Ming Tang Overriding Divination

Practitioners will do well to ponder over Confucius' hint about the differential roles and status of Feng Shui and astrology in the imperial practice:

• 56. The Master said, "The shell and stalks employed by the great men must be held in awe and reverence. But the son of Heaven does not divine by the stalks. While the princes are keeping guard in their states, they divine by stalks. When the son of Heaven is on the road (traveling), he (also) divines by the stalks. In any other state but their own they do not divine by the stalks. They consult the tortoise shell about the chambers and apartments of the houses (where they lodge). The son of Heaven does not so consult the tortoise shell; he stays always in the grand ancestral temples."
  57. The Master said, "The men of rank, on occasions of special respect, use their sacrificial vessels. On this account they do not fail to observe set seasons and days, and do not act contrary to the intimations of the shell and stalks; thus seeking to serve with reverence the ruler and their superiors...
  (Li Chi, Book of Rites. Legge 1967. Volume 2:349-351)

It is very important to note that Confucius hinted that the Ming Tang (i.e. the site of the grand ancestral temple") is so full of qi that it renders unnecessary the roles of divination. This indicates a number of things:

The more obvious function of the Star Master was to evaluate the astrology. The question is how to make the proper correct evaluation?

• Current practitioners are blissfully unaware of the errors which have crept into their divination arts. Generations after generations of masters and students just unthinkingly transmitted their arts, often with unjustified small changes which gradually added up to serious deviations from the original.

  The original astrology was highly scientific, being a function of real astronomical planets and their movements. But current practitioners have lost knowledge of the fundamental scientific basis and have come to think that the astrology stars are "imaginary". How naive!

  Modern practitioners need to correct for these errors! They have to recover the original scientific basis, otherwise what they have now is only a rather low level astrology.

The imperial astrologers made careful observations of the stars and planets. The emperors provided them elaborate expensive astronomical equipment to do that. They did not tracked astrological Time with the faulty calendars but through observing the astronomical positions of the stars and planets.

The main basis of astrological Time was the position of the Bei Dou (Big Dipper) among the 28 Lunar Constellations - this gives the annual Time. For Time through the years, the court astrologers especially would track the movements of the large planet Jupiter, known as "Nien Star" (Year Star). Additional observations were made of other celestial bodies, like the Moon, Mercury, Mars, Venus and Saturn.

How did these court astrologers convey their findings to the emperor? Through the shih boards and turtle shells (or ox bones).

• Jiang Da Hong used a luopan which has only 4 rings (see diagram below). The 4 rings compose of an innermost 8 trigrams, second ring of 24 Mountains, third ring of 48 Na Jia and the outermost ring of 28 Lunar Constellations.

  The Jiang Da Hong's luopan is actually a shih board! Jiang Da Hong was using his 4 rings luopan to tell Time! By observing the night sky to see the relevant 28 Lunar Constellations in conjunction with the full moons, Jiang Da Hong would know the Ganzhi signs of the time in question.

  Jiang Da Hong was using his 4 rings luopan not to find physical directions but to tell time! The luopan was actually a moon-dial for telling astrological Time. All modern luopans with so many purported directions findings fake rings are nonsense.

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A fundamental error in tracking astrological Time emerged when practitioners started to use the official calendars for short cut methods to determine astrological Time. The calendar units are only approximations of real astronomical movements. They are fine in the short term, but would deviate in medium and long terms and would eventually require re-calibrations. Modern usage or abuse of the calendar systems have led to a number of serious errors in modern divination dating.

• During the Hsia, Shang, Chou and Han dynasties, corrections were made for the precession of the equinoxes by shifting one Zodiac sign every 2,000 years. The last was made in the Han dynasty. Year 2011 is today labeled as Year of Rabbit (Mao) when it should be shifted to be Year of Dragon.

  You can actually tell whether 2011 was really a Year of Rabbit. Mao the Rabbit was supposed to be a quiet peaceful time. Was 2011 quite and peaceful? Well, the Dragon signifies turbulence, natural disasters and even rebellions - did not this fit 2011?

  Han Si Fen Li calendar started in AD 85 with GengChen (sign 17). 1984 is taken as JiaZi (1). Calculation from 85 to 1984 shows 1984 is not a JiaZi year! Tang emperor changed GuiHai sign (60) of Winter Solstice AD 640 to a JiaZi sign. 60 cycle counts not continuous and current divination systems are using wrong datings!

Errors abound in modern Chinese divination dating and need to be corrected. The ancient masters attacked errors ever creeping into the Feng Shui and astrology lore. Practitioners will do well to study the ancient texts to find out.

The Star Master was supposed to help people benefit from astrological changes in the qi. The conventional idea is that a person can take advantage of the best qi time for himself, or avoid being afflicted by adverse qi timing.

A critical aspect of the applications of qi timing is with respect to the fluctuating sha at the Demon Gate. Various measures can be taken:

• Lai Bu Yi recommended that those staying in Demon Gate areas must perform qi boosting rituals to counter the sha of the Demon Gate.

  Lai Bu Yi particularly warned that some people born under certain Zodiac signs cannot stay in Demon Gate areas.

  A most well known yet ill-understood ancient ceremony was the imperial New Year Eve ceremony to ward off the dangerous Nien Beast coming to attack the main entrance.

  An ancient saying is that '"72 evils lie at the door". The most deadly one is the end of year Nien Beast coming to the Demon Gate.

Our research shows that there are many ill-understood but potent secrets in the ancient integrated astrology-Feng Shui capable of regulating qi for the far-reaching benefits of the people. Ill-understood by modern practitioners, the various astrological problems have surprising scientific medical basis and can be treated in a scientific medical way. There are real biological and hormonal reactions to astrological factors and these can be scientifically manipulated.

No cartoon witches' brews, please!

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• The 8 Immortals were masters of astrology and Feng Shui. They also knew how to apply the "Weapons of the Immortals" to combat the deadly Demon Gate.
  Note that Li Tien-kuei, the Beggar Immortal, was supposed to be the disciple or friend of Lao Zi. Lao Zi was also the master of the master of Han Chung Li-chuan, the master of Lu Dong Bin. Every thing points to Lao Zi or Tai Shang Lao Jun as the original creator of the Chinese Feng Shui and astrology.
  Their "Weapons of the Immortals" often include herbal medicine.

The ancient masters used the power of the Ming Tang to defeat the Demon Gate! The ancient cultures rang with the clarion calls to the faithfuls to come from time to time to the sacred ground of the Ming Tang. Then, they would receive the powerful shield and weapons of protection to return to Demon Gate areas. Hence, Confucius enigmatically stated, "The people who failed to perform the Rites can be considered as a dead society".

Previous articles:
1.Secrets of the Ming Tang.
2.Enigma of Demon Gate

There are a lot to learn about Feng Shui and astrology and the related vital interactions between the Ming Tang and Demon Gate:

You can learn of the Ming Tang and Demon Gate and their applications in our very advance Luan Tou course.