Qi Men Dun Jia Chart
Qi Men Dun Jia expands a single moment in time into a grid of nine palaces, each carrying four stacked layers of information. Its casting rules are the most involved of any Chinese metaphysical system, but every step is fully determined. This page follows the casting order.
Setting the configuration
The first step is to fix the configuration. The solar term and the head of the ten-day cycle determine whether the yang or yin sequence applies and which of the nine numbered configurations is in force. The yang sequence runs from winter solstice to summer solstice with palaces advancing forward; the yin sequence runs the other half of the year with palaces running backward.
The usual granularity is the hour, one configuration per two-hour period. Day, month and year granularities also exist and are cast on the same principles.
The earth plate
Once the configuration is fixed, six of the Heavenly Stems and the three called the Three Wonders are distributed through the nine palaces in a set order, forming the earth plate.
The earth plate does not move once laid. The heaven plate rotates with the chief. Where a heaven-plate stem and an earth-plate stem meet in the same palace, they form the single largest class of readable configurations in the system.
Nine Stars, Eight Doors, Eight Spirits
The Nine Stars rotate with the heaven plate and represent the temporal aspect of a matter.
The Eight Doors represent the human aspect, and are the layer most often read on their own. The Eight Spirits, headed by the chief, represent the hidden aspect. Three layers stacked in one palace, together with the heaven and earth stems, form the basic unit of reading.
The chief and the envoy
The chief is the star occupying the head of the current ten-day cycle, and the envoy is its corresponding door. These two are the hinge of the whole chart: the rotation of the heaven plate follows the chief, and the placement of the doors follows the envoy.
Locating them is the dividing line between having cast a chart and being able to read one. Classical treatments of Qi Men configurations almost all start from here.
How to use it
- Enter the time; the yang or yin sequence and configuration number are derived from the solar term
- The earth plate is laid, the heaven plate rotated, and the Stars, Doors and Spirits placed
- Locate the chief and the envoy, then read the configurations