In honor of my Teacher, Liu Ming,
::: ::: :::
Commentary and compilations by Jamie Shulander
All notes from class notes/works by Liu Ming
INDICATORS/aka Auspices Listed: Yearly, Monthly, Lunar then Daily
::: ::: :::
LUNAR YEAR: YEAR of the OX
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.
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
Yang Rules
"At Summer Solstice there is the longest day (yang) and the shortest night (Yin) of the year. The sun is at its zenith, directly above us at noon. It is the Yang peak of the year. Activity is highly motivated. Summer Solstice is one of four annual pivots that rectify annual qi.
"The Yang growth, that began in spring, peaks and turns towards its inevitable decline. Flowers blossom and many fruits and vegetables ripen but this explosion of splendor is a gesture of survival (launching seeds). The force of Yang, if not tempered, will destroy rather than ripen. The Chinese character for summer depicts a farmer at rest (idle) - growth in this part of summer needs no nursing. Yang is raging on its own.
"During this qi node the environmental qi is best at Noon. When you wake, practice neigong facing due south. Do not overexert yourself; but sweating is not harmful. Chew well. During the day eat two or three small meals, rest (nap) after lunch, drink green and chrysanthemum tea and in the evening enjoy a light soup. Guard the heart from strain by expressing your feelings, singing, dancing and socializing. Before bed bucket bathes with a final cold rinse. Go to sleep just after dark. Rest, relax, travel (vacation by sea or high mountain), exercise modestly and do not get burned by the sun. Do not work or rest directly in the sun of midday!"
LM The Way of Three Treasures
“Jia Ren is about well-ordered, supportive families and family-like groups that have a collective purpose. Selfless caregivers (mothers/nourishment) make households and family-like groups strong. Selfless and consistent inner strength is the basis of true communities. Orderly family/communities nurture great leaders who, in turn, make the alliances that create fair and just nation-states."
LM Changing: Zhouyi 37 Jia RenHexagram 10 Lu: Treading
Solar Indicator: Complete
Lunar Mansion: The Tail / Tiger
Solar Indicator: Harvest
“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
“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
::: ::: :::
QI NODE: 11 Slight Heat
Yang Declines
“In Slight or Small Heat qi node Yang begins its inevitable decline but growth is extended. The weather turns mild. Fruits and vegetables are abundant. Cicadas and crickets choruses are heard day and night. Twilight is beautiful. Barns bulge with the abundance. The Prince ascends the throne (yang matures) and becomes King. What will Yang’s legacy be? Is it survival at any cost (brutishness) or the fullness of true and elegant majesty (wisdom)?
“The name “Slight Heat” refers to the mild heat that appears as the yang of the year begins its decline. In this and the next Qi Node (“Great Heat”) the declining yang partners with the inter-seasonal earth and creates damp (or mucus) – that is thick and sometimes sticky qi and fluids. During this node, hot wind continues to prevail and may cause dry Lungs, coughs, hemorrhoids, constipation and fevers. It can aggravate existing (chronic or constitutional) heat conditions like insomnia, heart irregularities and low- grade systemic inflammations of the blood (eczema, dental infections, yeast infections, herpes, skin rashes). Yang qi is past its abundant stage and clings to earth causing damp. Contagious diseases that “rode the hot wind” in the Summer Solstice now take root. Anxiety may crowd into dreams.
“Flowers blossom and fruits and vegetables can be harvested and continue to ripen but this explosion of splendor is about survival. It is the time when many plants extend their qi to produce strong roots and fertile seeds (create future). The Chinese character for summer depicts a farmer at rest (idle) – growth in this part of summer needs little or no nursing (prayer is common). Fall harvests will dependent on this Qi Node being mild. Mild winds can clear damp (avoid mold). Strong summer-style activity takes much more qi to maintain. Though sustained activity is recommended (wind clears damp) it is becoming important to pace oneself. Summer storms can destroy crops and excess activity can purge yang before its Autumn harvest.
“During this qi node the environmental qi (Heaven/Earth) is best at 1pm. When you wake practice neigong facing due South. Do not overexert yourself (sweat); let the qi move the blood and transform nutrients. Dress lightly, untie your hair and stroll about to avoid the damp.
Chew well. During the day eat two meals, rest (nap) after lunch, snacks of fruit (melon) are good on hot days. Drink green and chrysanthemum tea and in the evening enjoy a light savory soup. Guard the heart (shen) from strain by modestly expressing your feelings – it is natural to feel a bit anxious (sudden decline of yang) – but avoid drama/anxiety. Before bed bucket bathe (cold salt rinse) and go to sleep at dark. Rest, relax, travel (vacation by sea), exercise (modestly) and do not get burned by the sun. Do not work or rest directly in the sun of midday!!!”
LM The Way of Three Treasures
::: ::: :::
Lunar Mansion: The Basket / Leopard
Solar Indicator: Harvest
“Routine work brings about unexpected results. At the highest level of success is an opportunity to be extraordinarily generous."
LM Changing: Zhouyi 26 Da Chu
"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
“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
Lunar Mansion: The Ladle / Griffon
Solar Indicator: Open
Today's auspices of gentle withdrawal, suit the mesmerizing, ambitious and disciplined nature of today's Fire Snake character. Be curious and again, open hearted...let the withdrawal carry you through the weekend.
"Xu suggests that waiting is a part of the natural unfolding (fate) of all situations. Xu is about making the most of waiting - using the power of patience and procrastination to avoid struggle and develop wisdom in action. Accepting fate is not about abandoning intelligence. A wise and able person has the sensitivity to find the freedom within fate. The wisdom of Xu is the clarity to hold back and go forward at the right times.”
LM Changing: Zhouyi 5 Xu
"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
“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
Lunar Mansion: The Oxboy / Ox
Solar Indicator: Shut
"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 stay home, guard resources, meditate and focus. It is auspicious to initiate austerity, enter retreat, recover and economize.”
LM Notes: The Oxboy
“A Shut day is a day of rest, whether you like it or not. Qi resources are spent and the notion of a spender (yang) is long gone. Dispersion has ended in exhaustion (big yin) and no memory exists to create joy or negativity. Struggling to act on such a day borrows qi from fantasy and sets up a ghostly pattern of bad qi credit. What’s it like to float down the river with no boat, no river and no protagonist? It is ideal day for retreat, mediation and severing ties with everything - don’t worry, it is not the end of anything! Let go anyway - feel the freedom and inaction, disconnectedness, because it offers limitless insight. Focus on your golf swing and forget about how the kids are squandering their inheritance on cocaine. It’s that kind of day! The river has reached the sea and even the water is confused.”
LM Notes: Shut
Lunar Mansion: The Maiden / Bat
“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
“It is an excellent day to recover wisdom by stepping back, planning, recalling alliances and reassessing our position.”
LM Notes: Design
“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 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
"Holding back on this day is related to deeper self-reflection, education of all sorts and consulting with experts and elders - rather than forward action. It is not about immature reluctance or cowardice but about shedding inessentials."
LM Notes: Divide
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.