Detailed Instructions for Casting a Plum Blossom Numerology 梅花易數 Hexagram
Master the principles and the methods in order to cast a hexagram well
1. What is Plum Blossom Numerology 梅花易數?
Plum Blossom Numerology 梅花易數 is the method of foretelling fortune and misfortune by the hexagrams of the I Ching 易經, created by Thiệu Khang Tiết 邵康節 (邵康節, whose given name was Thiệu Ung 邵雍, 1011 to 1077, of the Northern Song 北宋). It is the quickest and most flexible of the classical arts of prediction: a hexagram may be cast in seconds from anything at all, from the time, a number, a written character or a thing nearby, and no implements are needed.
2. The 5 Methods of Casting in This Tool
2.1. Year, Month, Day and Hour (Casting by Time)
This is the most widely usedmethod. The formula:
- the Upper Trigram 上卦 = (year + month + day) mod 8 → look it up in the Early Heaven Bagua 先天八卦 (1=Càn 乾, 2=Đoài 兌, …, 8=Khôn 坤).
- the Lower Trigram 下卦 = (year + month + day + hour) mod 8.
- the Moving Line 動爻 = (year + month + day + hour) mod 6.
In which: the year is counted by the Earthly Branch 地支 (Tý 子=1, Sửu 丑=2, …, Hợi 亥=12); the hour by the 12 Earthly Branches 地支 (Tý 子=1 at midnight, …, Hợi 亥=12 late at night). Where the remainder is 0, take it as 8 (for a trigram) or as 6 (for a line).
2.2. Casting by Number
The user enters any 3 numbershimself. The system applies: Upper = no.1 mod 8, Lower = no.2 mod 8, Moving Line = (no.1+no.2+no.3) mod 6. This method serves when the heart is stirred and one wishes to let a chance number decide.
2.3. Character Dissection Casting 測字 (by Written Characters)
Count the characters of the question in total and divide them in two halves. The first half → the Upper Trigram 上卦, the second half → the Lower Trigram 下卦, the whole → the moving line. Use it when you wish to cast a hexagram directly from a question you have written out.
2.4. Casting by Hand
Choose the Upper Trigram 上卦, the Lower Trigram 下卦 and the moving line yourself. Suitable for a scholar who wishes to examine a particular hexagram, or who already has one from another method (coins or yarrow stalks).
2.5. Casting from a Telephone Number or a Banknote Serial
When your heart stirs at a particular string of numbers, such as the telephone number that has just called you, the serial on the banknote in your hand or the digits of an identity card, you may take that very string to cast the hexagram. The tool gathers all the digits, adds the first half for the Upper Trigram 上卦, adds the second half for the Lower Trigram 下卦, and adds the whole string for the moving line. This is a very flexible way of casting in the Plum Blossom 梅花 school, true to the spirit of “when the heart stirs, there is a response 心動必應” that Thiệu Khang Tiết 邵康節 handed down.
3. The Early Heaven Bagua 先天八卦 (the 8 Basic Trigrams)
| Number | Trigram | Character | Image | Five Phases | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Càn 乾 ☰ | 乾 | Heaven, the father, gold | Metal 金 | Northwest |
| 2 | Đoài 兌 ☱ | 兌 | The lake, the youngest daughter, the mouth | Metal 金 | West |
| 3 | Ly 離 ☲ | 離 | Fire, the middle daughter, the eye | Fire 火 | Male |
| 4 | Chấn 震 ☳ | 震 | Thunder, the eldest son, the foot | Wood 木 | East |
| 5 | Tốn 巽 ☴ | 巽 | Wind, the eldest daughter, the thigh | Wood 木 | Southeast |
| 6 | Khảm 坎 ☵ | 坎 | Water, the middle son, the ear | Water 水 | North |
| 7 | Cấn 艮 ☶ | 艮 | The mountain, the youngest son, the hand | Earth 土 | Northeast |
| 8 | Khôn 坤 ☷ | 坤 | Earth, the mother, the belly | Earth 土 | Southwest |
4. The Heart of the Reading: How Thể 體 and Dụng 用 Generate and Control One Another
Once the hexagram is had, determine:
- The Thể trigram 體卦: the trigram that does NOT hold the moving line; it stands for the person asking.
- The Dụng trigram 用卦: the trigram that DOES hold the moving line; it stands for the matter or the object asked about.
If the moving line stands at 1-2-3 → it lies in the Lower Trigram 下卦 → Lower = Dụng 用, Upper = Thể 體. If the moving line stands at 4-5-6 → it lies in the Upper Trigram 上卦 → Upper = Dụng 用, Lower = Thể 體.
| The Five Phases 五行 relation | Degree | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Dụng 用 GENERATES Thể 體 | ★ Greatly auspicious | We are supported, and benefit comes of its own accord |
| In accord 比和 (the same phase) | Auspicious | On the same side, favourable and settled |
| Thể 體 CONTROLS Dụng 用 | Slightly auspicious | We prevail, but with hardship, and effort is needed |
| Thể 體 GENERATES Dụng 用 | Slightly inauspicious | Drain and loss; capital must be laid out and strength spent |
| Dụng 用 CONTROLS Thể 體 | ★ Greatly inauspicious | Harm and failure; best avoided |
5. The Principal, Nuclear and Resulting Hexagrams
- The Principal Hexagram 主卦: the present, the starting point of the matter.
- The Nuclear Hexagram 互卦: made from lines 2-3-4 (the Lower Nuclear) and lines 3-4-5 (the Upper Nuclear) of the Principal Hexagram 主卦 → it shows the course the matter takes.
- The Resulting Hexagram 變卦: the moving line of the Principal Hexagram 主卦 reversed (Yang 陽 ↔ Yin 陰) → it shows the final outcome.
A reading of the first rank must weigh all 3 of these hexagrams along the axis of time: past, present and future.
6. Strength and Decline by Season
One and the same hexagram is strong in one season and weak in another. The rule:
- Spring (lunar months 1-2): Wood 木 is prosperous 旺, Fire 火 supported 相, Water 水 resting 休, Metal 金 trapped 囚, Earth 土 dead 死.
- Summer (months 4-5): Fire 火 is prosperous 旺, Earth 土 supported 相, Wood 木 resting 休, Water 水 trapped 囚, Metal 金 dead 死.
- Autumn (months 7-8): Metal 金 is prosperous 旺, Water 水 supported 相, Earth 土 resting 休, Fire 火 trapped 囚, Wood 木 dead 死.
- East (months 10-11): Water 水 is prosperous 旺, Wood 木 supported 相, Metal 金 resting 休, Earth 土 trapped 囚, Fire 火 dead 死.
- The four closing months 四季 (3-6-9-12): Earth 土 is prosperous 旺, Metal 金 supported 相, Fire 火 resting 休, Wood 木 trapped 囚, Water 水 dead 死.
A prosperous 旺 Thể trigram 體卦 with Dụng 用 generating Thể 體 is auspicious in the highest degree. A dead 死 Thể trigram 體卦 with Dụng 用 controlling Thể 體 is inauspicious in the gravest degree.
7. The 10 Areas of Reading Supported in This Tool
- 🎯 An undertaking: matters in general, the plan as a whole.
- 💰 Seeking wealth: fortune, business, investment.
- 💞 Marriage: love, and the accord of husband and wife.
- 🏢 Career: standing, and advancement.
- ⚖️ Litigation: legal disputes.
- ✈️ Setting out: travel, journeys.
- ⚕️ Illness: health, treatment.
- 👶 Pregnancy and birth: childbirth, and whether a boy or a girl.
- 🔍 Seeking an object: finding what is lost.
- 🏠 The dwelling: the feng shui 風水 of the house.
8. The 10 Precepts of Thiệu Khang Tiết 邵康節 for Casting a Hexagram
- When the heart stirs there is a response 心動必應: cast only when the heart is truly moved.
- Do not cast when the mind is troubled, when you are tired, or when you have been drinking.
- One matter, one hexagram. Do not cast a second time.
- The first hexagram is the true one.
- The image weighs more than the word: the image of the hexagram matters more than the letter of it.
- Number weighs more than theory: the generating and controlling matter more than doctrine.
- Take account of the weather and the air at the moment of casting.
- Keep a grave and respectful bearing.
- Let the question be clear and its object particular.
- Take the outer response 外應 into account in settling the outcome.
9. Three Worked Examples
So that you may see how a hexagram is read through to the end, the Master sets out three short examples following the order of reading proper to the Plum Blossom 梅花 school: read the hexagram text, weigh Thể 體 and Dụng 用, read the moving line, then look to the Nuclear Hexagram 互卦 and the Resulting Hexagram 變卦 to settle the outcome.
Example 1: asking about seeking wealth
A man cast a hexagram in the hour of Ngọ 午 and had Thể 體 as Cấn 艮, which belongs to Earth 土, and Dụng 用 as Ly 離, which belongs to Fire 火, with the moving line in the Lower Trigram 下卦. Fire 火 generates Earth 土, that is, Dụng 用 generates Thể 體, and so wealth comes seeking him and there are people to lift him up. The hexagram was moreover cast in midsummer, when Fire 火 is prosperous 旺, so the source that generates is stronger still. The Master reads this as an omen of gain without labour, adding only the caution not to grow too greedy, lest the height of abundance breed decline.
Example 2: asking about marriage
A young woman cast a hexagram about her prospects in love and had Thể 體 as Đoài 兌, which belongs to Metal 金, and Dụng 用 as Chấn 震, which belongs to Wood 木, so that Thể 體 controls Dụng 用. Metal 金 controlling Wood 木 means that she holds the initiative and the deciding part, but where there is controlling the matter is gained only at the cost of care and tending. Looking across to the Resulting Hexagram 變卦, it turns into a state of accord 比和, and the Master reads it thus: at first there is a little constraint, but in time the two grow harmonious, and this bond is worth keeping.
Example 3: asking about setting out on a journey
A man about to travel far cast a hexagram and had Dụng 用 controlling Thể 體, in a season moreover when the Thể trigram 體卦 was trapped 囚. This is an unfavourable state: the world outside presses upon him while he himself is weak in strength. The Master counselled him to postpone the journey, or, if he must go, to find a companion to lean upon and not to travel alone at a time when his vitality is not yet full.