Chapter 6 of 48
子平真诠评注
Ancient texts often state that a day stem is strong (旺相) when it is in season (得令) and weak (衰败) when it is out of season (失令). While this is a fundamental principle, it is also a rigid approach that requires flexible interpretation. The energy of the Five Elements (metal, wood, water, fire, earth) flows continuously through the four seasons. Although each season has a dominant element, the other elements are also present. For example, in spring, the wood element is in season, making the Jia and Yi wood stems strong. However, the dormant Wu and Ji earth stems do not disappear entirely; they merely retreat to a secondary position and cannot take the lead. In reality, spring earth can still nourish all things, and winter sunlight continues to shine on the earth 🌱.
Xu Yuewu's Note: The energy of the Five Elements is always present in the four seasons, differing only in their states of prosperity (旺), growth (相), rest (休), and imprisonment (囚). For instance, wood is prosperous in spring, but metal, water, fire, and earth are not extinct—they are merely out of season. Among them, fire, as the nascent energy, is in a latent period but already has a burgeoning momentum, referred to as "growth" (相). Metal and earth, though in a state of extremity, are on the verge of revival. Water, as the recently receded energy, is in a resting phase (refer to the Chart of Yin-Yang, Growth, and Decline). Even when not in season, their functions never disappear. This is akin to retired soldiers or officials who, though withdrawn to rural life, retain their capabilities and can still be effective when called upon. Therefore, one cannot disregard them simply because they are out of season.
Moreover, although the month branch (月令) is crucial in the Eight Characters, the states of prosperity, growth, rest, and imprisonment are influenced by the comprehensive interplay of the four pillars (year, month, day, hour), which can amplify or diminish their effects. Thus, even if the birth month is out of season, if the year or hour pillar is in a position of禄旺 (lù wàng, prosperity and power), how can one simply conclude weakness? It cannot be generalized. For example, spring wood may be strong, but if metal is too heavy (with Geng or Xin stems appearing in the heavenly stems and You or Chou branches in the earthly branches), and there is no fire to restrain metal, the wood will be endangered. If earth appears to produce metal, it may even lead to premature demise. This is an example of being in season but not strong. Conversely, autumn wood may be weak, but if the wood has deep roots (with Jia or Yi stems in the heavenly stems and Yin or Mao branches in the earthly branches), it can withstand the official star (官星) if it appears, and encountering water to produce wood may lead to excess. This is an example of being out of season but not weak.
The four terms—prosperity (旺), decline (衰), strength (强), and weakness (弱)—are often used interchangeably in ancient fate analysis. However, they must be distinguished:
Thus, there are cases of being prosperous but not strong, or declined but not weak. For example, Jia or Yi wood born in Yin or Mao months is prosperous due to being in season. However, if Geng or Xin stems appear in the heavenly stems and You or Chou branches in the earthly branches, metal has strong support while wood has little. If Bing or Ding stems appear in the heavenly stems and Si or Wu branches in the earthly branches, fire has strong support, and wood is overly drained of energy. Although in season, it is not strong. Conversely, Jia or Yi wood born in Shen or You months is declined due to being out of season. However, if there are overlapping比劫 and印绶, and the year, day, or hour branches have roots or印绶, it has strong support and is not weak despite being out of season. This principle applies not only to the day master but also to favorable and unfavorable elements.
Therefore, regardless of whether the Ten Heavenly Stems are in rest or imprisonment in the month branch, as long as they have roots in the four pillars, they can withstand wealth, official, and food gods, as well as resist hurtful officials and seven killings. The weight of roots is graded:
One比劫 in the heavenly stems is not as good as one tomb库 in the earthly branches; two比劫 are not as good as one residual energy; three比劫 are not as good as one longevity or禄刃 (lù rèn, prosperity and blade). Yin longevity (e.g., Yi wood encountering Wu, Ding fire encountering You) is not considered a heavy root but can be compared to residual energy.比劫 is like help from friends, while roots are like family foundation; having many heavenly stems is not as good as having heavy roots—this is a natural principle 🔥🌊.
Xu Yuewu's Note: This section is exquisitely argued. Tomb库 is the tomb of the element itself (Wei is the tomb of wood, Xu of fire, Chen of water, Chou of metal) and cannot be used interchangeably; the same applies to residual energy (Chen is residual wood, Wei is residual fire, Xu is residual metal, Chou is residual water). For example, within twelve days after Qingming, Yi wood is still in command, and its root energy is not light. After the earth becomes prosperous, it becomes lighter but still equivalent to one比劫. Yi wood encountering Xu or Ding fire encountering Chou are not their own tomb库 or residual energy and cannot be considered roots. As for Yin longevity (e.g., Yi Wu, Ding You), it is actually a place of death—how can it be a root? This is a contradiction in common sayings.比劫 provides assistance but not roots, making it floating and insubstantial. For example, four Xin Mao (metal without roots) or four Bing Shen (fire without roots) may have unity in the heavenly stems but are still considered weak. In summary, many heavenly stems are not as important as heavy earthly branches, and among roots, the month branch root is the most significant.
Nowadays, people who do not understand fate analysis often conclude that summer water or winter fire is weak without checking for roots. Some even mistakenly believe that Yang stems encountering tomb库 (e.g., Ren encountering Chen, Bing sitting in Xu) require冲 (clash) to open the tomb库. This is a fallacy that must be eradicated. Fate analysis includes systems like Five Stars and Liu Ren, but Zi Ping uses the Five Elements to assess fate, and all changes revolve around this core. By balancing with reason, fallacies can be naturally dispelled ⛰🌬.
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