King Wen and the Magic Square

The Chinese contributions to Tibetan astrology

Published in: Merigar – Journal of Western and Tibetan Culture – no. 7, March 1991

Italian version

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Prologue

The first part of this article is a concise preamble regarding the history of Chinese thought and the nature of relations between China and Tibet during the 6th century AD. The essay focuses on the Yellow River Map, a divinatory system rooted in numerology that details the connections between the Elements and the opposing and complementary forces of yin and yang. The River Lo Map’s sequence of changes is closely examined in the essay as a divinatory counterpart to the earlier scheme, which was adopted with certain modifications by Tibetan astrologers.

Background

In 641 AD, the Chinese imperial princess Kung-Je married the then-king of Tibet Sonzangampo (Srong btsan sgampo). At that time, China was under the second emperor of the Tang dynasty, T’ai-Tsung, who brought the Chinese empire to unprecedented splendour. After all, Tibet (called T’u-fan by the Chinese) had become a unified kingdom in 607. Its extraordinary military power allowed it to play an equal role with its great Chinese neighbour.

The marriage mentioned above resulted in a concomitant geographic hierogamy, and Tibet was often referred to as China’s “son-in-law”. Consequently, the most distinguished Tibetan families could send their children to schools in the Chinese capital. The Tibetan need for skilled craftsmen, silkworms, and Confucian literature further intensified the flow of Chinese art and culture into Tibet [1]. As part of the dowry, Princess Kung-Je brought the Jung chi, an astrology treatise that dates back to the 9th century BC [2]. This lively exchange of ideas led to the assimilation of Bön astrology into the Natsi (nag rtsis, Black Astrology [3]) system, commonly known as Jungtsi (‘Byung rtsis), Astrology of the Elements [4].

The Chinese thinking

Chinese writing is a noteworthy and symbolic illustration of how the sign and the ideographic trait can effectively evoke and make a tangible reality. The ideogram, as well as the thought that underpins it, has always been a powerful symbolic tool for the Chinese in imposing a civilising influence on reality. This influence extends not only to the human community but also encompasses the entirety of the universe. The ideogram initially describes and evokes images associated with experience, then suggests appropriate behaviours. It is an integral component of a series of expressions intended to organise and order reality.

According to this conception, the relationship between humanity and nature is not one of separate entities but rather one of mutual interaction, each evoking the other under the guidance of the supreme law of the Calendar, which governs both human occupations and the natural world. The rhythms of human activities and habits follow a pattern [5], as evidenced by the Chinese’s disinterest in speculative, abstract, linear thinking. Instead, they favoured a space-time reading that viewed time as cyclical and space as a place that, centred around a point, became a symbol of a civilised, measurable area with geometrical precision.

The Chinese philosophical tradition is based on the interaction between Space and Time, which has allowed for the creation of a supportive image of places, events, extensions, and duration. For example, the spatial and classification characteristics of a cardinal point correspond to a given season, creating a multitude of references that manifest the unity of the universe. This reciprocal relationship between Space and Time leads to the collapse of the Manichean opposition of yin and yang, as they represent an alternating temporal rhythm of universal manifestations [6]. In this rhythmic cognitive process, numbers play the role of emblems; they escape abstract linear presentation to group themselves in the form of a cycle and concrete representations to designate the texture of a finite universe. Thus, placing any factor along the numerical scale meant much more than exercising an ordinal function. This idea leads us back to the communion of the rivalry, a partnership between opposites. As Granet argues,

Therefore, the number system is integral to the organisation of Space around numerical emblems, while Time becomes the synchronic, repetitive, seasonal expression of a cycle of rhythmic and circular changes. Together with closed and square Space, this system forms the root of predictive systems.

The Yellow River Map and the Lo River Writings

The Chinese Emperor Fu Hsi is considered a mythical figure who is credited with creating the pattern of the eight trigrams, as well as the numbers and five elements, obtained from an arrangement of spots observed on the back of a horse dragon that rose from the waters of the Yellow River [7]. Legend has it that his birth was miraculous. According to one account, his mother conceived him after being fertilised by a stick floating on a river. Others suggest he was born in a swamp populated by dragons, taking on their likeness.

Fu Hsi is also credited with giving man the keys to understanding the world and thus subjugating it through creating oracles and writing [8]. His teachings are collected in the Ho Tu, or Map of the Yellow River, and the Early Heaven trigrams. Another mythical founding emperor of the Hia dynasty, Yü the Great (in the traditional chronology 2033-1562 BC), further systematised the world through the nine Rubrics of the Hung Fan, which evoke universal order [9]. According to legend, Yü received the Rubrics from a turtle that emerged from the waters of the River Lo [10]. After dividing the world into nine regions and travelling the earth to measure it, he established the mythical Golden Age, at the end of which the Lo shu, or Writings of the River Lo, disappeared.

In the twelfth century of our era under the Song dynasty, the Writings reappeared, it is said, as enlightened protectors of Taoist doctrines. King Wen (1160 BC -?), credited with inventing the Hexagrams, completed these divination tables. He used the Lo shu of Yü to arrange the Trigrams in the Later Heaven sequence and distribute the nine numerical Rubrics like a magic square.

The Ho Tu map incorporates a double numerical classification for each cardinal point, alternating between even and odd numbers. The internal numbers represent the first four digits of the decimal series, while the outer ones represent numbers six through nine.

The four sets of numerical pairs given are congruent to the number 5, where adding 5 to the inner digits of the pairs results in the outer number. Thus, the principle of Change is attributed to the number 5, as it reverses the polarity of the added numbers. The number 5 is, therefore, represented at the centre of the map in the form of a cross. The perimeter surrounding it depicts a pair of fives on the north and south sides, forming a total of 10. The number 5 is not only the principle of Change for the four pairs of numbers but also transforms itself into 10, representing the numerical symbol that completes the cycle of Change and returns to the origin. The four number pairs and the central number 5 are assigned to the five elements and the four orientations plus the centre. The decimal series is representative of the entire number sequence as all the numbers of the natural series can be traced back to the first nine by theosophical addition. The number 10 represents the completion number, the sum of the first and last number of the series of nine (1 + 9 = 10 = 1 + 0 = 1). From this scheme, we can deduce that the Ho Tu map exemplifies the principle of complementarity of opposites.

The Ho Tu assigns the order of the first five numbers to the Elements, in compliance with the teachings of the Hung Fan (1 Water, 2 Fire, 3 Wood, 4 Metal, 5 Earth). In contrast, the outer numbers of the four numeric pairs are conventionally related to the seasons (6 Winter, 7 Summer, 8 Spring, 9 Autumn) [11]. This dual classification enables the attestation of numerous equivalences for each spatial location and similarities between orientations and seasons. The motivation for the initial orientation in the north position becomes apparent at this point. The Hung Fan asserts,

 The Hung Fan clarifies that the initial positioning is assigned, in this instance, by the space and time period in which phenomena exist in a state of rest, waiting to reveal their potential. The north is where the Sun “falls” at midnight, just as water, subject to gravity, is compelled to flow downward. It is also critical to note that each combination of element, location, number, and orientation is countered by one of the complementary meanings. While water flows and descends or freezes, fire warms and ascends; if the wood is vital and flexible, metal is inert and does not straighten once bent. The qualities of change function in the Earth’s bosom, the central place that provides the essential substrate for the alchemy of yin and yang.

The Early Heaven Sequence

Upon close observation of the figure, it becomes evident that the summation of the opposing trigrams’ lines always results in a total of three solid and three broken lines. It appears that the need to balance opposing yet harmonious forces is predominant.

Kkienn (1) denotes the fertilising and creative principle, or the Heaven, which is the opposite of Kkunn (8), symbolising the Earth and the Mother. The second pair of opposites (2-7), formed by Tui (Lake) and Kenn (Mountain), represents the existence of the Void and the Fullness. This is followed by Li (3, Fire) and Kkann (6, Water), which are the Ascending and Descending principles, respectively, ending with Cenn (4, Thunder) and Sunn (5, Wind), representing the telluric and aerial motions. In the Hung Fan, Rubric 8, which corresponds to the number of trigrams, is associated with the eight Winds (see note 11), the eight directions of space, and the eight outer regions of the square divided into nine parts. The number 8 represents all tangible space in this arrangement. Although the number 9 disappears due to there being only eight trigrams, it reappears occultly in the sum of the numbers associated with the opposite pairs of trigrams. The number 9 represents non-change and celestial perfection, expressed by the arrangement of the Early Heaven [12]. In the Hung Fan, the number 9 is the Chants, denoting the fulfilment of the Spirit, the epiphany of the One that rules and harmonises from its ideal centre the eight regions of space.

These considerations are based on the particular numerical arrangement of the Early Heaven Trigrams. Unlike the Ho tu, number 1 is associated with the Fire element instead of Water. This association suggests the prevalence of the creative and productive aspects of the Logos, the light of consciousness, and the summer culmination. However, the Kkienn trigram does not signify either summer or Fire or the South direction, phenomena, and orientations that are proper to Li. It is, therefore, essential to observe not the phenomenon itself but the celestial scheme that precedes the Change. The Early Heaven Sequence acts as a sort of anticipation of reality, similar to the Platonic world of Ideas. This characteristic enables it to play a divinatory role, relying on the archetype or symbol in which we recognise the event rather than the events’ consequentiality [13].

To the left of the Kkienn–Kkunn axis, pure yang and pure yin, we find the three trigrams numbered 2, 3, and 4, whose bottom line is yang. These lines are thus related to or have a basis of yang. However, in the second and third trigrams, Tui and Li, the predominance of yang lines translate into polarity reversal. The sum of two yang-odd lines with a yin-even line gives an even, yin, feminine result. Tui and Li are traditionally associated with the youngest and middle daughters. The situation changes abruptly with the number 4, the last of the series on the left, associated with Cenn, the Thunder. The polarity becomes positive again, driving the remaining yang line into action. Thunder leaves the Earth and becomes Sunn, the Wind, Mild, Penetrating, and feminine polarity. From this point forward, the baseline is yin, and eventually, the yang is pushed up until it disappears into Kkunn, the pure yin of the North.

If we abstract from the primary lines, we derive what the Hsi Tzu (see note 9) refers to as the four secondary symbols (see Figure 4), to which we attribute the strong numbers of the Ho Tu. The pairs of lines are arranged from the Great Yang to the Great Yin (from 1 to 4 and from 5 to 8) on either side of this axis. In the Ho Tu, the double numbering emphasises the yin and yang polarity of the Elements, which are ordered following the sequence Water-Fire-Wood-Metal. The exact sequence is preserved in the arrangement of the Trigrams (i.e., 6, Great Yin corresponds to the Water Element in Ho tu, and so forth). This repetition engenders the double polarity of the Elements – to the left and right of our axis – in the four secondary symbols arrangement. If we consider the possibility of breaking down the Trigrams into their simplest constituents, the Early Heaven does not appear as a coordinator but as a generator of Trigrams. We can undoubtedly trace a non-cyclical but constitutive sequence formed by various degrees of manifestation and the alternation of opposite polarities within this structure.

The Lo Shu Map

Unlike the Ho Tu, the Lo Shu map does not contain congruous pairs. However, by pairing the numbers on the arms of a clockwise rotating swastika and swapping the orientation of the pairs 2-7 and 4-9, it is possible to maintain a balanced number structure (south to west and vice versa).

In the Western Hermetic tradition, magical squares are extensively referenced and commonly used in the applications of talismanic art. For the Chinese, the magic square reflected the architectural constitution of the Ming Tang, the Calendar House (see note 5).

The Ming Tang structure finds its roots in the concept of a templum or temple as a holy site (in the etymological sense of the term [15]) that encompasses the nine regions of the Universe. The edifice had twelve external openings, representing each month of the year, located on the perimeter squares. The central rooms had a single entry, while the corner rooms had two. The emperor’s clockwise progression (the apparent daily motion of the Sun) through the temple was believed to activate the resonances and associations between Heaven and Earth. The emperor would issue ordinances (Yueh Ling) appropriate to the time’s specific circumstances by pausing month by month in front of each of the twelve openings. The central room, which represented the regenerating centre where the emperor stayed during the year’s midpoint, was devoid of external lighting. The number five, emblematic of the centre and a crucial element in the series of nine, is ideally suited to symbolise the privileged location where the “Activity of Heaven” is directly mirrored, which is a point that potentially encompasses the Universe.

The arrangement of the remaining numbers in the magic square adheres to certain fundamental axioms. Even numbers are positioned at the square’s vertices, while odd numbers occupy the bisectors. It is necessary to distinguish between the productive aspects (odd numbers) and the plastic and formative aspects (even numbers) of the manifestation. In the Ming Tang, the corner rooms have two (even) openings. The sum of the numbers aligned in the squares always results in 15. Its theosophical sum (1 + 5) amounts to 6, the number associated with the circle. Number 6 represents the ideal ratio between the radius and its circumference, symbolising Heaven. The presence of 5 and 6, numerical symbols of Earth and Heaven, respectively, confirms the intention to illustrate a hierogamy between complementary principles. This aspect is made evident by the architectural structure of the Ming Tang, which features a square base and a round vault. Interestingly, if we read the congruous pairs, imagining placing them on the arms of the swastika (Figure 6), as 94, 83, 72, 61, 50 (the couple 5-10), we get a total of 360, indicating that the rotational movement depicted in the magic square through the swastika is that of the year (Figure 8).

This particular arrangement of numbers is not a coincidence; instead, a precise correspondence ratio exists between the weak digits (1-4) and strong digits (6-9) in the set of nine. For instance, the numbers 4 and 9 are the last in the weak and strong series, respectively. Due to their proximity to the origin, the weak numbers represent the fundamental elements, or Emblems, of the primordial substances. In contrast, the strong numbers are associated with the Seasons and changes that occur on Earth through the time cycle, resulting from Heaven’s influence. The series 50, 61, … is congruent to 11, symbolising the union between Heaven (6) and Earth (5).

The Lo Shu features a unique arrangement of elements. The numbers corresponding to Earth occupy a dual position, while those corresponding to Water and Fire, the solstice axis extremes, do not [16]. By connecting the map numbers in numerical order, we can derive a sequence of elements in which Earth interacts reciprocally with the remaining elements: Water-Earth-Wood, Wood-Earth-Metal, and Metal-Earth-Fire. In this scheme, yang connotations are associated with Water and Fire, whereas Earth gains two positions (2 and 8) and retains the central position with the number 5. This numerical mode of completion (10 = 2 + 8) signifies Earth’s bifurcation, resulting in the formation of two secondary poles.

The geometric scheme generated by the magic square arrangement of the numbers is depicted in Figure 8, which features a dual spiral and the cosmic force’s dual action. This force is identified in all its aspects with the distribution of yin and yang during the year’s unfolding. As I have written elsewhere,

The Later Heaven Sequence

Unlike Fu Hi‘s arrangement, it does not utilise its own numbering method but instead associates with the magic square numbers. The sequence of trigrams can be read based on the natural order of numbers, ranging from one to nine, resulting in an alternation of yang and yin [17] determined by the odd-even distribution order of numbers previously highlighted in the Lo Shu. The circular reading of the trigram sequence (Figures 2 and 3) is in analogy to the seasonal cycle. The cycle begins with Cenn, the Thunder, The Exciting, the yang line that emerges from the earth as the energy of spring (East point) and concludes with Kenn, the Arrest, the Mount, and the end of the rainy and winter seasons, signifying the start of a new cycle (NE point).

In Fu Hsi’s Early Heaven sequence, a seasonal arrangement can be observed with a crucial distinction. In the Later Heaven sequence, the two pairs of trigrams occupying the intermediate positions create an asymmetrical total of yin and yang lines (respectively, five yang lines and one yin on the SE-NW axis, and five yin lines and one yang on the SW-NE axis). To the extent that they are unbalanced, the intermediate axes bring about change and mark the transition phases. Conversely, the “idealistic” conception underlying the arrangement of the Early Heaven, as well as the symmetry of all pairs of trigrams, is even more evident by the Kkienn and Kkunn trigrams and by the solstitial position they occur in this sequence. In nature, mixtures of yin and yang are observed, and not, as in this case, juxtapositions of pure yin and yang forces [18]. In the Early Heaven sequence, the masculine and feminine trigrams are designated based on the line of each trigram that stands inside the figure (solid = male; broken = female). In the Later Heaven sequence, the subdivision criterion is centred on the numerical value of the solid and broken lines that make up the trigrams (see note 22). In this way, an axis passing through the SE-NW points divides the octant into a half where the trigrams, except Kkunn, have a yang prevalence (the summer hemisphere) and into another half where the process takes on opposite values (the winter hemisphere). However, it should be remembered that each half contains the same number of yin and yang lines (six yin and six yang lines): since it is a seasonal distribution, the global balance of the cycle must be respected.

The Barka (spar kha)

Jungtsi astrology is a system that utilises the relationships between the elements to define the characteristics of five aspects of an individual. These aspects, in association with the twelve animals in the cycle, include Uantan (dbang-tan), which refers to Strength or Ability; Sog (slog), which pertains to Life; Lus (Lus), which defines the Body; Lunda (klung-rta), which relates to Fortune; and La (bla), which refers to the Soul.

While Tibetan astrology shares similar principles with Chinese astrology in terms of formative aspects, it uses an autonomous approach in employing Chinese calculations. For example, there is the calculation of the mewa (sme-ba), which determines an individual’s number. It is based on a 180-year cycle (Mekor, sme’ khor) that results from the interaction between the twelve animals, the five elements, and the numbers one through nine. The spatial placement of the numbers corresponds to the magic square of order three. However, as this calculation is specifically Bön, the Number-Element association differs significantly from that of Chinese astrology.

Mewa means an individual’s skin mole, collection point, and energy concentration due to various secondary causes. This aspect of Jungtsi astrology highlights its unique approach to understanding an individual’s characteristics and energy.

Unlike the octagonal geometry typical of trigrams, this approach employs a square geometry, with the square’s vertices replacing the octagon’s intermediate directions. The orientation of the trigrams follows the conventional pattern, with the south positioned at the top [19].

The association between the Barka and the Element-Trigram appears to deviate from the typical pattern of Lo Shu. The vertices of the square, which correspond to the intermediate axes of the octant, are allocated to the Earth element in contrast to Wood and Metal flanking the SE-NW axis in Lo Shu. The Earth element is represented in four ways in the Barka, as exemplified by the trigrams Kon (Kkunn), the Earthmother; Ken (Kkienn), the Heaven-Father (Earth-Heaven); Sin (Kenn), the Mount (Earth-Mount); and finally, Son (Sunn), the Wind (Plain-Wind).

The presence of Earth at the four corners is closely linked to the arrangement of rooms in the Ming Tang. The room at the vertex, which had two lights and two openings, was identified with a passive function of receptivity – yin. Nor is it surprising that yang trigrams such as Ken and Sin are associated with Earth. It is a matter of making the earthly action of Heaven evident, as seen in Ken interacting with Son, Heaven covering the Earth with two yang lines and smoothing it with the force of the Wind. Then we have Kon, the pure Earth, who rises to Heaven with the two yin lines of Sin, the Mount. These four modes of change manifest the results of the mutual interaction between pure yin and pure yang in the context of cyclical recurrences.

The calculation of the Barka involves considering the year, month, and day of birth (according to Tibetan calendar indications) or, alternatively, a person’s age. This latter method reveals positive or negative correlations with the present moment. The procedure for determining a person’s age differs for men and women. For men, the first year corresponds to Li, followed by subsequent trigrams counted clockwise. In contrast, Kam is the first trigram for women, followed by counterclockwise counting. For instance, a six-year-old male will have Sin as the trigram, while a female of the same age will have Son. This process also applies to the search for the trigram of the month and day. Notably, Li is the Barka for the first day of the male months (odd-numbered), whereas Kam is the Barka for the first day of the female months (even-numbered). From these two, the Barka of the other days follows. Careful consideration of these principles is necessary to derive accurate results.

The process of searching for the trigram in both clockwise and counterclockwise motion is reminiscent of the cyclic phases of change in the production and destruction of the cosmic cycle. The Later Heaven sequence embodies the hierogamy of Heaven and Earth. At the same time, the cyclical reading of the Barka has significance not only in the context of seasons but also applies to the ages of life. The human microcosm reflects the macrocosmic manifestation and mirrors itself in a reality it recognises as its own.

In the case of male birth, the prevalence of yang force creates a solar and fertilising current that arises from the ascending power of Li, Fire. On the other hand, the female birth embodies the dominance of the universal substance with a yin character, capable of being penetrated and modified, hence destroyed and regenerated, by the vivifying male Fire. It originates in Kam, the gestation Water, and has an anti-clockwise lunar movement. The cyclical nature of the Barka not only embraces the symbolism of the year but also applies to the monthly stations generated by the lunisolar cycle and the diurnal subdivision expression of Earth’s rotation motion around its axis.

The Barka diagrams offer an image of the totality of phenomena and their antagonism, allowing individuals to harmonise with the most significant universal cycles through their knowledge or, as is customary among Tibetans, through rites and propitiatory actions.

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[1] For further information on the Tang dynasty’s relationship with Tibet, cf. H. H. Frankel – La Cina fino al 960 (China until AD 960) – I Propilei, Verona 1969, vol. VI, pp. 264 ff.

[2] According to various scholars (see M. Granet – Il Pensiero Cinese (Chinese Thought) – Milan 1971, p. 95), the oldest treatise on Chinese philosophy that has come down to us in written form, the Hung Fan, employs terminology associated with yin and yang. These elements form the basis of the divinatory system of Jung Chi. Historian and astrologer Ssu ma Chien (145? – 85? BC) considers the Hung Fan a work from the third or second millennium BC, while modern critics attribute it to the 6th and 5th centuries BC. However, tradition dates the first astrological calculations to approximately one million years ago, at the time of the winter solstice, when all the planets were aligned on the same axis at midnight. According to sources, this marked the beginning of the 60-year cycle calculation (W. A. Sherril, W. K. Chu – L’astrologia dell’I King (I King Astrology) – Rome 1978, p. 23). From that date, the 60-year cycle would have begun to be calculated.

[3] It was so named because Chinese dignitaries mainly wore black.

[4] Two articles have been published in this magazine, which provide a comprehensive introduction to the derivations of Tibetan astrology and its methodology (see R. Leti – Cenni introduttivi sull’Astrologia degli Elementi (Introductory notes on the Astrology of the Elements) –  Merigar, November 1987, pp. 31 ff; Gli Elementi Individuali (Individual Elements), cit., October 1988, pp. 31 ff.).

[5] The kingdom’s administration by the True Man, i.e., the emperor, is carried out through a symbolic circumambulation within the sacral enclosure of the Ming tang. This structure, known as the Calendar House, is designed to evoke harmony between Heaven and Earth through its seasonal stations, domed ceiling, and square base.

[6] M. Granet, op. cit., p. 103: “… no word can be qualified as masculine and feminine. However, all things, all notions are divided between yin and yang“.

[7] According to the  Hung Fan (see note 2), Emperor Yü was entrusted by Heaven with the images of the horse-dragon. However, according to the Hsi Tzu, part of the I Ching cycle and its associated tradition, Fu Hsi is its most faithful interpreter. This theriomorphic creature embodies both divine and earthly virtues, combining them seamlessly.

[8] The Shuo wen describes it thus: “When graphic symbols were invented, the demons fled away groaning: men now had power over them” (M. Granet, op. cit., p. 37). According to other sources, a minister of Huang-ti, the Yellow Emperor, invented writing after examining bird tracks left on the ground.

[9] The Nine Rubrics are 1. (Unique and in the first place is) the Breath. 2. (Two and in second place …) the Sets. 3. The Poetic Ways. 4. The Orient. 5. The Sounds. 6. The Musical Tubes. 7. The Musical notes. 8. The Winds. 9. The Chants (following Granet’s lesson). According to a traditional interpretation, Yü would have received only the numbers, which he would then distribute and share among things. On the side of the Judeo-Christian tradition, Moses himself is considered an interpreter of the books of the Pentateuch, given to him by God in an indistinct form (cf. my Evil and the Kabbalah on this site).

[10] During the reign of the Shang dynasty emperors, which began in the second millennium BC and probably earlier, the primary divinatory practice involved creating cracks in tortoiseshells using a red-hot iron and interpreting the resulting patterns as signs. This method was documented by A. F. P. Hulsewé in China in Antiquity – I Propilei, Volume II, page 564. Like the horse-dragon, the turtle was also considered a symbol of the union between Heaven and Earth, owing to its square-shaped belly and round carapace.

[11] It is the enumeration followed by the Yueh Ling, the Treatise on the Calendar, which, however, associates it with the order of production of the Elements (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) (cf. P. Grison – Le Yue Ling, Observances Mensuelles – Paris 1972).

[12] Number 9 is associated with non-change because any number you add to it returns to itself. Example: 9 + 2 = 11 = 1 + 1 = 2; 9 + 8 = 17 = 1 + 7 = 8.

[13] There are divinatory systems relying exclusively on the Early Heaven sequence.

[14] The magic square of order 3, which forms Lo Shu‘s numerical structure, belongs to Saturn’s sphere.

[15] High place and open to all sides.

[16] In this combinatorial analysis, the year starts from the winter solstice; therefore, the number 1 represents the winter season. On the other hand, other divinatory systems initiate the year from the spring season.

[17] In the context of trigrams, a solid line is typically assigned a value of 3, while a broken line is assigned a value of 2. Trigrams containing two yang lines and one yin line — those with a total value of 8 — are considered to be even and yin. Conversely, trigrams with two yin lines and one yang line — that is, those with a total value of 7 — are considered to be opposite, or yang. The meaning of this attribution is elaborated upon in R. Guénon’s “La Grande Triade (The Great Triad),” 1980 Milan p. 74.

[18] An example of what has been said can be found in the figure of the monad, in Chinese yin–yang, formed by two light-dark vital germs merging each other, incorporating two points of opposite colour as a warning of the inseparability between yin and yang.

[19] The preference for the square form of representation can be interpreted as a way of highlighting the substantial aspect of the manifestation – the earthly result of the interactions with Heaven. This approach follows the teachings of Namkhai Norbu Rimpoche, as outlined in his work, Insegnamenti sull’Astrologia Giunzì (Teachings on Jungtsi Astrology), Rome, 1978. Similarly, L. Marinangeli’s work on the subject, op. cit., p. 116, provides relevant indications. However, it is worth noting that some Tibetan astrological diagrams adopt the usual octagonal arrangement of trigrams.