Six Spirits
Six Spirits (Liu Shou)
By Vi Nhật Sơn · Updated
Lục thần (lục thú)
Six Spirits (Liu Shou) — what is it? The Six Spirits carry supporting information in a hexagram and do not affect Strength; the information they add is of two kinds: people and events.
The Six Spirits, otherwise called the Six Beasts, carry supporting information in the hexagram and do not affect Strength at all, whether it is the Green Dragon or the Flying Serpent. The information the Six Spirits add is of two kinds: people and events.
| Day stem | Line 6 | Line 5 | Line 4 | Line 3 | Line 2 | Line 1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day Jia, Yi | Black Tortoise | White Tiger | Flying Serpent | Hooked Array | Vermilion Bird | Green Dragon |
| Day Bing, Ding | Green Dragon | Black Tortoise | White Tiger | Flying Serpent | Hooked Array | Vermilion Bird |
| Day Wu | Vermilion Bird | Green Dragon | Black Tortoise | White Tiger | Flying Serpent | Hooked Array |
| Day Ji | Hooked Array | Vermilion Bird | Green Dragon | Black Tortoise | White Tiger | Flying Serpent |
| Day Geng, Xin | Flying Serpent | Hooked Array | Vermilion Bird | Green Dragon | Black Tortoise | White Tiger |
| Day Ren, Gui | White Tiger | Flying Serpent | Hooked Array | Vermilion Bird | Green Dragon | Black Tortoise |
About people
About people, the Six Spirits are commonly used to recognise how a person behaves towards the world around them, and the greatest use of the Six Spirits does not lie at the Self line — except in a few cases, “to give up drinking, look at a drunk” — but in identifying the people involved with oneself in the matter asked about. Identifying the people in the story helps one to take shape and to behave suitably in the future, and so to seek good fortune and avoid misfortune. Seeking good fortune and avoiding misfortune can only last where its core is the person; every other idealist method that leaves the person out, if it can be used at all, works only for a short time, because the core of everything has never really been resolved. Note this most carefully.
Green Dragon
A person with the Green Dragon is basically sociable, at ease with those around them, fond of good cheer; if Weak it is the image of being caught up in the four vices, and if it is Water and Weak, the person is given to romance.
Vermilion Bird
This is the image of one who likes to talk a great deal; on Fire it is the image of one who cannot hold their words when anger rises; if Prosperous everything will be fine, if Weak it is the image of people falling out with one another, even though in ordinary times they know how to keep proper manners with those around them. On Water and Prosperous, the person speaks well; Weak, they speak tactlessly. On Earth the speech is slow, on Fire fast, on Wood the talk is up in the clouds, on Metal the voice is somewhat harsh.
Hooked Array
This is an introverted person; if Weak, at the time of asking they are weighed down by their own affairs; if Prosperous they are unhurried and thoughtful; on Earth, beware of being so slow as to let the opportunity pass.
Flying Serpent
This is the image of a person who at the time of asking is caught in some difficulty and is stressed or depressed, or eats and sleeps badly with confused dreams; if Prosperous it is not yet serious, if Weak the matter has already affected their health; in the inner trigram it is their own affair, in the outer trigram an affair from outside, and the element tells where the illness breaks out. Used to identify a person, this is someone odd, given to strange behaviour.
White Tiger
This is a stubborn, fierce, domineering person; on Water and Weak there is a disease of the blood; on Metal the person is firm and strong, with a gift for military matters and martial arts if Prosperous, and if Weak is a cranky person who spoils the matter.
Black Tortoise
Prosperous, an ambitious person, greedy for work, with a passion within a narrow space; if too Weak, a selfish, self-centred person who takes no interest in those around them…
About events
This lies in the ability of the reader to adapt to the particular event:
For instance, Wealth with the Green Dragon is clean money; the Opposing line with the Black Tortoise is the image of being robbed; Wealth with the Flying Serpent is dirty money, and in a large case beware of money laundering; asking the cause of a death, the Flying Serpent on Wood is hanging; the Vermilion Bird on Fire moving, hold back and do not let anger cost you your judgement; the Green Dragon controlling, beware of being set up, and on Water it is a love affair, while if there is an Offspring line at the changed line in a destiny hexagram, beware of being set up and having a child outside the marriage; Earth at line 1 with the Hooked Array, if Prosperous, means a large grave under the ground… Events take countless forms, and each person adapts according to the circumstances.
See also
- Reading people — combining the Five Elements and the Six Spirits to identify a person
- Six Relations — not the same as the Six Spirits
- Day Branch and Month Command (Ri Chen, Yue Ling) — taking the Day with its Heavenly Stem to refer to the Six Spirits
- Double appearance, Destiny reading