Transformation and Life Guidance
BaZi and Qi Men, as well as Yi Jing and Feng Shui, are rivers of the same source that flow into the same sea, merged within Chinese metaphysics and thinking, from the very beginning.
Metaphysics / Ba Zi / Qi Men / Feng Shui / Yi Jing
Transformation and Life Guidance
Chinese Metaphysics
Observation has been for the Chinese people since their earliest days, the way of looking at existence.
Observation of the phenomena of the Universe that surrounds us and the manifestations that derive from it, that is, seeking to understand the essence that is at the origin of the existence of whatever it is and gives it form and consistency.
This search for the unfathomable and the transcendent, for knowledge and interpretation of the reflections of these subtle universal forces in cycles, in the constitution of life, in the existence and activities of the human being, was reflected in Imperial guidelines, in the management of life cycles, agricultural calendars, social rites, health.
Chinese Metaphysics is diversified into several areas, among them BaZi, Qi Men, Yi Jing, and Feng Shui, rivers from a common source that flow into the same sea, merged in Chinese Metaphysics and thinking since its beginnings.
The study and use of these areas was forbidden, their access was exclusive to Emperors and high dignitaries for security, power or economic reasons.
The BaZi as a way to be able to determine individual characteristics, capabilities and potential and thus be able to be a threat.
QiMen, for its strategic component, prediction of events, and solutions associated with the cycles of time, applied and used at defining moments in the history of ancient China, and certainly of recent history as well, and anchored in mythology.
Yi Jing as a source of knowledge and interpretation of the mutations of the universe and transformation of cycles and life.
Feng Shui, was originally intended to determine the most favorable location for the grave in order to guarantee good fortune and continuity to descendants and future generations, or the most favorable areas to build a palace, to found a city, which was ordered to be executed by whoever had that power.
Above all being able to use the interaction of cosmic and terrestrial forces, as factors of growth and harmony.
Each culture, according to its knowledge, has sought to achieve these same goals.
Despite some changes and openness over time, access to this area was exclusive to a very small elite.
Only in the early 1900s with the fall of the Qing dynasty did it become more accessible to the wealthy and informed classes or in the cycles of power.
With the settlement of the People’s Republic of China, these areas become restricted and later pursued, just like others with a deeper energetic or spiritual view of the human being, such as ancient Traditional Chinese Medicine or the Internal Arts.
This was the situation that provoked, as long as it was possible, the exodus of a large amount of the “intelligence” that was able to take refuge in Taiwan, Hong Kong, in Southwest Asia, which became “depositaries” of part of this ancestral knowledge, and in other countries where there were already communities and cultural ties, such as France, Germany, England, and Canada, among others.
The ” re-opening” and access to these areas of knowledge are somewhat recent, if we consider that 50 or 60 years ago they were very little known or unknown to the rest of the world.
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BaZi means 8 Characters, which result from our birth date, Year, Month, Day and Hour, and become the 4 Pillars of Destiny (Ming), which we can be described as our essence, or our life potential.
BaZi rests on its own foundation, parameters, rules of analysis and interpretation refined over centuries – starting from 200 BC – beyond any aspect of divination or superstition.
It is an effective tool that helps us know our structure better, by analyzing the type of energies that impregnated our personal constitution during gestation and birth, contributing to our energetic formation, our potential and valences, in the way we relate affectively, act, be and think, in our ambitions and vision of the future.
Knowing what our characteristics and our potential are helps us to be better informed and prepared to make the right decisions for our reality, for the moment we are going through, and thus obtain better results.
Having a clearer vision of our capacities and strengths, knowing when to use them, is a more effective way of living life, besides saving time, energy and resources, and being a strong contribution on the way to our fulfillment.
It is important to keep in mind that the signs are represented by animals, and have remained so over time, to simplify the understanding of each energetic constitution, without any physical or other similarity…
None of the signs or any of the elements, Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water, are by themselves positive or negative, they are energetic attributes, with utility and value depending on the interaction among them, the way and the most adequate moments in which we use them, the determining factor being our action and constructive posture.
As we refine and develop our potential, we become a better version of ourselves, and literally everything around us improves and the path opens up before us.
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“Qi Men Dun Jia”, or in English, “Magic Door to Protect the Boss”, results from the combination of:
- “Qi” which has the broad sense of mysterious or mystical, i.e., drawing on the influence of celestial forces;
- “Men” means a door or way of acting or behaving;
- “Dun” hide or escape to stay hidden;
- “Jia” the general or whoever commands.
That is, “Mysterious Doors to hide Jia” or in the broad sense so that “Jia” can escape or be protected, due to the prediction of events and outcomes.
The first records of the use of Qi Men Dun Jia, as a divinatory art, date back to a turbulent period in China’s history, the Warring Kingdoms around 700 BC.
Tradition and history, however, say it was used by the Yellow Emperor Huang Di, a mythical figure in Chinese tradition, some 5,000 years ago in his fight against the rebel Chi You.
Chi You combined unusual intelligence and physical constitution with the power to control the forces of nature, which made him invincible.
Aware that he had no chance against this opponent, Huang Di sought inspiration by withdrawing into meditation in the mountains, where he met the Goddess of the Nine Heavens who initiated him in the use of “Qi Men Dun Jia”.
It was thanks to this knowledge that Huag Di was able to defeat Chi You, become a central figure in founding his Empire, which proved to be decisive for the future and unification of China.
Throughout Chinese history, there are references to the use of Qi Men Dun Jia in various defining and decisive moments.
Qi Men, in its most current denomination, is based on the interpretation of the interaction and dynamics between space, time, and an event.
It was used to determine the outcome depending on an action taken in a given situation, or moment, and used in affairs of state or in war to determine the outcome and what strategy and appropriate measures would lead to victory.
In time it was extended to other approaches.
The adaptation of the Qi Men to our days, makes it a factor of diversified usefulness in Metaphysics, applied in numerous areas beyond predicting results, in the energetic use of space, in the definition of adequate strategies both personal and business, in the evaluation and knowledge of the personal structure, support and guidance to the life path and spiritual evolution, which makes it a precious instrument in our personal, professional or business life.
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The classic texts of Feng Shui refer to the interpretation of the effect of the energies coming from the firmament, on the earth and how these energies influence us.
Following different systems some masters, observing the dynamics of the stars, determined which areas or populations had the best nature and abilities, or the most economic development.
Others, identifying the best location and direction to build a house, based on the reflections of the abundant and positive energy conjugating the characteristics of the surrounding area, in a certain period of time, reflecting on the building and its inhabitants.
A rule of Classical Feng Shui tells us that 70% of the energy quality of a house depends on the energies of the space it is in, and the house itself has a value of 30%, reflected in positive energies for its inhabitants.
For classical Chinese Metaphysics our life path and fulfillment depend on and are in tune with the Cosmic Trinity, Heaven, Earth, Man, embedded in the dynamics of the Universe.
Heaven, or our heavenly mandate, which we might associate with the forces of the firmament, or our “luck” the opportunities, and which represents 33%.
Earth, the environment that surrounds us, where we live, work and act, represents 33%.
Man, the determining factor of this equation, by our choices, actions, decisions, involvement, with whom we live, represents 33%.
This means that by managing these 3 factors correctly, especially in what depends on our action, we can improve the odds of success.
It was from the 1980s that Feng Shui came to the Western world, as a way to influence the areas most important to most of us, relationships, health, profession and wealth, just by placing objects in areas of our home or workplace.
However, there are no references in the Chinese classics of Feng Shui to objects or colors as a way to achieve any kind of result.
What there are are references to using physical space and directions to favor activities and results.
It is by our vital energy, commitment and determination that we imprint on our actions that we develop a consonance with the qualities of that space, at the appropriate time.
In high antiquity the Feng Shui was used to determine the best energetic location of graves and tombs, as a way to guarantee the descendants and lineage good fortune and continuity for future generations, or the most favorable areas to build a palace, to found a city, which was ordered to be executed by whoever had that power.
These approaches were state secrets reserved for the Emperor and high dignitaries.
It is from the Tang dynasty (618 to 907) that classics of Feng Shui applied to homes begin to appear.
Only much later, with the fall of the Qing dynasty in 1911, does access to this kind of information begin to be possible to broaden beyond highly placed people and businessmen, as society opens up and economic resources begin to change hands.
With the establishment of the People’s Republic of China, these areas are restricted and later persecuted, as are others with a more energetic vision of the relationship between the human being and the Universe.
This was the situation that caused, as long as it was possible, the exodus of part of the “intelligence” in this area and of Metaphysics that managed to take refuge in Taiwan, Hong Kong, or Southwest Asia, taking this ancient knowledge with them.
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The best teaching we can take away from the Yi Jing might be the following,
Nothing in the universe escapes this rule that is what makes everything exist.
We can look at mutations in two ways:
How our decisions and actions cause change in our lives.
Whether the changes are external to us or internal, they are something we cannot avoid.
What we can always do is, look at these changes as learning and evolution in our journey.
Being able to understand this language helps us to better understand how to walk the path around us.
The Yi Jing and the Eight Trigrams are attributed to China’s first emperor and unifier, the mythical sage Fu Xi (circa 2850 and 2740 B.C.), by having been inspired by observing the cycles of the universe on nature. Fu Xi implemented written language, instituted the rules of coexistence, personal and social relationships.
The essence of the Yi Jing relies on the interactions between two opposing and complementary Yin/Yang forces that give rise to eight symbols, Eight Trigrams, representing the whole.
Each of the Eight Trigrams consists of three horizontal lines that represent either yin or yang energy. Yang energy is depicted as a continuous line and yin energy by a broken line.
The 64 possible combinations of two of the Eight Trigrams with each other originate the 64 Hexagrams.
The Yi Jing is anchored in Chinese origins, philosophy and cosmogony, known as the Book of Changes because it is a dialogue of interpretation of the one constant of life, the forces of existence and the Universe – the Changes.
During the Shang dynasty (1600 and 1045 BC) it became a manual of conduct, rules of life, ethics, morals and state management, an agricultural calendar, a way of interpreting facts or predicting events.
In the second half of this dynasty, a period to which many archaeological finds written on various materials go back, some inscriptions attest to the name of the diviner, what he divined, and subsequent certification.
Also in this period is defined the Sexagenary cycle of Celestial Stems and Earthly Branches, about the continuous interaction between the six celestial energies and the five terrestrial energies Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water, in 60-year cycles, reflecting by the subtle energies that surround us in all aspects of life, agriculture, rites, health, social behavior, or interpretation of the signs of the universe.
No período final da dinastia Shang, o Rei Zhou Wang aprisionou o seu rival Rei Wen, que no o seu longo cativeiro teve a visão dos Trigramas com um ordenamento diferente da versão original de Fu Xi, desenvolvendo um novo alinhamento dos Oito Trigramas, adaptando-os aos tempos da altura e transformando alguns princípios do Yi Jing numa arte divinatória.
In the final period of the Shang Dynasty, King Zhou Wang imprisoned his rival King Wen, who in his long captivity had the vision of the Trigrams in a different order than Fu Xi’s original version, developing a new alignment of the Eight Trigrams, adapting them to the times of the time and transforming some principles of the Yi Jing into a divinatory art.
King Wen’s ordering of the Trigrams came to be called “Later Heaven” by including the notion of mutability, time, and transformation.
Throughout the ages the Yi Jing has been a way of philosophically interpreting the meaning and significance of the manifestations and relationships of the universe, of existence and life, of analyzing probabilities and affinities.
It has been interpreted, enriched, transformed just as it influenced the major figures of ancient Chinese thought, Lao Tzu, Mencius, Mo Tsue, and many others.
Confucius wrote commentaries on Yi Jing, known as the “10 Wings”..
One of his famous postulates tells us that:
The four forms produce the eight Trigrams.
The eight Trigrams determine the manifestations of the Universe.
The eight Trigrams generate the 64 Hexagrams.
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