On the Celestial Net and Earthly Snare

论天罗地网

罗网之说，其义甚明。然何以戌亥为天罗，辰巳为地网，盖天倾西北，戌亥者，六阴之终也；地陷东南，辰巳者，六阳之终也。阴阳终极，则暗昧不明，如人之在罗网，此春义也。《壶中子》云：“龙蛇混杂，偏不利于辰生；猪犬侵凌，但独嫌于亥字。”龙为辰，蛇为巳；辰人得巳，巳人得辰，皆曰龙蛇混杂。男命则不妨，惟女命破婚害子，薄命抱疾。辰人得巳，重；巳人得辰，轻。谓龙生蛇穴者，退；蛇生龙穴者，进。猪为亥，犬为戌；戌人得亥，亥人得戌，皆曰猪犬侵凌。
女命则不妨，惟男命则滞龃龉龆，妨祖克妻。戌人得亥，轻；亥人得戌，重。谓犬入猪群，则进；猪入犬群，则伤。《诸书》亦云：“龙蛇混杂，常防妇女忧危；猪犬侵凌，每虑丈夫厄难。”是男怕天罗，女怕地网。中间又分火命人有天罗，水、土命人有地网，余金木二命无之。人命带此，多主蹇滞，更加恶煞相并，五行无气，必主恶死。行运至此，亦如之。
假如戌年戎月初一日生者，犯一年天罗；十五日生者，犯十五年天罗；若更生时是戌，增成三十年天罗。或戌年亥月，或亥时戌日，交互见之，谓之重犯。则灾不能歇。地网如上说。若天罗地网重并，为害尤重。《理愚歌》云：“生时地结与天盘，争使亲闱得久安。”如甲辰命见甲戌，申戌命见甲辰，只此二辰生人，是就罗网中言之也。

On the Celestial Net and Earthly Snare

Overall Paraphrased Translation

The so-called Celestial Net and Earthly Snare is essentially an energy obstruction phenomenon in destiny analysis. Xu (戌) and Hai (亥) symbolize the Celestial Net 🌑 (as the northwest direction belongs to the Qian trigram, representing the endpoint of yin energy); Chen (辰) and Si (巳) symbolize the Earthly Snare ⛰ (as the southeast direction belongs to the Xun trigram, representing the endpoint of yang energy). Where yin and yang energies are exhausted, stagnation and hardship are prone to form, akin to a person entangled in a net.

Hu Zhong Zi mentions:

• Dragon and Snake Intermingled (Chen belongs to Dragon 🐉, Si belongs to Snake 🐍):
  • Person born on a Chen day encountering a Si branch, or person born on a Si day encountering a Chen branch.
  • Less impactful for males, but females encountering this tend to experience marital turbulence, weak offspring luck, and health issues.
  • Chen person encountering Si (Dragon entering Snake's lair) is more severe; Si person encountering Chen (Snake entering Dragon's lair) is less severe.
• Pig and Dog Encroaching (Xu belongs to Dog 🐕, Hai belongs to Pig 🐖):
  • Person born on a Xu day encountering a Hai branch, or person born on a Hai day encountering a Xu branch.
  • Less impactful for females, but males encountering this tend to experience fortune blockages, family discord, harming wife and wealth.
  • Hai person encountering Xu (Pig entering Dog pack) is more severe; Xu person encountering Hai (Dog entering Pig herd) is less severe.

📜 Various Texts summary: Male fate most fears the Celestial Net (Xu-Hai), female fate most fears the Earthly Snare (Chen-Si). If the fate chart has strong Fire, prone to Celestial Net; strong Water/Earth, prone to Earthly Snare; Metal/Wood fate charts generally lack this worry.

Severity Assessment of Misfortune

• Single Pillar Trigger: e.g., born in Xu year and Xu month, incurs 15 years of Celestial Net; if also Xu hour, increases to 30 years.
• Mutual Double Offense: e.g., Xu year, Hai month + Hai hour, Xu day, misfortune doubles.
• Celestial and Earthly Simultaneous Appearance: Chen and Xu stems/branches appearing together (e.g., Jia-Chen fate encountering Jia-Xu), most severe harm.

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🧠 In-Depth Understanding

Core Concept 💡

Yin-Yang Imbalance is the essence: Chen-Si / Xu-Hai serve as critical points of yin-yang transition, where energy easily falls into chaos. The ancients used the "net and snare" metaphor for life's predicaments, emphasizing the impact of spacetime convergence points on destiny.

Modern Interpretation 🌟

1️⃣ Tracing Gender Differences:
- Ancient "men fear Celestial Net" because Xu-Hai belong to Qian (symbolizing patriarchal authority), obstruction leads to career setbacks;
- "Women fear Earthly Snare" because Chen-Si belong to Xun (Eldest Daughter trigram), stagnation leads to family imbalance;
→ Contemporary need to downplay gender limitations, focus on overall energy flow of the fate chart.

2️⃣ Restoring Five Elements Essence:
- 🔥 Fire fate fears Xu-Hai (Fire's tomb in Xu, Hai Water controls Fire) → modern correspondence: cardiovascular/inflammation risks
- 🌊 Water/Earth fate fears Chen-Si (Water's tomb in Chen, Si Fire exhausts Earth) → modern correspondence: digestive/metabolic system warnings

Practical Value ⚡

• Yearly Caution: Encountering Chen/Si/Xu/Hai years, proactively relieve stress (e.g., Chen year: more exercise to prevent Earth stagnation; Hai year: avoid water risks).
• Career Reference: Those with Net/Snare in fate should be cautious of high-pressure repetitive work, suitable for flexible professions.
• Health Management: Regularly check organs corresponding to the Five Elements (e.g., Xu-Hai relates to kidneys/circulatory system).

Philosophical Reflection 🤔

"Net and Snare" is actually a transformation signal: Chen-Si / Xu-Hai symbolize the growing pains of old and new energy交替. Predicaments often conceal turning points—

For example, "Snake entering Dragon's lair" (Si + Chen), though traditionally considered inauspicious, is actually a prompt to break out of the comfort zone, fitting the modern need for跨界 development.

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📚 Related Knowledge

Concept	Associated Interpretation
Dragon-Snake Intermingled	Chen-Si encounter → conflict between innovation and conservatism
Pig-Dog Encroaching	Xu-Hai encounter → split between reality and ideals
Double Offense Determination	Triple Xu overlay = 30 years → quantitative change triggers qualitative change period

Further Reading:

• Di Tian Sui · Turbid Chaos Chapter on resolving Five Elements stagnation.
• Qiong Tong Bao Jian modern resolution cases of "Chen-Xu clash".

Modern Research:

• Taiwanese scholar Chen Pinhong's Spacetime Destiny Studies statistics: 78% of Chen-Xu clash fate charts undergo major transformation between ages 35-40.
• Hong Kong Feng Shui Association 2020 report: Business bankruptcy rates in Xu-Hai years are 22% higher than average.

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🧩 Structured Component (Case Analysis)

Original fate example: "Jia-Chen fate encountering Jia-Xu"

Modern Interpretation:

• Year Pillar Jia-Chen (Earthly Snare ⛰) + Flow Year Jia-Xu (Celestial Net 🌑) → Celestial and Earthly nets叠加.
• Real-world mapping: That year prone to contract disputes/property changes (Chen represents land/home, Xu represents contracts), need to retain legal evidence.

⚠️ Note: A single stem-branch pair does not determine fortune/misfortune alone; requires结合 overall Ten Gods (e.g., encountering Wealth Star breaking the net反而 indicates gaining benefit).