Zhouyi casting and zodiac calendar FAQ
Questions about casting, changing-line readings, zodiac year boundaries, Lichun, leap months and branch relations.
Why are the six lines recorded from bottom to top?
The first line is at the bottom and the top line is at the top. Casting produces the bottom line first, then builds upward. Pages, reports and algorithms therefore all number the lines from bottom to top.
What do 6, 7, 8 and 9 mean?
6 is old yin, 7 young yang, 8 young yin and 9 old yang. 6 and 9 are changing lines: old yin changes to yang and old yang to yin. 7 and 8 remain unchanged.
How do the primary and resulting hexagrams differ?
The primary hexagram is the six lines obtained in the cast. The resulting hexagram reverses the polarity of changing lines valued 6 or 9. With no changing lines, there is no separate resulting hexagram.
Are complementary, inverted and nuclear hexagrams new casting results?
No. These are structural relationships derived from the original hexagram. The complementary hexagram reverses every line’s polarity; the inverted hexagram reverses the line order; the nuclear hexagram uses lines 2, 3, 4 and 3, 4, 5. This site does not turn these relationships alone into fortune judgments.
Which text should I read first when several lines move?
Count the changing lines, then use this site’s published reading convention. With two or four changing lines, readings have a primary and secondary order. With three, read both hexagram judgments; with five, read the sole unchanged line of the resulting hexagram. The result page lists the order for this cast.
Can I cast repeatedly for the same question?
Meng contains a warning (Chinese original): 「初筮告，再三瀆」. We recommend recording the first result and subsequent real changes in full. If the premises, time frame or action plan have not materially changed, do not keep casting to seek a more pleasing result.
Do yarrow, three coins and Meihua Yishu differ only in animation?
No. Yarrow uses 49 stalks and three rounds of division and counting to form each line. Three-coin casting maps combinations of inscription and reverse faces to line values. Meihua Yishu uses Earlier Heaven numbers: the time method uses year, month, day and hour, while the two-number mode is an explicitly identified convenience convention of this site. Inputs and probability structures differ, but all produce six lines and changing-line records.
Is the result a certain prediction of the future?
No. This site calculates hexagrams with fixed algorithms and displays texts with sources. It does not invent certain predictions. The material supports traditional-culture study and reflection, not a replacement for medical, legal, investment or other professional judgment.
Why do zodiac years use either Lunar New Year or Lichun?
For folk zodiac animals, this site defaults to changing the year on the first day of the first lunar month. In Four Pillars traditions, the year pillar often changes at the exact Lichun solar-term instant. Their purposes and boundaries differ: births between these events may have different year branches. The page states which convention is used.
Why is a Gregorian birth year alone insufficient?
The zodiac year does not change on Gregorian January 1. Using only a year would assign births before Lunar New Year to the new animal. Under the Lichun year-pillar convention, births on the transition day also require birth time and time zone. This site therefore requires a full date, and an accurate time for the Lichun convention.
How is a lunar leap-month input validated?
Not every year has a leap month, and not any month can be marked as one. The site first checks the actual leap month of the selected lunar year. Both year and month must match before the leap-month flag is allowed; conversion then uses that month’s actual day count. Regular month 2 and leap month 2 are different months.
Do two zodiac signs in the same trine group form a complete trine?
No. A traditional trine group has three Earthly Branches, for example Shen, Zi and Chen. Two people provide only two year branches. We can identify that they belong to the same group and name the missing third branch, but cannot call two branches a complete trine formation or infer relationship success or failure.
Is zodiac matching the same as Four Pillars marriage analysis or Zhouyi casting?
No. This tool compares only fixed classifications of two year branches. Full Four Pillars analysis also involves year, month, day and hour pillars and school-specific rules. Zhouyi casting uses a different system of forming hexagrams and selecting texts. We do not generate marriage scores, personality conclusions or judgments of destiny from two zodiac signs.