Volume One of "The Great Six Rats Source"

昔黃帝伐蚩尤於涿鹿之野，九天玄女授以神式三種：一曰太乙，明天道；二曰奇門，詳地理；三曰六壬，知人事。皆變化不測，探天機而斷課，苟得其一，占象必靈。但太乙、奇門幻冥難稽，傳之後世，流為術藝之學，專言數而不通理，恐有毫釐千里之謬，故儒家所不尚。

At that time, the Yellow Emperor fought against Chiyou in the open field of ZhuLu. The Mysterious Lady of the Ninth Heaven taught him three kinds of divination methods called "Shen Shi": the first was "Taiyi", used to understand the operation of the heavenly way; the second was "Qimen", used to examine the terrain; and the third was "LiuNin", used to predict human affairs. These three disciplines are changeable and unpredictable, capable of revealing heavenly secrets and then judging the lesson pattern. As long as one masters one of them, the images revealed will certainly be accurate. However, "Taiyi" and "Qimen" are deeply mysterious and difficult to study, so later generations found it hard to investigate their principles. As a result, they became a type of skill-based knowledge passed down through the ages, focusing only on numerical calculations without understanding the underlying meaning. A single mistake could lead to a slight error resulting in a great deviation, so scholars throughout history did not place much importance on these two disciplines.

惟六壬一式，由庖□氏龍馬負圖之神，細闡乾坤六子之奧，推之五行生剋吉凶消長之道。始以義理斷象占之休咎，繼以象占推義理之精微，神奇顯著，當為古今笫一稽疑之書。《易》曰：知機其神乎。文王亦以先天八卦之奧，變後天八卦，遂演六十四卦之爻辭，周公、孔子繼以彖、象、繫辭，四聖之經成，而《周易》之道章矣。

Only the school of Liu Xin originates from the divine mechanism of Fuxi who saw the dragon horse carrying a diagram and drew the trigrams. It thoroughly explains the profound meaning of the six subsidiary trigrams generated from Qian and Kun, then extends to the principles of the Five Phases generating and overcoming each other, and the changes between auspicious and inauspicious. It first uses principles to determine the fortune or misfortune of the divination image, then returns to examine the subtle aspects of the principles through the image. Its marvelous nature is very evident, and it should be considered the first book in history for resolving difficult matters. The Book of Changes says that those who can perceive the initial signs of events are nearly divine. King Wen of Zhou derived the later trigrams from the principles of the earlier trigrams, and thus composed the line statements of the sixty-four trigrams. Zhou Gong and Confucius then wrote the彖辞, 象辞, and Great Treatise, completing the classic works of the four sages: Fuxi, King Wen, Zhou Gong, and Confucius. The principles of the Zhou Changes thus became clearly known to the world.

於是綜《易》數而究六壬者，得元女之的沠。推數必曾通乎理，斷課必推原乎八卦，凡一事一物之應驗，鉅細信無爽者。近世以來，推測輩無慮數百家，或主元虛而近於荒誕，或由穿鑿而入於異端，各有臆斷存乎其中，《易》之本義全失，而壬學之原遂絕，無人尋矣。奧稽前代，子房、孔明以及袁、李、邵、劉諸公，並深明《易》義而推六壬，理數兼通，可謂神而明之者也。

Therefore, only those who can integrate the principles of the Book of Changes with divination techniques to study Liuren (Six壬) can truly inherit the correct lineage of the Mysterious Lady of the Ninth Heaven. To practice divination, one must first understand the meaning and principles. To judge the lesson patterns, one must trace back to the origins of the Eight Trigrams. In this way, when predicting the fulfillment of every matter and thing, regardless of their size, there will be no error. However, since recent times, there have been hundreds of schools of divination practitioners: some focus solely on vague and fantastical theories, their statements bordering on absurdity; others fabricate and twist things, directly falling into heresy. Each of them stuffs their own subjective guesses into their practices, completely losing the original meaning of the Book of Changes, and thus the source of Liuren studies has been cut off, with no one left to seek it out. Looking deeply into the past, several sages such as Zhang Liang (style name Zifang), Zhuge Liang (style name Kongming), Yuan Tiangang, Li Chunfeng, Shao Yong, and Liu Ji were all deeply knowledgeable in the principles of the Book of Changes and skilled in Liuren divination, mastering both the theoretical and practical aspects. They can be considered as those who truly integrated and understood the profound principles.

笫潛心參訂，竟難得其旨，後乃購明季尹希吉先生所定《六壬捷錄》，其言簡意賅，論數而合理，足以開芧塞而免望洋之患。玩索既久，更於疑賨處詳加註釋，又參以《懷慶大全》《玉書》《玉冊》《銀河棹》《視斯》《統宗》《藥師纂要》等，採其緊要而損益之，前亦己難矣。然私淑之心，若欲尋元女之源，以付剞劂，為初學之津樑云爾。

I have devoted many years to carefully studying and correcting the text, yet I have still found it difficult to grasp the essence of the Six壬 system. Later, I bought a revised edition of the "Six壬 Quick Record" compiled by Mr. Yin Xiji of the late Ming dynasty. This book is concise in its wording yet comprehensive in meaning, and it discusses numerological techniques in a way that aligns with moral principles. It has cleared up my confusion and relieved me from the distress of facing an ocean of knowledge without knowing where to begin. After repeatedly pondering it over a long period, I added detailed annotations to the parts that were difficult to understand, and I also cross-referenced other texts such as the "Complete Collection of Huaiqing," "Juyushu," "Jucè," "Galaxy Boat," "Shi Si," "Tongzong," and "Yaozaizuan Yao," selecting the essential parts to supplement and refine them—just achieving this step was already quite difficult. However, my private admiration for the sages of the past could not be suppressed, and I wished to trace the origin of the Six壬 system passed down by the Mysterious Lady of the Ninth Heaven, and to publish it through the printer so that beginners could use it as a bridge to cross the river.

嘉慶十五年歲次庚午仲冬秀水張純照謹識

In the fifteenth year of the Jiaqing era, which corresponds to the Gengwu cycle (the year 1810), during the middle of winter in the eleventh month, Zhang Chunzhao, a native of XiuShui (now Jiaxing, Zhejiang province), respectfully inscribed a record.

凡十二月將，不論陰陽，俱加正時而順行，蓋壬納於干，仿天道之順也。月將者，與月建所合之將也。其法於每月中氣所之前、本月節令之後，視月將出現之日支，定其陰陽，仿河圖生成之數，陰叢成數，因其數而超之，此為真月將。其論最有理，今宗之。

There are twelve 'Month Generals' which are not divided into yin or yang branches; they are all added to the 'correct time' of the divination question and then arranged in a clockwise direction. This is because the Six Rats system takes the heavenly stems as its fundamental basis, following the leftward rotation of the heavenly path. The 'Month General' refers to the deity general that forms theLiu He (Liu He) with the 'Month Builder' of the current month. For example, if the Month Builder is寅 (Yin) in the first month, then寅 and亥 (Hai) form aLiu He, so the Month General for the first month is at the亥 position, which is called 'Deng Ming'. To determine the Month General, one should look during the period between the previous solar term and the current solar term, checking on which day the Month General appears on the day branch. Based on this, the yin or yang nature of the Month General is determined. Then, according to the numbers of the River Diagram (He Tu), the yang branches use the generating numbers and the yin branches use the completed numbers. By moving forward from this number, the actual day when the Month General changes is determined. This method is the most reasonable, and this book follows it.

一、占課必須誠潔專一，乃有應驗，蓋誠能感神。如事屬極切，則息心靜氣而占，玩其課象，問者、斷者各凜如在之神靈，自能明晰。若事歷緩慢，偶於間譚之間隋口問卜，漫不誠心，而斷者亦疏忽應之，其課體則茫無端緒，勉為臆斷，亦必不驗。蓋心不專一，象不得數，其理有必然者。

First, when casting a divination, one must be sincere in heart, pure in body, and focused in mind. Only then will the divination be accurate, because sincerity alone can connect with the divine. If the question is of great importance, one should take a deep breath and remain calm while casting the divination, carefully contemplating the resulting symbols. Both the person asking the question and the one interpreting the divination should approach it with reverence, as if the divine were present, and the meaning of the divination will naturally become clear. On the contrary, if the question is trivial, merely spoken out of idle conversation without sincerity, and the interpreter also gives a careless and superficial answer, then the resulting divination will be vague and unclear. Any forced interpretation will certainly not be accurate. This is because when the mind is not focused, the numerical patterns of the divination cannot be properly obtained, and this is an inevitable truth.

一、刑、沖、破、害、旬空、長生、陰陽貴人等，乃課中最不可缺，今為圓圖以更披閱。

One, the categories of '刑' (conflict), '冲' (clash), '破' (destruction), '害' (harm), '旬空' (decade void), '长生' (growth), as well as 'Yang Guiren' (Nobleman of the Day) and 'Yin Guiren' (Nobleman of the Night), are essential elements for divination. Old texts scattered these elements throughout different sections, making them inconvenient to refer to. This book has compiled them into a circular chart for easier reference by readers.

一、祿神、二馬及吉凶神煞，猶為緊要。但名類繁瑣，諸書所載散雜難求，占者逐類推尋，未免翻閱良難，今亦然為圖示出，使用者無望洋之嘆。而神煞之中，或在此為吉，在彼成凶，十二貴人亦然。如貴人在子，名玷玉神；在丑名爵襲神之類，不勝枚舉，主事不一，吉凶無定，占者可不明乎。

One, the "Lushen" (Wealth God), "Yimashi" (Post-horse), and "Tianma" (Heavenly Horse), along with various auspicious and inauspicious deities, are especially important. However, their names are numerous, their categories are scattered, and the records in different books are fragmented and disordered, making it difficult to look up. Those who cast divination charts must go through each category one by one, which is very tedious. Therefore, this book also presents them in chart form, so users will not feel overwhelmed as if facing an ocean without a way to begin. It is also important to note that the same deity can be auspicious in one position and inauspicious in another. The twelve Heavenly Generals and Noblemen are the same. For example, the Nobleman in the Zi position is called "Dianyu Shen" (God of Defiling Jade), while in the Chou position, it is called "Juexi Shen" (God of Inherited Rank), and so on. Each deity oversees different matters, and their auspicious or inauspicious nature is not fixed. How can those casting divination charts not be clear about this?

一、起長生當宗十干八長生為是。近世之土，不分陰陽，均以五行四長生順行，而不知十二神出臨官，即日之祿神。故甲木長生在亥，自亥順行至寅，乃臨官也；乙木長生在午，自午逆行至卯亦臨官也。若混用四長生，則臨官並非干祿，舛錯甚矣。況壬課最重日干，用者何可忽略。其五行長生，用於日支，又未賞不可。

The starting point for "long life" should be based on the individual long life positions of the ten heavenly stems. For yang stems, the sequence proceeds in the order of the stems; for yin stems, it proceeds in reverse. The eight long life positions are shared by the yang stems (Jia, Bing, Wu, Geng, Ren) and the yin stems (Yi, Ding, Ji, Xin, Gui). This is the correct method. In recent times, diviners have failed to distinguish between the yin and yang of the heavenly stems, and have uniformly used the four long life positions of the five elements in a forward sequence. They do not understand that among the twelve long life deities, the one that comes after "long life" is actually the "lu shen" (wealth deity) of the day's heavenly stem. For example, Jia is a yang wood stem, whose long life is in Hai. Counting forward from Hai to Yin, Yin is Jia's "officialdom," which is also Jia's lu shen in Yin. Yi is a yin wood stem, whose long life is in Wu. Counting backward from Wu to Mao, Mao is Yi's "officialdom," which is also Yi's lu shen in Mao. If the four long life positions of the five elements are mixed in, the resulting "officialdom" will not correspond to the lu shen of the day's heavenly stem, which is a serious mistake. Moreover, since the six rhinoceros system places great emphasis on the day's heavenly stem, how can we ignore it in our methods? As for the long life positions of the five elements, they can also be used for the day's earthly branch, though it is not inappropriate.

一、取用三傳，惟伏吟、返吟、昴星、八專、獨足等課，初學以難入手，今依毛氏演課成式，序次佈列，凡欲取用，不患差謬。而神煞前圖所遺者，亦附於中。

In the method of determining the three transmissions, only the types of divination known as 'Hidden Chant', 'Reverse Chant', 'Altar Star', 'Eight Special', and 'Single Foot' are most special. Beginners often find it difficult to handle these. This book follows the established format of Mao's divination method, arranging them in order. Anyone who needs to determine the useful god or the three transmissions can follow this sequence without making mistakes. The omitted deities and omens in the previous chart are also included in this section for completeness.

一、行年、本命，諸書雖載，都不精詳，今依《金口訣》訂定。一、六壬推命近世鮮能，偶得徐氏秘本，再考他書訂定，附祿於後。一、占宗、占意等篇，盡皆前賢著述而未刋刻者，今附於發蒙下之末。

One, the terms "years lived" and "birth stem" are mentioned in various books, but they are not explained in sufficient detail. This book redefines them according to the "Jin Kou Jie" text. One, using the Six Rens to calculate fate is a skill few people can perform in modern times. I偶然 obtained a secret copy of the Xu family's transmission, and then referred to other texts for correction, which is appended at the end. One, the chapters "Zong" and "Yi" of the book are all writings by ancient sages that have never been printed and circulated. Now they are appended at the end of the chapter "Fa Meng Xia."

一、國占兵占，舊本原列二條，恭逢明良撫政、敬天保庶之朝，干羽舞階、偃武修文之世，可決太平億載，無所用占。一、是編專為初學而設，故言都淺近，幸同道諸君弗以鄙陋見曬，如有訛謬，願為郢政。

First, divination concerning state affairs and divination concerning military affairs were originally listed as two separate sections in the old edition. Now, in this era of a sage ruler and virtuous ministers jointly governing, revering heaven and caring for the people, it is a time of peace where the dance of dry and wet banners is performed before the steps, and military preparations are ceased in favor of cultivating cultural education. It can be determined that this will bring peace for millions of years. Therefore, these two sections have no place to be used and are thus deleted. Second, this book is specifically written for beginners, so the language used is simple and easy to understand. I hope that fellow scholars will not mock it for being simplistic and crude. If there are any errors or mistakes in the book, I would appreciate it if you could correct them as the craftsman Yu would correct the woodcarver's mistakes.

一、壬學之書，皆卷帙繁多，今聊摘其緊要，以拂鏡中之塵。然奇奧通天，恐非精求不能通其淵源，而寒暑不間，功到自然精熟。精熟而誠，自能測其淵源。然數不難理，理極而數不能逃；理以明數，數靈而理愈見。其真數乎理乎，理乎數乎，神而明之，變化之妙，根乎其人。男培敬述。

The books on Liu Xin (Six Changes) are all voluminous, so this book merely selects the most essential parts, like wiping dust off a mirror to let the image be seen first. However, Liu Xin is profound and mysterious, reaching the heavens; without hard work and careful study, one may not grasp its origin. As long as one persists diligently through the changing seasons, the timing will naturally become proficient. Once proficient, with a sincere heart, one can understand its source. However, numerology is not more difficult than principles: when principles are taken to their extreme, numerology cannot go beyond their scope; using principles to explain numerology, when numerology proves effective, the principles become even clearer. Ultimately, is it more important to focus on numbers or on principles? Is it more important to focus on principles or on numbers? The key lies in the ability to integrate both, to grasp their subtle workings, and to apply them skillfully. In the end, it all depends on the person using it. (This entry was carefully recorded by the son, Zhang Pei.)

先天八卦方位、後天八卦次序、後天八卦方位、河圖、洛書、先天卦配河圖之象、先天卦配洛書之數、後天卦配河圖之象、先天卦配河圖之象、後天卦配洛書之數、十二月闢卦、二十四節氣方位、十二辰二十八宿星象、五行生旺圖、五行用事、生旺墓三合、刑沖破害圖、旬空圖、地盤四門、干支寄、干支六合、干支相穿、干支陰陽、地支陰陽、月將圖。

The above lists the titles of the charts appended to volume one, but the original text only includes the titles and not the actual diagrams. They are roughly divided into four groups: the first group discusses the fundamentals of the study of the Book of Changes, including the positions of the Earlier Heaven Trigrams, the order and positions of the Later Heaven Trigrams, two numerical charts of the Yellow River Chart and the Luo Writing, and four comparative charts showing the Earlier Heaven Trigrams paired with the imagery of the Yellow River Chart and the Later Heaven Trigrams paired with the numbers of the Luo Writing (among which the title "Earlier Heaven Trigrams paired with the imagery of the Yellow River Chart" appears twice in the original text); the second group discusses heavenly time, including the twelve trigrams of the twelve months, the directions associated with the twenty-four solar terms, and the star constellations under the twelve earthly branches; the third group discusses the Five Phases and punishment and clash, including the diagram of the twelve palace positions of the Five Phases' generation and prosperity, the table of the Five Phases in charge during the four seasons, the diagram of the Triple Harmony Formation from birth to death, the general diagram of punishment and clash, broken, harm, and empty positions for each ten-day period; the fourth group discusses the fixed forms on the Six壬 Disk, including the four gates of the Earth Plate: the Heaven Gate, Earth Gate, Human Gate, and Ghost Gate, the lodgment of the Heavenly Stems in the Earthly Branches, theLiu He of Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, the penetration of Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, the yin and yang attributes of Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, and finally the diagram of the Month General. These diagrams serve as the fundamental tools for the subsequent process of casting a divination lesson. When the text mentions a particular diagram, readers can refer back to the commonly accepted diagram formats in various Six壬 texts based on the diagram title.

姚廣孝曰：凡十二月將，不論陰陽，俱加正時而順行，蓋壬納於干，仿天道之順也。月將者，與月建所合之將也。其法於每月中氣所之前、本月節令之後，視月將出現之日支，定其陰陽，仿河圖生成之數，陰叢生數，陰叢成數，因其數而超之，乃真月將也。如亥將而待雨水後，則太陽過後，與寅不合，名曰落空，東西舛誤，而失其真矣。

In the early Ming dynasty, Yao Guangxiao (also known as Dao Yan, the Black Robe Chancellor) said that the twelve month generals, regardless of whether they belong to yin or yang branches, should all be added to the correct time of the divination lesson, and then arranged in order according to the sequence of the twelve earthly branches. This is because the Six Rén system treats heavenly stems as fundamental, following the natural order of the heavens. The term "month general" refers to the deity general that forms theLiu He (Liu He) with the month's month builder. To determine the month general, one should look during the period before the middle of the month and after the beginning of the season, to see on which day the month general appears in the day branch. Based on this, one determines its yin or yang nature, and then follows the numbers from the River Chart (He Tu) — taking the generating numbers for yang branches and the completing numbers for yin branches (the original text here mistakenly says "yin from generating numbers" instead of "yang from generating numbers," contrasting with the next sentence "yin from completing numbers") — and count forward by these numbers to find the actual day when the month general appears. For example, the month general for the first month should be the亥 (Hai) general "Dengming." If it is delayed until after the rainwater season, the solar palace has already passed through the亥 (Hai) palace, so the亥 (Hai) no longer forms the六合 (Liu He) with the first month's month builder, which is寅 (Yin). This is called "luokong" (falling into emptiness), causing all directions to be misplaced, and the month general loses its true nature.

正月建寅，與亥將登明合，視立春後幾日是亥（即月將出日支出也），亥乃地六成數，即從本日起，超六日是辰，即以辰日亥時起亥將。二月建卯，與戌將河魁合，視驚蟄後幾日是戌，戌乃地四生數，即叢本日起，超四日是丑，即以丑日戌時起戌將。三月建辰，與酉將叢魁合，視清明後幾日是酉，酉乃天九成數，即叢本日起，超九日是巳，即以巳日酉時起酉將。

In the first lunar month, the month builder is寅, which forms theLiu He with亥, so the "Deng Ming" at亥 is used as the month general. The method is: look for the day branch that is亥 after the beginning of spring, which is the day when the month general appears in the day branch. Since亥 in the River Chart corresponds to the earth number six, count from that day, and after six days, the day is辰. On the day of辰 at the hour of亥, the亥 general is officially used. In the second lunar month, the month builder is卯, which forms theLiu He with戌, so the "He Qiu" at戌 is used as the month general: look for the day branch that is戌 after the beginning of thunder, which is the day when the month general appears in the day branch. Since戌 corresponds to the earth number four, count from that day, and after four days, the day is丑. On the day of丑 at the hour of戌, the戌 general is officially used. In the third lunar month, the month builder is辰, which forms theLiu He with酉, so the "Cong Qiu" at酉 is used as the month general: look for the day branch that is酉 after the beginning of clarity, which is the day when the month general appears in the day branch. Since酉 corresponds to the heavenly number nine, count from that day, and after nine days, the day is巳. On the day of巳 at the hour of酉, the酉 general is officially used.

四月建巳，與申將傳送合，視立夏後幾日是申，申乃地四生數，即叢本日起，超四日是亥，即以亥日申時起申將。五月建午與未將小吉合，視芒種後幾日是未，未乃天七成數，即叢本日起，超七日是丑，即以丑日未時起未將。六月建未與午將勝光合，視小暑後幾日是午，午乃地二生數，即叢本日起，超二日是未，即以未日午時起午將。

In the fourth month, the Month Builder is Si. Si combines with Shen, so the "Transmission" at Shen's position is used as the general. Look for the day branch Shen after the beginning of summer, then assign the earthly branch Shen the four generating numbers. Starting from that day, count forward four days to reach Hai day. Use Shen as the general starting at Shen hour on Hai day. In the fifth month, the Month Builder is Wu. Wu combines with Wei, so the "Minor Auspicious" at Wei's position is used as the general. Look for the day branch Wei after the beginning of summer solstice, then assign the heavenly branch Wei the seven forming numbers. Starting from that day, count forward seven days to reach Chou day. Use Wei as the general starting at Wei hour on Chou day. In the sixth month, the Month Builder is Wei. Wei combines with Wu, so the "Victorious Light" at Wu's position is used as the general. Look for the day branch Wu after the beginning of minor heat, then assign the earthly branch Wu the two generating numbers. Starting from that day, count forward two days to reach Wei day. Use Wu as the general starting at Wu hour on Wei day. These three cases are the same as the previous three, where yang branches take generating numbers and yin branches take forming numbers: Shen and Wu are yang branches, so they take the generating numbers four and two respectively; Wei is a yin branch, so it takes the forming number seven.

七月建申，與巳將太冊合，視立秋後幾日是巳，巳乃天七成婁，即叢本日起，超七日是亥，即以亥日巳時起巳將。八月建酉與辰將天罡合，視白露後幾日是辰，辰乃天三生數，即叢本日起，超三日是午，即以午日辰時起辰將。九月建戌與犯將太沖合，視寒露後幾日是卯，卯乃地八成數，即叢本日起，超八日是戌，即以戌日戌時起卯將。

In the seventh month, the month builder is Shen. Shen combines with Si, so the general is taken from the Si position, which is "Taiyi" (the original text says "Taice," which is a miswriting of "Taiyi"). Look for the day branch Si on the day after the beginning of autumn. Si is paired with the number seven, so count seven days from that day to reach Hai. Start using the general from the Si hour on the day of Hai. In the eighth month, the month builder is You. You combines with Chen, so the general is taken from the Chen position, which is "Tian Gang." Look for the day branch Chen on the day after the beginning of white dew. Chen belongs to the wood storage and is paired with the number three. Count three days from that day to reach Wu. Start using the general from the Chen hour on the day of Wu. In the ninth month, the month builder is Xu. Xu combines with Mao, so the general is taken from the Mao position, which is "Tai Chong" (the original text says "Yu Fan Jiang" with "Fan" being a miswriting of "Mao"). Look for the day branch Mao on the day after the beginning of cold dew. Mao is paired with the number eight. Count eight days from that day to reach Xu. Start using the general from the Mao hour on the day of Xu—the original text mistakenly writes "Xu day Xu hour," but according to the general pattern of the text, it should be "Xu day Mao hour."

十月建亥與寅將功曹合，視立冬後幾日是寅，寅乃天三生數，即叢本日起，超三日是辰，即以辰日寅時起寅將。十一月建子與丑將大吉合，視大雪後幾日是丑，丑乃地六成數，即叢本日起，超六日是午，即以午日丑時起丑將。十二月建丑與子將神后合，視小寒後幾日是子，子乃天一生數，即叢本日子時起子將。

The month builder for the tenth month is Hai. Hai combines with Yin, so the general is "Gongcao" at the Yin position. Look for the day branch Yin after the beginning of winter, then count three days from that day to reach Chen. Start using the general "Yin" at the Chen day's Yin hour. The month builder for the eleventh month is Zi. Zi combines with Chou, so the general is "Dají" at the Chou position. Look for the day branch Chou after the great snow, then count six days from that day to reach Wu. Start using the general "Chou" at the Wu day's Chou hour. The month builder for the twelfth month is Chou. Chou combines with Zi, so the general is "Shenhou" at the Zi position. Look for the day branch Zi after the minor cold, then count one day from that day to reach Zi. Start using the general "Zi" at the Zi hour of that day, without needing to calculate another day.

假如嘉慶庚午歲正月初一丙辰日立春，至初八日得癸亥，便叢癸亥起，超六日是戊辰，即定為正月十三戊辰日癸亥時起亥將。餘可仿此。

Take an example: On the first day of the first lunar month in the 22nd year of Jiaqing, which was Gengwu, the day was Bingchen when the Start of Spring began. Counting down to the eighth day, the day was Guihai. The hour stem Hai exactly matched the day branch of that day, so from Guihai day onwards, the Hai stem was used. The Hai stem is paired with the earth's six cycles, and after six days, it reached Wuchen, which was the thirteenth day of the first lunar month. Therefore, the Hai stem was officially activated on the thirteenth day of the first lunar month, Wuchen, at the Guihai hour (the Guihai stem combination exactly matches the Wuchen day's Hai hour). The same method is applied to calculate the other months.

巳　　午　　未　　申 丙戊　　　　丁已　　庚 辰　　　　　　　　　酉 乙 卯　　　　　　　　　戌 辛 寅　　丑　　子　　亥 　甲　　癸　　　　　壬

This is the fixed pattern of the lower layer, the Earth Plate, in the Liu Ren disk. The twelve Earthly Branches are arranged in a square according to directions and remain fixed. The top horizontal row from left to right is Si, Wu, Wei, Shen. The left vertical column from top to bottom is Chen, Mao. The right vertical column from top to bottom is You, Xu. The bottom horizontal row from left to right is Yin, Chou, Zi, Hai, forming a complete circle. The south is Wu, the north is Zi, the east is Mao, and the west is You. The Heavenly Stems noted below the Earthly Branches are the Heavenly Stems residing in the Earthly Branches, known as the Lodging Palace. Jia resides in Yin, Yi in Chen, Bing and Wu both reside in Si, Ding and Ji both reside in Wei (the original text has 'Ding Yi' with 'Yi' being taken as 'Ji'), Geng resides in Shen, Xin in Xu, Ren in Hai, and Gui in Chou. The four cardinal positions, Zi, Wu, Mao, and You, do not have Heavenly Stems residing in them. The original text places the character Xin under the row of Mao, but according to the usual practice of the Lodging Palace, it should be under Xu. When setting up a lesson, whenever the Day Stem is encountered, it is first changed to its corresponding Lodging Palace Earthly Branch, and then the corresponding Heavenly Stem is found on the Earth Plate. For example, on a Jia day, one looks at the Yin position on the Earth Plate.

太始無形，自月將加時，則天運乎上，地承乎下，而兩儀是判。取法於干支所臨之神曰陰陽：干上之神曰陽，支上之神曰陰；干上所得之神曰陽中之陰，支上所得之神曰陰中之陽，剛柔定而四象分。

At the beginning when heaven and earth first emerged, there was no form or image. Once the month general is placed upon the time of divination, the heaven plate begins to move above, while the earth plate supports it below, thus separating the two principles of heaven and earth. Then, by taking the deities corresponding to the day stem and day branch, we divide yin and yang: the deity on the heaven plate obtained from the day stem's lodging palace is called "Yang," and the deity on the heaven plate obtained from the day branch's lodging palace is called "Yin." Going one level higher, the deity obtained again from the deity on the day stem is called "Yin within Yang," and the deity obtained again from the deity on the day branch is called "Yang within Yin." Thus, one strong and one gentle, each with two layers, the four images of the four lessons are formed—Dry Yang, Dry Yin, Branch Yang, Branch Yin, which are the origins of the first to fourth lessons.

一交而關天元曰初傳，再交而定地元曰中傳，三交而得入元曰終傳，變化定而三才立。統三元之體，合於圖書曰貴人，巳亥列左右之途，旦暮分陰陽之位，加之長生、祿馬、年命、旬空而玩之，吉凶休囚由是而定。

After the four lessons are divided, three transmissions are then issued: the first level of mutual interaction, which moves the heavenly stem, is called the first transmission; the second level of mutual interaction, which fixes the earthly branch, is called the middle transmission; and the third level of mutual interaction, which reaches the human element, is called the final transmission (the original text refers to 'entering the element' as the human element). Once the three transmissions are determined, the structure of heaven, earth, and humanity is established. The sovereign that governs these three elements corresponds with the numbers of the River Chart and the Square Chart, and is called the nobleman. The nobleman has two aspects, day and night, positioned on either side of the boundaries at巳 and亥. During the day, the yang nobleman is used, and at night, the yin nobleman is used, each occupying their respective positions. On this basis, adding the elements of 'growth', 'favorable position', 'post-horse', and 'personal destiny' allows for the determination of the fortune's prosperity, decline, and overall outcome of the lesson.

即如甲子日丑將子時占，即以月將丑字加於地盤子位上順行，此即月將用正時也。其四課如何生克，如何裝法，見後占門九課式及課神圖。

Take an example of casting a divination lesson: suppose it is on the Jiazi day, with the Month General Chou and the hour Zi. The method is to place the Month General Chou on the Zi position of the Earth Plate, then arrange the remaining eleven heavenly stems in clockwise order on the Heaven Plate. The Earth Plate Chou position gets Yin, Yin gets Mao, and so on until the Earth Plate Hai position gets Zi. The Heaven Plate thus advances one position ahead of the Earth Plate. This is called "the Month General adds the correct hour." As for how the four lessons interact in terms of generation and overcoming, and how the Heavenly General is arranged, see the sections "Nine Lessons in Divination" and "Diagram of Lesson Gods" later.

蛇　　貴　　六　　朱 寅　　丑　　辰　　卯 四課　三課　二課　一課 丑　　子　　卯　　甲 巳　午　未　申 辰　　　　　酉 卯　　　　　戌 寅　丑　子　亥

This is the divination board for the day of Jiazi with the hour of Chou and the general of Chou. It is recorded in the original sequence of characters, and it should be read from right to left. The lower half is the fixed Earth Plate, with Si, Wu, Wei, and Shen arranged on top, Chen and You on the sides, Mao and Xu next, and Yin, Chou, Zi, and Hai at the bottom. The upper half consists of the Four Lessons, divided into four layers: the lowest layer is the "lower spirits" of the Four Lessons, from right to left: Jia (the day stem, with its lodging palace in Yin), Mao, Zi (the day branch), and Chou. The middle layer indicates the order of the first to fourth lessons, also from right to left. The layer above that is the "upper spirits" of each lesson, from right to left: Mao, Chen, Chou, and Yin. The top layer is the Heavenly Generals corresponding to each upper spirit, from right to left: Vermilion Bird, Liu He, Nobleman, and Teng Snake. When read together, it is: the first lesson has Mao added to Jia with Vermilion Bird above it, the second lesson has Chen added to Mao with Liu He above it, the third lesson has Chou added to Zi with Nobleman above it, and the fourth lesson has Yin added to Chou with Teng Snake above it. The arrangement of the Heavenly Generals is based on the fact that Jia day is in the night hour, so the night nobleman is Chou. Chou is located at the Zi position on the Earth Plate, and Zi belongs to the ascending sequence of Zi, Chou, Yin, Mao, Chen, and Si. Therefore, the twelve Heavenly Generals are arranged in ascending order: Chou Nobleman, Yin Teng Snake, Mao Vermilion Bird, Chen Liu He, and so on, in sequence.

起四課法：即以上甲子一課為式。甲子課神在寅，當視地盤寅位乃天盤卯字也。即將甲子二字空一字平書於天盤之上，然後以卯字書於甲字之上，得卯、甲二字，是謂第一課；再將卯字書於甲子二字所空之中，再看地盤卯位是天盤辰字，以辰字書於卯字之上，得辰、卯二字，是謂第二課。其第三、第四總依此法，餘課均可類推。

The specific method for setting up the four lessons is still demonstrated using the example of the Jiazi day. Since the lodging palace of Jia is Yin, first look at what heavenly plate character is covering the Yin position on the earth plate — it is Mao. When writing, first write the characters "Jia" and "Zi" under the heavenly plate row, leaving one space between them for later use. First, write the character "Mao" above "Jia" to form "Mao/Jia", which is the first lesson. Second, copy the "Mao" character into the reserved space between "Jia" and "Zi" as the lower deity, then look at what heavenly plate character is covering the Mao position on the earth plate — it is Chen. Write "Chen" above "Mao" to form "Chen/Mao", which is the second lesson. The third lesson starts from the day branch "Zi": look at what heavenly plate character is covering the "Zi" position on the earth plate — it is Chou, forming "Chou/Zi". The fourth lesson uses "Chou" as the lower deity again, then look at what heavenly plate character is covering the "Chou" position on the earth plate — it is Yin, forming "Yin/Chou". The first two lessons belong to the day stem and govern external matters and people; the last two lessons belong to the day branch and govern internal matters and the house. All other lessons are handled in the same way.

三傳之法，當視課中賊□，如無賊，上方尋□下。如甲子一課，所取第二課卯木賊辰土，即以辰字定為發用（元初傳天）（發用即天）。再看地盤辰位乃天盤巳字，以巳字為中傳；巳位是午，以午字為終傳。若昴星、伏吟等課，又不同此，詳後占門，餘可類推。

The general rule for determining the three transmissions is: first check the four lessons to see if there is a "thief," which means the lower god is attacking the upper god (the text here is missing a character, which should be "attack" after "thief"). If there is no lower god attacking the upper god in the four lessons, then look for the useful god among the upper gods attacking the lower gods (the text here is missing a character, which should be "attack" after "upper"). Taking the example of the Jiazi lesson, the second lesson has earth in the upper position and wood in the lower position, with wood attacking earth, which is a case of lower attacking upper. The upper god being attacked, which is earth, is taken as the "initiating transmission," that is, the first transmission (the text here has two marginal notes mixed up, "original initial transmission heaven" and "initiating transmission is heaven" should be interpreted as "initiating transmission is the first transmission"). Once the first transmission is determined, look at the heaven plate on the earth position of the first transmission, which is the second transmission; then look at the heaven plate on the earth position of the second transmission, which is the third transmission. Therefore, the three transmissions are earth, snake, and horse. As for special cases such as "昴星" and "伏吟," there are different methods for determining the useful god, which differ from the above. Details can be found in the section "占门九课" later. All other lessons can be deduced in the same way.

凡起貴人，當分日夜陰陽。如所占之時得卯、辰、巳、午、未、申，乃日也，陽也。

When placing the Heavenly Stem of the Nobleman (天乙贵人), one must first determine whether the time of divination is during the day or night, and whether it is yang or yin. If the exact hour of the divination falls within the six hours of卯, 辰, 巳, 午, 未, and 申, it is considered day time and yang, and the 'Yang Nobleman' (阳贵人), also called the daytime Nobleman (昼贵人), should be used.

日貴人歌：甲羊戌庚牛，乙猴已鼠求，丙難丁豬位，壬癸兔蛇游，六辛逢虎上，陽貴日中□。（陽貴人取法於先天，先天十干起於坤，以德合為貴人。如甲日貴人未，未中有已與甲合也。）

The daytime nobleman formula (the song uses the animal signs to represent the earthly branches, with '戌' being a mistake for '戊', '难' being a mistake for '鸡', and '已' being a mistake for '己', the last line is missing one character): For Jia day, the nobleman is in the sheep (the position of Wei); for Wu day and Geng day, the nobleman is in the ox (the position of Chou); for Yi day, the nobleman is in the monkey (the position of Shen); for Ji day, the nobleman is in the rat (the position of Zi); for Bing day, the nobleman is in the rooster (the position of You); for Ding day, the nobleman is in the pig (the position of Hai); for Ren day, the nobleman is in the rabbit (the position of Mao); for Gui day, the nobleman is in the snake (the position of Si); for Xin day, the nobleman is in the tiger (the position of Yin). This formula is only used during the day. The original commentary says: the yang nobleman is based on the positions of the earlier heavenly trigrams. The ten heavenly stems start from the坤 (Earth) trigram, and the nobleman is determined by the virtue god that matches the day stem. For example, on Jia day, the nobleman is in Wei, because Wei contains Ji earth, and Ji combines with Jia, so Wei is the nobleman for Jia.

如所占之時得酉、戌、亥、子、丑、寅，乃夜也，陰也。夜貴人歌：甲牛戌庚羊，乙鼠鄉，丙豬丁難上，壬中蛇癸兔藏，六辛逢午馬，陰貴夜時當。（陰貴人取法於後天，後天坤寄於申。如庚日貴人未，未中有乙，與庚合也。）

If the starting time falls within the six hours of You, Xu, Hai, Zi, Chou, and Yin, even if it is at night and belongs to the yin category, one should use the "Yin Nobleman" or "Night Nobleman." The formula for the Night Nobleman (note: "Xu" is mistakenly written as "Wu," and "nan" is mistakenly written as "ji") is as follows: On Jia day, the Nobleman is in the Chou position; on Wu day and Geng day, the Nobleman is in the Wei position; on Yi day, the Nobleman is in the Zi position; on Bing day, the Nobleman is in the Hai position; on Ding day, the Nobleman is in the You position; on Ren day, the Nobleman is in the Si position; on Gui day, the Nobleman is in the Mao position; and on Xin day, the Nobleman is in the Wu position. This formula is only used at night. The original commentary says: The Yin Nobleman is derived from the positions of the later heaven trigrams. In the later heaven, the Kun trigram is located in the Shen position. For example, on Geng day, the Nobleman is in the Wei position, which contains the wood of Yi. Since Yi and Geng are compatible, Wei becomes the Night Nobleman for Geng day.

貴人左旋右轉歌：貴人在亥行叢子，在戌還將酉引前，在巳但叢辰位轉，若居辰上巳為先。順逆之法，依上十二神次序，照盤旋轉，另列四□於後。

The rule for the order of the Nobleman (贵人) moving forward or backward is: when the Nobleman is at the亥 position, the next deity is arranged in the direction of子, which is moving forward; when the Nobleman is at the戌 position, the next deity is placed in the direction of酉, which is moving backward; when the Nobleman is at the巳 position, the next deity is placed in the direction of辰, which is also moving backward; when the Nobleman is at the辰 position, the next deity is arranged in the direction of巳, which turns back to moving forward. In other words, when the Nobleman is at亥, 子, 丑, 寅, 卯, 辰 (from亥 to辰), the Twelve Heavenly Generals move forward; when the Nobleman is at巳, 午, 未, 申, 酉, 戌 (from巳 to戌), the Twelve Heavenly Generals move backward.亥 and巳 are the dividing points of the left and right routes. Once the direction of movement is determined, the Twelve Heavenly Generals are arranged in their original order—Nobleman, Teng Snake, Vermilion Bird, Liu He, Gou Chen, Azure Dragon, Tian Kong, White Tiger, Tai Chang, Black Tortoise, Tai Yin, Heavenly Empress—rotating one by one on the board. The original text also lists four diagrams (the original text is missing one character, which should be「图」) for reference.

叢起長生，當分陰陽順逆。如甲、丙、戊、庚、壬五日為陽，其長生依次序叢天盤順行十二支；若乙、丁、己、辛、癸五日為陰，其長生亦依次序叢天□逆行十二支。

To determine the long life (长生), one must first distinguish the yin and yang of the day stem (日干). For yang stems, the sequence proceeds in a clockwise direction on the Heaven Plate (天盘), while for yin stems, it proceeds counterclockwise. For the five yang days—Jia, Bing, Wu, Geng, and Ren—the long life follows the order of long life (长生), bathing (沐浴), capping (冠带), officialdom (临官), prosperity (帝旺), decline (衰), illness (病), death (死), tomb (墓), extinction (绝), conception (胎), and nourishment (养), moving clockwise through the twelve earthly branches. For the five yin days—Yi, Ding, Ji, Xin, and Gui—the same sequence is followed, but the movement is counterclockwise on the Heaven Plate (the original text '丛天□' is missing the character '盘'). When reaching the position of officialdom (临官), that is the location of the day stem's禄神. This is precisely why the previous "General Notes" emphasized the necessity of using the long life of the ten stems (十干长生) rather than mixing with the five phases' four long lives (五行四长生).

附五生四長生：甲乙寅卯木，長生在亥；丙丁巳午火，長生在寅；庚辛申酉金，長生在巳；戊己辰戌丑未土及壬癸亥子水，長生同在申。

The four long lives of the Five Phases (the original text says "five lives" but should be "Five Phases") are listed here. This system does not distinguish between the yin and yang of the Heavenly Stems, but instead follows the Five Phases: Jia and Yi belong to wood along with Yin and Mao, and wood is born in Hai; Bing and Ding belong to fire along with Si and Wu, and fire is born in Yin; Geng and Xin belong to metal along with Shen and You, and metal is born in Si; Wu and Ji belong to earth along with Chen, Xu, Chou, and Wei, and Ren and Gui belong to water along with Hai and Zi, and water and earth share the same palace, with their birth in Shen. This system of four long lives cannot be used to determine the禄位 (favorable position) of the Day Stem, but it can still be used for the Day Branch to determine the rise and decline of things.

行年之法，總要人之生年起旬頭。如乙丑生則甲子旬，丁丑生則甲戌旬之類，當以男順發逆，隨盤旋推。假如戊辰生，亦甲子旬也，即以上甲子丑將一課為式：甲子旬數至戊辰乃五歲。如男人，則叢地盤寅位一歲婁起，順行五歲，至天盤未字止，即以未字定為行年；若婦人，則叢申位上起，逆數五歲，至天盤巳字為行年，而定其吉凶。（則照盤順甲則母順行，而父又逆矣。）（其推法男行，女則照盤逆行若通順產六。）

The method of calculating the "year of birth" depends on first determining the person's birth year's heavenly stem and earthly branch to find the corresponding ten-day cycle. For example, someone born in the year of Yichou belongs to the Jiazi cycle, while someone born in the year of Dingchou belongs to the Jiaxu cycle, and so on. After determining the cycle's starting point, for male individuals, the count proceeds clockwise, while for female individuals, it proceeds counterclockwise, following the rotation of the plate. The original text mistakenly uses "male follows the direction of hair" where "hair" should be "female." For instance, someone born in the year of Wuchen also belongs to the Jiazi cycle, and the same lesson as the Jiazi day with Chou as the hour is used as a model. Counting from Jiazi to Wuchen is the fifth position, which is considered five years. For a male, starting from the寅 position on the earth plate, counting five steps clockwise lands on the午 position, where the heaven plate shows 未, so 未 is taken as the year of birth. For a female, starting from the申 position on the earth plate, counting five steps counterclockwise lands on the辰 position, where the heaven plate shows 巳, so 巳 is taken as the year of birth. Once the year of birth is determined, one looks at the god and general associated with that position to judge fortune and misfortune. The original text's two marginal notes are damaged and disordered, but the general meaning is that for males, the direction follows the plate, while for females, it goes against the plate. If calculating parents, their direction of movement is opposite to that of the individual.

本命者即天盤上字。如子命子字，亥命亥字而巳。其地盤上子位亥位，須參看，定其吉凶。

The so-called "birth star" refers to the earthly branch of the year one was born, as it appears on the Heaven Plate. For example, a person born in the year of Zi takes the Zi character on the Heaven Plate, and a person born in the year of Hai takes the Hai character on the Heaven Plate, and so on. In addition to examining the heavenly generals associated with the character on the Heaven Plate, one must also refer to the characters on the Earth Plate at the positions of Zi and Hai, and compare them with the Heaven Plate characters to determine the fortune of the person. The annual pillar governates the fortune of a particular time, while the birth star governates the fortune of one's entire life. Both should be considered together.

生我者為印。（陽見陰為偏印，陰風陰為母）（陽見為正印，陰見陽為父）我生者。（陰風陽為子孫，陰見陰為食神。）（陽見陰為傷官，陽見陽為食神。）克我者。（陽見陽為偏官，陰風陰為鬼。）（陽見陰為正官，陰見陽為官。）我克者。（陽見為偏聽偏信財，陰見陰為妻財。）（陽見陰為正財，陰見陽為妻財。）比肩者亦為財。（陰見陰為劫財，陰見陰為兄弟。）（陽見陰為敗財，陽見陽為兄弟。）

In this passage, the day stem is regarded as "I," and it explains the names of the Six Relations corresponding to the Five Phases interactions in the Six Rats system. The two lines of marginal notes beneath each entry were originally printed in parallel columns, but the text has some errors and omissions. "Yin feng yin" should be read as "yin jian yin," and "pian ting pian xin cai" should be read as "pian cai." When interpreting, these should be restored. The element that generates me is called "print" (印): when a yang stem meets a yin branch, it is called "biased print," and when a yang stem meets a yang branch, it is called "correct print." In terms of human relationships, yin represents the mother and yang represents the father. The element that I generate is called "injury official" (伤官) when yin meets yang or yang meets yin, and "food god" (食神) when yin meets yin or yang meets yang. In terms of human relationships, these both relate to children. The element that overcomes me is called "biased official" (偏官), which is also called seven killers (七杀), and is considered a malevolent force, directly referred to as "ghost" (鬼). When a yang stem meets a yin branch or a yin branch meets a yang stem, it is called "correct official" (正官). The element that I overcome is called "wealth": when a yang stem meets a yang branch, it is called "biased wealth" (偏财); when a yang stem meets a yin branch or a yin branch meets a yang stem, it is called "correct wealth" (正财); and when a yin branch meets a yin branch, it is called "spouse wealth" (妻财). Elements of the same type are called "companions" (比肩), and can also be considered in terms of wealth: when a yang stem meets a yin branch, it is called "loss of wealth" (败财); when a yin branch meets a yin branch, it is called "robbery of wealth" (劫财); and when same type meet, it is called "brother" (兄弟). The Six Rats system uses this system to associate the deities in the lesson with the day stem in terms of human relationships, so as to determine which category the matter being divined falls into.

假如上甲子一課，其第一課日千甲木為我，而克初傳辰土，即我克也（土亦屬陽，偏財也）（甲木屬陽，而即陽見陽）。甲木生中傳巳火，即我生也（見陰傷官也，餘□此）（巳陰即陽，餘□此）。

Still using the same lesson from the Jiazi day: the first transmission's day stem (the original text says 'ri qian' which refers to the day stem) is Jia wood, which is 'I'. Jia wood overcomes the first transmission's Chen earth, which is 'I overcoming', belonging to wealth; Chen earth is yang, and Jia wood is also yang, so it is judged as 'biased wealth'. Jia wood generates the middle transmission's Si fire, which is 'I generating', belonging to the descendants' path; Si is yin in the twelve branches, and Jia wood is yang, so it is judged as 'injured official'. The relationships of the other deities with the day stem are all determined in the same way, one by one (the original text has two missing characters in the marginal notes, both meaning 'the rest are similar').

凡占事，當審其天地盤之陰陽神。凡事有陽，不能無陰，社之陰者即事之影鄉，必須參看，定其吉凶。十二神中惟貴人日夜互為陰神，其餘各有陰神。如□蛇臨天盤申字，而居地盤子位，則地盤申位上辰字，即□蛇陰神也。其餘陰神主何吉凶，盡詳占宗。

When divining any matter, one should examine the "Yang spirits" and "Yin spirits" on the Heaven Plate and Earth Plate. All worldly matters have a Yang aspect, and inevitably a Yin aspect; the Yin aspect is the shadow or influence of the matter. It is essential to refer to it in order to determine the fortune or misfortune. To find the Yin spirit, take the earthly branch where a particular Heaven Plate spirit falls, then look for the same earthly branch on the Earth Plate, and see which Heaven Plate spirit is covering it; that Heaven Plate spirit is its Yin spirit. Among the Twelve Heavenly Generals, only the Nobleman is special, with the daytime Nobleman and nighttime Nobleman being mutual Yin spirits. The other generals each have their own Yin spirits. For example, if the Teng Snake is riding on the Heaven Plate's Shen (申) position, and this Shen falls on the Earth Plate's Zi (子) position; then look at the Earth Plate's Shen position, and see which Heaven Plate spirit is covering it. If it is Chen (辰), then Chen is the Yin spirit of the Teng Snake. The Yin spirits of the other generals and their respective fortune or misfortune are detailed in the following section "Divination Categories."

第一門　第二門　第三門　第四門　第五門　第六門　第七門　第八門 鋒先　　直事　　事外　　事內　　端發　　易移　　計歸　　體變

This is a summary of the eight gates for divination, recorded in the original book's character order. The original text was written vertically from right to left, with each section containing two characters reversed. When restored, the order is as follows: the first gate is "Frontier," referring to the time; the second gate is "Direct Affairs," referring to the Month General; the third gate is "External Affairs," referring to the Day Stem; the fourth gate is "Internal Affairs," referring to the Day Branch; the fifth gate is "Origin," referring to the First Transmission; the sixth gate is "Change," referring to the Middle Transmission; the seventh gate is "Return and Calculation," referring to the Final Transmission; the eighth gate is "Variation," referring to the year and destiny. When divining a single case, one should examine these eight gates step by step, moving from the time to the year and destiny, thereby establishing the sequence of the matter's beginning, middle, and end. The following text will explain each gate in detail.

入門素：正時為先鋒。凡占事以正時為主，或為昌之德合鬼墓，或為神之刑沖破害，傳未觀，吉凶先風，故謂之先鋒。

The first rule for beginners is that the main time is called the "vanguard." Whenever you cast a divination, the main time is the first thing to consider. Check whether it is the beneficial god or the harmonious god of the day stem, or whether it has become the ghost or the burial place of the day stem (the original text says "Chang" but should be "Ri"). Then look at whether it has conflicts, oppositions, breaks, or harms with the other deities in the lesson. The three transmissions have not yet been arranged, but the signs of good or bad fortune are already revealed through the main time. That is why it is called the "vanguard."

月將為直事。凡占事以月將加正時，分四象之陰陽，別三才之生克，非神不能決禍福，非將不能取吉凶，故謂之直事。

Rule two: The month general is "straight affair," meaning the one in charge of handling matters. When divining any event, one must add the month general to the correct hour and turn out the heaven plate, thereby distinguishing the yin and yang of the four lessons and clarifying the interactions of the three heavens, earths, and humans in terms of generation and overcoming. Without the twelve earthly branches as these "spirits," one cannot determine where fortune or misfortune lies; without the month general as this "general," one cannot determine the direction of good or bad fortune. Hence, it is called "straight affair."

日千為外事。凡占事以日千為人，動作謀為皆主乎日，生剋制化皆應乎干，故謂之外事。□……故謂之內事。

Third rule: The day stem represents 'external affairs'. In all divination matters, the day stem stands for the person themselves; their actions, plans, and pursuits are all governed by the day stem. The generation, control, restriction, and transformation of energies also occur through the day stem, hence it is called 'external affairs'. The fourth rule should have explained that the day branch represents 'internal affairs', meaning the day branch stands for the family residence and the other party. All matters concerning the home, family members, and quiet or internal affairs are under the jurisdiction of the day branch. Unfortunately, the original text has a complete missing section here, leaving only the last five characters 'hence called internal affairs'. I dare not make up the missing text, so I have recorded it as it is and indicated the missing portion.

初傳為發端。凡事以初傳為應事之始，傳吉事吉，傳凶事凶，禍福之端皆叢此發，故謂之發端。中傳為移易。凡事以中傳為應事之中，如初吉而中凶者，其事其體由吉變凶；如初凶中吉，亦能由凶轉吉，故謂之移易。

Rule five: The first transmission is called "the beginning." All things start with the first transmission corresponding to the beginning of the matter. If the first transmission is auspicious, the matter will be auspicious; if the first transmission is inauspicious, the matter will be inauspicious. The initial signs of fortune or misfortune originate here, so it is called "the beginning." Rule six: The middle transmission is called "change." All things correspond to the middle transmission for the middle stage of the matter. If the first transmission is auspicious but the middle transmission is inauspicious, the nature of the matter will shift from auspicious to inauspicious; if the first transmission is inauspicious but the middle transmission is auspicious, it can shift from inauspicious to auspicious. Changes occur in the middle of the matter, and everything depends on the middle transmission, so it is called "change."

終傳為歸計。凡事以終傳為應事之終，初中雖凶而末傳若吉，事終有成；初中雖吉，末傳轉凶，事終有悔，故謂之歸計。年命為變休。凡占事以年命為事之京戲易，蓋命為一身之應，年為用事之肋。傳有一定吉凶，人有各殊年命，如傳財本吉，年命見官鬼而反凶；傳鬼本凶，年命相見子孫而成吉，故謂之變體。

Rule seven: The final transmission is called "returning to account." All things are judged by the final transmission in relation to the outcome of the matter. Even if the first and middle transmissions are ominous, if the final transmission is auspicious, the matter will ultimately succeed. Conversely, even if the first and middle transmissions are favorable, if the final transmission turns ominous, the matter will eventually leave regret. The final reckoning of the account is all here, so it is called "returning to account." Rule eight: The year and destiny are called "changing form." All divinations take the current year and one's own destiny as the pivot of change (the original text "Jingxi Yi" is a misreading of "bianyi" meaning change). One's own destiny relates to one's personal fortune and misfortune, while the current year assists in the affairs of the moment. The auspiciousness or ominousness shown by the three transmissions is fixed, but since each person's year and destiny differ, the same divination will result in different outcomes when applied to different people. For example, if the three transmissions show wealth, which is auspicious, but the person's year and destiny show officials and spirits, it turns ominous. Conversely, if the three transmissions show spirits, which is ominous, but the person's year and destiny show descendants who restrain the spirits, it turns auspicious. Therefore, it is called "changing form."