Low-Key Feng Shui Guide (Part Two): Converting the Square and Circle Diagrams and Usage Tips
" 2019-08-08. Illustrations omitted.
When a reading is taken from a compass instrument, if it cannot be promptly converted into feng shui data notation, it becomes difficult to judge feng shui quickly. This article discusses tips for rapid conversion.
First, regarding mils: if a general compass uses the 6400-mil system, things become very simple — each mil corresponds to one square-and-circle hexagram.
Feng shui directional notation uses, besides the twenty-four mountains, the sixty-four hexagrams. Converting celestial-circuit degrees to hexagram positions is usually the most troublesome task. Ordinary luopans conveniently mark this out — but how can one obtain this quickly from a compass?
Taking a compass with the 6400-mil scale as an example.
1. Converting the sixty-four hexagrams
If you still remember the article "Understanding the Principles of Xuan Kong Da Gua Feng Shui Li Qi in Ten Minutes", you should have a deep impression of the diagram in it:
Convert this diagram.
In practice, starting from 0 degrees, arrange Earth-Thunder Return (Fu), Mountain-Thunder Nourishment (Yi), Water-Thunder Initiation (Tun), Wind-Thunder Increase (Yi), Zhen, Fire-Thunder Biting (Shike), Lake-Thunder Following (Sui), Heaven-Thunder Innocence (Wuwang).
That is to say, between 0 and 800 mils, each 100 mils corresponds to one hexagram — exactly eight hexagrams, all with Zhen as the lower trigram.
The upper trigrams actually go counter-clockwise: the eighth hexagrams are formed by matching the lower trigram with the Earlier-Heaven Eight Trigrams in the order Qian 1, Dui 2, Li 3, Zhen 4, Xun 5, Kan 6, Gen 7, Kun 8.
In other words, if viewed clockwise, the Earlier-Heaven Eight Trigrams are arranged in reverse and superimposed on the Zhen trigram. Why? Because from Zhen to Qian, yang is born, so the Earlier-Heaven Eight Trigrams are counted in reverse — in the order Kun, Gen, Kan, Xun, Zhen, Li, Dui, Qian.
Then we arrive at the Li trigram; because Li is yang, the Earlier-Heaven Eight Trigrams are arranged forward according to trigram order — Earth-Fire Darkening (Mingyi), Mountain-Fire Grace (Bi)… Hexagrams 8 through 16 similarly reverse-arrange the Earlier-Heaven Eight Trigrams in the order Kun, Gen, Kan, Xun, Zhen, Li, Dui, Qian.
Then we arrive at the Dui trigram. Reverse-arranging the Earlier-Heaven Eight Trigrams in the order Kun, Gen, Kan, Xun, Zhen, Li, Dui, Qian yields Lake-Earth Approach (Lin), Mountain-Lake Decrease (Sun), Water-Lake Limitation (Jie)…
From Zhen to Qian, it is all the place where yang is born, so the Earlier-Heaven Eight Trigrams are reverse-arranged; from Xun to Kun, they are similarly arranged forward according to the Earlier-Heaven sequence.
This is actually very easy to understand: "Heaven-qi descends."
The qi of heaven and earth comes and goes — heaven-qi descends, earth-qi rises; when heaven and earth unite, all things are born.
So because heaven-qi descends, whether to the left or to the right, the trigram sequence of the Earlier-Heaven Eight Trigrams is arranged from top to bottom.
In other words, although the cycle runs from Zhen to Qian, past Xun to Kun, with small ascents and descents repeating, throughout this cyclical process the larger heavenly-qi still descends from above — and this constitutes the sixty-four hexagram sequence.
Once this principle is understood, calculation becomes very simple: from the hexagram sequence one can quickly determine the hexagram indicated.
Mils
Lower trigram: divide the mils by 8. Quotient 0 gives Zhen, 1 gives Li, 2 gives Dui, 3 gives Qian, 4 gives Xun, 5 gives Kan, 6 gives Gen, 7 gives Kun.
If pure memorization is inconvenient, one can use the fingers to count the Nine Palaces, starting the count from the Zhen position at 0.
Upper trigram: if the mils are less than 32, divide by 8 and take the remainder, then subtract from 8; the resulting number gives the corresponding Earlier-Heaven trigram. If the mils are greater than or equal to 32, take the remainder of dividing by 8, add 1, and use that in the Earlier-Heaven Eight Trigrams.
Example: mils between 15 and 16:
1. 15 divided by 8 gives 1 — the lower trigram is Li.
2. 15 divided by 8 again, remainder 7; since less than 32, 8 − 7 = 1 — the upper trigram is Qian.
3. The hexagram is Heaven-Fire Fellowship (Tongren).
2. 15 divided by 8 again, remainder 7; since less than 32, 8 − 7 = 1 — the upper trigram is Qian.
3. The hexagram is Heaven-Fire Fellowship (Tongren).
Mils between 63 and 0:
1. 63 divided by 8 gives 7 — the lower trigram is Kun.
2. 63 divided by 8, remainder 7; greater than 32, add 1 → Kun — the upper trigram is Kun.
3. The hexagram is Kun.
2. 63 divided by 8, remainder 7; greater than 32, add 1 → Kun — the upper trigram is Kun.
3. The hexagram is Kun.
This kind of calculation is still a bit cumbersome and easy to jumble. Is there a better method?
One can convert to using the Nine Palaces diagram directly, with counting assisted on the palm.
If the mils are less than 32, fly-count the remainder positions in reverse from the Kun position.
If the mils are greater than 32, fly-count the remainder positions forward from the Qian position.
If the mils are greater than 32, fly-count the remainder positions forward from the Qian position.
This solves the problem:
1. Divide the mils by 8; on the palm, count clockwise starting from the Zhen hexagram — whichever position you reach is the lower trigram.
2. Take the remainder of mils divided by 8; if the mils are less than 32, count in reverse from Kun; if greater than or equal to 32, count from Qian — this gives the upper trigram.
2. Take the remainder of mils divided by 8; if the mils are less than 32, count in reverse from Kun; if greater than or equal to 32, count from Qian — this gives the upper trigram.
2. Converting the twenty-four mountains
Converting the twenty-four mountains is also fairly simple. The trick is not to directly read and convert celestial-circuit degrees, which is extremely cumbersome. Instead, look at the compass and repeatedly apply binary search — at most three steps will yield the result.
As long as one simply remembers the eight cardinal directions, this is very easy.
0, 90, 135, 180, 225, 270, 315, 360 correspond respectively to the eight cardinal positions — Zi, Gen, Mao, Xun, Wu, Kun, You, Qian. Within ±7.5 degrees of these eight cardinal angles is the Heavenly Origin, also the Parent trigrams, the location of the upright qi of heaven and earth.
Pay special attention: the mil value of the dividing lines corresponding to these eight cardinal angles must be a whole number, and must always be a multiple of 8.
0, 8, 16, 24, 32, 40, 48, 56 correspond to Zi, Gen, Mao, Xun, Wu, Kun, You, Qian.
Between the Heavenly Origins, the Human Origin and Earth Origin that are interposed span exactly thirty degrees, fifteen each, so their boundary falls exactly halfway between the Heavenly Origins.
For example, the Gui–Chou boundary is exactly at 22.5 degrees — exactly half of the 0 and 45 degrees corresponding to Zi and Gen respectively.
The midline angle between Heavenly Origins, as a mil value, must be a multiple of 4, and specifically an odd multiple.
Therefore, one only needs to see which side the needle leans toward to know the sitting mountain.
So the judgment method is very simple, in three steps:
1. Determine which Heavenly Origin sitting mountain is nearest. If within ±7.5 degrees, it is that sitting mountain; otherwise proceed to the next step.
2. If it is closer on the right, it is the previous sitting mountain relative to that Heavenly Origin sitting mountain.
If it is closer on the left, it is the next sitting mountain relative to that Heavenly Origin sitting mountain.
3. If it is close on the right to the midpoint between the previous and next Heavenly Origin sitting mountains (mils being an odd multiple of 4), it combines with the previous sitting mountain of that mountain.
If it is close on the left to the midpoint between the previous and next Heavenly Origin sitting mountains (mils being an odd multiple of 4), it combines with the next sitting mountain of that mountain.
2. If it is closer on the right, it is the previous sitting mountain relative to that Heavenly Origin sitting mountain.
If it is closer on the left, it is the next sitting mountain relative to that Heavenly Origin sitting mountain.
3. If it is close on the right to the midpoint between the previous and next Heavenly Origin sitting mountains (mils being an odd multiple of 4), it combines with the previous sitting mountain of that mountain.
If it is close on the left to the midpoint between the previous and next Heavenly Origin sitting mountains (mils being an odd multiple of 4), it combines with the next sitting mountain of that mountain.
For example, with the needle:
Referring to the mils, it is currently between 20 and 22; in terms of mils that are multiples of 8, it lies between 2×8=16 and 3×8=24.
Compared to 16, it is closer to 24 — clearly outside the target 7.5 degrees. And 24 is 3 times 8: Kan 0, Gen 1, Mao 2, Xun 3 — so this is the sitting mountain preceding Xun, that is, the Chen position.
Once this method is understood, one will see that in most cases — so long as one is not at a boundary — even without precise degree readings, the sitting mountain can be successfully read out in the majority of situations.
In this figure, given the location of north, the needle lies between the Heavenly Origins Qian and Zi, and is clearly closer to Qian — already past roughly 7.5 degrees — so it should be Hai; and it has not passed the midpoint between Qian and Zi, so this is Hai combining with Qian.
One final point: when recording data, if precise calculation is desired, do not try to record the celestial-circuit degree value — record the specific mil value instead.
Then each unit of this mil value can be converted to 5.625 degrees. The advantage is that whether converting to hexagram notation or the twenty-four-mountain notation, the conversion will be relatively clear.