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The 5 Stars

Throughout this entire course, you will see these five symbols: P, R, K, B, and G. These five symbols are called the five stars.

P = Set up    R = You got something       K = You got nothing
B = Action     G = Gain

K stands for 'You got nothing'.  If you are asking about your illness, K means you got nothing serious.  If you ask for money, K means you will not gain anything.  If you ask about danger, K means there is no danger.  If you ask for a job, K means you will not get a job.  If you are having a legal battle and you would like to know which side will win, K means you will not win.   If you ask about trouble, K means there is nothing to worry about.  K also represents irresponsibility.  Who are irresponsible?  Kids, of course. So K star represents children, your student, your follower, son-in-law, son, daughter, etc. The K star is also the lucky star. K star represents happiness, the disappearance of worry. If you are sick, you worry.  So if the K star is strong in your hexagram, it probably means that your sickness will be cured soon. So K also represents medicine, a cure, a doctor, a solution, etc. But remember that K stand for irresponsibility.  If you are requesting for a job or a position, an K star sitting on the self line means you will not be hired.  If you want to invest in stocks, a K star sitting on the self line is a bad sign.  It means you won't earn anything.   K means 'nothing'.  If you are asking when will your trouble disappear, K is a great sign. It means your trouble will disappear.  But if you are asking when will you earn some money or when will you get a job, K means you will get nothing.  the K star is sort of like a detox star.   If there is poison, the K star means detox which can eliminate the poison.   But the K star can also be like diarrhea.  You just ate very good food.   But if you have diarrhea, you shit everything out.  You lost all the good nutrients.

Here's an example:  A guy asked if he can become a politician.  He got [Travel].

Now this man is asking about fame and success.  If this man is asking "When will I get out of danger?" or "When will Sam give me back my money that he owed me for a long time?", the K star would be a lucky sign.  K means your worry will disappear.  But if you are not worried and  are looking for success, K is a failure sign.  Since this man is asking for fame and success, K is a bad luck sign.   The self line represents the guy who threw the coins.  The K star sits on the self line.  R and P stars are good for fame and success.  In the hexagram, you don't see any R or P star.  R represents a job.  If there is no R star, it's hard for him to become a politician.  The worst of all, the K sits on the self line.   K kills R.  So the K on the self line will kill any possibility of him becoming a politician.

Results:  The man died young.  He never became a politician.

G represents gain.  G stands for money and wealth. G also represents valuable, small size property.  Fancy sports car is a small size property. Therefore, a sports car is G.   G also represents something that you use.  Woman who you love is represented by G.  Think of G as 'girl'.   So G represents money, wealth, stock, woman, pet, treasure, jewelry, safety box, etc.  Since G represents gain, it also represents popularity.  If you ask, "When will I become the most popular guy in school?"   Strong G is what you want to see in your sign.  G also represents a new idea or a new invention.  G also represents a good plan.  After all, wisdom and knowledge are also gains, right?

Here's an example:  I threw the coins asking if Yahoo! stock can reach $100 a share.  I got [Shun].

In this sign, you see 2 G money stars.  But the problem is they are not producing the self line.  (The self line represents me.)  That means the money won't come to me.  In fact, a B star is sitting on the self line.  The B star kills the G money star.  That means opportunity will not come to me.  If someone is asking about investing, make sure that the money star is producing the self line or that the self line moves and changes into a money star.  Or else do not invest.  

Result:  Yahoo! is still at $18 a share today.

R represents 'You got something'.  If you ask about money, you will earn money.  If you ask about trouble, you will be in trouble.  If you ask about illness, your condition is serious.   If you ask about a job, you will get the job.   If you ask about danger, there will be danger.   The R star could be someone in control.  For example: husband, boyfriend, a government official, a mail man, a customer, a judge, etc.  The R star could also represent trouble.    The R star could also represent something frightening like a corpus (a dead person), a criminal, a robber, a judge, an examiner, a police man, etc.     Just think to yourself: Anything or anybody that has power and control should be represented by the R star.   A judge has power, and a bank robber has power too.    The R star also represents worry and anxiety.  When you are arrested by the police, the R star is a bad luck sign.  R means you might go to jail because it means you got something serious.  But when you are looking for a job, R becomes a good sign.  It means you have a good chance of getting the job because R represents 'You got something.'.  The reason why R also represents a robber or a thief is because when a robber points a gun to your head, he has control over your life.  Remeber.  R stands for power, control, and possession.  The R star is either food or poison.  If you ask for food, you gonna get food.  If you worry about poison, you will get poison.

Here's an example:  A man asked about his final exam.  He threw the coins and got [Too much] and [Cup].

This man is asking about the result of his final exam.  The most proper star to use is the R star.  R represents a position or a job.  If it's about his final exam, he is requesting a position on the graduation list.  The 5th line R yo (metal) moves and turns into a soil star G.  The soil star G bounces back to produce the 5th line R metal.  This man is asking for the result of his final exam.  So if the R star is strong, it means he will score high on his exam.  The best of all, the R star moves producing the self line.  (Self line represents the guy who threw the coins.)   R star moving and producing the self line means he will get the position.  In this case, he will score high on his exam.

The result:  He scored very high on his exam. 

P means 'Set up'.  If you ask for an answer, you will get the answer.  If you ask for a letter, the letter will arrive.   If you ask for fame, you will become famous.  If you are buying a house, the P star represents the house.  If you ask, "Am I right?", the P star means you are right.   Remember, P star means something that is set up or is established.  So the P star represents parents, father, mother, grand mother, grand father, uncle, aunt, an older person, a teacher, boss, a leader, etc.. The P star also represents many other things: the universe, a system, the wall, a building, house, boat, large size car, cloth, fabric, book, document, library, contract, pen, ruler, stationary, and much more.

IN BRIEF, THE P STAR STANDS FOR SOMETHING COMPLEX.  Parents, problems, documents, and buildings are complex and therefore are represented by the P star.  P also stands for worry, fear, and trouble.  P represents a news, a notice, someone setting you up, something happening, etc.   Let's say someone has borrowed your money and failed to give you back the money.  You toss the coins asking are you being set up.   Was that a scam?  Will that person play any trick on you?  Is that person setting you up?  That's why P represents worry and fear.

Let's see an example.  A man threw coins asking when will he become famous.   He got [Look] and [Lawsuit].

The man ask for fame.  Therefore P is the appointed star here.  The P star is soil.  The date m (wood) is killing the P star soil, but the month is soil.  So overall, the P star is healthy enough.  Look at the 4th line.  The P star sits on the self line.  (Self line represents the person who threw the coins.)  And it moves turning into the R star w (fire).  And the R w bounces back to produce the self P star.  This is a great sign.  The 2nd line fire also moves to produce the P star.  The 2nd line is a moving R e.  The self line is a moving P wa.   That means in both year e and year wa, this person will become famous.

Result:  In year e, he was interviewed by a major television show which was viewed by millions of people.  In year w, a big article was written about him by a very famous magazine.

The P star also represents 'something happening'.  The P star could be a news, a notice, something happening, etc.

For example, I threw coins asking if Yahoo could reach $80 before the year ends.   I got [Duay].

If you are asking will a certain stock reach a certain price, the P star is the mark.   Say if you want to know if Yahoo can reach $50 a share, the P stands for 'happening'.  P represents a news, a notice, something happening, etc.  If the P star is weak, it means you won't hear any good news from Yahoo.  In this hexagram, the P star is weak.  So I don't think I will hear any news from Yahoo.

Result:  As predicted, Yahoo never went up that high.  In this case, the money star was quite strong.  But since it is not connected to the self line in anyway nor is it producing the self line, money just won't come to me.  The P star is also dead in this hexagram.  So I won't hear any news concerning Yahoo reaching $100.

B represents action.  But I want to call it the 'Brother Star'.  The brother star represents brother or sister, a friend, a helper, etc.  The brother star also could represent waste, lost of money and wealth, money being stolen or taken, etc.. You see?   The brother star represents someone who is the same status as you.  (For example: a close friend, your brother or your sister)   If there is someone who is the same status as you, there must be competition.  If there is competition, there is waste and lost of wealth.  The B star also means that property is being destroyed.  So if you ask "When will USA declare war on China?", the B star is probably what you should look for.  Why?  Because if China nukes USA or USA nukes China, property will be destroyed.   B star also represents a sound or people talking.  Most of the time, the B star is known as the money killer.  If you see a B star moving in the hexagram, do not invest in stocks. 

Here's an example:  In February of 2001, a guy asked when will his stock go up.   He threw the coins and got [Queen] and [Unsettled]. 

This is a very unlucky sign.  You see 2 B stars move.  One of them even moves and changes into a P star which comes back and produces the B star.  B star is the money killer.  Avoid investing if this is the sign you got.  Month s is around August, and month yo is around September.  So I think there will be a stock market crash in August and September of 2001.

Result:  Two airplanes crashed into the World Trade Center in September 11th.   The market dropped sharply.

The produce cycle of the stars:

P produces B,   B produces K,    K produces G,   G produces R,   and R produces P.

Parent produces the Brother, Brother produces the Kid, Kid produces the money (G), the money produces the Responsibility, and Responsibility produces the Parent.

Let's say a man and a woman got married.  They set up a family. (P)  Then there is action.  (B)  The wife cooks, and the husband got a job.  Then they produce babies. (K)  Then the babies grow up, get education, and earn money.   (G)  When they earn enough money, they become successful.  (R)  When they become successful, they establish their own families.  (P)

The killing cycle of the stars:

P kills K,   K kills R,   R kills B,   B kills G,   and G kills P.

Parent kills the Kid, the Kid kills the Responsibility, the Responsibility kills the Brother, the Brother kills money (G), the money kills the Parent.

When a company is established (P), there is no more fooling around. (K)   Because fooling around is not good for success. (R)  If you become successful, you don't need to work 40 hours a week anymore. (B)  If you do harsh labor, you will never become a rich man. (G)  If all you care about is earning money, you can never calm down and establish a family or something. (P)

More on the 5 stars

If you are worried about something or are in fear, the K star is your lucky star.  K means worries will disappear.  Self line turning into K or K line moves producing the self line is what you need.  Self line linking to the K star is also good.  The B star moves producing the K star is also good.  P star killing the K star is bad.   P stands for worry, fear, and trouble. 

If you want to earn money or if you want to become successful, K star becomes your worst enemy.  R star represents control, power, success, and possession.  But K star would totally kill it.  In investment, a K star sitting on the self line is like a death sentence to you.  Why?  Because K produces the money star.  Which means, K is the one which pours out the money.  If the K is sitting on the self line, money would only come out of your pocket and flow into somebody else's pocket.  Since K is the R killer, a strong K sitting on the self line means if you ask about a position, you will not get the position.  If you ask about fame and glory, you cannot become well known.  If you ask about financial success, money comes out of your pocket and never returns.  So if you are not worrying or not in fear, do not view the K star as a lucky star.  If your question is concerning fame and glory, K star killing the R star or K star sitting on the self line means you are a loser.

R sitting on the self line and strong G money star moves producing the R self line is the best kind of sign for investing.

If you ask about success, fame, or glory, an R star killing back at the self line is not a bad sign.  The K star killing the self line is what hurts you the most.

The B star represents loneliness.  If you ask when will you become the most popular person in your school, the self line turning into the B star means nobody will know you. 

P represents worry and fear.  But P also represents a news, something happening, the result, a letter, a notice, etc.  If you are worried about something, a self line turning into a P star could mean that you will soon receive the good news.  But it could also mean that you will worry some more.  So usually, if I see that my self line has turned into a P star, I would throw the coins again. 

The 5 Stars

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©2001  Registered with the US Copyright Office.   All rights reserved. Written by Alex Y.C. Chiu

If you would like to write your own I-Ching book after you have mastered I-Ching, please ask the author for permission to use all of our element symbols, date symbols, calendar indications, charts, and the names of the hexagrams.  We encourage an unification of English I-Ching symbols so more people can learn about I-Ching.