Strength and interactions
Combination and clash of lines
By Vi Nhật Sơn · Updated
Hợp xung của hào
Combination and clash of lines — what is it? Combination and clash of lines: a combination is two branches symmetrical about an axis, a clash two branches opposed through the centre.
Combination and clash of lines: a combination means two branches symmetrical about an axis, called a paired combination; a clash means two branches in the hexagram opposed to each other by the rule of symmetry through the centre.
Combine
Zi – Chou · Yin – Hai · Mao – Xu · Chen – You · Si – Shen · Wu – Wei
Clash
Zi – Wu · Chou – Wei · Yin – Shen · Mao – You · Chen – Xu · Si – Hai
Combination
There are two kinds of combination: still and moving.
Still combination
The still kind covers combination by the Day or the Month and combination by a moving line. A combination of a line by the Day or the Month has the property of raising the nature of the line by half a step, that is, Weak becomes Resting and Resting becomes Prosperous. As for EXCESSIVE STRENGTH, almost everyone who hasn't met it before trips up here; everyone knows that a line too Prosperous must wait for the Tomb.
Unlike the Day and the Month, which act directly on the Strength of the line combined, a still combination of a line carries supporting information. For instance, someone asked about a business and got Standstill (Pi) moving at line 6, and I judged that there was a partner, since it combined, but that doing it would eat right into the capital; and it turned out so, because the moving Hostile line combined with Wealth and combined with the Self line. Other cases can be worked out from that.
| Parents | Xu Earth | Resp. | ○ | Parents · Wei Earth | ||
| Siblings | Shen Metal | |||||
| Officer line | Wu Fire | |||||
| Wealth | Mao Wood | Self | ||||
| Officer line | Si Fire | |||||
| Parents | Wei Earth |
Moving combination
Next comes moving combination, which divides into: a moving line combined by the Day or the Month, by the changed line, or by another moving line.
A line combined by the Day or the Month is, as to Strength, the same as a still combination, but it differs in this: combined by the Day or the Month, the moving line stops moving for the time being. For example, on a Mao day, a Xu line that moves is combined by the Day, and everything to do with the moving Xu is suspended until the moment of You, that is, when the combination of Xu is clashed apart. The exception here is a combination of a moving line that is Break: for example, on a Mao day in the Chen month, Xu moves and Xu is Month Break; a Month Break waits for the combination on its own branch, so the Day here combines with the Break line, and the Break becomes an ordinary line and still moves. The moving line may be anywhere within the Target line; asking about the health of a sick person, if the Hostile line moves and combines, then at the moment the combination is clashed apart they will be lost — so be on guard.
It is much the same in the case of a moving changed line, except that when Zi combines with Chou, if Zi is Prosperous one waits until Wei, and if the matter is urgent the effectiveness is only 50%; while if Zi is Weak or Resting, it counts as changing into control and not as a combination.
Two moving lines combining: “the balance”
In the situation where two moving lines combine, the situation of “the balance” arises. For example: Xu combines with Mao; at the moment of You, Xu is clashed and escapes the combination, and Xu then takes effect. At Chen, Mao escapes and the event of Mao happens. But the moving line has to exist in itself, meaning that Weak or changing into control is to be thrown away.
Example: Standstill (Pi) changing into Influence (Xian); line 3 has already been lost in itself through returning control.
| Parents | Xu Earth | Resp. | ○ | Parents · Wei Earth | ||
| Siblings | Shen Metal | |||||
| Officer line | Wu Fire | |||||
| Wealth | Mao Wood | Self | × | Siblings · Shen Metal | ||
| Officer line | Si Fire | |||||
| Parents | Wei Earth |
Another example: Limitation (Jie) changing into Oppression (Kun). Besides being a Six Harmonies hexagram changing into a Six Harmonies hexagram, at each of the moments that clash the branches Shen and Si an accompanying event happens, according to the situation. This is like the case of two moving branches clashing, which will be discussed below.
| Siblings | Zi Water | |||||
| Officer line | Xu Earth | |||||
| Parents | Shen Metal | Resp. | × | Siblings · Hai Water | ||
| Officer line | Chou Earth | |||||
| Offspring | Mao Wood | |||||
| Wealth | Si Fire | Self | ○ | Offspring · Yin Wood |
Clash
A clash also divides into still and moving:
- If a still Target line clashes the Self line, the matter asked about will come to one unexpectedly; whether it succeeds or fails still has to be judged from the Strength of the Target line.
- If line 1 and line 4 clash each other, this counts as a Six Clashes hexagram.
- If two moving lines clash each other, then those two moving lines disappear for the time being: at the moment that coincides with the branch of one moving line, the other moving line is lost, and the other way round. With hexagrams like this, a matter divides into two stages, each stage being the moment that coincides with the branch of one moving line while the other is lost, and then one moving line is counted as acting on the line.
Example: Mao and You both move; then at the moment of Mao the You line is lost, and in that stage it counts as a single moving Mao line acting on the hexagram; and at the moment of You the Mao line is lost, and in that stage it counts as a single You line acting on the hexagram.
If the changed line clashes the moving line, this case counts as Reversed repetition.