​Let’s contemplate on one of this statement –

1. Is Useful God 用神 useful? Or
2. Is there such thing as useful god 用神?
3. How many times when your useful god appear and your life got no improvement?

Very thought provocative questions… but we love it…

​In contemporary BaZi 八字, the emphasis is in the strength 强弱 of the Day Stem 日主元神. A strong or weak chart will determined the Useful God 用神. This Useful God 用神 is naturally the element favourable to the chart. A weak chart needs to be strengthened and a strong chart needs to be weakened. The elements that strengthened the weak chart or weaken the strong chart are called Favourable God 吉神 while the reverse are called Unfavourable God 忌神. It is useful when you know how to determine the strength 强弱 of the Day Stem 日主元神. This could pose a lot of challenges especially with different schools holding different points of view about many other miscellaneous criteria, supposing the rule of combination and transformations, the rule on earth seasons and so forth… They never seem to agree with one another often resulted in cases liked, strong but not so strong, weak but not so weak…
 
In classical approach, the emphasis is on the Useful God 用神, not the Day Stem 日主元神. This Useful God 用神 is the God in-command 用事之神, determined by the Month Commander月令. It is not necessarily to be your Favourable God 吉神, as it could just be an Unfavourable God 忌神 as well. Therefore, the traditional approaches boil down to the quality of the Useful God 用神. These qualities are known as Having Affection 有情 or Having Strength 有力. Having Affection 有情 means the Useful God 用神 is being used the appropriate ways and Having Strength 有力 means the Useful God 用神 is being used to strengthen the Day Stem 日主元神. They mean different things altogether. It is useful when you know how to use the Useful God 用神 in the manner of Having Affection 有情 or Having Strength 有力 in a way that Favourable God 吉神 are supported and protected, Unfavourable God 忌神 are restraint and transformed. 

Traditionally, useful God 用神 is derived from the Month Branch that is commonly known as a Month Commander月令. A branch may concealed more than one elements. The Commanding God 用事之神 must be the most dominant element hidden within the Month Branch. This is to qualify as the Commanding God 用事之神 of a particular Solar Term. How to decide on the most dominant element is again, different school different stroke… This Month Branch may also subject to movement and stillness 动静. As to how it move and kept still 动静 is again, different school different stroke… This is a problem! Ultimately, there is a Useful God 用神 subject that one understand clearly as to how to identify the dominant element and determine its movement and stillness 动静.
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Modern approach, useful God 用神 is derived from the strength of the Day Stem 强弱. This goes by the mantra of In-Season 挡候, In-Location 挡位 and In-Formation 挡局.These three factors that contributed to the Day Stem 日主元神 require the Useful God 用神 to arbitrate 扶抑, to medicate 病药 or to adjust 调候. There is a Useful God 用神 of different technique for different situation. Ultimately, reaching to a near perfect chart of CaiGuan Yin 财官印.

This is a compounded question. First, how many times when your Useful God appear? Second, if it appears, why your life got no improvement?

Let’s attempt the first limb of the question. Useful God may appear many times, through the dynamic part of your BaZi – the Luck Pillar and the Annual Pillar. Assuming, that your useful god is fire. This year DingYou 丁酉 may bring about the fire Qi require. A number of Chinese Academies such as Money squeezing Academy of chinese metaphysics (MsAocm), may say that DingYou 丁酉 comes in after LiChun 3 February 2017, Friday 10:36pm. Therefore you suppose to bank in money during this day to activate the “丁”… Is that true?

We also need to ask when is the actual arrival of the Useful God 用神? One conventional way state that, the first half of the year is governed by Ding 丁 while the second half is governed by You 酉? Is that also true? When will the Ding丁 or the You 酉 have impact on you? Will the You 酉 TaiSui full-fledged force be impacted upon you on the Yin寅 month or the Si巳-You酉-Chou丑 month or the Chen辰 month? Many stroke, different outcome.
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One method probably coined Qi Flow Method 氣流法 go as far as to measure the actual progresses or retrograde of these elements through various means such as star conjunctions, planetary movements and eclipses. In such case, even if the Ding丁 is observed, with the real absent of the fire Qi, will you still get to enjoy the fire Qi? Probably such gave the answer to the second limb of the question - even when your useful god appear why your life still got no improvement? 

This is an interesting chart.

Yi wood born in summer, supported by the branch and but not the stem. Technically a weak chart. So, favoring water, metal and wood. Liked the chart of the millionaire, he too should have been a millionaire indeed? With rooted resource, wealth and self, yet this person is only of a working class. Why? So, does owning a so called, "Cai, Guan and Yin" means a millionaire chart? Think about it... Then, what happened to him at the following day, with technically, in DingHai Luck Pillar?

辛 戊 癸 己
酉 午 酉 丑

Here is another example of "Cai Guan Yin". There is a reason to call it in the order of Cai, Guan and Yin, being resource is kept to the left. In this chart it is called Yin, Guan and Cai, a reverse order. What difference would that make? Anyway, it is still Cai, Guan Yin structure. Not supported by season, neither are the stems and the branches with the exception of Xin. Can this chart be a fake follower chart? Officer and wealth rooted. He is a well to do corporate figure. Only 2 roots as compared to 3 roots and yet make such a big difference, why?

I gathered a number of emails pertaining to the topic of Cai GuanYin and I took the liberty of saying it is quite a number of fans for Cai GuanYin. One question remains, is Cai GuanYin a perfect chart? Along our experiences of reading charts we found that profiling Cai GuanYin to the profile of a Tycoon is rather misleading. There is a subtle different between a Cai GuanYin chart of a rich guy with the Cai GuanYin chart of a poor one. Rooted-ness and Stem-liness are just one of the criteria and there are many more to come.

Our student of BaZi workshop has so much knowledge regarding such to take home as one of them was saying, "I thoroughly enjoyed Master Ng's Bazi class. His easy style of teaching made learning fun and naturally, encouraged students participation. All questions were answered. Unlike other masters where some answers would only be made available at higher modules. Most importantly, he offered a different perspective to Bazi reading and his interpretations and disclosures were striking. Those three days of learning had been very enlightening. Thank you Master Ng and your organizing team, David and Lenny".

As for the new year 2011 to come, we are planning for another workshop stretching for at least 6 days for our students covering both BaZi and FengShui simultaneous applications. Our students knew well the depth we had covered in ourpreparatory workshop and there is much more to come, to gear up one to be a competent practitioner.

Back to Cai GuanYin, one email we received was quite fascinating as an Indonesian Chinese was thinking along that he has inherited a Cai GuanYin formation and being a weak day master, he would had benefited from it. The following correspondence with him would had shed some light into the nature of Cai GuanYin.  As his BaZi has been made available in other blogs, we had taken some steps to keep it anonymous. 

Please feel free to comment if you have any doubt.

J: I always wondered what's with the fascination with the structure of "Cai GuanYin" ? Excuse me, let me introduce myself. My name is J and I know BaziDiary and have met him one time in Penang and talked Bazi over Soft Drinks in KFC. Anyway, I have heard that the structure of Self, Output, and Wealth is better than "Cai GuanYin". What are your thoughts on "Cai GuanYin" charts? Pleased to meet you. P.S. My chart is also "Cai,Guan,Yin" with all elements rooted as well as self and a weak DM. I am trying to learn more the nature of this interesting yet peculiar structure. 

YiBaZi: Can you share your Bazi with us? I do not know where to start but to just say that most millionaires are this structure. There is some exceptional case which we had discussed at length during the last workshop. If you understand the significant of a weak chart, you will understand why cai guanyin is so crucial. Hope to meet you someday.

J: I was surprised that you would reply back. BaZiDiary has posted my chart on his site under "law of attraction". You might want to see that first to know his comments on my chart. No, Cai GuanYin was ever mentioned. I found out about it during September this year. By the way, I disagree on his view that my DM is strong just because it's born in the supporting season. However, I will be interested to know your views and what is not and please do let me know if you want more information to confirm with me. By the way, is my chart going to be posted on your blog? And oh yeah, I am not a millionaire YET. I want to believe the remaining LP I have will help me to achieve my dreams. One more thing about my chart, I don't know if it has any significant whatsoever, but all the right stars fall in the right palace in my chart, Grandparent star is in my year branch, mother star is in my month branch, wife star is in my day branch and children star is in my hour branch. My chart is strange. Anyway, I hope to meet you soon too if you ever come to Australia or I go to Penang again.

YiBaZi: Let me look at your chart first and revert to you for more information. Yes, you are right,my approach and BaZiDiary are somewhat different as we may be from different school.Just for curiosity, are you an Indonesian Chinese?

J: Yeh, it just made me sound desperate which I am not that kind of a person. Yes, I am a Chindo (Chinese Indonesia). BaZiDiary learn all his skills from JY and I don't really apply much from JY himself. Not saying he is bad. What I consider good is when the reading is accurate in reading future not only past. Since I have been studying my chart for quite sometimes I'm sure we can have good banter about my chart. As matter of fact let me start a sneak yet critical preview about my chart. My useful God is fire and it is in season as well as rooted. The bad thing about my chart is the FanYin involving month branch and day branch an It is quite severe one.

YiBaZi: No wonder you did not match up a Cai Guan Yin profile! You are a strong chart, my friend! So, BaZiDiary has given you a correct interpretation as to the strength of your chart. Just be a little careful when the Wei comes in.

J: Now I am a strong chart? I thought it was weak due to the fan yin involved. I might be a one of this confusing chart like Bill Gates and Oprah Winfrey charts. Why do I say my DM is weak because in year of BIngXu 2006 I was having a great year that time? If I were strong then BingXu year would be awful for me. Just out of curiousity, Cai guanyin don’t work with strong DM?

YiBaZi: Your chart is easy to read. It is not because I agree with Chris the way a chart's strength is determined only by the month, it is because of something else which I do not wish to disclose. Wouldn't it is strange when BingXu comes in; you would have screwed up, but not? Why? If you understand the rules of transformation, you will see the true picture. A Cai GuanYin is preferred for a weak chart. When the LP and AP come in, a weak chart is better in handling the 5 elements compared to the rest.

J: Thanks for your help in casting a light on the strength of my chart. I kind of understand where are you coming from now. Too bad I got all the right stars and now it is a strong chart.Well, according to ShenSha which I dun like using, my month branch is in Kong Wang but the Wei LP is already over and my life is much better now. Thanks for your help.

The correspondences continue…

My question is, Mr J has been reading more than hundred charts and yet the most profound and fundamental question of the strength of the chart is still prevailing and that has not account to, the accuracy of catching of the useful gods or YongShen. This may not be an isolated case. Unless otherwise, one speaks out liked Mr J did, one will not understand as to why after investing a fortune in BaZi courses and consultations, readings the chart is still way off the actual life events.Something must be so damn wrong, somewhere.  It proof s one thing, you are still your own best teacher. 

We would like to hear your view.

BingBazi introduces us a near perfect chart for discussion, apparently a date selections for C-Section. Jia wood born in winter. Strong self? If it is a weak chart, then on a superficial level, everything seems to fall into place. Perfect star in the correct palace? No clash, punishment and of the sort. Impeccable stillness. Is that really so?  It is a blessings that the students of the currently completed workshop has an opportunity to understand more layers beyond just strong or weak. More importantly do you think this is a chart befitting an emperor?

​The art of BaZi reading has many layers. Besides the ZiPing 子平 method, later scholars came out with many ways to read a chart. There are in the market today, not less than 10 methods 十推论 could be identified such as;

Each variant has its own strength and weaknesses. These weaknesses are basically, things that are not disclosed to the public and were kept as lineage secrets. Therefore, a lot of the stuff that are served today, are by itself, incomplete.

Many conceals these shortcomings by reinventing the wheel and as a result, there are more than one method to read a BaZi chart and the most intriguing thing is that most who had learnt these stuff eventually liked a Mixed-Martial Artist MMA, combined them all and used them simultaneously overlapping one another. Nothing wrong with that.

However, you may come across, from time to time, there are people bold enough to say, “There is no such thing as weak and strong chart in Bazi… Most importantly there is no such thing as positive and negative stars.” Statement like these will cast doubt onto others especially those who has just spent a fortune learning BaZi, the Strong and Weak Method 强弱 way…

Determining the strength 强弱 of the Day Stem is very important. Without this, identification of Favourable and Unfavourable Gods 吉忌神 would be close to impossible. With the failure of identifying the Favourable and Unfavourable Gods 吉忌神, locating the Useful God 用神 would be futile. Therefore a foundation study of BaZi would be structured as the followings: -
​

1. Locating the Day Stem 日主元神
2. Determining the Strength 强弱
3. Identification of Favourable and Unfavourable Gods 吉忌神
4. Locating the Useful God 用神

;These 4 steps are crucial. However, step 4 - Locating the Useful God 用神.  Useful God 用神 has its own Failure and Success. This is attributed by the ‘health’ of the Useful God 用神 itself in relation to the season the Day Stem was born and the remedy for its failure are further defined as the following techniques: -
​
1.       Moderating 扶抑
2.       Arbitrating 通關
3.       Regulating or Temperature Adjustment 調候
4.       Medicating 病藥
5.       Dominant 專旺
 
The last and most crucial part of reading the BaZi is what is known as Event Reading. Some called it Qi Dynamics but generally it is related to;
 
1.       Stillness and Movement 动静
2.       Star and Palace Interplay 星宫
3.       Inter-Intra Palace (Shifting Palace)  移宫
 
However, when contemplating step 4 - Locating the Useful God 用神, some scholars formulate other fringe techniques to make step 2 - Determining the Strength and  step 3 - 强弱Identification of Favourable and Unfavourable Gods 吉忌神 rather obsolete. They base their findings largely from this 2 classics namely;
​

1. QiongTong BaoJian 穷通宝鉴, attributed to Xu LeWu 徐樂吾.
2. DiTian Sui 滴天髄, attributed to Liu BoWen 刘伯温, based on the principle laid by JingTu 京圖.

This classic gave another approach to ZiPing 子平 by introducing a technique called Temperature Adjustment - 调候. Besides the 10 stems, balancing the 5 elements is essential. This classic introduces the consideration to Regulate the Useful God 调用神 by adjusting the temperature of the 5 elements. The coldness 冷, warmness 暖, wetness 湿 and dryness 燥 affects the balance of the 5 elements. For example, dry earth cannot produce metal. Wet wood will not fuel fire. When the Day Stem日主 is too cold or dry, it is difficult for that element to survive or simply function. These coldness 冷, warmness 暖, wetness 湿 and dryness 燥 are dependent on the 10 stems born in different seasonal Qi. The month branch affects the survival of the Day Stem 日主.
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As a result, we are able to discard the strength of the Day Stem 日主 and move quickly into evaluating the quality of the Day Stem 日主 itself. There is no longer the problem of weak… but not too weak, strong… but not too strong. There is only the chart is either too cold or too warm, too dry or too wet. How beautiful… and there is a shortcut to these. Whenever you see this Day Stem 日主 as the followings, the elements that adjust its temperature must present itself in the stems not otherwise it is rendered inferior;

​Caveat, the crust of the theories are deeper than these short-cuts, please take note… We just simplified it for casual discussion. Eventually, what the Day Stem 日主, likes and dislikes constitute how to adjust the temperature 调候 of the useful gods 用神. When the Day Stem 日主 is too cold 冷, it requires to be kept warm 暖. When the Day Stem 日主 is too warm 暖, it requires to be kept cold 冷. When the Day Stem 日主 is too dry 燥, it requires to be kept wet 湿. When the Day Stem 日主 is too wet 湿, it requires to be kept dry 燥. These coldness 冷, warmness 暖, wetness 湿 and dryness 燥 are the Useful God 用神. Here you don’t particularly need to distil your favourable god 吉神 and unfavourable god 凶神. As this technique has already been made available in the internet, largely used by most schools, there is no reason as to why it should be kept as a secret. 

​Nicked name the Heavenly Marrow Distillation, this classic brought about the notion of 理氣象, typically SanYuan 三元 approach to BaZi. The Ten Stem 十干 is now visualized as an imagery or pictorial – Xiang 象, the Ten Gods 十神 – Qi 氣 and the interactions – Li 理. The crux of this technique require first to visualize to 10 stems 十干 in pictorial form with its characteristic such as;

​甲: A Big Tree with Huge Canopy and Deep Rooted.
乙: A Creeper Shrub that climb with high tendency to grow.
丙: The Sun parallel to no others with Rays and Warmth the Grow.
丁: A Candle wick Fire that has the tendency to Burn everything to Dust.
戊: An Immovable Huge Mountain overlooking others.
己: Soft Mud highly Organic capable to Grow anything.
庚: An Axe toughen and Baptised by Fire.  
辛: A Jewellery so Shining and Bright as the Stars in the Skies.
壬: An Ocean without boundaries but a Horizon where all Water Returns.
癸: A Mist that Float and Filled the air without Form, Shape and Smell.

When combined with the 12 Earthly Branches will give you a matrix of 60 JiaZi, with each JiaZi 甲子 has its very own Imagery. For example;
 
JiaZi 甲子 is a Withering Tree growing at the riverbank. First understand the supporting earth and its foundation as a Big Tree require a good soil for its root to penetrate and hold onto. Secondly study the Stem in order to determine the structure. Should there be Wu 午 clashing the root, this person is unlucky.  In other words, Jia 甲 wood sitting on Gui 癸 water, the main Qi of Zi 子.  Gui 癸 is the Direct Resource 正印 to Jia甲. Jia 甲 represents Growth, as a tree grow upward. A  Jia 甲 Day Stem person has a tendency to pursue growth. These people are survival as long as resource 印 is available. Gui 癸 water also represent wisdom and Direct Resource 正印 means knowledgeable. This person is well educated and they have sheer fighting power and perseverance to wait for an opportunity to grow. Jia 甲 wood is a lone tree that require space to grow. So they are naturally bone loner. When countered with negative Direct Resource 正印, they could be jealous and intellectually combative. Such isolation reflects on their cold shoulder appearances. This JiaZi 甲子 favour Bing 丙, the Eating God 食神, as the Sun with Rays and Warmth present it to Grow.
 
Points to note - the tree is just a metaphor. One needs to think further to grab the real meaning behind the picture. Jia甲 wood embodies the idea of ‘growth’. It is about production and progress, starting of a journey or a cycle, etc. Regrettably, the ‘literal meaning’ has been taken out of context resulting in people having wear green, or plant big trees in their residence as a Medicating 病藥 technique. This concept has been taken out of context.
 
Also this technique of reading Pillar 柱 to Pillar 柱 eliminates the necessities to step 1 - Determining the Strength 强弱 and step 2 - Identification of Favourable and Unfavourable Gods 吉忌神. This technique also has the ability to read a Single Pillar to determine auspicious or otherwise 一柱定吉凶. 

​Imagery method may look convenient but image can be deceiving… What look like a tree to you may look like a spinach to me… the way these 2 classics had been interpreted has absolutely deviated from the truth, for example;
 
“甲木，参天” or “甲，木参天?” The former is Jia Wood while the latter is Jia, as in item (1), then wood grows upward… remember that classical Chinese has no annotation whatsoever…
 
The truth, Jia甲 wood is NO TREE… Yi乙 wood is NO CREEPER SHRUB… Bing丙 fire is NO SUN… The YinYang 陰陽 understanding of the elements are all WRONG! Saying that, we should leave it for another day.

​Has not been updating this BaZi blog lately, just for a start let us warm up by introducing to you another way of reading BaZi in a pictorial manner, by using the above lady’s chart – career woman. We all know too well that this lady is a Wu person sitting on Zi water. What sort of imagery, Xiang, would WuZi bring to you? Ice capped mountain or mountain hidden by clouds? Is this a beautiful mountain? That tells you how beautiful are this person. The solid water pillar, we nicknamed it as stubborn pillar, also paints you another side of her story in relation to the hour pillar, among others representing her career palace. How do you think she strive in her career?

Ask yourself, what is the useful god (UG) for a Wu earth mountain, so solidify, so stubborn, so hard and too trustworthy? Hardened soil needs to be loosened. In this case Jia or Yi wood? What quality of Jia found in the month stem? Skinny tree or rain forest tree? Rooted in Mao, injured by Xin (pen knife) and not clashed by Geng (axe), what does it means? The tree is still alive, not seen to be growing upward, but has deep penetrating roots among others signify what? That paints the imagery of her superior, quite robust outlook with a very good PR intrinsically – another form of extrapolation? So, her useful god is usable but the question is she doesn’t know how to use it to her advantage. 

Using the 10 gods, Jia among others is her superior. Xin is her action. When Xin is countering Jia, her useful god is countered, meaning that her actions displeased her superior in what degree? Her actions, if it is unmonitored, will brings her more harm in a long run, as Xin is sited on Mao, penknife cutting twig? This means to say, her opportunity to establish networking with others through her superior may be hampered, thus rendering her useful god weakened. So, the real useful god has been shifted from authority to her output. The next question is, would she able to control her action? 

That depends on how wisely she would think – resource. Wu Mountain is best at keeping things and that includes her action? The more resource she has, how she may becomes? However, in her case, the action is revealed! So how good may she control her action, especially when provoked? Would it last as it has no root? She has the tendency to blunder in the month/year of what? So, burying her action is also important, her useful god has been shifted to resource and self.

Her actions produce her solid wealth, water as seen in the career palace. Wu and Gui tendency to combine but not transform, indicating her career mindedness. What sort of quality water does GuiHai represent? The imagery of GuiHai is liked a clouded sky above the still lake. That is a beautiful version! The ugly version is a huge storm in the middle of the cold sea – inhumane! Water wants to be untainted, sentimental and contained. With the tendency to combine but cannot transform and with overabundant of water, will this uproot the Jia and break the Wu? How beautiful is this water? So, has she, the tendency to be superstitious and depressed especially related to her career and in the process affecting her resource, thinking and decision? Is she prone to make the wrong decision in relating to her career which will ultimately make her lose money, in the short run? 

Now, coming back to WuZi, the misty mountain, would the already clouded mountain wished to be clouded further? You have the answer.

In this attempt, there is no tendency to look into the strength of chart. All that is matter is the quality of the elements that present itself as the 10 gods with reference to the self. It is all pictorial; to see what the elements needs most as its useful gods and hate most as its unusable gods, thus using one to arbitrate the others (Thong Guan). Even all the elements are usable.