《邓天君玄灵八门报应内旨》

The Celestial Lord Deng (Deng Tianjun, a Daoist deity) sent down an oral formula and personally wrote out the Inner Teachings of the Eight Gates of Mysterious Spirit together with the secret method of calculating the sixty jiazi on the palm. The formula uses the Nine Palaces and Dunjia system, reading the Eight Gates and the gate that governs each day to judge fortune and misfortune. Its method of judgment is the same as Xu Shenweng's "Verse of the Door-Knocking Mallet" and "Method of the Ghost Knocking at the Door," and it relies on neither lamp divination nor casting of lots. Those who receive the formula should not cling to a fixed order but practice it repeatedly until it is committed to memory. Fortune and misfortune will then be announced by the spirits, and its subtle workings are said to have proven true again and again.

First cultivate the Two Emissaries within the Dipper (the two divine messengers of the Northern Dipper), then paint their portraits and venerate them morning and evening. Tread the Double-Flying Seven-Star Pace (a method of stepping according to the positions of the Dipper stars), exhaling with "chui" and "he" breaths so that Kan and Li unite (Kan and Li are Water and Fire in the Bagua (Eight Trigrams), and the pair is often used for the harmony of Yin-Yang in cultivation). Once the Infant and the Maiden (terms in Neidan (internal alchemy) for the Yin and Yang Jing (essence) and Qi (vital energy)) have joined, bathe in the Flower Pool (a cultivation term for the saliva in the mouth or a related inner landscape). Following the transformations of the Five Phases of Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth, judge arrival and departure, life and death. Guard the Four Heavenly Gates (the Daoist term for the gates of the celestial realm) and do not ask whether the results are confirmed. Contemplate the inner landscape within the Dipper, and silently invoke long life in your thoughts.

Verse of the Oral Formula for Judgment

When people of the world fall ill, one must find the cause of the illness; silently reciting the Eight Gates and the Four Principles, one can then make the judgment.

This long-life formula is transmitted by mouth; there is no need to seek truth anywhere beyond the self.

When using the Eight Gates on a Yang day, silently recite the gate that governs that day to test for fortune or misfortune. Contemplate the inner landscape within the Dipper, and silently invoke long life.

Verse on Silently Reciting the Day-Governing Gate and Its Confirmation on Yang Days

If you meet the Rest Gate (one of the Eight Gates, often associated with rest and stagnation), dig into the earth; afterward sorrow or joy will appear, and the root of the matter can be determined.

Even Bian Que (a famed physician of antiquity) would judge it to be death; the secret taught by Lord Xu in person is truly so.

Verse on Silently Reciting the Day-Governing Gate and Its Confirmation on Yin Days

If you meet the Fright Gate (one of the Eight Gates, often associated with alarm and danger), wait a while before asking; danger will reveal its cause within three days.

When the Scenery Day comes (a term related to the day-governing gates), Lord Xu can offer protection; even the physicians Lu and Bian could not save the patient.

Oral Formula for Full-Lotus Sitting

By day, sit at the hour of Wu; by night, sit at the hour of Zi. (Full-lotus sitting is the cross-legged posture.)

Tread the Double-Flying Seven-Star Pace, exhaling with "chui" and "he" breaths so that Kan and Li unite; join the Infant and the Maiden, and bathe seven more times in the Flower Pool.

July and August belong to the Open Gate (Kaimen); September and October belong to the Rest Gate (Xiumen); November belongs to the Life Gate (Shengmen); May and June belong to the Shock Gate (Jingmen), which occupies the center; December belongs to the Injury Gate (Shangmen); the third month, the month of Chen, and the fourth month, the month of Si, belong to the Death Gate (Simen); the second month, the month of Mao, belongs to the Scenery Gate (Jingmen); and the first month, the month of Yin, belongs to the Block Gate (Dumen).

The above is the method for silently memorizing the Eight Gates (Bamen) and judging the auspicious or inauspicious outcome to be verified in the month at hand.

One checks, month by month and in sequence, which gate is in force, so as to determine good or ill fortune. The count begins in the first month with the Block Gate; the Scenery Gate corresponds to the second month; the Death Gate corresponds to the third month, the month of Chen, and the fourth month, the month of Si; the Shock Gate corresponds to the fifth and sixth months; the Open Gate corresponds to the seventh month; the ninth and tenth months are recorded as the Rest Gate; the Life Gate corresponds to the month of Zi (the eleventh month); and the Injury Gate corresponds to the twelfth month. The mnemonic further reminds one that the time of fulfillment for the Scenery Gate is to be sought in the second month; that for the months of Chen and Si one must follow the sequence through to the seasonal node of the fourth month; that for the Shock Gate one looks to the middle of the sixth month; that the Open Gate governs joyful events in the seventh month; that the Life Gate in turn takes the month of Zi as auspicious; and that the Injury Gate governs misfortune at the year’s end.

After the ritual master (fashi) enters the jing, the quiet chamber in which a Daoist priest performs the rite, he recites in order the Spell for Purifying the Mouth, the Spell for Purifying the Heart, the Spell for Purifying the Body, and the Spell for Purifying Heaven and Earth, thus completing the rite of cleansing away defilement, and he inwardly visualizes the scene once it has been purified. He then recites the Scripture for Extending Life (Yansheng Jing). After this the ritual master sits upright in full lotus posture, that is, seated cross-legged, clicks his teeth twenty-four times, and regulates his breath.

He next silently recites the names of the seven stars of the Northern Dipper (Beidou)—“Tan, Ju, Lu, Wen, Lian, Wu, and Po”—and recites the related taboo-names seven times, swallows the salivary fluid (jinye) nine times, and at the same time visualizes himself in the form of the Perfected of His Natal Destiny (benming zhenren), the divine perfected being corresponding to his own natal lot. Characters are missing from the original at this point, and the complete wording of the spell cannot be made out.

The ritual master silently recites the spell: “Mengzhang, spirit of the Azure Dragon (Qinglong) on the left, pray come swiftly to my left side; toward the left exhale one breath of liver Qi (vital energy). Jianbing, spirit of the White Tiger (Baihu) on the right, pray come swiftly to my right side; toward the right swallow and draw in one breath of lung Qi. Lingguang, spirit of the Vermilion Bird (Zhuque) in front, pray come swiftly before me; toward the front breathe out heart Qi with the sound he. Zhiming, spirit of the Dark Warrior (Xuanwu) behind, pray come swiftly behind me; toward the rear blow out kidney Qi.”

He then visualizes the divine beasts of the four directions standing guard over him. With his breath he next fans and visualizes the two eyes, so that both eyes give forth a radiance like that of the sun and moon; this is called “the Sun and Moon Dividing Their Light” (riyue fenguang). He then visualizes the breath drawn in through the left and right nostrils entering the heart and congealing, in the Crimson Palace (Jianggong)—in Daoist internal cultivation, the palace located at the heart—into a Perfected Being.

Finally, he goes on to recite the heart spell.

The Shen (spirit) in the heart is named Lord Danyuan (the name of the heart spirit), with the title Huangting and the courtesy name Huaying. He stands two cun tall and three fen wide, wears vermilion-red clothing, and is dressed in a deep-crimson skirt. He governs majesty and De (Virtue/Power), manifests sacred efficacy, penetrates the transformations of creation, and reaches the realm of ultimate truth. He dwells in the heart and does not leave the body. Whenever any matter arises, he reports it at once. Swiftly, swiftly, in accordance with the statutes and ordinances.

Within the heart one visualizes oneself pacing the Dipper mansion (the stars of the Northern Dipper), entering the inner landscape, and ingesting the Cloud Chariot talisman (a Fulu, talismans and registers, used to summon and ride the cloud chariot). This passage is defective, and it is impossible to know what originally followed the character “kou” (mouth). Penetrating the transformations of creation and reaching the realm of ultimate truth, he dwells in the heart and does not leave the body. Whenever any matter arises, he reports it at once. Swiftly, swiftly, in accordance with the statutes and ordinances.

Within the heart one visualizes oneself pacing the Dipper mansion, entering the inner landscape, and ingesting the Cloud Chariot talisman; only when it is further transmitted by mouth and its meaning is conveyed by the heart is the ritual method complete. Even if it were worth a thousand pieces of gold, it must not be divulged. One must remember the oath and abide by it.

Prognostic verification of the cloud chariot: If one suddenly sees the cloud chariot arrive, one visualizes the Qinhuo Merit Officer together with the generals and clerks (divine generals and subordinate officers). This is the scene in which the Qi (vital energy) of the five viscera condenses and becomes manifest. One then boards the cloud chariot, has the visualized generals and clerks, together with whichever divine general one favors, accompany one, and is escorted by the Four Duty Officers (divine generals who keep watch over the four directions and guard the procession), passing through the qi-conditions of the Yellow Path (here referring to the inner-landscape route traversed and the movement of Qi).

One straightens and rises as though ascending into the heights, advancing by the force of wind and Qi. The phrase “drawing on the Qi of the skewed wind; it is a membrane” is suspected of corruption or omission, and its meaning is hard to determine. If the color of the wind appears bleak, as though passage were impossible, and one suddenly sees Qinhuo—here referring to the gallbladder spirit (the spirit corresponding to the gallbladder in the visualization)—one has him fan away the skewed wind so that the Yellow Path becomes level. If one suddenly sees a rainbow bridge, one walks to its center. The generals and clerks then descend from the cloud chariot and, together with Qinhuo and the generals and clerks of the Four Duty Officers, pass over the hall. When the Four Duty Officers see the two envoys, Yang Yan and Geng Bi, they lead me in with them to the Xuanji Bureau (the office where immortals present memorials), where one pays homage and submits the matter.

When the submission is complete, one leaves the hall again together with the Four Duty Officers, the favored divine general, and the gallbladder spirit, and observes what response appears at that moment. If no response has yet appeared after one has bowed and presented the memorial, one leaves the hall, returns to the pure chamber (the quiet room for cultivation and ritual performance), carefully reviews the matter, and waits for a reply. Then, still together with the favored divine general, the gallbladder spirit, and the generals and clerks of the Four Duty Officers, one descends the bridge, boards the chariot, passes through the Gang wind of the Yellow Path, and, on reaching the Crimson Palace (the inner-landscape palace of the heart), alights. One draws the generals and clerks back into the body, swallows the saliva, clicks the teeth, and then rises. One conducts affairs according to the ritual method, sends the divine generals back to the places to which each belongs, and at last they fade away as if in a trance.

Diagram of the responses for concealment through the Nine Palaces and Eight Gates:

Yang: Alarm; Yin: Rest.

On the jiazi day, the count reaches the Central Palace… (what follows repeats the preceding text). One draws the generals and clerks back into the body, swallows the saliva, clicks the teeth, and then rises. One conducts affairs according to the ritual method, sends the divine generals back to the places to which each belongs, and at last they fade away as if in a trance.

Diagram of the responses for concealment through the Nine Palaces and Eight Gates:

Yang: Alarm; Yin: Rest.

In a Jiazi year, the count begins from the central palace of the Nine Palaces; the central palace is the Kun Earth Gate. The remaining Huajiazi—the stem-and-branch reckoning of years, taking sixty Jiazi as one cycle—circulate in the same way. In working the calculation, one simply turns through the cycle once more, and the pattern becomes clear. The Nine Palaces rotate in attendance by the day, each palace governing for three days, and the round begins again without end. When the day at hand belongs to Yin, one must not disturb the matter on a Yang day; beginning the count from the previous position is what is called “opening the palace.” One lays out the order according to the Nine Palaces and the Jiazi cycle, then sets the count in flight by the concealed numbers of the heavenly stems Yi, Bing, Ding, and the rest. Checked in this way, the method proves most efficacious. This technique must be kept strictly secret. If later students receive the transmission, they must never disclose it lightly, or disaster will fall upon the nine generations of ancestors and will also implicate wife and children.

On the Longevity Wheel of the Dipper

Take as an example a person born in a Jiazi year: the longevity position of Metal lies in Si. This is the method for beginning the count. The position Zi belongs to Pojun (the star Broken Army). The reckoning of Pojun is carried out separately; one counts as far as the present month and then steps back, and one can thereby judge which months are auspicious and which are inauspicious.

In calculating, one counts along the twelve positions of longevity—longevity, bathing, capping and girding, approaching office, imperial flourishing, decline, illness, death, tomb, extinction, womb, and nurture—until one reaches the places of placenta, womb, and nurture, and one further applies the states of rest, imprisonment, death, and extinction, so as to judge fortune and misfortune. After the count reaches the position of illness, one looks to see in which month it falls, and from this one may infer good and ill fortune, life and death. The hour of birth is then brought into the reckoning. For example, the hour of Wu belongs to Fire, and the longevity position of Fire lies in Yin; one therefore begins longevity from the position Yin and counts according to the method already set out. One then calculates across in conjunction with the date of birth, looking to see which day corresponds to the Wu of the time of birth, and on that basis judges life and death, fortune and misfortune.

The methods above can be fully mastered only through oral transmission. Unless one is broadly experienced and able to comprehend their principles, they are very difficult to understand.

An Example for Starting the Concealed Month and Turning the Dipper

The first month begins from Yin, the second from Mao, the third from Chen, the fourth from Si, the fifth from Wu, the sixth from Wei, the seventh from Jia, the eighth from You, the ninth from Xu, the tenth from Hai, the eleventh from Zi, and the twelfth from Chou.

Concealing the Day to Assign the Duty Lamp, and Taking the Lamp Chart of Retribution Revolving through One Year

One counts by the concealed numbers of the days and determines the position of the lamp on duty, and by this means derives the retribution; throughout the year the rotation follows the lamp chart.

The longevity position corresponding to Metal lies in the earthly branch Si; that of Wood lies in Hai; those of Water and Earth lie in Shen; and that of Fire lies in Yin. The zodiac animal is reckoned according to the Dipper mansion under which one falls; the method of setting out the case has already been explained above. One then counts in sequence through the stages of Changsheng (longevity), Muyu (bathing), Guandai (capping), Linguan (approaching office), Diwang (imperial prosperity), Xiu (rest), Qiu (confinement), death, Jue (extinction), Baotai (the womb), and Yang (nourishment). Adding once more the four terms “rest, confinement, death, and extinction,” one follows the turning order around to the month of the patient’s birth, and from this judges good or ill fortune. The scripture (Jing) says of the method that it is “answered in every one of a thousand trials, and efficacious in every one of ten thousand trials,” and it warns that if the master has not transmitted it in error, yet the disciple resents the Dao (the Way) and reproaches the master, the gods and spirits will not respond either. This method is called a text of profound subtlety and must not be lightly disclosed.

Examples of Divination by the Eight Gates

The method of divination that the Divine Elder Xu transmitted to Master Ouyang is called the “Door-Striking Mallet,” and is also known as “Ghosts Knocking at the Door.”

One who wishes to inquire about misfortune and blessing, safety and danger, must first examine the Eight Gates with care. If a certain sight is seen, or a certain sound is heard, and both are assigned to the same direction, this is taken to be a message sent by ghosts and spirits.

One must then further distinguish what sound appears when the sign is fulfilled, and judge the auspicious or inauspicious outcome from it. The sound of joyful laughter is ordinarily judged auspicious; the sound of sorrow and weeping shows that the matter is inauspicious.

If one meets with a gong, a winnowing basket, a knife, an axe, or the like, these are taken to foretell weeping and mourning in the human world. If someone arrives carrying an infant, the inference must be drawn carefully in light of Yin-Yang.

A man holding an object of Yin nature is taken to mean that a marriage is near; if a woman is pregnant, the judgment follows the image of the bear. If a man is holding a boy, it portends that a quarrel will soon arise; if a woman is holding a snake or a venomous insect, it is judged that an illicit affair will bring trouble and dispute.

When the inquiry concerns a lawsuit and a loosely tied sash is seen, the reading, whether of winning or of losing, is that one will be able to slip free and escape the predicament. If a servant happens to pass by holding a staff, the patient is judged beyond all remedy. If someone is seen passing with silk and hemp, it is judged that a death will occur, and that the departed will be sent off in mourning dress.

Note: The final portion of the original text is repeated; the passage from “if a woman should be holding a snake or a viper” to “the patient is judged to be dying and in no need of a physician” appears a second time. One character in that passage is suspected of being corrupt; here, in keeping with the context, it is understood to mean “holding.”

One then explains once more to the other person how weighty or slight the matter is. The subtlety lies in observing, at that very moment, the signs before one’s eyes. If one sees that the household is troubled by ghosts or strange spirits, one carefully asks about the appearance of the person who has come; if one sees a guest arriving with something in hand, one may also judge from that.

If one sees a fish seller or a crow pass by, this may foretell that news from afar, unheard of for many years, is about to reach the door. If one sees activity on the part of a yin matchmaker connected with the Mei family—a person who secretly arranges marriages—one infers that affairs connected with the Li family are likely to go poorly. If one meets a sign related to blood kin, it foretells the separation of flesh and bone; if one sees the sign of “peach” or of “fleeing,” it foretells that someone will depart. If the sound of a dog barking comes head-on, the master of the house may face a sorrowful matter.

If one sees a rat pass by and make a sound, it foretells the loss of wealth, the scattering of the family, or disturbance by thieves. If, in addition, ink is broken or spilled, it foretells damage to the fields; if vessels crack, it means that all affairs will go poorly.

If the lamp or candle goes awry and leaves sparks and embers, it foretells a false alarm in the household and unrest in the dwelling. If a xizi—the “joy spider,” which the ancients took as an auspicious sign when it lets down a thread—suddenly drops a filament, it foretells a happy event in the home.

On a yang day, meeting the Zhen position associated with Earth, together with the cracking of vessels, foretells that all affairs will go poorly.

If the lamp or candle goes awry and leaves sparks and embers, it foretells a false alarm in the household and unrest in the dwelling. If a xizi suddenly drops a filament, it foretells a happy event in the home. If, on a yang day, one obtains an image of birth in the Zhen position, it foretells the birth of a boy; on a yin day, it foretells that a secondary wife will bear a girl. Where a horse neighs, the Five Chang—fierce deities in popular belief—are making disorder; hearing a cat cry foretells that debts of grievance will come seeking one at the door.

If a cat comes and bites the foot, it may be the Tan spirit—the deity meant here is unclear—causing trouble, and one should pacify the spirit and perform a rite to avert the harm. Watching flowers bloom and fall can also determine good and ill fortune; if one sees flowers in bloom, one need not on that account think oneself the victor. Signs of ox, sheep, blockage, and dog are all inauspicious. If there is a matter of curses or oaths, and one also hears a rooster crow or the Vermilion Bird cry out, that too is an ill omen. If one hears the sound of a bell coming from left or right, and the question concerns childbirth, it foretells that a girl will be born.

One who can penetrate the mysteries of zaohua—the transformations of nature—and master a single method can thereby comprehend the ten thousand methods. Inferring fortune and misfortune according to these signs can make one’s reputation spread throughout the world, so that one moves freely and without obstruction.

Beneath the lamp one briefly divines what corresponds to the benming—one’s personal birth destiny—and checks it against the five colors of the lamplight: blue-green governs grievance and injustice; yellow governs the Qi (vital energy) of seasonal epidemic; crimson governs peace within three days; red governs good fortune. The phrase that follows, “one, seven, death on the third dawn,” is unclear in meaning and is suspected of corruption or omission, so its sense cannot be settled with certainty.

Xu Shenweng, Ghost Knocking at the Door

Labor and mourning, hanging in a temple, falling into water, stone, mud, spirit, and camphor, ancient tombs, lurking, wells, the ao, guests, stars and constellations, sidelong curses, earth, blood, soil, the knife, the mouth, demons, and family kin.

These words list the names of ghosts and spirits, calamitous hauntings, or related signs. Some of the characters may be corrupt and are hard to explain with certainty. If one observes according to this method of verification, one can discern the various ghosts and spirits that are causing trouble.

The Twenty-Four-Character Scripture Song for Judging Cases

Heaven gives birth and Earth brings death; Earth brings death and Heaven gives birth. Calamity gives birth and peril brings death; peril brings death and calamity gives birth. Qian, Kan, Gen, Zhen, Xun, Li, Kun, Dui.

This verse sums up the relations of life and death, and of calamity and peril, as mutual transformation, and it lists the positions of the Bagua (Eight Trigrams): Qian, Kan, Gen, Zhen, Xun, Li, Kun, and Dui.

This passage mainly infers illness among family members, interference by ghosts and spirits, and good or ill fortune by examining the handwriting, the strokes, changes in the paper, and the trigram position obtained in divination. What is said here belongs to the mnemonic formulas of Daoist prognostication.

If the form of a written character looks as though it has no head, it is said to concern the ancestors; if there is a stain within the character, it is said to concern relatives and friends. If the handwriting is scattered, it is said to relate to neighbors and companions; if an image is drawn with the character bu, it is said that sprites of wood and stone are causing trouble.

“What Heaven brings to birth, Earth brings to death; what Earth brings to death, Heaven brings to birth; what disaster brings to birth, peril brings to death; what peril brings to death, disaster brings to birth” means that birth, death, disaster, and peril transform into one another, so that good and ill fortune cannot be sharply separated. Qian, Kan, Gen, Zhen, Xun, Li, Kun, and Dui are the names of the Bagua (Eight Trigrams).

If the tip of the brush looks as though it were locked, it foretells death by punishment; disordered writing and slanted strokes foretell killing and injury. Strokes that are dry and weak foretell an illness hard to cure; if hooks and lifting strokes look abrupt, it is said that breaking ground has offended the household gods.

Circles, dots, and smears within a character indicate that the mind is unsettled; a disordered movement of the brush foretells coming calamity and an unfavorable fate. Damaged paper is interpreted as a debt owed from a previous life; if the paper has been patched, the problem is said to be connected with that.

Writing added to the characters, or annotations, is said to have drawn in the Wuchang ghost, the spirit that governs death and seizes departed souls; if the writing is stained with oil, it is said to concern someone who threw himself into a river or fell into the water. Rewriting and smearing are interpreted as grievances and debts left from a previous life, and one must therefore carefully examine the circumstances of the household.

Writing that is sometimes dark and sometimes pale foretells bodily weakness; if there are spots of dirt, they are said to be signs that a lurking corpse remains and that Yin malignity has not dispersed. Horizontal strokes, strokes that follow the hand, cursive flying strokes, or broken strokes are interpreted as ghostly mischief; signing a name at random is said to show disrespect toward the gods.

Whether a character is written large or small must be judged together with the advance or retreat of its configuration. If the illness alternates between cold and heat and recurs again and again, it is said that the illness will grow worse. To judge the directions in which men and women respectively fall ill, one may look within the lines of characters: odd numbers belong to Yang, and even numbers to Yin.

Grinding the teeth is said to be the departed souls of the ancestors causing trouble; talking to oneself is said to concern relatives by marriage. If falsehood appears in the prognostication, it foretells that the illness is serious; if the person who comes shows joy, the illness is said to be comparatively mild.

This is the formula left by Elder Xu. It is said that once it has been learned, one can understand the will of the gods and spirits. It should be studied as precious knowledge and not lightly revealed to unsuitable people. When the transmission reaches its end, one must still investigate it with care; the scripture likens the preciousness of this set of formulas to “an inch of gold.”

Also Known as “Sha”

If one encounters the sha of the year, the day is said to be perilous, with death a possibility; even if there is one death and one survival, it is hard to bear. If an auspicious hour meets an inauspicious day, one must still report to the gods and spirits and pray for peace. The formula listed at the end is: Kun governs birth, Dui governs death, Qian governs peril, and Li governs peril; good fortune arises in Kan, Xun governs peace, Zhen governs misfortune, and Gen governs… (the original text does not indicate a word of judgment here).

No matter a person’s age at birth, counting always begins at the Kan position of the Bagua (Eight Trigrams) and proceeds up to ten, then continues from the Gen position up to twenty. The remaining numbers are counted onward in sequence. From this the year is calculated; from the year one derives the month, from the month the day, and from the day the double-hour (shichen). On that basis one finally judges good and ill fortune.

When the months of a year are calculated, the first month begins at the Gen position, the second month falls at the Zhen position, the third and fourth months at the Xun position, the fifth and sixth months at the Li position, the seventh and eighth months at the Kun position, the ninth and tenth months at the Dui position, the eleventh month at the Qian position, and the twelfth month at the Kan position. To judge whether a given day is auspicious or inauspicious, one begins with the zi double-hour (zishi) at the Qian position and counts forward in order, inferring good and ill fortune by mnemonic verses.

Fixed examples of calculating the Eight Gates (Bamen)

If a jiazi day belongs to Yang, the gates are arranged in forward order beginning from the Qian position: the Du Gate (Dumen), the Scenery Gate (Jingmen), the Death Gate (Simen), the Fear Gate (Jingmen), the Open Gate (Kaimen), the Rest Gate (Xiumen), the Life Gate (Shengmen), and the Injury Gate (Shangmen).

If a yichou day belongs to Yin, the gates are arranged in reverse order beginning from the Gen position: the Du Gate, the Scenery Gate, the Death Gate, the Fear Gate, the Open Gate, the Rest Gate, the Life Gate, and the Injury Gate.

All other cases follow the same pattern. In calculating year, month, day, and double-hour, the Eight Gates must always be arranged according to the Yin-Yang of the day. When recompense and good or ill fortune are judged by this method, the result appears within seven days.

If someone of the household meets the Du Gate, it means a vow should be repaid to Heaven; if an outsider meets the Du Gate, that person will suffer Heaven’s punishment. The appearance of a cat may be a sign that grievances are entangled and that one is being pressed to fulfill a vow. A cat’s cry foretells misfortune, while quiet foretells good fortune, and one may seek a ritual remedy to avert the ill and turn one’s luck.

If there is a great curse, the Lingze Altar will manifest a numinous response. If a dog barks at its master, or makes a sound like weeping, a sign will appear within three sevens (which, according to the sense of the text, means within twenty-one days). When the Scenery Gate appears, news of one’s brothers may arrive, or it may mean that people and property become scattered. A cat’s cry then foretells entanglement in wrongs and offenses, and the calamity of the White Tiger (Baihu) follows.

Within three sevens there will be cause for weeping. When the roof leaks rain, a lawsuit may be settled by reconciliation. A spider letting down its thread foretells that the matter will come to rest. For a joyful marriage, both parties are suitable.

When the Death Gate appears and a cat cries, it foretells grave illness or even death. If a dog comes chasing rats, it foretells sickness or danger. When the omen is fulfilled, the lamp goes out and one’s allotted span of life will also come to an end. Within three to seven days, misfortune will follow for the person concerned.

Within three sevens there will be cause for weeping. When the roof leaks rain, a lawsuit may be settled by reconciliation. A spider letting down its thread foretells that the matter will come to rest. For a joyful marriage, both parties are suitable.

When the Death Gate (Simen, one of the Eight Gates, Bamen, symbolizing termination and decline) hears a cat’s cry, it indicates that someone in the household will fall ill, and the illness may be critical. A dog chasing a rat indicates that the course of the illness will be perilous. When the omen is fulfilled, the lamps will go out, and the patient may be unable to rise from bed after three or seven days.

Hearing children cry and wail suggests that sorrowful events may occur; at such a time one should grow quiet and observe carefully. When the Alarm Gate (Jingmen, one of the Eight Gates, symbolizing disturbance and fright) hears a clamor of voices outside the door, it portends calamity; cats and dogs crying loudly are likewise inauspicious signs.

A pregnant woman may be startled. When vessels and objects break, the good or ill fortune they indicate differs again. When the Open Gate (Kaimen, one of the Eight Gates, symbolizing free passage and opening forth) hears cats and dogs cry, it is an auspicious omen; if the rats are quiet, it indicates unfavorable fortune in wealth, though matters will later turn for the better.

If one encounters wind and rain, the illness will drag on, while a lawsuit may be settled. A spider hanging by its thread indicates that all affairs will proceed smoothly. When the Rest Gate (Xiumen, one of the Eight Gates, symbolizing rest and stagnation) meets with a leaking roof, it indicates a move or some change; a lawsuit may be decided in one’s favor, and a patient may also experience a strange turn for the better.

When two kinds of animals call out at the same time, performing a Jiao (a Daoist offering ritual for seeking blessings and averting calamity) to thank the deities may yield an auspicious sign. Even if one hears in the wind the voice of Siming (the deity who governs the registers of human fate and lifespan), it may carry deception. A spider hanging by its thread means there will be joyful events both inside the household and outside it; afterward a dream seems to appear. [The wording of the original at this point is suspected of corruption or omission and cannot be interpreted with certainty.]

When the Life Gate (Shengmen, one of the Eight Gates, symbolizing growth and vitality) sees a spider hanging by its thread, it indicates that a pregnant woman will give birth to a girl. The original phrase “一米阳产两成坤” is obscure in meaning and is suspected of corruption or omission, so it cannot be explained with certainty. If cats and dogs depart, an inauspicious omen will turn auspicious; the household ancestors and the deity Siming will protect the home in peace and good fortune.

When the Injury Gate (Shangmen, one of the Eight Gates, symbolizing harm and contention) sees cats and dogs depart, it is an auspicious omen; if people clamor and quarrel in a high place, it is greatly unfavorable. Loud noise from guests who come from outside may draw fierce ghosts into disorder; the squeaking and clamor of rats indicates quarrels.

Observing the Omens Oneself

Sitting quietly at leisure is most auspicious; lying with the head pillowed high indicates that affairs will be delayed. One must strictly avoid taking up knives and axes; taking up hoes and other farm tools likewise indicates years of hardship.

If one groans oneself, it is hard to ensure the safety of others. When one strikes or flicks objects with the hand, it indicates an illness of Qi (vital energy); a quarrel may also break out very soon.

Reading the Jing (scriptures) is an auspicious omen; a patient may recover after seven days or after some period of time. The handling of affairs will meet with delay, and in the end urgent matters must be given more leeway and dealt with at leisure.

If one falls ill just when rising, the condition may settle within two or three days. If this happens to coincide with a time of joy and pleasure, the patient may instead experience a miraculous recovery.

If it coincides with a time of worry and restless standing, the patient may be in critical danger. If auspicious words are spoken, affairs will be auspicious; if words of peril are spoken, affairs will be perilous.

Although the manner and bearing of the person who arrives may be favorable, the fortune or misfortune they bring is not necessarily of the same kind. If one is not entangled by any affair, going out to conduct business will go smoothly.

Seeing someone come bent and stooped, leaning on a staff, indicates a grave illness hard to cure, even the fear of death. Coming to receive one while wearing a straw raincoat and a bamboo hat foretells that a bereavement will soon occur in the household. If someone comes and goes with an umbrella held open, as if beckoning, the calamity may be delayed for seven days. If that person is draped in hemp cloth, silk ribbons, or similar attire, matters of mourning dress will soon come to pass.

Wearing a headcloth and a cap, the body is robust, and even the sick return to health. At this time one may drink wine and eat; the fortune of official stipend and of carriages and horses has not yet been cut off.

If one drinks the tea of early spring, the cool Qi (vital energy) disperses and the illness improves; if one eats fruits of every kind, yongju—carbuncles, the red, swollen, suppurating sores of the skin—grow worse day by day.

Forgiveness is possible. That person is draped in hemp cloth and silk garments, and mourning dress may be put on at any time.

Wearing a headcloth and a cap, the body is robust, and even the sick return to health. At this time one may drink wine and eat; the fortune of official stipend and of carriages and horses has not yet been cut off.

If one drinks the tea of early spring, the cool Qi disperses and the illness improves; if one eats fruits of every kind, the carbuncles grow worse day by day.

If one meets a seasonal epidemic—a disease then going about—and comes to no harm, the old illnesses of ordinary days are nevertheless hard to settle by means of medicine. Affairs encountered on the road bring no obstruction, and the elderly, too, recover the looks of their younger years.

If one first meets others who come with requests to be undertaken, the illness will drag on for a long time before any news appears. If an upright person returns home, it is as when the stars emerge from behind the clouds and colored mists.

If the breath does not run smoothly while one is speaking with others, the sick person may meet with hardship and distress. If the moment of inquiry happens to fall upon a celebration, one falls ill in the morning and can rise again by night.

When rain falls after clear weather in spring or winter, affairs are often delayed and blocked; when rain falls after clear weather in summer or autumn, there is no need to take medicine, and the illness will still be cured.

When one divines, the particular circumstances must be observed; the key to a true response lies in clear discernment within the mind.

Another method for judging a person’s going forth

It is not limited to any particular time. The hour fixed by word of mouth is taken as the basis of judgment.

Take the hour of zi as an example. Zi belongs to Water, and Water and Earth flourish at the hour of zi. By this method one sets “changsheng”—the ordered stages through which the Qi of the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water) passes, from arising to decline and extinction—at the position of the Dipper, and calculates onward item by item. When the reckoning reaches the position of zi, if one meets “wang,” flourishing, that person will return on a zi day or a chou day; if one meets “yang,” nourishing, the person will return as well. Every other hour and circumstance is inferred in the same way.

One need not fear black winds that raise great waves; the safe passage of the boat rests entirely with the one at the helm. Even deep among the artemisia grasses, there can be peace.

(An illegible graph, followed by a rare character.)

What cannot be found though iron shoes be worn through may sometimes be obtained with no effort at all. (The syllables hūṃ, ye, he.)

Appendix:

One need not fear black winds that raise great waves; the safe passage of the boat rests entirely with the one at the helm. Even deep among the artemisia grasses, there can be peace.

(An illegible graph, followed by a rare character.)

What cannot be found though iron shoes be worn through may sometimes be obtained with no effort at all. (The syllables hūṃ, ye, he.)

Appended to the secret booklet:

The kidneys are above and the heart is below; the liver is in the west and the lungs are on the left, and in the center there is yet another place. This is the acupoint where the bright Shen (spirit) resides, and within it are the two palaces of Kan and Li (positions symbolizing water and fire, two of the Bagua, the Eight Trigrams).

(Three graphs of uncertain reading.) Oṃ; the characters move and entice; blessing comes forth from the two trigrams Kan and Li. The dragon comes out from within the fire, and the tiger is born toward the water.

The dun method of the Nine Palaces and Eight Gates—a method of inferring direction and good or ill fortune by means of the nine palaces and eight gates—requires that one memorize thoroughly the sixty huajiazi, the sequence of sixty year-markers formed by combining the heavenly stems and earthly branches.

When drawing the talisman, mark the Heavenly Pass on the left and the Earthly Axis on the right. Visualize yourself becoming the Mysterious Emperor, with the turtle and the snake standing upon your body. Through the apertures of the feet, draw in the Qi (vital energy) of water and fire and send it into the talisman; then take up a force like iron armor and a silvery radiance and send these into the talisman as well. Next inhale these breaths into the gallbladder, unite them with the incantatory sounds “zhuang” and “an-yi,” and then exhale and infuse them into the talisman.

The secret method of the Mysterious Numinous Eight Gates is exceedingly precious and must not be divulged even for a thousand pieces of gold. Cultivated over a long time, it can lead one into the realm of the Dao (the Way); applied over a long time, it can bring one into communion with divinities. This method is extremely secret and should be treated with solemn regard. If it is rashly transmitted to an unsuitable person, calamity will extend even to the nine generations of ancestors, and the consequences will not be slight; the utmost caution is required. The final line, “slave of blood and bone, slave of flesh—you are the true father and mother of loving kin,” is an address and admonition directed either to the recipient of the method or to the spirit being commanded; its precise meaning cannot be determined from this passage alone.

“Formed by the Tianpeng incantation: the talisman of Marshal Wen in his own likeness” is the title of a talisman method. It means that the Tianpeng incantation is used to bring the talisman into form, and that one draws a talisman depicting Marshal Wen himself. One respectfully invites Marshal Wen, Supreme General of the Earth Spirits, to join with Great General Nitan Song of the Six Jia in directing the Controller of Fate, the God of the Soil, and other deities to protect children. If a child in some place suffers from night crying, one entreats these deities to bring it to an end; once the talisman arrives, the affliction is swiftly relieved, and all is carried out according to the talisman’s command.

I, your servant so-and-so, having received the written directive, act in accordance with the official dispatch.