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Chapter 32 of 39
Wu Xing Da Yi — Great Meaning of the Five Elements
Overall Paraphrased Translation
Deities are dynamic, intelligent, and omnipresent beings, elusive and unpredictable 🌫. Confucius once said: "The essence of yang condenses to form deities," and also: "The unfathomable phenomena of yin and yang transformations are called deities." Another interpretation suggests: "神 (shén)" means "申 (shēn)"—while all things have physical forms that cause obstruction and bending, deities are the ethereal essence of qi 🌬, unimpeded and free-flowing, hence the term "申." To delve deeper into deities, their names and categories are vast. The principles of the Three Realms (Heaven, Earth, and Humanity) and the myriad spirits all arise from the Five Elements and are too numerous to fully describe. Here, only those deities corresponding to the Five Elements and capable of discerning auspicious and inauspicious signs are discussed.
According to the Di Xi Pu (帝系谱), at the beginning of heaven and earth, the Heavenly Sovereign (天皇) appeared first, ruling with the virtue of wood 🌱; the San Wu Li Ji (三五历纪) states that the Heavenly Sovereign had thirteen heads. The Di Xi Pu also records the Earthly Sovereign (地皇) ruling with the virtue of fire 🔥; the San Wu Li Ji describes the Earthly Sovereign as an eleven-headed divine being. The Chun Qiu Ming Li Xu (春秋命曆序) mentions the Human Sovereign (人皇) with nine heads, and Song Jun’s commentary explains that this actually refers to nine brothers; the Dong Ji (洞纪) states that the Human Sovereign divided and ruled the nine provinces. The ancients used simple language, so the number of heads referred to the number of people. Tao Huayang said: The Three Sovereigns governed the Ziwei Palace, and their essence transformed into the Heavenly Sovereign Great Emperor (天皇太帝). The Shi Ji (世记) records: The Heavenly Sovereign Great Emperor is named Yao Po Bao (曜魄宝), the Earthly Sovereign is Tian Yi (天一), and the Human Sovereign is Tai Yi (太一). The Gan Gong Xing Jing (甘公星经) states: The Heavenly Sovereign Great Emperor holds the Chart of Ten Thousand Deities, a star within Gou Chen named Yao Po Bao, the ancestor of the Five Emperors. Tian Yi and Tai Yi govern "serving deities" (承神, where "承" means to serve); two stars outside the Ziwei Palace gate are both attendant stars. The Heavenly Sovereign Great Emperor and Tian Yi govern warfare and discern auspicious and inauspicious signs: on days of Jia, Wu, Geng, and Ren, they govern the Jade Hall Palace; on days of Yi, Ji, and Xin, they govern the Bright Hall Palace; on days of Bing, Ding, and Gui, they govern the Crimson Palace—collectively known as the Three Palaces. Tai Yi governs wind, rain, floods, droughts, war, famine, plagues, and disasters, and dispatches sixteen deities to patrol the Nine Palaces. Tian Yi nurtures all things, while Tai Yi inspects calamities; both are ministers of the Heavenly Emperor.
Zheng Xuan’s commentary on the Qian Zao Du (乾凿度) states: Tai Yi is the name of the North Star deity. When residing in its original position, it is called the Great Emperor; when traveling between the eight trigrams and celestial stems, it is called Tai Yi or Tian Yi. It moves beyond the Ziwei Palace, and its star is named accordingly. Tian Yi’s travels resemble an emperor’s inspection tours, with rulers following its path and returning after each visit. Tai Yi passes through the eight trigram palaces, entering the center at the end of each season. The grand division of celestial numbers follows yang emerging and yin entering: yang begins at Zi, yin begins at Wu. Thus, Tai Yi’s descent through the Nine Palaces starts from the Kan Palace. The Jiu Gong Jing (九宫经) states: Tian Yi begins its journey in the Li Palace, while Tai Yi starts in the Kan Palace. Tian Yi governs abundance, while Tai Yi governs floods, droughts, war, and famine. Together, they form twelve deities patrolling the Nine Palaces and twelve positions, increasing in number from few to many.
The Liu Ren Shi Jing (六壬式经) records: Among the twelve divine generals, Tian Yi is the chief. On days of Jia, Wu, and Geng, it governs Da Ji (大吉) at dawn and Xiao Ji (小吉) at dusk; on days of Yi and Ji, it governs Shen Hou (神后) at dawn and Chuan Song (传送) at dusk; on days of Bing and Ding, it governs Wei Ming (微明) at dawn and Cong Kui (从魁) at dusk; on days of the six Xin, it governs Sheng Xian (胜先) at dawn and Gong Cao (功曹) at dusk; on days of Ren and Gui, it governs Tai Yi (太一) at dawn and Da Chong (大冲) at dusk. These are Tian Yi and Tai Yi outside the Ziwei Palace gate, not the North Star Great Emperor within Ziwei. Zheng Xuan’s commentary is incorrect.
The sixteen deities of Tai Yi include:
The Nine Palaces and twelve deities include:
Additionally, Qing Long travels through the twelve celestial stems, known as the name of Tai Sui (太岁). In ancient times, the year was called Qing Long, governing blessings and celebrations. Tai Yin moves once every three years, traveling rightward through the twelve stems. It is the yin deity of Tai Sui, symbolizing the empress, governing rain, yin secrets, and harmful qi. It moves rightward through the four孟 (first months of the seasons), shifting once per year, bringing harm wherever it goes.
The Xuan Nv Shi Jing (玄女拭经) records the twelve deities of Liu Ren:
Their name interpretations:
The twelve deities’ governance:
The twelve generals:
The nine deities of Dun Jia (遁甲):
All nine deities are prefixed with "Tian" (天) and suffixed with "Zi" (子), as they belong to the Big Dipper and are subordinate to heaven; "Zi" is an honorific. Confucius’s Yuan Chen records that the seven stars of the Big Dipper all have divine names ending with "Zi," such as Xi Shen Zi (希神子) and Zhen Wen Zi (贞文子). The Chun Qiu Zuo Zhu Qi (春秋佐助期) records the names and surnames of the seven star deities, which are associated with human fate; chanting them is believed to bring blessings.
The Huang Di Ba Shen Tu (黄帝八神图) records the eight emissary deities:
Women in childbirth should avoid facing these eight deities. These are also deities of the Nine Palaces, wandering without fixed positions, so their timing and palace positions vary. As the eight trigrams correspond to the Five Elements, this record is appended here. The methods of divination for each deity have separate annotations and are not detailed here. As for the sun, moon, stars, wind, rain, thunder, lightning, mountains, rivers, lakes, wells, hearths, gates, and deities within the human body, their names and numbers are vast and hold no distinct meaning in relation to the Five Elements, so they are not elaborated. Deities used in divination, such as those involving yearly and monthly cycles or seasonal transitions, are also not discussed. The deities mentioned above form the framework of divination and the essential principles of the Three Realms, hence their sequential description.
Ancient systems constructed multi-layered frameworks of deities and spirits (e.g., twelve deities, nine palace deities, Dun Jia deities) to couple astronomy, geography, human affairs, and the Five Elements with celestial stems and earthly branches. This formed a cosmological framework for interpreting the operation of all things and predicting auspicious and inauspicious signs. Deities are essentially symbolic expressions of energy nodes or information interfaces.
Deity systems reflect the ancient philosophy of "天人感应" (heaven-human resonance): the universe is an organic whole where the local and the global are holographically connected. Though this thinking differs from modern scientific paradigms, it represents an early exploration of complexity, and its holistic perspective is worth pondering.
Note: This chapter focuses on classifying deities and summarizing their functions, without specific Bazi case studies, hence no component tags are inserted. Practical application requires analysis based on specific stem-branch sequences and personal命盘.