Contents
What in the West we call electional Astrology, in India they call Muhurta, and in Chinese Metaphysics it is called Chinese Date Selection aka ZeRi.
No matter what type of system of destiny reading a person uses, the timing of a given action has always been of crucial importance.
How Chinese Date Selection differs from electional Astrology and Muhurta
The Chinese method for selecting auspicious times has more subdivisions that its Western or Indian counterpart. I have already explained in other articles of mine. I mean that in Chinese Astrology (and Date Selection) it is the day that is the most important factor, although the hour is also taken into consideration. For example, it must not clash with the day. In Western and Indian Astrology, on the other hand, it is the time that is the crucial factor. There is no contradiction here. These systems are based on different rules, all three are over 2000 years old, and each gives powerful results.
Chinese Date Selection is intimately tied to some of other disciplines of Chinese Metaphysics, like Chinese Astrology and Classical Feng Shui. In this way the perfect Cosmic Trinity is formed: Heaven (Astrology), Human (Date Selection) and Earth (Classical Feng Shui). The astrologer must use all these if he/she is to get maximum benefit, with Astrology being by far the most authoritative.
The first level of Date Selection with BaZi
The first level of Chinese Date Selection is an absolutely generic one – without any focus on the natal chart. It does not matter whether it pertains to BaZi/Four Pillars of Destiny or Zi Wei Dou Shu/Emperor Astrology. Thi is the Tong Shu – the Chinese Almanac. Without beating around the bush, simply do not use this one. It is the most basic one. It is also a control device – telling people when to do or not to do almost any activity without any mention of their individuality. To Western readers, it even is worse than the “Sun sign” columns. No serious practitioner of Chinese Metaphysics uses the Tong Shu on its own without recourse to the natal chart of the client, and the majority of the experienced ones do not use it at all.
The second of level of ZeRi
The second level of Chinese Date Selection involves certain information about the native. This is where the connection between Classical Feng Shui, especially the San He branch, and Chinese Astrology, the BaZi/Four Pillars of Destiny branch is immediately recognizable. The elements from one’s chart that are used are the Year Branch, the Day Branch, and even the Hour Branch.
It may not seem much but when the BaZi astrologer combines the Feng Shui data from one’s home or work place, it does become quite complex. The reason for this is because of the many rules that have to be followed. Thus I come to the fundamental rule of Chinese Date Selection: make sure to avoid the bad days and hours; then use the beneficial ones, provided there are any left.
One, who has no idea how limiting it gets when observing all these rules, can ask: well, what is the big deal? You have so many days and hours to choose from. Well, that is true, but only on the surface.
To give you an illustration: here the BaZi practitioner has to observe 7 factors at least:
- The Year Breaker/Sui Po/7 Sha – the branch clashing the year
- The Month Breaker/Yue Po – the branch clashing the month
- The Day Breaker/Ri Po – the branch clashing the day
- The Big Consumer – the day which clashes the person’s year branch
- The Four Separators – the day preceding the two solstices and two equinoxes
- The Four Exhaustions – the last day of each of the four seasons in the Chinese calendar
- The Three Sha/San Sha
I have not even mentioned the relevant Feng Shui data. In addition to this, what about people you live it? What if I select a date without consideration for them and you get what you want, but it hurts one of the people you live with as a result of that?
A plus of Chinese Date Selection (and of Chinese Metaphysics in general) is that one must learn the principles behind the theory and how to erect charts by hand. In this way does not have to depend on technology/computers. The practitioner does this by using the Ten Thousand Year Calendar. It is the analogue to the Western ephemeris except it contains information on many disciplines of Chinese Metaphysics and not just Astrology. Besides, a computer program or calculator can never substitute the manner in which one studies and remembers information when using a book and then applying the results.
Date Selection utilizes both hemispheres of the brain
With ZeRi, one has to look at the whole period at once in order to determine which days are allowed to be used. This is a very healthy practice as it uses both hemispheres of the brain. As I said, it seems that the astrologer will easily have at least a few days to choose from. When he actually starts checking for the many rules, he starts eliminating the majority of the days. Thus, he doesn’t even have every single day. In practice, it finally comes down to which usable days are left.
Compare Dat Selection to electional Astrology. In searching for the auspicious time in the latter, the astrologer checks whether a given day and hour is auspicious. He then checks the next day, testing out the different Ascendants. Yes, the systems are different, but it’s always more productive to put a given moment or day within a larger period.
Thanks for the free program for the Four Pillars of Destiny – Four Pillars 1.2. You can download it for free here. Of course, you can also use it for Chinese Date Selection. Note that it only uses the solar calendar.
Xuan Kong Da Gua – a subdivision of Chinese Date Selection
Before dealing with the third level of Chinese Date Selection, there is another method of this branch of ZeRi called Xuan Kong Da Gua.
It is intimately connected with the 64 hexagrams of the Yi Jing and with Classical Feng Shui.
I want to make it clear that although Xuan Kong Da Gua is considered by many Chinese Metaphysics consultants to be the Golden Crown of Feng Shui and the Chinese method of choosing an auspicious date, this method requires measurements with an accuracy of less than 1 degree (360: 384)!
There are many practitioners who claim to be able measure within these limits. One has to ask, however, whether this is feasible in this modern world. A world buzzing with technologies and metal, which routinely distort measurements by 5-10 degrees, and in some cases even more.
Equally importantly, just as in Ancient Astrology and even Indian Astrology, practitioners go back to the classical works and examples in order to study properly how to delineate, judge and predict and contemplate the mysteries of life, so do their Asian colleagues.
For those that do not know, what we use from Classical Feng Shui, meaning San He/Forms, Xuan Kong/Flying Stars and Eight Mansions etc, the vast majority of the information is just 500 years old. The older techniques are obscured and not to be shared and decoded. This is very rarely done in books or the internet. If someone happens to share such information, they severely water it down. Just as in Ancient Astrology.
The big problems in using Xuan Kong Da Gua nowadays
I want to inform you that it was not possible measure within less than 1 degree all the way to the 19th century. Despite this fact, modern practitioners of this method claim that Xuan Kong Da Gua is so powerful, secretive, and old. In short, I cannot agree that one has to get down to less than 1 degree accuracy in order to unlock the power of Feng Shui and Date Selection. While that may have an analogue in the face of primary directions in Ancient Astrology, there have always been other techniques which are also extremely powerful. Some them even outshine directions in actual practice and prediction.
Lastly, such thinking, namely that one has to measure within less than 1 degree in order to make use of the great secrets and power of Classical Feng Shui and ZeRi, betrays basic ignorance of the way this reality works. I mean the Cosmic Trinity of Heaven, Man, and Earth.
Yes, you will be tapping into powerful energy (provided you can measure consistently within less than 1 degree) by using the Human Luck (actions, choices, knowledge, as in Chinese Date Selection) and the Earth Luck (Feng Shui). But what about Heaven Luck? Remember, no one can change Human Luck.
In other words, one’s potential, in the sense of one’s limits, one’s status, wealth, relationships is in your BaZi chart. Hence, even if you choose an auspicious date with Xuan Kong Da Gua, a poor person will not become a multimillionaire, because it contradicts his destiny, shown by his natal chart.
The supremacy of the natal chart: why people with the same Feng Shui and who walked in their real estate on the same day, have different fates
So no matter what “activations” a given astrologer does for you, they can never overcome the natal promise, which places a person in a given social position. To find one’s natal promise, one needs to find an astrologer who offers full written horoscopes or chart delineations.
Likewise, no matter what dates or activations you do for your’s home, they can’t achieve something that would be contrary to your natal promise. If that were not the case, then why do people that have same Feng Shui have different destinies? And this is despite the fact that they entered their homes on the same day and hour. I mean the people living in flats in the same building.
Thus it is imperative that you be aware of your natal promise, so you avoid spending money and time on things you are not meant to attain. Even if it so happens that you do attain them, thanks to the right timing, they will not last.
The third level: personalized Date Selection based on your BaZi chart
This brings me to the third level of Chinese Date Selection. I don’t know how it is called, but it is entirely personal and valid only for that native as it is based on their natal chart.
The fact that this subdivision of Ze Ri is not only widely taught, but one would have to search far and wide to find such courses, because it requires the practitioner to be thoroughly versed in BaZi/Four Pillars of Destiny, serves to prove why the third leve of Date Selection is the most powerful one.
An analogy with the Western method: just as no serious practitioner of Ancient Astrology will ever use only the current planetary positions without checking thoroughly the client’s natal chart in order to determine which the benefic and malefic planets are, which to strengthen, which to weaken, which to emphasize etc, it is the same with this subdivision of Chinese Date Selection.
To give you an example: say a client has some health problem and needs to go to a healer, herbalist, doctor, whatever. The second subdivision of ZeRi would advise one to use the Heavenly Doctor day This star is derived from the client’s chart and it identifies which branch represents that star. It also shows in which compass direction the native will find healing.
However, the problem is that the entire BaZi chart has not been read and the positive and negative elements have not been determined. What if the Heavenly Doctor is a negative element? What if it hurts your Useful God? What if it is the Negative God? So you understand why the second subdivision of ZeRi is incomplete and can even be dangerous and detrimental.
Summary and what one can use Date Selection for
Therefore the advice is to always use the natal chart of the client as the basis and aftewards to incorporate as many of the rules from the second subdivision as possible. The caveat is they must not contradict that specific BaZi chart.
In conclusion, always keep in mind that there are:
1) Favourable days to carry out an activity
2) Days to be avoided at all costs
3) Days on which you can do the endeavour in question, but the benefits will not be the same. At least there will be no harm
In conclusion, here are some ways in which one can help themselves with Chinese Date Selection:
- Love, marriage, family reunions, reconciliations
- Moving and travel
- Going to a healer, herbal, doctor/healing yourself
- Visiting the sick family, kin or friends
- Resolving court cases, making appeals
- Building a home or business
- Entering a home
- Starting to study a given subject
- Academic pursuits and success, writing books
- Metaphysical studies (Astrology, Chinese Metaphysics, Divination, Magic, Occult etc)
- Asking for a raise (for people in positive cycles or at least years, as read from their BaZi/Four Pillars of Destiny chart)
- Approaching powerful people/patrons to ask for a favour or protection (for people in positive cycles or at least years, as read from their BaZi/Four Pillars of Destiny chart)