丁 Dīng, The Lantern Flame
灯火 dēng huǒ
Yin Fire · focused, perceptive, warm in the dark
丁 Dīng is the Yin Fire day master 日主 rì zhǔ, “ruler of the day”. Its image is a lantern flame.
Nature
Yin Fire is the candle and the lantern. It is the light you carry into a dark room. In the household you are the physician who sees what others miss.
Inner life
Your attention is concentrated and intimate. You illuminate one person or one idea deeply.
Shadow side: The flame that gutters in the draft
Flickering moods; anxiety when the wind rises; burning yourself down for others.
A practice. Shield the flame: guard one hour a day from interruptions and other people’s moods.
The verse in the 滴天髓 Dī Tiān Suǐ, “Drops of Heaven’s Marrow”
丁火柔中内性昭融
dīng huǒ róu zhōng, nèi xìng zhāo róng
Ding Fire is gentle at its core, bright and warm within.
Dī Tiān Suǐ 滴天髓, the classical verses on the ten stems
In each birth month
The Earth character of the month pillar sets the season, the 月令 yuè lìng, “the month’s command”. It decides how much strength 丁 Dīng draws from the climate it is born into.
Seasonal state 旺相休囚死 wàng xiàng xiū qiú sǐ, “prosperous, supported, resting, confined, dormant”
The season is your own element.
The season feeds you.
You feed the season.
You must work to control the season.
The season presses on you.
丁 Dīng begins its cycle of the 十二长生 shí èr cháng shēng, “twelve stages of long life” at 长生 cháng shēng, “Birth”, in the 寅 Yín Tiger month, and stands at 帝旺 dì wàng, “On the throne”, in the 午 Wǔ Horse month.
Stellae Mundi follows 任铁樵 Rèn Tiěqiáo’s commentary on the 滴天髓: 阴阳同生同死 yīn yáng tóng shēng tóng sǐ, “yin and yang are born and die together”. So 丁 Dīng shares the life-stage cycle of its Yang partner 丙 Bǐng.
| Month branch | Around | Season | Seasonal state | Life stage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 寅Yín · Tiger | Feb | early spring | 相 xiàngsupported | 长生 cháng shēngBirth, newly born and rising |
| 卯Mǎo · Rabbit | Mar | mid-spring | 相 xiàngsupported | 沐浴 mù yùBathing, raw and impressionable |
| 辰Chén · Dragon | Apr | late spring | 休 xiūresting | 冠带 guān dàiCapping, coming of age |
| 巳Sì · Snake | May | early summer | 旺 wàngprosperous | 临官 lín guānTaking office, capable and established |
| 午Wǔ · Horse | Jun | midsummer | 旺 wàngprosperous | 帝旺 dì wàngOn the throne, at peak power |
| 未Wèi · Goat | Jul | late summer | 休 xiūresting | 衰 shuāiWaning, past the peak, seasoned |
| 申Shēn · Monkey | Aug | early autumn | 囚 qiúconfined | 病 bìngAiling, turned inward |
| 酉Yǒu · Rooster | Sep | mid-autumn | 囚 qiúconfined | 死 sǐStilled, still and quiet |
| 戌Xū · Dog | Oct | late autumn | 休 xiūresting | 墓 mùEntombed, stored away, hidden |
| 亥Hài · Pig | Nov | early winter | 死 sǐdormant | 绝 juéSevered, cut off, starting over |
| 子Zǐ · Rat | Dec | midwinter | 死 sǐdormant | 胎 tāiConceived, an idea taking shape |
| 丑Chǒu · Ox | Jan | late winter | 休 xiūresting | 养 yǎngNurtured, held in the womb |
The six day pillars of 丁 Ding
丁 Dīng is the Heaven character of six of the sixty pillars. Each one sets the lantern on a different Earth branch.