Time Phenomena時間の現象

A flow of destiny in ten-year cycles. It overlays the chart and forms the great seasons of life.

Major Luck is the flow of stem-branch combinations that shift every ten years, beginning from the month of birth. The Heavenly Stem and Earthly Branch of each period intersect the chart, shaping the great seasons of a life. Major Luck paints the "chapters" of a life. Its forward or reverse direction is determined by gender and the Yin-Yang of the year stem. Each ten-year period can mean phases such as youth, prime, maturity, and later life. Major Luck does not point to individual events; it reveals the underlying current of a life.

The flow of the stem-branch that comes in each year. It sets the tone of the year's qi.

Annual Luck is determined by the stem-branch that returns each year. By reading what qi comes, and how it intersects the chart, the tendency of a year becomes visible. Annual Luck is often read as a single year within the container of the Major Luck Pillar. If Major Luck is a season of life, Annual Luck is like a month within that season.

The flow of the stem-branch that comes in each month.

Monthly Luck is the flow of stem-branches that change each month by the solar term. Within the framework of Major and Annual Luck, the monthly shifts of qi are read. Monthly Luck is tied to the rhythms of daily life — the ebb and flow of work, the waves of relationships, the fluctuations of health. When reading phenomena that move in monthly cycles, Monthly Luck is consulted.

The flow of the stem-branch that comes in each day.

Daily Luck is the stem-branch that shifts each day. As a smaller rhythm within Monthly Luck, it reveals the tilt of a day's qi. Daily Luck does not have the force to alter the overall image of a chart, but it is consulted when reading the timing of daily choices and decisions. The reading of "what kind of day is today" is drawn from Daily Luck.

The phenomenon in which three Earthly Branches align and a specific Element is fully formed.

Among the twelve Earthly Branches, there are combinations of three that strongly form a particular Element when united: 申・子・辰 → Water formation, 亥・卯・未 → Wood formation, 寅・午・戌 → Fire formation, 巳・酉・丑 → Metal formation. When these three Branches are present in the chart, the qi of that Element spreads powerfully throughout. When a Triad is completed through the passage of time, the structure of the chart is transformed at its root. A Triad Formation creates a new field of force in the chart. Its meaning is decided in relation to the Five Elements balance of the chart.

The phenomenon in which three Earthly Branches of the same season and direction align, forming a powerful mass of qi.

When the twelve Earthly Branches are grouped by direction and season, four combinations of three emerge: 寅・卯・辰 → East, Spring, Wood; 巳・午・未 → South, Summer, Fire; 申・酉・戌 → West, Autumn, Metal; 亥・子・丑 → North, Winter, Water. When these three Branches are present in the chart, the qi of that season and direction becomes intensely strong. Directional Harmony resembles Triad Formation, yet Directional Harmony is a "gathering of the same," while Triad Formation is a "transformation through the union of the different."

The relationship in which two of the three Branches of a Triad are present. An incomplete union.

Half Harmony is the state in which two of the three Branches of a Triad Formation are present. For example, if a chart contains 申・子 or 子・辰 of the Water Triad (申・子・辰), this constitutes a Water Half Harmony. Half Harmony does not carry the full force of a Triad, but it partially strengthens the qi of that Element. When a chart holds a Half Harmony and the remaining Branch arrives through the time axis, a full Triad Formation is completed.

The five combinations in which Heavenly Stems bind together. It also arises between the time axis and the natal chart.

The structure of Stem Combination is described in the chapter on Relationships (→ Stem Combination). Here it is supplemented as a time phenomenon. Stem Combination can arise between a natal Stem and the Stems of Major Luck or Annual Luck. When it does, the qualities of the two undergo chemical transformation. For example, if a chart contains 甲 and Major Luck brings 己, the combination of 甲己 transforms into Earth. Stem Combination with the time axis is the phenomenon that transforms the quality of that pillar at its root.

The phenomenon in which a stem-branch of the chart and a stem-branch of the time axis match exactly.

Resonance arises when the stem-branch of one of the natal pillars — Year, Month, or Day — matches completely, in both Heavenly Stem and Earthly Branch, with a Major, Annual, Monthly, or Daily Luck. When the same stem-branch overlaps, the qi of that pillar is doubled. Because one's core stem-branch resonates with the stem-branch of time, Resonance is said to be a period for setting the direction of one's life. When the Year Stem-Branch reaches Resonance at the sixtieth year, this reflects the natural cycle of the sixty stem-branches — the reason for the traditional celebration of kanreki. Resonance is a window of opportunity for change. Yet the direction of that change depends on the structure of the chart, and on the choices made at that moment.

The phenomenon in which the Heavenly Stem of the time axis matches that of a natal pillar, and the Earthly Branches form a Half Harmony.

Grand Half Harmony arises when Resonance on the Heavenly Stems (full match) and Half Harmony on the Earthly Branches (partial concord) occur simultaneously. The core of the chart is powerfully called forth, and at the same time, movement emerges through the Half Harmony with time. If Resonance is a static intensification, Grand Half Harmony is a dynamic unfolding. It is said to be a period in which the central quality of the chart unfolds in a new direction.

The phenomenon in which Heavenly Stems overcome each other and Earthly Branches directly oppose. Chart and time collide head-on.

Heavenly Clash with Earthly Opposition is the strongest phenomenon of collision, in which overcoming among Heavenly Stems and opposition among Earthly Branches occur at once. When this phenomenon arises, the chart meets time head-on. Old frameworks shake, something falls away, and something new rises. Yet this is not "ill fortune." Just as Overcoming and Opposition carry duality, so too does Heavenly Clash with Earthly Opposition carry two faces — destruction and transformation. The period in which old structures fall is also the period in which new structures rise.

The phenomenon in which Earthly Branches face one another at opposite points. Even on its own, it brings movement to the chart.

Opposition shares the same structure as Branch Opposition (→ Branch Opposition). Opposition may already exist within the chart, or it may arise when a time-axis Branch opposes a natal Branch. When Opposition arises between time and the chart, the role of that pillar is shaken. Conflicts in relationships, changes in environment, shifts in perspective — Opposition summons movement and change.

The disharmonious relationship between Earthly Branches. It obstructs Branch Combination and stagnates the flow of qi.

Harm is the disharmony among the twelve Earthly Branches that arises in six combinations: 子 and 未, 丑 and 午, 寅 and 巳, 卯 and 辰, 申 and 亥, 酉 and 戌 — these pairs constitute Harm. Harm obstructs Branch Combination and Triad Formation. When Harm is present within a chart, the flow of qi in that pillar may stagnate. When Harm arrives through the time axis, subtle effects may appear in relationships or health during that period. Yet Harm, too, is judged only in relation to the total structure of the chart. Good or ill fortune cannot be decided from Harm alone.

A relationship in which Earthly Branches create friction with one another from within. Less forceful than Branch Opposition, yet it produces a distinctive pressure — one that can, in time, shape.

Shaping Tension (刑, Kei) is a special relationship arising among the twelve Earthly Branches. Its forms include: · Triple Shaping Tension (三刑): 寅巳申 (the Ingratitude Tension), 丑戌未 (the Overreach Tension) · Self-Tension (自刑): 辰辰, 午午, 酉酉, 亥亥 · The Impropriety Tension (無礼の刑): 子卯 Shaping Tension differs in quality from Branch Opposition. If Opposition is a head-on collision at opposite poles, Shaping Tension is a more subtle friction arising from within the relationship itself — a kind of pressure that comes not from without but from the misalignment of how the branches hold each other. To forget what was given, to lean too far on momentum, to let form slip from conduct: the classics named these qualities of the relationship, and called the result Kei. When Shaping Tension is present in a chart, a particular twisting enters the flow of qi through that pillar. When it arrives through the time axis, a characteristic friction or inner pressure may surface during that period. Yet Shaping Tension, too, is read only in relation to the whole structure of the chart. It cannot be called ill fortune on its own. A tension that shapes is not the same as a wound — and what creates friction can, at times, be precisely what produces depth.

The period during which the Void Branches of the chart come around through the time axis. Outward connections thin, and inner currents intensify.

The Void Period is the period during which the Void Branches of the chart (→ Void) come around as Major, Annual, Monthly, or Daily Luck. In terms of duration, the two-year Annual Void is most often discussed. In popular practice, it is said "do not act" or "do nothing" during a Void Period, but this lies far from the original meaning of the classics. Returning to the classical sources, the Void Period reads more neutrally — as "a period in which outward connections thin, and inner currents intensify." Outward activities become difficult to align, yet it is a suitable time for reflection, learning, and the re-examination of foundations. There is no need to fear the Void Period. One simply needs to know the quality of the period, and make choices that do not go against its current.

The two Branches that remain when Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches are paired. They mark the "missing place" of the chart.

The sixty stem-branches arise from the combination of ten Heavenly Stems and twelve Earthly Branches. Yet against the ten Stems, the twelve Branches are two in excess, and these two remaining Branches are the Void. The two Void Branches, derived from the Day Pillar of the chart, are Branches through which qi flows with difficulty for that person. When those Branches come around through the time axis, a Void Period arises. The Void is not a deficiency — it is a distinctive feature. Because there is a place through which qi escapes, the chart holds a particular kind of emptiness.

A classical system that assigns each of the sixty stem-branches a specific Element and a poetic name.

Paired Tone (Nacchin) is the classical correspondence that pairs each of the sixty stem-branch combinations with a particular Element and a symbolic name. 甲子 and 乙丑 are "Gold in the Sea" (海中金), 丙寅 and 丁卯 are "Fire in the Furnace" (炉中火), and so on — each pair receives a name drawn from natural imagery: great forest, rushing stream, sand, wall, sword, willow. Paired Tone reveals a second Elemental layer beneath the surface of each stem-branch. The pillar 甲子, whose Heavenly Stem is Wood and whose Earthly Branch is Water, carries the Paired Tone of "Gold in the Sea" — another Element flows beneath the visible one. Paired Tone is read in close relation to Resonance (律音, Ricchin). When the Paired Tone of the Year Pillar and the Day Pillar belong to the same Element, a particular resonance sounds through the chart. Paired Tone is the other face of the stem-branch.