead surely produces Wealth. When the Four Pillars are without feeling, the theory calls it 'assaulting the Year.' When Geng-Xin come to injure Jia-Yi: if Bing-Ding appear first, there is no danger. When Bing-Ding in turn overcome Geng-Xin: encountering Ren-Gui, one need not fear. When Wu-Ji worry about meeting Jia-Yi: the Stem needs Geng-Xin. When Ren-Gui expose Wu-Ji: Jia-Yi approaching provides rescue. When Ren comes to overcome Bing: Wu must stand at the head. When Gui goes to injure Ding: Ji coming to control it is welcome. Geng gaining Ren's son to control Bing: early death becomes long life. Jia marrying its younger sister Yi to Geng: inauspicious becomes auspicious omen. The Heavenly Origin though strong: without support, just an ordinary person. The Day Master too soft: even encountering Wealth-Officer, a cold scholar. A woman without Killing, carrying the Two Virtues: earning enfeoffment over two generations. A man's Self strong, encountering the Three Wonders: nobility of the first rank. Jia encountering Ji in generation and strength: surely harboring an upright heart. Ding encountering Ren in excess: surely violating the disorder of licentiousness. Bing reaching the Shen position: encountering yang Water, longevity is hard to achieve. Ji entering the Hai palace: seeing yin Wood, lifespan is ultimately shortened. Geng meeting Yin and encountering Bing: in generation and strength, no danger. Yi encountering Si and seeing Xin: with Self declining, there is disaster. Yi meeting strong Geng: always preserving the character of benevolence and righteousness. Bing combining with Xin born: always wielding authority and power. A single Wood repeatedly encountering the Fire position: called 'qi dispersed through literature.' Lone Water thrice meeting Geng-Xin: titled 'the image of complete embodiment.' Water returning to winter's strength: lifelong joy, naturally without worry. Wood tending toward spring growth: moving through the world, peaceful and surely long-lived. Weak Metal encountering the territory of blazing Fire: blood illness without doubt. Empty Earth encountering the region of strong Wood: spleen damage is certain. Sinew pain and bone ache: because Wood is injured by Metal. Dim eyes and dark vision: surely because Fire encounters Water's overcoming. Lower-body cold illness: surely because Water meets Fire's injury. Metal encountering Gen (Yin) and meeting Earth: titled 'Returning Soul.' Water entering Xun (Si) and seeing Metal: called 'Not Extinguished.' Earth reaching the Mao position: before middle age, already becoming disheartened. Metal encountering the Fire region: though young and strong, surely blunted in ambition. Metal and Wood alternating in Punishment-combat: neither benevolence nor righteousness remains. Water and Fire mutually injuring in succession: disputes arise daily. Wood nourished by Water: when Water overflows, Wood drifts away. Metal relying on Earth to be born: when Earth is too thick, Metal is buried. Therefore the Five Phases must not be biased or withered. One must receive the qi of the Mean. Further, one must empty the mind of calculations and forget deliberate thought -- then chart-reading will have no error.

The Five Phases' Guiding Framework: whenever reading a chart, arrange the eight characters and take the Day Stem as master. Take the Year as root, as ancestral property -- to know the rise and decline of generational fortune. Take the Month as shoot, as parents -- to know whether parental shelter exists. The Day Stem is oneself; the Day Branch is wife or concubine -- to know the wife's virtue and gentleness. The Hour is the flower and fruit, as children -- to know where succession leads. The method divides the Monthly qi's depth: obtaining the command or not obtaining it. If the Year and Hour expose Wealth and Officer, the Self must be strong. If the Self is declining while Wealth is strong, it instead causes loss of Wealth and harm to the wife. Self strong and Wealth abundant with Wealth also strong: Wealth is satisfying. If there is no Wealth or Officer, next examine the Seal: what pattern does it form? Then judge auspiciousness or misfortune accordingly. The student must not cling rigidly, failing to understand adaptation.

Category Image (lei xiang): this means the uniformity of Heaven and Earth. For example, a spring-born person with Jia-Yi on the Heavenly Stems and Yin-Mao-Chen complete on the Earthly Branches, without interruption or destruction -- this is called 'seizing the entire elegant qi of the East.' One most fears the Hour leading to the region of Death and Extinction, which is called 'destroying the elegant qi.' Luck Cycles reaching Death and Extinction are inauspicious. Or if the Hour or Year leads to generation and strength, this is 'elegant qi arriving additionally' -- a tenfold beauty. Belonging Image (shu xiang): the Heavenly Stems are Jia-Yi Wood, and the Earthly Branches have Yin-Mao-Wei complete. Following Image (cong xiang): for example, Jia-Yi Day Master without root, Earthly Branches all Metal -- called 'Following Metal.' Four Pillars entirely Earth: 'Following Earth.' Entirely Water: 'Following Water.' Entirely Wood: 'Following Wood.' Only those with elegant qi are auspicious; without elegant qi, inauspicious. If the Heavenly Stems have Jia-Ji characters, or if there is a root, then it is inauspicious. For Following Fire: strong and prosperous periods are auspicious; Death and Extinction territories are inauspicious. Transformation Image (hua xiang): for example, a Jia-Yi Day person born in Chen-Xu-Chou-Wei months, with the Heavenly Stems having one Ji character combining with Jia -- called 'Jia-Ji transforming into Earth,' welcoming Fire periods. If encountering Jia-Yi Wood in a generation-strength period, the transformation fails and instead becomes inauspicious. If within Ji two Jia characters are exposed, this is called 'competing combination.' If one Yi character is exposed, this is called 'jealous combination' -- the pattern is broken and fails. Illumination Image (zhao xiang): for example, Bing Day with Si-Wu-Wei, and the Year-Month-Day encountering one Mao Wood at the Hour -- called 'Wood-Fire illuminating each other,' very auspicious. Or Ren-Gui Day with Shen-Zi-Chen as a complete Belonging Image, encountering one Metal at the Hour -- called 'Metal-Water illuminating each other,' greatly auspicious. Year Stem having illumination is also auspicious. Return Image (fan xiang): this means the Monthly Command's Useful Spirit, led to the Hour, reaches one position of Extinction -- called 'using yet not using,' all constituting a reversed fortune. If the reversal is too extreme, it becomes inauspicious. Ghost Image (gui xiang): born in an autumn month with Jia-Yi Day, Earthly Branches all pure Metal in four positions -- called 'Ghost Image.' One only needs the Ghost in generation-strength periods for auspiciousness. One fears reaching the territory of Death and Extinction; if the Self is additionally strong, it becomes inauspicious. Concealment Image (fu xiang): Yin-Wu-Xu as a complete Three-Combination, additionally born in Wu month with Ren Day, and the Heavenly Stems without Ding exposed, and Ren Water without root -- one takes the Ding Fire within Wu to combine with Ren Water and conceal it. This is the Concealment Image. Luck Cycles to the Wood-Fire region are all auspicious. One only fears the Water-strong region, which is unfavorable.

The method of examining Ziping: focus on Wealth and Officer. The Month's Wealth and Officer are most critical. Development is found in the Day and Hour; one must examine strength and weakness in detail. Discussing Officer star: do not discuss the pattern. Discussing pattern: do not discuss Officer star. Those who enter a pattern: if not wealthy then noble. Those who fail to enter a pattern: if not short-lived then poor. The Officer fears being injured. Wealth fears being robbed. The Seal seeing Wealth: the more, the greater the disaster. Hurting Officer seeing Officer: a hundred calamities arise. If not illness ravaging the body, then lawsuits and imprisonment, or losing a child and harming a wife. Hurting Officer seeing Officer: inherently present means heavy; inherently absent means light. Hurting Officer seeing Officer: heavy cases mean exile; light cases mean punishment. Hurting Officer seeing Officer: the heart is devious and crooked, cunning and deceitful, arrogant and proud. Always regarding everyone under heaven as inferior; the noble are wary, the petty people despise. Hurting Officer using Wealth: wealthy. Hurting Officer with Rob Wealth: poor. Hurting Officer in the Year: wealth and nobility do not last. Hurting Officer in the Month: parents are incomplete. Hurting Officer on the Day: wife and concubine are difficult. Hurting Officer at the Hour: children and grandchildren without succession. Year-Month with Hurting Officer and Rob Wealth: born into a poor and base family. Day and Hour having Wealth-Officer: first poor, then wealthy. Year-Month with Wealth-Officer and Seal: born into a wealthy and noble family. Therefore: Day-Hour with Hurting Officer and Rob Wealth: first wealthy then poor, harming children, without fortune in old age. Therefore: Hurting Officer seeing Officer, Officer-Killing mixed: lustful and licentious, acting in petty and mean fashion. Yi Wood on Si is Taiyi; on Hai is Dengming. Men are lustful; women are licentious. Officer-Killing mixed: with Wealth, auspicious; without Wealth or Seal, inauspicious. Just observe: if Wealth and destiny have qi, even turning one's back on Salary is not poor. If Wealth is extinct and destiny declining, even with the Established Salary, one is not wealthy. Rob Wealth and Defeat Wealth: high ambitions but low station; whoever encounters them is greedy. Encountering the Officer within the Ghost: harassment and pressure follow. What overcomes me (Officer-Killing): noble. What I overcome (Wealth): wealthy. What generates me (Seal): relying on maternal support, growing my spirit. What I generate (Food-Hurting): always bearing oppressive pressure. Wealth entering the Monthly Command: diligent, frugal, and miserly. Pillars with many Rob Wealth, Shoulder, and Blade: punishing the father, harming the wife, unable to accumulate Wealth. Itinerant craftsmen and merchants: one must observe the ground-born Wealth. Chancellors must show well-timed proper Salary. Seven Killings and Owl Spirit heavy: a traveler wandering through distant lands. Hurting Officer and Rob Wealth: a person who deceives and reneges. Wealth-Officer violated repeatedly: noble. Death Spirit (wangshen) violated repeatedly: early death. Seven Killings should be controlled; standing alone is strength. Visible Killing Combined away: Five Phases harmonious, a spring breeze. Hidden Killing Combined toward oneself: Punishment and injury harming the self. Hour Killing welcoming Clash, welcoming the Blade without control: women suffer childbirth difficulties; men face criminal charges. Two Virtues unbroken: women are surely virtuous; men are mostly loyal and filial. Hurting Officer using Seal, removing Wealth: then one can gain fame. Hurting Officer using Wealth: at the Hurting Officer's position, fortune should manifest. Pattern entered purely and marvelously: wealthy. Pattern not successfully formed: poor. One or two patterns: if not a minister then a chancellor. Three or four patterns, Wealth-Officer not pure: if not a minor official then a tradesman. Six Yin Facing Yang: in the season-ending months, read it only as Seal. Auspicious spirits only fear Destruction and Harm. Inauspicious spirits do not welcome Punishment and Clash. Wealth, Officer, Seal, Food: surely displaying the virtue of kindness and mercy. Hurting Officer, Rob, and Blade: unable to escape the name of cruelty. Soaring to heaven without Combination: a person of drifting and floating. Six Ren approaching Gen (Yin): encountering the Hai month brings poverty. Horse falling into Emptiness: a person of laboring heart and fallen status. Leaving the ancestral home through Month Combination; through Clash, adopted into another family. Killing with Three Punishments: mother known, father unknown -- mostly born in secret. Wealth, Seal, and Indirect Officer: illegitimate birth is certain. The Stem's flames burn bright: Ran Boniu lamented to blue heaven. Hour and Day in Punishment-Clash: one cannot avoid the sighs of Bu Shang and Zhuangzi. Much Punishment: a person without righteousness. Many Combinations: even the distant become close. Many Combinations indicate obscurity. Many Clashes indicate misfortune. Much Chen indicates a love of fighting. Much Xu indicates a love of litigation. Chen and Xu with the Helmet Head: much misfortune, little fortune. Day-Hour in Emptiness: wife and children are difficult. Meeting the Post Horse: leaving home and departing one's native land. Food God with strong Stem surpasses Wealth and Officer. Following-Food: a table set with lavish dishes. Reversed-Food: a single bamboo bowl and bean broth. Food declining, Owl strong: if not death, then disaster. Water moistening downward: literary learning, prominence and success. Earth in cultivation and harvest: wealth, nobility, and commerce. Metal and Water doubly pure: becoming a Daoist. Fire and Earth mixed and turbid: becoming a Buddhist monk. Zi-Wu most fear Si-Hai. Mao-You especially taboo Yin-Shen. Ji entering the Hai palace, seeing yin Wood: lifespan is ultimately shortened. Hour encountering Bing-Yin: cap and sash, hairpin and tassel. The Extinction point of the Five Phases is precisely the 'Embryo Origin.' The birth Day encountering it is called 'Receiving Qi.' There are ten Transformation Days: Jia-Shen, Yi-You, Geng-Yin, Xin-Mao, Ren-Wu, Gui-Wei, Bing-Zi, Ding-Chou, Wu-Wu, Ji-Chou. Even if the eight characters do not enter a pattern, wealth and nobility are still abundant. Additionally there are Fortunate Virtue and Elegant Qi, each with its own heavenly and earthly spirits. On the theory of Transformation patterns: true Transformation produces famous dukes and grand ministers. False Transformation produces orphans and people of different surnames. Encountering the Dragon brings immediate transformation -- 'the flying dragon in heaven, favorable to see the great person.' There are also winter encountering blazing heat, summer grass encountering frost, the yin rat nesting in water, the spirit turtle lodging in fire. Having Combination yet having none -- later students find this hard to know. Gaining one, dividing into three -- earlier sages did not record this. As for discussing patterns: there are clear fixed rules. Gathering oral formulas, I have briefly raised one or two. The worthy sages' classic purpose: without taking the Useful Spirit together, one can comprehend easily. The Way converges upon infinity; learning has no endpoint. The classic says: 'Further able to empty the mind and forget thought, chart-reading has no error.'