3 HEAVENS OF YELLOW STONE - 黄石公三天(青囊经)

The Chinese Metaphysics are really fascinated with the sky 天. It is also known as Heavenly Bodies – planets, stars, sun and so forth. So, how do we look at it in FengShui?

There is a saying: -

 一等地师观星斗，二等地师寻水口，三等地师满山走！

Translated as: First Class master observing the stars and asterism, second class master observing the water mouth and the third class master runs around the mountain (implying not seeing anything).

So, in order to be the first class master, you are supposed to be able to observe the star and to apply your FengShui cure without even the need to go to the site! Is it possible? Within this phrase it is hidden the secret of XieZi 些子. Apparently when SanHe and SanYuan meet it is where XieZi 些子 is, right?

There are nine layers of Heaven 九层天. How the 9 layers of Heaven does comes about? Has it also got to do with the mysterious lady of the nine heaven 九天玄女? There is a metaphysical aspect and a physical aspect of Heaven. In FengShui, we study the physical aspect or better known as the 9 spheres of Heaven - the fixed star + 7 governors + Earth = 9 spheres of Heaven. It is also from here, the notion of three heavens 三天 are derived – Early Heaven 先天, Later Heaven 后天 and Middle Heaven 中天. 

青囊经 (中卷) -黄石公

经曰: 
天有五星，地有五行，
天分星宿，地列山川，
气行于地，形丽于天，
因形察气，以立人纪，
紫微天极，太乙之御，
君临四正，南面而治，
天市春宫，少微西掖，
太微南垣，旁照四极，
四七为经，五德为纬，
运乾坤舆，垂光乾纪，
七政枢机，流通终始，
地德上载，天光下临，
阴用阳朝，阳用阴应，
阴阳相见，福禄永贞，
阴阳相(差)乘，祸咎踵门，
天之所临，地之所盛，
形止气蓄，万物化生，
气感而应，鬼福及人，
是故，
天有象，地有形，
上下相须而成一体，
此之谓化机

Translation: 

Green Satchel Classics (Middle Scroll) - HuangShi Gong States: Heaven has 5 stars, earth has 5 elements. Heaven is constituting asterism, earth arrange mountain and plains. Qi moves as earth, forms suspend as Heaven. Use form to examine Qi, to forecast human affairs. ZiWei, heavenly pole. TaiYi is governing. The ruler 君临 rules 4 corners or cardinals. South facing thus govern. TianShi in eastern palace, ShaoWei western side. TaiWei southern wall, 4 and 7 as longtitude (classics). 5 virtues as latitude. Fortune (period luck) QianKun carriage. Shining brightly Qian granted. 7 governors pivot working, circulate with completion and commencement. Earthly virtue upward conveys, Heavenly light downward preside. Yin use Yang faces. Yang use Yin respond. YinYang mutually meet, fortune prosperity ever pure. YinYang together harness, misfortune disaster follows together. Heaven that which presides, earth that which contains. Form retains, Qi gathers – ten thousand things are born. Qi moves and responds spirits blessings touch people. Heaven has image, earth has form. Up down mutual rules and complete one body – this speak of change.

Early Heaven 先天

Early Heaven 先天 is referring to the “fixed” star. It is fixed as a reference point or palaces 宫. When it is visited by the 7 “planets” it is called path 道 such as yellow path 黄道, white path 白道 and red path 红道. These fixed stars are also known as the 28 asterism 二十八宿. In this cluster of the 28 asterism, it is known as the 4 enclosures 四垣 namely Black Warrior 玄武 – North, Red Phoenix 朱雀 – South, Green Dragon 青龍 – East, White Tiger 白虎 – West. When these 4 Heavenly enclosures are reflected onto earth, it forms the 4 Earthly Guardians 四灵 or land forms. These 4 enclosures form the outer layer of the Chinese “fixed” star. There are another 3 star streams 三垣 namely ZiWei stream 紫微垣, TaiYi stream 太微垣 and TianShi stream 天市垣. The north dipper star 北斗 is located at the ZiWei stream 紫微垣.  The Green Satchel state, ZiWei, heavenly pole. TaiYi is governing. The ruler 君临 rules 4 corners or cardinals. South facing thus govern. TianShi in eastern palace, ShaoWei western side. TaiWei southern wall, together they are the Early Heaven star map that is fixed therefore it is known as Early Heaven – Something that you want to change but cannot change – it is fixed! Early Heaven star map has also its own YinYang. It is where your XKDG is structured. Just cannot believe there are people who claimed to be using XKDG date selection and yet warning others that the 28 asterism 二十八宿 is no longer valid due to the precession of the equinox! The entire structure of XKDG is based on Early Heaven 先天.

Later Heaven 后天

Heaven has 5 stars – Jupiter 木星 (wood star),   Mars 火星 (fire star),   Saturn 土星 (earth star), Venus 金星 (metal star) and Mercury 水星 (water star). Earth has 5 elements –木 (wood), 火 (fire), 土 (star), 金 (metal) and 水 (water). When Heaven is constituting asterism, earth arrange mountain and plains - it means to say these planetary movement is affecting the mountain star 山星 and the water star 水星. 

So, the 5 elements are also assigned to landforms. Qi moves as earth (moves), forms suspend (reflected from) as Heaven. Use form to examine Qi, to forecast human affairs. This is where the term as above so below comes into being. On earth we investigate the land form. Looking up the Heaven, there stars that suggest the locations of these land forms. Therefore first class master, you are supposed to be able to observe the star and to apply your FengShui cure without even the need to go to the site. However it is not true. The 5 planets plus the moon and the sun are - the 7 governors pivot working, circulate with completion and commencement. These are the moving parts of the star map that is called Later Heaven 后天. With each of these movements human affairs can be forecast and step can be taken. Therefore Later Heaven 后天 is what you can control. Out of the 7 governors, the Sun and moon are two entities that are closet to the Earth. The Sun governs season and the moon governs water.

It reminds me of what Zhang ZhongShan has to say: -

北斗者，天上北斗，主司元气化育万物者也。故斗柄指东，天下皆春，斗柄指西，天下皆秋，一生一杀，万事万物皆随斗柄为转移。

North Dipper refers to heavenly north dipper, the host of congenital Qi/YuanQi and the source of the myriad things. The handle of the dipper points east, spring arrives, handle points west, fall arrives. One birth one killing, everything and every matters are influenced by the movement of the dipper handle. 

Points to note:
SanHe uses the sun path to set its Heaven Plate to establish structure. SanYuan uses the Heavenly “clock” instead to set its Heaven Plate to also establish structure. How far different can they be? 

Points to note:
There is a phrase, Early Heaven as principle, Later Heaven as application. How do you see SanHe and SanYuan people using Later Heaven 后天 to control what it is not able to control as in Early Heaven 先天? 

中天 = 先天為體、後天為用?

地德上载，天光下临，this phrase can also means what you did as in earthly virtue (good karma) will be bestowed by heavenly blessings. However, within the context of this classic, it meant the landform as pulled out of the surface of the earth forming mountains are the result of the stars having to arrive at that location for many light years.

Yin use Yang faces. Yang use Yin respond. YinYang mutually meet, fortune prosperity ever pure. YinYang together mismatched, misfortune disaster arriving at doorstep. That is how one supposed to use the middle heaven 中天. Therefore 三等地师满山走, is very crucial to be able to discern YinYang not otherwise you will be running around seeing nothing.

Heaven that which presides – matching the heavenly bodies, earth that which contains – the land form that contains Qi. Form retains, Qi gathers – ten thousand things are born – The ability to receive Qi there will be ShengQi. Qi moves and responds spirits blessings touch people - How does Qi moves and retain? . Heaven has image – through the star map, earth has form – through the land form. Up down mutual rules – linking the heaven and earth and complete one body – as in one applications – this speak of change.

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My Early Writings on this Subject :

Early & Later Heaven Relationship

Early Heaven is the Body 先天為體, object, host or principle (體) and Later Heaven 後天為用 is the soul, subject, guest or application (用). EH is a given scenario that cannot change as - in the gifts of Heaven. LH is a transformation as in Human Actions. Undoubtedly based on the principle of 體用, we said EH governs mountain, as herewith referred to human relationships and health aspect, whereas, LH governs water, as herewith referred to opportunities and wealth. LH  is something that is in our controls whereas EH is beyond our controls.

When we look into the 8 wandering Gua  游星, we are arranging the directional Qi map of the 8 sectors and if applied to the mountains or stars, we called it as PaiLong 排龙 or arranging the dragons. Another name to it is the minor wandering Gua 小游年卦. When the name of the stars from the big dipper is assigned to these Gua it is called star, hence the name 8 minor wandering Stars is surfaced 小游年星.

The similar notion is then applied to BaZhai 八宅法 when the stars are assigned to the 8 directional Qi map of the 8 sectors for a compartmentalized structure. To distinguish between these methods of arranging the stars, it is called minor wandering stars, for assigning the mountain, mainly used for burial and major wandering stars 大游年星 for assigning of Qi map for compartmentalized spaces as in a dwelling.

These form the premise of what later known as the East and West House 东西卦宅.

3 Auspicious and 6 Elegance of Starry starry Night
3 intergalactic friends namely ZiWei, TianShi and TaiWei, decides one day to leave a mark on planet earth. Seeking permission from the Jade Emperor, these friends pull the surface of the earth marking and distinctively arranging mountains, waters, streams and sands. The chief of these companions is ZiWei. He alone controls TaiYi, being a small portion of the intergalactic ZiWei streams. There he decides, among his peers which landforms are the 3 auspicious and the 6 elegance. Do you know which?

Having its sides shining the 4 extremes, being which are the 4 extremes? There comes the four and then the seven making a vertical connection. What is this connection? Why seven and not five? Has the five been in horizontally woven? Woven into what?Apparently we need to spend a lot of time looking up into the skies. It is this time that this exercise is a luxury for many modern people, whom has taken a choice of looking for the stars in the television instead. Notice how the star rotates?

Apparently we need to also spend a lot of time looking down to the shadows of the valleys. It is this time that this exercise is also a luxury for many modern people, whom has taken a choice of looking for money in the office instead. Notice how the shadow moves as the sun rotates?

Had these rotations not “woven” into something else, such as the 3 auspicious and 6 elegance, day for night and night for day? So what has been woven? What are these numbers? What are these enclosures? The best of all what the hell is 3 auspicious 6 elegance?

Monsieur Steve, have you progress with the heavenly stars?

4 Good Versus 4 Bad - East Versus West

It will be ridiculous to even think that there will be 4 bad sectors and 4 good sectors for a house. If one is living in a mansion, then the 4 bad sectors would have been easily avoidable. What if it was a case of a small apartment unit? Does it mean that the other 4 sectors will be unusable? Worst, if the notion of the 4 eastern GUA cannot match the 4 western GUA. How ridiculous such a theory can be? Imagine, what will one sees when one travels west and beyond? Will one come back to the East? So, how could west remain as west and east remain as east?

The Early and Later Heaven application has been force fitted to explain a theory in such a morbid fashion. It will be even more horrifying to note that the East and West dichotomy is due to the interaction of the 5 elements. Have any genuine theory of Chinese Metaphysics say that water and fire clash each other? If that is the case, what is the Green Satchel Classics for? Would that make any significant for the authoritative classic of 8 mansions called 8 Mansions Bright Mirror (Bazhai Ming Jing) to be relevant?

Early heaven is principle, later heaven is application. What does this really mean? Can LiuSha, WuGui, JueMing and HuoHai be auspicious? Can a husband and wife of different east and west group share the same bed use the same entrance, eat at the same table? How about the pet in the house? Before we continue bluffing ourselves with 8 mansions, why wouldn’t we revisit the fundamental? Just the fundamental.

Heaven and Earth fixed position. Which is heaven which is earth? What is the vessel, where is the Qi? Mountain and marsh connect Qi. Where is the mountain, where is the marsh? How to connect Qi? Thunder Wind mutually close. Where is the thunder and where is the wind? What has been close and what has been opened? Water and Fire not shoot each other. Which are the fire and which the water is? Why these elements don’t shoot each other? If one understands this, one will understand that there is no dichotomy of the east and the west, good and the bad. We will understand 8 mansions in another perspective. Unfortunately, we simply don’t even understand what ShengQi is and we start talking about others!

Also, seek the applications as the followings: -
Carries trunk, Kun earth,
Downward shining, Qián arranges.
Seven governors, pivot workings,
Circulate, finish, begin.
Earthly virtue, upwards convey,
Heavenly lights, downwards preside.
Yin applies, Yáng faces,
Yáng applies, Yin responds.
Yin Yáng, mutually meet,
Fortune, prosperity, ever pure.
Yin Yáng, together harness,
Misfortune, disaster follows gate.

Knowing these, all the new age theories dotting the internet will be crap and a shear display of mockery and fallacy, to reinvent an ancient theory based on modern interpretation. The current notion of east and west houses are a shear fallacy and any further discussion based on such false interpretation would be disaster resulting in breaking up of families, useless renovations, unnecessary fears, getting rich schemes, more advance Bazhai classes, 8 mansions for wealth, getting rich with 8 mansions, more books to the resume and endless forum entries such as what if the flying star chart do not conform to the 8 mansion chart?

So the next time, when such a question of this sort was put forward, such theory was discussed further, just take a seat back and laugh for one knows it is not true. Perhaps even the Green Satchel wasn't true?

The Question of Subtleties

In view that SanYuan rested on timing. YinYang Qi map is the fundamental of where to locate water and where to locate mountain. All this is term direct and indirect spirit, LingZhen.

2 cycles 8 periods referred to the Heaven Qi. There are only upper and lower cycles. Upper cycle governs period 1, 2, 3 and 4. Lower cycle governs period 6, 7, 8 and 9. There is no period 5. In the 2 cycles 8 periods, each period governs an unequal number of years. Each Yang Yao within the ruling Gua governs 6 years and the Yin Yao within the ruling Gua governs 9 years. For example in the upper cycle of period 1, the governing Gua is Kan Gua. Kan Gua has 2 Yin Yao and 1 Yang Yao. Therefore, the period 1 will last for 24 years.

The absent of period 5 is called the invincible period. It is the igniting element that will propel the cure throughout the 180 years and therefore are known as The SanYuan BuBai. So highly mysterious that it is also annexed to the method of XieZi.

On the other hand, XuanKong DaGua (XKDG) is annexed to the 2 cycles 8 period principle. It is therefore, a Heaven Qi manipulation method befitted as a date selection technique.

Whereas, 3 cycles 9 periods referred to Earth Qi. There are Upper, Middle and Lower Cycles. Upper cycle governs period 1, 2 and 3. Middle cycle governs 4, 5 and 6. Lower cycle governs 7, 8 and 9. Each period governs an equal 20 years. Thus, a cycle consists of 60 years.

One postulation suggests that 5 yellow exist in earth Qi because the 5 yellow is the center of the earth with the operative method rested on AiXing, Leaning Star with the quest to move the center of the Earth in sync with the Heaven Qi.

The Purple White Script, ZiBai Jue, is one of the fragments dislocated from the entire body of knowledge within this SanYuan framework. Similarly so with XuanKong FeiXing (Flying Star), BaZhai (8 Mansions) and LongMen BaDa Ju (Dragon Gate 8 Formations), are just subsets of the entire framework. These piece-meals methods are called, end user methodology.

The pretext state, Heaven has 9 stars, Earth has 8 Gua and Human (Man) has 8 doors. If we see SanYuan as Heaven, Earth and Man, the valid method must encompass of matching the Heaven Qi with the Earth Qi to unlock the gateways within so that the parallel dimensions between the human realm and the supernatural realm is open. Does it sound “hocus-pocus”?

As above so below is an alternative view of how Heaven Qi influences the Earth Qi and in return, how Earth Qi influence Human Being. This postulation is annex to the asterism above influence the gravitational pull that result in having mountains, the solid and rivers, the void shape the landforms that we know today. This is however, a single dimensional point of view.

What that is not explained is at every point on Earth, there is a portal ready to be opened where scripts liked the leaning, expanding, contracting, hugging, replacement are all the essence to open up the portals so that an affinity with the other side is established.

The key to these, again, are the Yi TaiQi that spins in one direction in order to open the Dao TaiQi that spin the reverse order. This is where the understanding of landforms via LingZhen spirit becomes largely important and it is the backbone of the Greater SanYuan.

Ling and Zhen as a principle is static apply for both 2 cycles and 3 cycles respectively. But the dynamic part for Earth Qi is largely governed by landforms. If the theory of as above so below is valid, then the reflections of the landforms must correspond to the asterism as above. It must works in both ways. This is to inform that by plainly accepting XKDG as a date selection without looking the actual star that present and the governing Qi respectively, SanYuan portal will not be opened. This is where results are inconsistent as sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t.

When we stacked the multi layers of SanYuan AiXing against the dimension of time with the arrangement of the doors, what is present to us is a stacking of multi-dimensional model, where stars lean against one another locking and unlocking the multi dimensional portals.
Is this mysterious subtleties?

We are One Big Family

The coming of the lunar 9th month marks an important event in the Dao calendar. It marks the arrival of the 9 emperor gods. Many may ignores such a great event, because the understanding is such that many academies are disassociating themselves of the spiritual inclination of Fengshui with the religion of Dao. Such were necessary when the needs to market this knowledge is deemed important to attract the audience of the Westerner. Likewise, in my previous blog, the notion of this art is indeed argued in the title called the religion of Fengshui. As the term Fengshui itself is misleading, I had move on to speak only about KanYu, leaving others to talk about Fengshui.

The 9th month marks the arrival of the 9 stars. Having the similar name of the 7 North Dipper Stars with the 2 imaginary stars, these stars are frequently used in the context of KanYu devoid of its real understanding of the potential of these stars. The ShenShi methodology of XK Flying Star array the 9 stars having the association of the period, facing and sitting stars with the 81 associated combinations for divination. Purple White on the other hand had these stars to be Qi, Image and numbers, again using the map and the book for divination. Xuan Kong Da Gua (XKDG) has the period and element numbers to match in the combination of 10, HETU and pure GUA formation for prescription. Yet these understandings are devoid of the true essence of the 9 stars.

Similarly, the understanding of the 4 enclosures and the 7 luminaries making the backbone of 3 auspicious 6 elegances mountain and water also uses these names of the 9 stars. Yet, none contain the true essence of the 9 stars. Even if one were to understand the secret of Qing Nan Au You, understand the Dian Dian Dao, one will not reckon that the arrival of the 9 stars is within the 60 dragons. Worst if the understanding of KanYu is butchered in a way of the 2 schools of thought namely San He and San Yuan. There is no SanHe or SanYuan to begin with. SanYuan is not derived from SanHe neither is SanHe derived from SanYuan. There is only Heaven, Man and Earth. The rest is being made up for publications.

This is the true reflection of San Yuan. We are one big family indeed. KanYu originated from China with a reason. This is a Chinese art, for a reason. Again, if you move far west, one will come back to the east. The affinity of the family comes in three.

I remembered, some practitioner said, KanYu is a fire related field. Master of the old never said that. KanYu belongs to the field of the 5 elements with fire and water being more prominent. Saying thus, I remembered a famous master trainer did said, most of the practitioners must have the fire and water in their BaZi, notably a water person will be instrumental to control the so called art of fire. This fire element must be Bing fire, the most Yang element and the self element must be Gui water being the most Yin element of the 10 pantheon of heavenly stem. Having these Yin Yang stars marked the proficiency of the practitioners to master the art. This I must forewarned to be taken with a huge pinch of salt. By the same token, if ever a master said, only the water day master person will be a good KanYu master, please take it as a marketing gimmick.

Master of the old said, heaven and earth fixed positions; water and fire never shoot each other. Meaning to establish heavenly affinity, heaven and earth must be in proper location in which fire and water never controls each other. Here, one sees that what is the use when the Sun as in Bing Fire meets a cloud, Gui water? Where is wisdom in such an argument? Being useful and Yang, the Sun must reveal and being humble and resourceful, the Yin vapors must be hidden in the branches as the source of life. This is the beginning of the greater SanYuan.

Early heaven is the principle, later heaven is the application. EH arrangement being Li Gua at the East. LH application having Zhen Gua at the East. Matching both, revealing Bing Fire, the affinity starts with the three. San Yuan starts with the three. The one big family starts with the three.

It is on this day, WuZi year, DingYou month and BingZi day, the three comes together receiving the essence of SanYuan. The DaGua is unaccomplished. There is more work to be done in dispelling the misconception of this art. Do you now belong to the one big family?