What Is Qi Men Dun Jia (奇门遁甲)?
Unlike Zi Wei Dou Shu (紫微斗数), which charts an entire lifetime, Qi Men Dun Jia answers one specific question at this very moment: whether a business deal is worth pursuing, whether tomorrow's negotiation will go smoothly, or which direction to search for a lost item. At the moment of casting, it generates a Nine-Palace Chart, using four layers of information — Heaven Plate Stems, Earth Plate Stems, the Eight Gates, the Nine Stars, and the Eight Deities — to determine auspiciousness, directions, and timing of manifestation.
What You Need to Cast a Chart
| Input | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Moment of casting (defaults to now, can be specified) | Determines the chart number: Yin Dun or Yang Dun, and which Ju (局) |
| The question being asked | Determines the Yong Shen (用神) — for wealth matters, look at the Life Gate; for career, look at the Open Gate; whatever you ask, that's what you examine |
The Four Layers of the Chart
- Earth Plate: Fixed stems, branches, and directions — the "hidden cards" of the matter
- Heaven Plate: The Nine Stars carry the Heavenly Stems as they rotate with the Zhi Fu (值符) — the energy of celestial timing
- Human Plate: The Eight Gates — the direct indicator of human affairs and their fortune
- Spirit Plate: The Eight Deities — unseen assistance and undercurrents
Order of Interpretation
- Determine the Yong Shen (Day Stem = self, Hour Stem = the matter, or a matter-specific Yong Shen based on the category)
- Examine which palace the Yong Shen falls in: strength or weakness, auspiciousness of the Gate, brightness of the Star, support from the Deity
- Check the Heaven-Earth Plate Stem interaction combinations for interpretive statements + auspicious or inauspicious formations
- Look at the generating/overcoming relationship with the Day Stem's palace (the matter generates me = smooth; the matter overcomes me = obstructed)
- Determine the timing of manifestation: Void (空亡) becoming non-void, entering or clashing out of the Tomb, the Horse Star on duty
This site uses the Hour-Family Rotating-Plate Chai-Bu Method (时家转盘拆补法) to cast charts — this is currently the most widely used casting standard.