壬 Rén, The Great River
大江 dà jiāng
Yang Water · vast, roaming, strategic
壬 Rén is the Yang Water day master 日主 rì zhǔ, “ruler of the day”. Its image is a great river.
Nature
Yang Water is the great river and the sea. It carries fleets and floods valleys. You are the admiral of the river fleet, restless, far-seeing, hard to contain.
Inner life
Your mind moves constantly and widely. You need freedom of motion; confinement makes you turbulent.
Shadow side: The river that floods its banks
Overflowing; scattering your force; moving on before anything takes root.
A practice. Pick one channel and stay in it for a season. Finish before you start the next.
The verse in the 滴天髓 Dī Tiān Suǐ, “Drops of Heaven’s Marrow”
壬水通河能泄金气
rén shuǐ tōng hé, néng xiè jīn qì
Ren Water joins the great rivers and can draw off the force of Metal.
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 壬 Rén 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.
壬 Rén 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 壬 Rén shares the life-stage cycle of its Yin partner 癸 Guǐ.
| 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 壬 Ren
壬 Rén is the Heaven character of six of the sixty pillars. Each one sets the river on a different Earth branch.