Introduction: Who is the Protagonist? —— The Decisive Significance of the "Functional Spirit"
In Chapters 1 and 2, we learned how to load a hexagram. Now, the hexagram board is filled with terms like "Parents, Officials/Ghosts, Brothers, Wife/Wealth, and Children." The most common question a diviner asks is: "Which line should I look at?"
This is "Selecting the Functional Spirit" (Yong Shen). The Functional Spirit is the symbolic representation of the matter you are inquiring about. If you ask about wealth but stare at the Children line, although Children can produce Wealth, you are ignoring the prosperity or decline of Wealth itself, and your final judgment will inevitably be biased. The reason Zeng Shan Bu Yi is hailed as the "King of Practical Divination" is precisely because Wild Crane Elder thoroughly refined the chaotic rules of selection, emphasizing the principle of "One matter, one Functional Spirit."
Section 1: Deep Modern Definitions of the Six Relatives System
the "Six Relatives" in Liu Yao are social models derived from the generation and restriction of the Five Elements. In modern society, their meanings have expanded from ancient family structures to all aspects of social life.
1. Parents Line (Those who produce me): Protection, Contracts, Carrying
Ancient Definition: Parents, ancestors, teachers, documents, cities, boats, and carriages. Modern Expansion:
Real Estate and Residency: Houses, land, renovations, construction engineering.
Academics and Certification: Diplomas, contracts, licenses, letters, emails, legal documents, evidence.
Protective Objects: Clothing, rain gear, umbrellas, insurance, "protective umbrellas" (patronage from superiors).
Transportation: Cars, airplanes, ships.
Core Characteristic: Anything that provides protection, proof, or information uses the Parents line as the Functional Spirit.
2. Officials/Ghosts Line (Those who restrict me): Power, Pressure, Variables
Ancient Definition: Official positions, fame/rank, ghosts/spirits, lawsuits, husband (for a female diviner), thieves. Modern Expansion:
Career and Status: Positions, promotion opportunities, company high-level management.
Negative Energy: Disease (viruses), anxiety, fear, "Xiao Ren" (malicious people), official litigation.
Environment and Disaster: Fire, lightning, natural disasters, chaotic environments.
Modern Romance: For a female divining about a fiancé, boyfriend, or long-term partner.
Core Characteristic: Anything that constrains me, manages me, harms me, or represents social status uses the Officials/Ghosts line as the Functional Spirit.
3. Brothers Line (Those equal to me): Competition, Resistance, Depletion
Ancient Definition: Siblings, clansmen, companions, gods of wealth-robbery. Modern Expansion:
Peer Relationships: Colleagues, competitors, friends, business partners (sometimes representing those who share the profits).
Costs and Expenditures: Expenses, financial loss, spending, resistance, disagreement.
Body Parts: Hands, feet, shoulders (related to physiological structure prediction).
Core Characteristic: Anything that is equal in status to me, competes for resources, or divides my financial interests uses the Brothers line as the Functional Spirit.
4. Wife/Wealth Line (Those I restrict): Material, Desire, Controlled entities
Ancient Definition: Wife, servants, gold/silver, money/grain, property. Modern Expansion:
Financial Assets: Salary, bonuses, investment income, currency, jewelry, inventory goods.
Living Necessities: Food, daily necessities, furniture.
Modern Romance: For a male divining about a wife, girlfriend, or lover.
Broad Desires: The pursuit of material things.
Core Characteristic: Anything that is governed by me, owned by me, or enjoyed by me uses the Wife/Wealth line as the Functional Spirit.
5. Children Line (Those I produce): Joy, Medicine, Dispelling Disasters
Ancient Definition: Children, subordinates, monks/Taoists, animals, gods of fortune, gods who restrict ghosts. Modern Expansion:
Future and Results: Products (things produced by a company), works of art, creative output.
Solutions: Medicine (can restrict disease), saviors, police (can suppress thieves), professional technology.
Leisure and Entertainment: Travel, hobbies, happy moods, pets.
Talent: Students, apprentices, subordinates.
Core Characteristic: Anything produced by me, that makes me happy, or dispels my worries uses the Children line as the Functional Spirit.
Section 2: Deep Analysis —— How to Choose the Right "Functional Spirit" in Complex Situations?
In real life, many questions are not "black or white." This requires "Separate Divination" and "Adaptability."
1. The Logic of "One Event, Multiple Meanings"
For example, if "divining about studying abroad," which one should you look at?
If you want to see the school admission letter, the Functional Spirit is Parents.
If you want to see future degrees and career prospects, the Functional Spirit is Officials/Ghosts.
If you want to see living expenses and scholarships abroad, the Functional Spirit is Wife/Wealth.
If you want to see safety and happiness abroad, the Functional Spirit is Children.
Suggestion: Clarify your core anxiety before divining. If you are most worried about not receiving the admission letter, focus exclusively on the Parents line.
2. Handling "Double Appearance of the Functional Spirit"
If two Parents lines appear in a hexagram (one still, one moving; or one in the inner hexagram, one in the outer), which one do you look at?
Prioritize the Moving Line: A moving line represents the variable of the matter and the current focus.
Choose the Prosperous One: The one with the strongest energy represents the true state of the matter.
Choose the one closer to the World/Response relationship: If one is in the inner hexagram where the World line resides, it usually represents a matter closely linked to oneself.
Avoid the Void or Broken: If one is in "旬空" (Xun Kong - Void) or "月破" (Yue Po - Broken), unless the matter itself represents "failure or emptiness," choose the one that is neither void nor broken as the standard.
3. Techniques for "Missing Functional Spirit" (Hidden Spirit Theory)
When the Six Relative you need is completely absent from the hexagram, it means the information is "Hidden." At this time, you must look up the "First Hexagram" of the "Palace" to which the current hexagram belongs (e.g., the first hexagram of the Qian Palace is "Qian for Heaven"), see which line that Six Relative occupies in the first hexagram, and then "hide" it under the corresponding line of the current hexagram. Deep Analysis: A "Hidden Spirit" (Fu Shen) usually predicts that the timing has not yet arrived or the matter is being "pressed down" by some factor. For example, if divining for wealth and the Wealth line is hidden, it means the money is in someone else's pocket or locked in a bank; you need to see when the "Flying Spirit" (the line pressing on top of the Hidden Spirit) will be clashed open.
Section 3: The Framework of the Prediction System —— Original, Restricting, and Enmity Spirits
After selecting the protagonist (Functional Spirit), we need to analyze the "social relationships" surrounding the protagonist.
Original Spirit (The Mother of the Protagonist): The one that produces the Functional Spirit is the Original Spirit (Yuan Shen). If the Functional Spirit is Metal (Wealth), then Earth (Parents) is the Original Spirit.
Practical Significance: The Original Spirit represents the stamina, the source, and the noble helpers of the matter. If the Functional Spirit is weak but the Original Spirit is strong and prosperous, it is called "Having Roots," and the matter will eventually succeed.
Restricting Spirit (The Nemesis of the Protagonist): The one that restricts the Functional Spirit is the Restricting Spirit (Ji Shen). If the Functional Spirit is Metal (Wealth), then Fire (Officials/Ghosts) is the Restricting Spirit.
Practical Significance: The Restricting Spirit represents obstacles, destroyers, and competitors. If the Restricting Spirit moves, the protagonist will inevitably be harmed.
Enmity Spirit (The Accomplice of the Restricting Spirit): The one that produces the Restricting Spirit and restricts the Original Spirit.
Practical Significance: The Enmity Spirit represents the fuse or the negative push in the environment. On one hand, it strengthens the obstacle (produces the Restricting Spirit); on the other, it cuts off the reinforcements (restricts the Original Spirit).
Section 4: Deep Case Analysis —— Reconstruction of Logic from Zeng Shan Bu Yi
[Classic Scenario]: Someone divines "When will my father recover from his recent illness?"
Step 1: Select the Functional Spirit. Since it's about the father's illness, take the Parents line as the Functional Spirit.
Step 2: Analyze the protagonist's state. If the Parents line is prosperous in the hexagram (supported by the Month and Day), it means the father has a strong constitution and can get through this crisis.
Step 3: Analyze the Restricting Spirit (Wife/Wealth line). When divining about a father's illness, Wife/Wealth is the Restricting Spirit (because Wealth restricts Parents). Deep Commentary: Many people don't understand why Wealth is the Restricting Spirit. From the perspective of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Wealth represents "diet or desire." If the Wealth line moves to restrict Parents, it may represent "improper diet aggravating the illness" or "exhaustion over family property delaying treatment."
Step 4: Judge the result. If the Children line (the source of the Original Spirit, and capable of restricting Officials/Ghosts) moves, it usually represents the appearance of a famous doctor or effective medicine.
Section 5: A Guide to Avoiding Pitfalls for Modern Readers
Do not over-rely on "Mystical Stars" (Shen Sha): Wild Crane Elder criticized those who only look at "Heavenly Doctor, Noble Man, or Post Horse" while ignoring the Five Elements. In modern prediction, if you say a sickness will be cured just because you see a "Heavenly Doctor" but fail to see that the Functional Spirit is "Extinct" (Hua Jue), you will lead people astray. Generation and restriction are the Logic; stars are the Image.
Distinguish between "Predicting a Person" and "Predicting a Matter": Divining "Can I be promoted?" uses Officials as the Functional Spirit; divining "Is my boss good to me?" also uses Officials to represent the boss (a variation of the Response line). In complex interpersonal divination, it is suggested to use the "Response Line" to represent the person's body and the "Corresponding Six Relative" to represent the person's function.
Note the special imagery of "Following the Ghost into the Tomb" (Sui Gui Ru Mu): In Zeng Shan Bu Yi, if the Functional Spirit is extremely feeble and enters a "Tomb" (e.g., the Functional Spirit is Wood and meets a Wei Day), this represents the matter hitting a dead end, or the person falling into a coma or being imprisoned. This "sense of closure" in space is a stroke of genius for judging details.
Chapter Summary By learning to select the Functional Spirit, you have already mastered 50% of the accuracy of Liu Yao prediction. The remaining 50% lies in how to quantify the strength of these lines based on the Month and Day.
Having chosen the right actors (Functional Spirit) and distinguished friends from foes (Original Spirit, Restricting Spirit), the next step is to see in which season this play is performed. The power of Time will determine the life and death of these characters.
Next Chapter Preview: "Chapter 4: Quantitative Analysis of Five Elements and Four Seasons Prosperity." Why is the same hexagram auspicious in spring but ominous in autumn? This is the mystery of Time Energy!
