Da Liu Ren Four Classes (Si Ke) — The Stem Logic That Drives the Chart
How the Day and Hour Stems form four anchors that explain why the matter arises now, what’s driving it, and where it tends to go.
What Are the Four Classes?
The Four Classes (Si Ke) are the foundational anchors of a Da Liu Ren chart. They are derived from the Day Stem and Hour Stem, each appearing twice, producing four reference points that describe the root forces of the query.
- Day Stem (1) — origin/essence of the matter
- Day Stem (2) — persistence/continuity of core conditions
- Hour Stem (1) — present driver/trigger
- Hour Stem (2) — near-future drift/direction
How They’re Formed (Practical)
From the casting moment, take the Day Heavenly Stem and the Hour Heavenly Stem. Each appears twice to create four positions. Practitioners then observe how these four interact with the Three Plates (Heaven/Earth/Human) and are colored by the Twelve Generals.
This reveals the origin, driver, friction points, and the immediate path the situation is inclined to take.
How to Read the Four Classes
- Start with Day → Hour: establish essence first, then the current trigger.
- Check contradictions: where stem intent conflicts with Plate conditions.
- Track flow: note if the Hour stem suggests acceleration, delay, or diversion.
- Add tone: Generals refine cooperation, speed, and hazard.
Common Patterns (Examples)
- Strong Day, weak Hour: powerful origin but poor immediate execution — delay or prepare.
- Weak Day, strong Hour: modest origin but strong trigger — seize a narrow window.
- Aligned Day & Hour: coherent intent and timing — proceed with precision.
- Contradictory Day & Hour: mixed signals — filter via Earth constraints and Human leverage.
Frequent Mistakes
- Skipping the Four Classes and jumping straight to Plates/Generals.
- Reading in isolation without mapping to Heaven/Earth/Human dynamics.
- Overweighting archetypes from the Generals without stem-context.
Next Steps
Three Plates & Twelve Generals • DLR vs. Qi Men Dun Jia • Real-World Applications
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