易隐卷一

Yi Yin (The Obscure Classic of Changes), Volume One

Complete Paraphrased Translation

Yi Yin, Volume One · Divination of Personal Fate

Compiled by Cao Jiuxi, styled Younanzi of Eastern Yue, and expounded by his son Cao Xuan, an erudite retired scholar.

General Principles of Life-Fate Divination

In divining one's life and fate, there are three key levels: the World (Shi) line, the Body (Shen) line (monthly hexagram body), and the Life-Destiny (Benming) line.

First, examine the Life-Destiny line. For example, for someone born in the year of Jiazi, the natal destiny belongs to Zi (Rat). It is most auspicious if the destiny line appears in the hexagram. If the destiny line generates and combines with the World and Body lines, it indicates a life of comfortable sustenance and provision. If the Officer, Horse, Virtue, or Nobleman stars accompany and support the World, Body, and Destiny lines, it indicates prosperity and distinction. If the World line holds Wealth, Salary, Green Dragon, or Joy spirits, there will be the delight of fields and estates 🌱. If Salary is void and Wealth is lost, and the Year, Month, Day, and Hour clash, punish, overcome, or harm the World, Body, and Destiny lines, then food and clothing will be insufficient, bringing toil and hardship.

If the World, Body, or Destiny lines encounter Officer Ghost with the Broken Fragment star, it indicates physical disfigurement. If compounded by Robber Slaughter, Goat Blade, Heavenly Punishment, or Great Calamity stars, the person will bear a disability. If the Hidden Ghost, Transformed Ghost, or a moving Ghost clashes, punishes, overcomes, or harms the World, Body, or Destiny lines, the same applies.

If the Year Star (Tai Sui) and the Great and Minor Limits generate and combine with the Body, World, and Destiny lines, it is auspicious; if they clash, punish, overcome, or harm them, it is inauspicious. When the Four Direct Stars (Year, Month, Day, Hour) at the time of divination generate and combine with the World, Body, and Destiny lines, it is auspicious; when they clash, punish, overcome, or harm them, it is inauspicious (per Master Guan's formula, tested with Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches alike).

If the World, Body, and Destiny lines hide Wealth or Blessing, or transform into Wealth or Blessing, it is auspicious. If they hide Sibling or Ghost or transform into Sibling or Ghost, the family fortune melts away. If they hide Parent or transform into Parent, wealth sources fluctuate indecisively, causing mental exhaustion. If the Death Spirit coincides with the Tomb, sorrow immediately follows. If one enters the Tomb with the Officer, disasters and entanglements ensue. If the Ghost harms the Body, one suffers through wealth and lust. If the World line is broken by the month, premature death is indicated. If the Year star clashes the Body position, illness and affliction are certain.

Furthermore, those with Metal destiny fear the Water-Fire Ghost but not the Wood-Earth Ghost. Those with Wood destiny fear the Metal-Fire Ghost but not the Water-Earth Ghost. Those with Water destiny fear the Wood-Earth Ghost but not the Metal-Fire Ghost. Those with Fire destiny fear the Water-Earth Ghost but not the Wood-Metal Ghost. Those with Earth destiny fear the Wood-Metal Ghost but not the Water-Fire Ghost.

Master Guan's Formula on Fortune Periods: The elderly should enter the Tomb stage; the young should not. In years of Death or Tomb, one attracts lawsuits and mourning garments. In years of Embryo or Nurture, livestock will multiply in herds. The Grand Viability (Diwang) stage greatly favors advancement. The Bath stage inevitably brings litigation. The Bonnet stage favors auspicious spirits and dislikes clash and overcome. The Official stage is an ominous star; it most appreciates support. In Decline, meeting Viability brings success; in Illness, meeting Birth brings peace. One who finds "Life in Extinction" prospers; one whose "Tomb is broken" flourishes. Once the Director Officer prospers, one can achieve glory. The Year Star delights in combining with the Destiny but dislikes clashing it; the Year Star loves generating the Fortune period but fears overcoming it. When clash and combination coincide, punishment and injury are certain.

[Translator's note: Master Guan's oral formula for Life-Fate primarily uses Nayan (musical note) attributes. For example, those born in Jiazi or Yichou years have Nayan Metal and are Metal destiny. This is matched with fortune periods and the flow of the Year Star, using the Growth-Birth sequence to determine fortune and misfortune. This differs from other texts that use the birth-year branch as the Destiny line. Included here as supplementary material.]

Gui Gu's Allocation of Lines: The First line concerns hidden reclusion, the Second line planning and action, the Third line achievement and advancement, the Fourth line establishment, the Fifth line maturation, the Sixth line embryonic nourishment. Whenever an allocated line carries auspicious spirits and is vigorous without harm, and generates and combines with the Body, World, or Destiny lines, that is where one finds success. If the line is weak, carries malevolent omens, or is injured, or clashes, punishes, overcomes, or harms the Body, World, or Destiny lines, that represents times of frustration and loss.

Another formula from Master Guan: When the First and Second lines are vigorous and strong, wealth arrives upon birth; when the Third and Fourth lines are weak, middle age is troubled; when the Fifth and Sixth lines flourish, old age brings glory.

The Eight Essential Considerations

In divining one's life circumstance, there are eight key considerations: Ancestral fortune governs the Great Image; rank and status are seen in the World line's position; strength and gentleness are seen in Yin-Yang; the Six Relatives are seen in the Employed Spirit; nobility and baseness, wealth and poverty are seen in the stars and omens; fortune and misfortune are seen in the Six Spirits; auspiciousness is seen in the Three Limits; one's rise is seen in the Year Star.

I. The Great Image — Family Heritage

The Great Image represents the foundation at birth. When the Great Image is vigorous, the family flourished at the time of birth; when it is weak, one's resources at birth were meager. Therefore, if a hidden hexagram lacks the original Image from its own palace, there can be no ancestral estate. If both the Image and the line are vigorous, it is a complete and perfect fortune.

Appendix: The Eight Trigrams' Seasonal Vitality Table

II. The World Line & Rank

Whenever the World line carries Nobleman, Horse, Virtue, or Harmony stars (derived from the Four Direct Pillars), accompanied by Dragon or Joy spirits, and is vigorous and properly positioned, it indicates wealth and honor. If it faces banishment, ruin, punishment, blade, or White Tiger, and is punished, harmed, or overcome, especially in Death, Tomb, Absolute, or Embryo stages, then unless rescued by Blessing or Liberation spirits, the person will be poor, base, and without achievement. Difficulty will trouble the World line; when vigorous it brings illness, when weak it brings death. If the Day Star or moving lines of the day overcome it, one might escape death but lifelong efforts will rarely succeed.

An Important Outline of Life-Fate: The World fears weakness and repose; the Body should thrive and flourish. It delights in generation combined with harmony; it fears harmony met with clash. Wealth and honor come when others generate me; poverty and baseness when I generate others. Prominence comes when the Officer star is well-situated; glory when the Seal (Parent) star finds its proper house. A storehouse of ten thousand gold coins merely means the Wealth star is settled; four bare walls result from an overabundant Sibling. When the World enters the Tomb, one's lifelong pursuits meet with opposition. When both the hexagram Body lines move, one's life fluctuates without constancy. If the World overcomes a resting Wealth, though rich, one is not wealthy. If the Body injures a fading Ghost, though official, one is not high-ranking. Dragon-Ghost supporting the Body: fame and success in one's ambitions. Serpent-Son at the World: one's career prospers as desired. If the World moves over Water into Dragon-Brother, obtaining a son early, youthful success comes swiftly. Metal-Tiger-Wealth in the void harms the wife; glory arrives late in life. Officer thriving without Wealth: only momentary riches and honor. Wealth rising with Ghost missing: only transient glory. Wealth within the inner trigram but absent from the outer: rich first, poor later. Inner trigram lacking Wealth but outer having it: poor first, rich later. Officer line flourishing and transforming into Tomb or Embryo (Embryo being a lesser Tomb): noble at first, base later. Officer dying or extinguished transform into vigor: base first, glorious after. Six Clashes render all affairs illusory; Six Harmonies make everything stable and secure. Original and changed both exhibiting Six Clashes: no tooth will be lost without achieving a single thing. Earlier clashes and later harmony: a lifetime of glory and comfort. World strong without support: one sustains oneself alone. World weak with support: one is raised by others. To know who bullies, observe which line overcomes the World. To know who protects, observe that which supports the Body. Day and Hour supporting and combining: one remarkably profits from those in small positions. Year and Month clashing and overcoming: one often incurs the displeasure of superiors. One step forward: Sibling transforms into Wealth. One step back: Wealth transforms into Sibling. Year after year of peace: only when Descendants meet Officer and Horse. Month after month of comfort: certainly when Element brings Green Dragon. Debased Earth (contracted): no fields. Parent void: no dwelling place. World clashes Parents: deprivation of both parents in childhood. World combines with document (Parent) throughout life, signifying long life gifted by those above. Descendant void: infertility. Wealth void: widowerhood. Ghost void: widowhood. Sibling void: power but no use alone. This covers lifelong prognostication.

For annual fortune and misfortunes, decide based on whether the Four Pillars (Year, Month, Day, Hour) generate, combine with, clash, or overcome the World line As, such: When the Four Star time periods bring Wealth to generate and combine with the World, there will certainly be increases of wealth and advancement. After bring blessings (Descendants, joy, etc.), there will be celebratory events of childbirth, marriage or love affairs: Coming along with good or preserving connections involving friends to embrace assistance: These may involve superiors or patrons' escalation: officials requiring noble patrons perhaps: Enjoy promotions e.t.c among official affairs interestingly significant: Pre-established connections arise if wealth clashes and overcomes the World, disasters arise from coveting the wealth of seductive relationships. Blessing spirits that harm the World cause debauchery-illness when World is robust and result in death by wanton indulgences when in decline. If Blessing transforms into Ghost;or conversely such with original procedures joining via lineage lines official letters then laws of debauched cases certainly appear; separating into 'wine' belonging to dragons and 'amorous female' encountered would lie in marine. Sibling elements harming the World signify arbitration cases involving assets. Parent elements harming World suggest respectable leadership plus homes manifest hazards spawning by ancestral land of graves, transportation crafts common problems faced overall might interpret imminent outcomes necessarily involving officer-guidance elements setting governing decrees over whom we know not. With spirits becoming the Ghost supporting circumstances; to fixed concerns resort: year he attributes verdict: likewise active guiding provinces maintain without standing. At an entire realm missing attributes while possibly static ghost four-primary aligned functions consider each by positions adopting six spirits names. Duration depends framing; official conditions surrounding that attribute standard sets within operating initial during that significant named scale component covering respectively calendar days displayed whole within interim monthly phases filling seasonal localized exactly as designated known at given today appropriate immediate frames enclosing ordinary concern below precluding absent year marks. Right omens present good or malevolent, determines impacts through station specific via six categories; spirit phases explain allocation sets: water branch generating spring blessings .— met actual days normally settled automatically whence textual specification suggests it means seasons matched under recurring planetary instances within division into general categories sets matters

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