癸 Guǐ, The Spring Rain
春雨 chūn yǔ
Yin Water · subtle, intuitive, permeating
癸 Guǐ is the Yin Water day master 日主 rì zhǔ, “ruler of the day”. Its image is rain and mist.
Nature
Yin Water is rain, dew and mist. It gets into everything. In the household you are the oracle who knows before anyone speaks.
Inner life
You perceive through atmosphere and implication. Much of your life happens beneath the surface.
Shadow side: The mist that hides itself
Secrecy, worry, dissolving into others’ needs.
A practice. Say one true feeling out loud each day to someone safe.
The verse in the 滴天髓 Dī Tiān Suǐ, “Drops of Heaven’s Marrow”
癸水至弱达于天津
guǐ shuǐ zhì ruò, dá yú tiān jīn
Gui Water is the gentlest, yet it reaches the river of heaven.
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 癸 Guǐ 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.
癸 Guǐ 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 申 Shēn Monkey month, and stands at 帝旺 dì wàng, “On the throne”, in the 子 Zǐ Rat 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 癸 Guǐ shares the life-stage cycle of its Yang partner 壬 Rén.
| Month branch | Around | Season | Seasonal state | Life stage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 寅Yín · Tiger | Feb | early spring | 休 xiūresting | 病 bìngAiling, turned inward |
| 卯Mǎo · Rabbit | Mar | mid-spring | 休 xiūresting | 死 sǐStilled, still and quiet |
| 辰Chén · Dragon | Apr | late spring | 死 sǐdormant | 墓 mùEntombed, stored away, hidden |
| 巳Sì · Snake | May | early summer | 囚 qiúconfined | 绝 juéSevered, cut off, starting over |
| 午Wǔ · Horse | Jun | midsummer | 囚 qiúconfined | 胎 tāiConceived, an idea taking shape |
| 未Wèi · Goat | Jul | late summer | 死 sǐdormant | 养 yǎngNurtured, held in the womb |
| 申Shēn · Monkey | Aug | early autumn | 相 xiàngsupported | 长生 cháng shēngBirth, newly born and rising |
| 酉Yǒu · Rooster | Sep | mid-autumn | 相 xiàngsupported | 沐浴 mù yùBathing, raw and impressionable |
| 戌Xū · Dog | Oct | late autumn | 死 sǐdormant | 冠带 guān dàiCapping, coming of age |
| 亥Hài · Pig | Nov | early winter | 旺 wàngprosperous | 临官 lín guānTaking office, capable and established |
| 子Zǐ · Rat | Dec | midwinter | 旺 wàngprosperous | 帝旺 dì wàngOn the throne, at peak power |
| 丑Chǒu · Ox | Jan | late winter | 死 sǐdormant | 衰 shuāiWaning, past the peak, seasoned |
The six day pillars of 癸 Gui
癸 Guǐ is the Heaven character of six of the sixty pillars. Each one sets the rain on a different Earth branch.