Alex Chiu's Online I-Ching © 2001  Registered with the US Copyright Office.

Here are some extremely strong elements.  The law for an extremely strong element is a little bit different from the laws of normal elements.

I know that my business partner will call me today.  But at what hour will he call?  I believe he will call me before noon.  I toss the coins and get [Li] and [Big profit].

There is a 6 strike, and nothing is bounding to the self line.  The 6 strike is permanent.  But sometimes, if a moving line is bounding to the U line, things still could happen if the U line is appointed.  My business partner is represented by the U line.  So the U line is the appointed star.  Since I am asking about my business partner, I think he will call me because the 2nd line is bounding to the U line.  But I don't think he will call me before noon anymore because there is a 6 strike.  But he could call me in later hours.  The 2nd line's P y is extremely strong because it is the same element as the month and the date.  Therefore, he shall call me in hour y.

• The 2nd line K c represents a loser.  Since my partner has been hiding from me for many days now, he is making me feeling like a loser.  So the 2nd line K c is my enemy.  The 2nd line P y represents 'Something happening'.  If the loser star turns into a P star, I will hear a good news.

Result:  He called me in hour y. 

Here's another example:  I tossed the coins asking in which month will I speak to my business partner.  I have to speak to him about the money which he owes me, but this guy has been hiding from me for almost 2 months now.  I got [Intercourse] and [Revolution].

The P star moved turning into the G star.  P represents worries and frustration.  G represents money.  If the P star moves and turns into the G money star, I will speak to him about money.  But when will that happen?  The money star G m is an extremely strong element because it is the same element as the month and the date.   The P star is dead.  On top of that, the G money star kills back at the P star.  Therefore, we shall speak again in month m. 

But let's toss the coins again to make sure.  So I tossed the coins again and got [Touch] and [Family].

The B star moves and turns into the R star.  B represents the lost of wealth, and R represents 'You got something'.  If a B star moves and turns into an R star, I shall speak to him.  The 1st line's R m is an extremely strong element.  Therefore I shall speak to him in month m.

Result:  We spoke in month m.

Did you see the similarity of the above 3 signs?  If not, please go back and re-examine them.

If you saw the similarity of the above 3 signs, you noticed that a soil star has moved turning into a wood star which kills back at the soil star.  Both the month and the date are wood which kill the soil star.  Then things happened on a wood day or in a wood month.  If the soil star moves and turns into m, things happened in month m.   If the soil star turns into y, things happened on day y.  How amazing!

Here is one more example.  When do you think things will happen?

A man wants his political party to win the election.  He tossed the coins asking in which month will his political party win the election.  He received [Fog] and [Compare].

When a B star moves to produce the self line's K star, the B star is the helper regardless what the question.  So the 1st line B t is the friend.  Too bad that B t moved turning into a extremely strong R wa which kills back at B t.  His political party has no chance to win.  The 1st line might move in month wa. 

He tossed again just to reconfirm, and he got [Strip] and [Feed].

The 1st line P wa frustration star links to the self line.  The 1st line might move in month wa.

Result:  His party lost the election just days before month wa started.

You see?  It happened in month wa.  Not in month sh.  Not in month c.   But in month wa. 

An extremely strong element and an empty star working together.....

If a dead and empty K c moves turning into P y, things might happen in year c.

For example: 

The 2nd line K c moves turning into P y.  K c is empty.  Both the month and the date kill K c.  So K c is also dead.  K c will move in month c, on day c, or in year c.  (Actually, K c could also move in month t because the emptiness of c can be fulfilled  in month t.) 

Another example: 

The 3rd line B h is empty and is dead.  But the 3rd line can move when the emptiness fulfills in year h, in month h, or on day h.   Actually, the 3rd line can also move in month sh because the 3rd line R cn is bounding to the date cn.  Month sh will help break their bondage allowing the 3rd line to move.

BUT THERE ARE ALWAYS EXCEPTIONS..........

A man is losing money in his new business.  So he tossed the coins asking in which month can he sell his business to somebody else for a good price.  He received [Trade] and [Stop].

The 1st line P t is dead because both the month and the date kill it.  P t also turns into G wa which kills back at itself.  The P star represents worries and frustration, and G wa represents money.  If the money star G wa kills back at the frustration star P t, he will sell his business and receive some money.  This month is cn.  And three months later, it will be month wa.  The 1st line basically is saying that he will sell his business and receive some money in month wa because G wa kills back at the dead P t.  So he will find a buyer three months later.

• But wait!  The first line P t is empty, and P t will still be empty three months later.  So his business cannot be sold in month wa?  What's going on?
• The first line P t can move in month t because P t is dead and empty.  But wait!   He also cannot sell in month t because month t will strike the 4th line K w loose.   The 4th line also contains G wa.  So the 4th line is linking to the 1st line.   If the 4th line K w has been struck loose in month t, both the 4th line and the 1st line cannot move in month t.  So what exactly is going on here?  When exactly can he sell? 

Result:  He tossed the coins in month cn of year w, and he sold his business in next year's month wa.  (month wa of year wa)  The reason why he did not sell in month wa of year w is because P t was still empty in month wa of year w.  He did not sell in month t because the 4th line was struck loose in month t.  So he had to wait 15 months before he can sell his business.  The emptiness of P t fulfilled in month t of year w.  Then he sold his business in the wa month which came after the emptiness of P t has been fulfilled.

Here is another sign which bears similarity with the above 3 signs.  But this sign is a single hexagram. 

A man asked about his son's illness. He got [Strip].

             G   y    -
             K   t   - - J 
             P   sh  - -
             G   m   - -
             R   e   - - U
             P   wa  - -

The K star represents the son.  The self line K t is water, and both the month and the date are soil.  The K star is dead.  If another soil element joins the feast, the son will definitely die.  The child cannot live through another soil hour.

Result: Wild Crane was right again.  The father tossed the coins at hour y.   The son died at hour cn.

Another example:  I tossed the coins asking about Yahoo's stocks.  I want to know Yahoo's entire year's trend.  I got [Break].

If one tosses the coins asking about stock market, the money star is appointed.   The money star G t is bounding to the self line.  So G t does connect to the self line.  The money star is the appointed.  Both the month and the date are soil, and both are killing the money star G t.  G t is totally dead.  The stock value will drop if another soil month comes along.  So the stock will drop in month cn.

Result:  Yahoo dropped from $20 a share to $14 a share in month cn.

Overloaded Elements

Wild Crane said that if an element is being produced by both the month and the date, and it also moves and turns into an element which produces back at itself, that element is called an 'overloaded element'. 

For example:  I applied for a credit card merchant account.  I had some credit problems in the past.  So I don't know if they will approve me or not.  I tossed the coins asking will they approve my application.  I got [Break] and [Cover].

The self line is being killed by both the month and the date.  So the self line is dead?  So there is no hope?  Not exactly!  The 1st line P e is being produced by both the month and the date.  It also moves and turns into an R star which produces back at itself.  The first line is an 'overloaded element'.  The 1st line P e is so powerful, and it can revive the self line.  Besides, the self line turns into P w which produces back at itself.   So the self line is alive.   Since I am asking will I be approved, the P star represents approval.  If the P star produces the self line, I will be approved.  But when will I receive a confirmation stating that I am approved?  

• If an overloaded element exists in your sign, things will happen only when the overloaded element moves.  At first, I thought that maybe I can be approved on day c because the first line P e will produce the self line B c when the emptiness of B c fulfills.  But a few hours later, I remembered that nothing will happen unless the overloaded element moves.  That means I won't be approved on day c even if the emptiness of B c fulfills on day c. 
• The overloaded element P e will move when it is being struck.  So P e will move only on day h.  So will I be approved on day h?  No, because the self line B c is still empty on day h.  Nothing can produce the self line if the self line is still empty.
• So exactly when will I be approved?  I think I will be approved after the emptiness of the self line B c is fulfilled.   Today is day m.  The emptiness of the self line B c will be fulfilled 10 days later.  And 20 days later, it will be another day h.  That means I will be approved 20 days later (day h).

11 days later, my application was not yet approved.  I got a little bit nervous, so I tossed the coins again and got [Bride] and [Solution].

Damn!  Another overloaded element.  This sign is almost identical to the first sign.  Now I know that I will definitely be approved.  This time, the self line is no longer empty.  So I shall be approved on day h, which is just 9 days away.

Result:  I was approved on day h, which is exactly 20 days after I have made my first toss.  After this experience, I realized that Wild Crane was right. 

We all know that a moving line can only produce an element that's in the 1st hexagram and cannot produce an element that's in the 2nd hexagram.

But I found out one thing that's very interesting:  An overloaded element can produce and bound to another moving line's 2nd hexagram's element.

Let's see this example:

A man has been evading tax and has been investigated by the tax collector, and he tossed the coins asking will the tax collector give him any trouble.  God gave him [Revolution] and [Need].

This sign looks terrible at the beginning because a powerful B h is sitting on the self line.  The B star usually means lost of wealth.  The self line turning into a P star could mean something bad will happen since the P star represents worries and frustration.   But the 2nd line R c moves turning into K y which bounds to the self line.  If a K star moves bounding to the self line, there will be happy ending.  Which means, the tax collector will not give him any trouble.  But the 2nd line K y is dead.   Can K y still bound to the self line? 

• Based on my experience, an overloaded element can jump over to the other side to produce and bound to a moving element that's on the 2nd hexagram.  So the self line B h would jump over to the other side to produce K y because K y is a moving line.  Therefore, K y is not really dead because B h is producing it.
• Since K y is still alive, K y still can move to bound to the self line.  If a K star bounds to the self line, trouble shall disappear! 
• The 2nd line K y is empty at this moment.  But K y will fulfill its emptiness in month y or in month m.  So you will receive a good news either in month y or in month m.

Result:  The tax collector had quit the investigation in month m.  You see?   The self line's B h jumped over to the other side to produce and bound to the dead K y because K y moves.  If K y did not move to bound to the self line, the self line B h would not have produced it.  If the self line B h was not an overloaded element, B h would not have been strong enough to jump over to the other side.

Extremely Strong Elements

What is an 'extremely strong element'? 

ANSWER:  An 'extremely strong element' is a star that has the same element as the date and the month. 

For example: 

Both the month and the date are wood.  So the self line K y is an extremely strong element because K y is also wood.  If the month is wood but the date is not wood, K y cannot be called an 'extremely strong element'.  Remember that both the month and the date must be the same element.

• If both the month and the date are soil, the U line R sh is an extremely strong element.  
• If both the month and the date are metal, the 4th line P s is an extremely strong element. 
• If both the month and the date are water, the 3rd line B h and the 1st line B t will be extremely strong elements. 

If an extremely strong element moves bounding to the dead self line, the self line cannot die.

For example:  A man asked can he go back home to see his wife in month wa.  He got [Too much] and [Queen].

The self line P h is dead.  A dead self line cannot move.  But luckily, the top line's extremely strong element G wa moves and advances bounding to the self line's K w.  So the self line cannot die.  The top line G wa represents his wife.  The self line P h will move bounding to the top line's advancing wife star in month e because e strikes with P h. 

Result:  He saw his wife in month w, not in month e.  It happened in month w because the top line G wa moved in month w.

An extremely strong element is more important than the empty two lines which lie between J and U.

A woman tossed the coins asking when will her employee return to Canton.  She received [Revolution] and [Extreme].

The 2nd line's empty R c moves turning into K y which bounds to the self line.  If an empty line moves bounding to the self line, that empty line links to the self line.   That means the self line is also considered to be empty. 

The empty 2nd line links to the self line.  So the self line is now considered to be empty.  The self line B h links to the 3rd line.  That means the 3rd line is also considered to be empty.  So the 2 lines which lie between J and U are empty.   Will her employee return to Canton when the emptiness fulfills?

Wrong!  Both the month and the date are water elements.  The self line B h is also water.  The self line B h is an extremely strong element.  The 2nd line K y moves bounding to the self line B h.  Usually when the emptiness fulfills, things will happen.  But since B h is an extremely strong element, the only way for a non-moving, extremely strong element to move is a strike.  So B h wil only move on day e because day e strikes with B h.  There is no other possibility.

Result:  The employee showed up on day e.  From this lesson, we learned that the power of an extremely strong element overwhelms the power of the 2 empty lines which lie between J and U.

A man has submitted his article to two magazine publishers.  None of them gave him a response.  So he tossed the coins asking when can he receive a reply from either one of the publishers and got [Abide] and [Same].

  The U line's advancing gain star is a good sign.  The self line's G star moves turning into a P letter star is also a sign which indicates that he shall receive a reply.  Both the month and the date are striking at the U line G sh.  Day yo can bound to both the month and the date saving the U line from the strike.  So something good will happen on day yo as the U line G star advances.  The self line's P h is dead.  So can the self line move at all?  Don't worry.  One of the I-Ching laws says:

• If both the month and the date are soil, a moving line which contains a soil star cannot die.

The self line G cn is soil.  So the self line cannot die.  Right now, P h is empty.  But on day sh or on day h, P h shall no longer be empty.  I think another letter will come on day sh because the self line G cn is bounding to both the month and the date.  Only day sh can break that bondage allowing the self line to move.

Result:  A letter from the first publisher arrived on day yo.  Then on day sh, another letter arrived.

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

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