Supreme Mystery

Hold one question in mind, then count the stalks four times.

What it answers
The trend of one matter.
What you need
A question held in mind.
What you get
A tetragram and its line from Tai Xuan Jing, with plain words.

Sample

中

Head 1 of 81

中。陽氣潛萌于黃宮。信無不在乎中。

Yang stirs unseen at the centre. Trust lies in holding the middle.

The nine lines

  1. 初一昆侖磅礴。幽。
  2. 次二神戰于玄。其陳陰陽。
  3. 次三龍出於中。首尾信。可以爲中庸。
  4. 次四庳虛無因。大受性命。否。
  5. 次五日正于天。利用其辰作主。
  6. 次六月闕其摶。不如開明於西。
  7. 次七酋酋。火魁頤。水包貞。
  8. 次八黃不黃。覆秋常。
  9. 上九顛靈氣形反。

The English line is our plain reading, and the nine lines stay in Chinese. An old classic, shown for culture, not advice.

Understanding the Supreme Mystery

The Tai Xuan Jing was written by Yang Xiong around the end of the Western Han as a rival to the I Ching. Where the I Ching uses two kinds of line and six places, it uses three kinds of line and four places, giving 81 heads. Sima Guang wrote a famous essay comparing the two.

How it works

  1. Set out 36 stalksThree are put aside, leaving 33. One is hung on the little finger.
  2. Divide and count by threesDivide the rest, count off by threes, and put the remainders aside. Do this twice.
  3. Read what is leftSeven threes make one, eight make two, nine make three.
  4. Do it four timesThe four numbers fill Fang, Zhou, Bu and Jia and name the head.

How to read it

  1. Read the headIt describes the state of yin and yang.
  2. Read the nine linesEach adds a stage, from first to last.
  3. Morning or eveningThe book says to use one set of lines in the morning and another in the evening, and to decide by the end.

Our method

Text
The Wikisource text of the Tai Xuan Jing.
Counting
We count real stalks as the book and Huang Zongxi’s notes describe, so the numbers come out with the true odds.
Order
Checked against Sima Guang’s essay.
English
One plain line per head. The nine lines are not translated.

Common questions

Is it like the I Ching?

It has the same aim, with a different structure.

Why three kinds of line?

Yang Xiong built it on threes: heaven, earth and man.

Is my result saved?

No.

Sources

  • Tai Xuan Jing, Wikisource.
  • Sima Guang, Shuo Xuan, Wikisource.
  • Huang Zongxi, Yi Xue Xiang Shu Lun, Wikisource.