In honor of my Teacher, Liu Ming,
Commentary and compilations by Jamie Shulander
All notes from class notes/works by Liu Ming
INDICATORS Listed: Yearly, Monthly, Lunar then Daily
::: ::: ::: = Change
INDICATORS - The pattern components that continuously rotate per year, month, daily, lunar or solar phase. The indicators below articulate the current alignment.
AND SO WE BEGIN...
::: ::: :::
LUNAR YEAR: YEAR of the OX
“Charged: Calm, dignified, sincere, tenacious,
uncompromising, dependable, quiet, independent, just, punctual, outdoorsy,
loyal and supportive.
Deplete: Insensitive, ruthless
if crossed, humorless, sullen, slavishly conventional, fearful of change, aloof
and dull.
Image: The Ox talked about in
Chinese Astrology is well known to all Chinese farmers. When China turned away
from the wily horse to the sedate ox as the plow animal, rice productivity
greatly increased. As a plow animal the Ox plows straight furrows and needs no
coaxing. Ox are linked with the profits of consistent hard work and the
Confucian virtue of perseverance in what is right. Naturally strong they are at
their best when they are constantly challenged. Their sense of justice (and the
law) makes them good leaders. Though often materially successful, they lack
attachment to material things.
YIN METAL OX
(1841, 1901, 1961, 2021, 2081) ‘Traveling Ox’
Metal Ox are accommodating, strong and reliable. They never shy
away from difficulty or back down in confrontation. They promise more than they
can deliver. Hurtful trauma in childhood (orphaned, immigration) and repressed
anger ultimately polish their cold-heartedness into a calm and generous
character. They are good parents and friends to a small in-crowd. They are
rarely sick, and live long lives. Though their fortunes wax and wane they have
comfortable old age.
LM Notes: Metal Ox
LUNAR MONTH: YANG
METAL TIGER (1830, 1890, 1950, 2010,
2070) ‘Tiger Descends’ - Metal Tigers are demanding, candid and vigorous
characters. They are contentious, aggressive, sensual and yet forgiving. They
are generous to temples and to their friends. To avoid anxiety they do not hide
their feelings or thoughts, but regret it later. When young they are wasteful
and their fortune is limited and obstructed but as they age it consistently
improves without reversal. They are physically strong and more likely to be
injured than ill. They are susceptible to pernicious wind when depressed.
QI NODE: Spring Begins
Yang Reverses Yin
"Though Spring Begins means the return of yang qi it is
really mostly theoretical. We feel that Yin is done, but Yang is still only
active 'under the surface'. The overall trend has shifted towards Yang but it
may not be accompanied by much apparent change, like warm weather or increased
stamina. The first new moon begins the Spring Festival (Chinese New Year).
Spring Festival, celebrated for the 2 weeks of this qi node, in China is like
Christmas, New Year, Fourth of July and everyone's birthday all rolled into
one. Everyone celebrates and is very generous and sociable to encourage spring
to grow. This is the gan ying principle. It is a celebration of yang renewal.
"During this qi node qi is best at 3am. One should practice
neigong just before dawn facing - northeast. Do not exert yourself, but let the
yang qi play - this renews us and gives us longevity. During the day eat
several small meals with family and friends. Renew relationships.
"Acts of renewal and generosity are auspicious and rewarding.
Avoid being very productive and do not sign agreements.
"With the beginning of spring the Liver/hun 'comes alive'. In
the early nodes of spring dreams can be very revealing of our physical and
spiritual condition and the state of our ancestors. As the ghosts (yin) of
winter fade into the background the beneficent ancestors (yang) come forward.
Spring qi has a kind of hope in it - we dream both day and night during this time.
Though our qi resources are not yet solid, it is very auspicious to being
cultivating new and renewable projects. The caution is important - if we move
too fast the weak underpinnings of spring yang collapse. If impulse accepts
education all goes well."
LM The Way of Three Treasures
LUNAR HEXAGRAM: 11
Tai: Great
“Tai is favorable for going
forward and expanding. When Tai is divined natural growth is inevitable
- all plans succeed, if you do not push or rush them. Do not over analyze the
situation. Recognize that things unfold by themselves.” LM Changing: Zhouyi
11 Tai
::: ::: :::
MONDAY February 15, Yang Wood Horse 4
Hexagram 9 Xiao Xu: Minor Force
Lunar Mansion: The Heart / Fox
Solar Indicator: Settle
"It is best to
subordinate to or ally yourself with the strong or wait to accumulate more
strength and resources. Do not be rambunctious, distracted or diverted. Small projects
done well will eventually add up to success. Obstacles and delays can be
expected in any forward action.”
LM Changing: Zhouyi 9 Xiao Xu
“It is auspicious to comply with superiors, make offerings to the
ancestors, move home and/or immigrate. Only routine work may avoid negativity.
Contraindicated activity: If you start a lawsuit (making your case) you will
lose everything (imprisonment). If you construct a building, get married or
bury the dead, disaster follows. Everything sold today will be at a loss to the
seller. Pushing forward (forcing progress) on this day will have three times
the negative result of other days.”
LM Notes: The Heart
“Preparedness makes action timely and successful. Tradition,
convention, training, education - all forms of readiness, inspire action.
Forces join together and new alliances produce unexpected results. Action taken
with such thorough preparation is bound to succeed. The qi of the day is
stable, progressive and functional. Clarity and calm (yin) are not unseated by
action (yang). Focus and repetition succeed. Procrastination and equivocation
is contraindicated.”
LM Notes: Settle
TUESDAY February 16, Yin Wood Goat 5
Hexagram Consult the Oracle
Lunar Mansion: The Tail / Tiger
Solar Indicator: Maintain
“It is auspicious to start a building (brings prosperity), get
married (brings fertility), bury the dead (resolves karma) and educate the
young (secure longevity) on this day. It is a good time to move house (into a
city). These actions today cause a person or family and all their projects to
flourish. On this day investments increase in value. It is ideal to give or
receive (spend) inheritances. Enjoying the arts is appropriate. Lost treasures
can be found on this day. It is ideal for self-cultivation, meditation and
enjoyment. It is a time of recognizing and acknowledging achievement with
rewards. Evening is less auspicious.”
LM Notes: The Tail
“Spontaneous action and inspiration (yang) become the new
tradition (yin). Qi assertion (yang) is repeated again and again to hold and
harden gains (yin). Establishing a new state is the focus. The qi of practice
and the drilling of troops is awesome. Allies appear from all quarters. True
majesty succeeds without pressing forward. Today success breeds more success and
everyone may be included in the new victories. Generosity is a prophylactic to
decline - giving is a sign of strength and cements alliances. It is the sun at
noon.”
LM Notes: Maintain
WEDNESDAY February 17, Yang Fire Monkey 6
Hexagram 34 Da Zhuang: Great Strength
Lunar Mansion: The Basket / Leopard
Solar Indicator: Destroy
“The spontaneous use of force may work in some situations, but
injury and difficulties surround the misuse of force. Being rambunctious leads
to costly mishap, injury and failure, but also survival. The auspices are
mixed.”
“The wise use great strength with great caution, because the know
it is costly (great injury). In general, the authors of the Zhouyi give
great strength no value, unless it is paired with wisdom.
However, it is also observed that even the weak, when in a
desperate situation, naturally possess great strength - the will to survive.
The force or instinct to survive has great strength and can have a successful
result. This kind of great strength should not be confused with belligerence or
mere violence."
LM Changing: Zhouyi
34 Da Zhuang
"It is auspicious to marry, work hard, purchase, build and
remodel (new door = new resources) on this day. It is auspicious to
continue your routine work, review and reinvest. Acquiring wealth (work, invest
and collecting debts) is highlighted. Good for burials, memorials and funerals
(rain of blessings from the ancestors). Contraindicated activity: Laziness,
gossip and slander."
LM Notes: The Basket
“The successful prince as warrior must now lose his youthful
ambitions and develop into a proper king….Today calculated loss (cancellation)
succeeds”
LM Notes: Destroy
::: ::: :::
QI NODE: 2 Rain Water
New Yang and Old Yin
"Rain Water is the gentle, first yin response to the new,
emerging yang. Heaven and Earth renew their active relationship. The moisture
of the first spring rains refreshes the Earth. This Yin rain gives the Yang
trapped in Earth (seeds, grains) nourishment. If the response of the Yang of
Earth is weak, or if rain does not come, decay, rot and mold may occur. If yang
responds well seed break open underground.
Yang is ‘jump started’ in this qi node, but there may still be
very few signs. Yang has survived another winter. Though Spring Festival is
over, fresh offerings are made at ancestor and Earth altars to support Yang.
This is the gan ying principle. Yin is weak and yang is still unformed, effort
or exertion must be avoided.
During this qi node qi is best at 4am. One should practice neigong
just before dawn facing the sun as it rises in the northeast. Do not exert
yourself, but let the yang and yin play - this renews us and gives us
longevity. When the sun is up walk about the courtyard with arms akimbo. Loosen
up. The environment is becoming very ‘friendly’ and ‘yangish’ - it is no longer
pernicious, but it is our own impulsiveness (inner yang) that is dangerous.
Impulse is the renewal but caution, rather than enthusiasm, makes it work.
Yang is also beginning to move on its own. Mild and inspired, new
actions are auspicious and rewarding. Avoid being ‘very productive’. Cultivate
the qi of spring by reading new fiction, watching the latest film, go for short
walks outdoors and enjoying and/or playing music."
LM The Way of Three Treasures
LUNAR HEXAGRAM: 62
Xiao Guo: Small Succeeds
"Success in small matters. The judicious and timely use of
small force succeeds. Being an assistant is favorable. Things go well if you
avoid pretense."
LM Changing: Zhouyi 62 Xiao Guo
::: ::: :::
THURSDAY February 18, Yin Fire Rooster 7
Hexagram 14 Dayou: Prosperity
Lunar Mansion: The Ladle / Griffon
Solar Indicator: Danger
"Through good management, prosperity is established and,
through generosity, prosperity is translated into great benefit."
LM Changing: Zhouyi 14 Dayou
"It is a most auspicious day for Daoist religious rites,
initiations and transmission of (esoteric) teachings. It is an auspicious day
to start up a business and build a new building (home, temple). It is a safe
day to dig foundations (wells, trenches) and get married. New opportunities
(news) abound - taking exams and routine work bring great success/reward on
this day. It is an auspicious day to bury the dead - they will rest peacefully
and benefit the surviving relatives.”
"Contraindicated activity: Hypocrisy, irreverence, breaking
taboos and sloth."
LM Notes: The Ladle
“To roust hypocrisy in his new alliances the leader must bait his
hidden enemies (yin) by showing vulnerability. This day is a qi expression of
true power but all the action is fraught with danger and risk. The games of
political power are also the precursors of decline. The power plays show yin to
be drawing life from the heart of yang. Success is limited now to a kind of
survival. Manipulation and covert action succeed. Elegance becomes the mask of
cleverness and intrigue. Doing only what needs to be done is best. Old habits
or patterns of pressing forward will invite catastrophe. Beware grudges.”
LM Notes: Danger
FRIDAY February 19, Yang Earth Dog 8
Hexagram 43 Guai: Lurch
Lunar Mansion: The Oxboy / Ox
Solar Indicator: Complete
“Guai tells us when impulsiveness, abruptness and breaking
with standard protocol are okay. Success, in the case of Guai, is a
timely, but abrupt, escape. Sometimes it is best to immediately quit a
situation and/or abandon a relationship because of its excessive restrictions. Guai
carries the ambiguous message that misconduct is sometimes appropriate.”
LM Changing: Zhouyi
43 Guai
“It is auspicious to stay home, guard resources, meditate and
focus. It is auspicious to initiate austerity, enter retreat, recover and
economize.”
LM Notes: The Oxboy
“It is a day for resting on your laurels. Success is established
and secured and the new state seems to govern itself. Enemies are few. It is a
time for inward reflection (yin) on the bare face of reality (yang). Struggle
(yang) is no longer possible or necessary (yin). Decline is not feared and
success not celebrated. Wisdom approaches and withdrawing succeeds. Art is the
demonstration of confidence, dignity and wisdom - be artful. No more
accumulating - decorate with modesty. The way of perfecting power is austerity
and restraint. Do less, have less, show less and seek nothing. Enjoy what is
already manifest.”
LM Notes: Complete
SATURDAY February 20, Yin Earth Pig 9
Hexagram 1 Qian: Heaven
Lunar Mansion: The Maiden / Bat
Solar Indicator: Harvest
"Qian is the natural endless progress of time as
symbolized by the onset of spring. Time is celestial movement, like the wind in
the sky - not the product of human effort. The first hexagram is like the head
of a circle; it is the beginning or renewal of a constant and endless cycle of
time."
LM Changing: Zhouyi 1 Qian
“It is auspicious to stay home, enjoy the arts, self-reflect, do
inner panning and practice austerity (meditation, fasting and rest). It is
beneficial to guard your health and conserve your qi. It is favorable to
support others. Building may be safe but not profitable.”
“It is not auspicious to take risks, medical treatments, bury the
dead (cause epidemics, bowel disorders). To initiate industry (dig earth) and
production on this day invites calamity.”
LM Notes: The Maiden
“What makes this day smooth is a sense of fearlessness. It is not
so much how it goes (yang) as what it shows (yin). Rise and fall are no longer
the point - the wide view can be taken. Ease is possible - effortless
continuity on all sides. The qi seems to float us forward quite naturally -
ebbing and flowing are both acceptable. The lessons of earthly life are found
in both maturing and declining. Everything succeeds. Cleverness and survival
give way to courage and directness. Be like the beloved monarch and not an
ambitious merchant. Let new resources and assistants come forward by standing
back.”
LM Notes: Harvest
SUNDAY February 21, Yang Metal Rat 10
Hexagram 2 Kun: Earth
Lunar Mansion: The Void / Rat
Solar Indicator: Open
“Let things naturally fulfill themselves. Let go of planning and
meddling. Wait. Restraint is rewarded. It is favorable for peace and inaction.”
LM Changing: Zhouyi 2 Kun
“It is auspicious to stay home, strengthen family ties and protect
your children. Sleep and rest are recommended (be cautioned by your dreams).”
“On this day it is not auspicious to marry (your children will be
delinquent or handicapped), bury the dead or make offerings to ancestors
(ghosts/dead will become demonic - causing illnesses for 3 years!).
Extra-marital affairs begun on this day will eventually ruin your family,
reputation and health. Medical treatments today can cause injury and expose
constitutional weakness.”
LM Notes: The Void
“The choice here is whether to call fate something to fight or
something to embrace. It is a day with an easy qi. It is a day to appreciate
how things really operate beyond the desire that creates images and
appearances. Accepting should be a boundless (yin) act beyond goals - the goal
has always been return to our beginningless origin (Dao). There is no
protagonist (yang) that should relax - there is only relaxation itself (yin).
Look around for a successor (new plan, idea, task) and resume the heart/mind of
a novice. The son of a rebel leader may become the second emperor of a new
dynasty. An open heart gives the option to acquire great wisdom.”
LM Notes: Open
::: ::: :::
In resolution and
adventure...
Warmly,
Jamie Shulander
Instagram@jamieshulander
jshulander@gmail.com
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