"To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under heaven."
The knowledge of doing the right thing at the right time can prove vital in making important decisions in one's personal or professional life. The key to proper date selection is to have a clearly defined purpose for which the date is being selected. This is crucial as every day has its own qi and the qi has to be supportive of the purpose/event for which the date is being selected.
Examples for which date selection can be used are:
- renovations, construction work, earth works;
- personal matters - engagements, weddings, surgeries;
- professional issues - business openings, trading activities, signing contracts, and;
- miscellaneous purposes such as travel, education, bed/stove placements/repositioning etc.
In addition to the above, date selection is an integral part of feng shui, as it is a vital tool for selecting construction or renovation dates and the installation of some feng shui remedies/ cures. Even an accurately applied feng shui formula may fail, if the proper timing is not taken into consideration.
Several methods are used for date selection and I am writing about those that I have studied or am using in my audits. Each system has its own pro's and cons, generally consultants / practitioners / masters will use a mixture of these systems depending on the situation and the purpose for selecting the date.
Purple white nine stars
Every day, month, year and even hour has been assigned with a particular number that carries with it a certain meaning. This number (meaning of the number) has to correlate with the event and the interplay between the numbers can be used to accurately predict events. This system is generally used for activity based date selection.
Bazi
The natal chart of the person conducting or involved in the event should be supported. Preferably there should be no clashes, but sometimes if the negative element is clashed away then it is considered to be good. Personal bazi is especially important if the selection is being made for weddings, engagements, surgeries and/or any activity of a personal nature.
28 constellations (know also as 28 asterisms)
One of the oldest techniques in date selection, that has days assigned for particular events, following a 28 day cycle. The ancients divided the sky into four halves that was further divided into seven halves making it a total of 28 days. Each day is allocated with suitable and unsuitable activities. This is a generalized system, but many contemporary masters still use this system together with other systems.
Great Sun formula
This system is specially useful for any form of structural (interior or exterior) changes made to the house, such as construction, renovations and earth works. If work is being done in any of the annual sha's area (read article Tai Sui, Tsui Po, San Sha - Annual sha's ) then this system is vital in selecting the date and time.
Xuan kong 64 hexagrams method (known also as Xuan Kong Da Gua)
This method is used for selecting dates for burial, ceremonies, renovations, construction and so on. The ba zi(four pillars) of the day plays an important role, with each day being assigned with a number. The interactions between the numbers indicate whether the day is suitable for a particular event.
12 Officers on duty (known also as Jianchu or Gin Choi or Master Dong's method)
This system has days assigned for particular events and follows a 12 day cycle and is quite similar to the 28 constellations method discussed above. Date selection is made in correlation with the event suitable for that particular day.
For a common man, the above methods may appear difficult to apply, but an annual Chinese almanac (tong shu) (to know more about The Chinese almanac click here Tong Shu) can be used for general date selection purposes. A good almanac generally states the suitable and unsuitable events for the specific day, the flying star number, the sha location and ba zi of the day. For critical and personalized date selection it is advisable to contact a professional Ba zi or feng shui consultant.
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