Qi Men Dun Jia (奇門遁甲) — The Hidden Gate
Qi Men Dun Jia (奇門遁甲, "The Odd Door Hiding Jia") is one of the supreme systems within the Three Cosmic Arts (三式), alongside Da Liu Ren (大六壬) and Tai Yi Shen Shu (太乙神數). Originally a military strategy tool used to determine optimal timing and directional deployment, it has evolved into a comprehensive system for analyzing time, space, and strategic action.
Four Plate Architecture
A complete Qi Men chart (盤) consists of four overlapping layers:
- Heaven Plate (天盤): Contains the Nine Stars (九星) — the celestial influences governing spiritual and cosmic energy. Stars include Tian Peng (天蓬), Tian Rui (天芮), Tian Chong (天衝), Tian Fu (天輔), Tian Qin (天禽), Tian Xin (天心), Tian Zhu (天柱), Tian Ren (天任), Tian Ying (天英).
- Earth Plate (地盤): The fixed base grid. Shows the Eight Gates (八門): Rest (休門), Life (生門), Injury (傷門), Obstruction (杜門), Death (死門), Fear (驚門), Opening (開門), and Scenery (景門).
- Human Plate (人盤): Contains the Eight Deities (八神): Zhi Fu (值符), Teng She (螣蛇), Tai Yin (太陰), Liu He (六合), Gou Chen (勾陳), Zhu Que (朱雀), Jiu Di (九地), Jiu Tian (九天).
- Spirit Plate (神盤): The Heavenly Stems hidden within the nine palaces, including the concealed Jia (隱遁甲).
The Nine Palaces (九宮)
The nine palaces are derived from the Lo Shu (洛書) magic square. Each palace corresponds to a compass direction, trigram, and number:
- Palace 1 (North — Kan 坎): Water element. Career and opportunity.
- Palace 2 (SW — Kun 坤): Earth element. Support and cooperation.
- Palace 3 (East — Zhen 震): Wood element. Initiative and action.
- Palace 4 (SE — Xun 巽): Wood element. Communication and travel.
- Palace 5 (Center): Earth element. The pivot point of the chart.
- Palace 6 (NW — Qian 乾): Metal element. Authority and leadership.
- Palace 7 (West — Dui 兌): Metal element. Networking and expression.
- Palace 8 (NE — Gen 艮): Earth element. Study and stability.
- Palace 9 (South — Li 離): Fire element. Fame and recognition.