Qi Men Dun Jia Basics

Qi Men Dun Jia (奇门遁甲) is a classical Chinese timing method. Where BaZi describes a person from their birth moment, Qi Men casts a chart for a moment or a question and reads which directions and actions are supported at that time.

The board: nine palaces

A Qi Men chart is laid out on the nine palaces (九宫) of the Luo Shu square, each linked to a trigram and a direction, with the centre palace in the middle. Every palace holds several layers of information.

The four plates

1. Earth plate (地盘) — the stems in their fixed starting positions for this period.
2. Heaven plate (天盘) — stems and the nine stars (九星) rotated according to the hour.
3. Human plate (人盘) — the eight doors (八门): Open, Rest, Life, Harm, Delusion, View, Death, Fear.
4. Spirit plate (神盘) — the eight deities (八神), such as Chief, Moon and Nine Heavens.

Yin and yang dun

From the winter solstice to the summer solstice the chart uses yang dun (阳遁), counting forward; from the summer to the winter solstice yin dun (阴遁), counting backward. Each solar term is divided into upper, middle and lower periods, each with its own structure number.

Reading a chart

1. Identify the question's palace — usually through the relevant stem or door (for example, the Open door for career, the Life door for business).
2. Read the palace's combination — star, door, deity and stem pair.
3. Check the palace's state — is it empty (空亡), in conflict with its element, or clashed?
4. Compare with the querent's palace and judge the relation.

Use it carefully

Qi Men is intricate, and different schools (时家, 日家, 转盘, 飞盘) produce different charts. Treat readings as structured reflection on timing, not as certainty. Our Qi Men tool shows the structure so you can study it.

Where Qi Men comes from

Qi Men Dun Jia is one of the three classical arts known as 三式, alongside Tai Yi and Liu Ren. Its name describes its core idea: 奇 refers to the three "wonders" 乙, 丙, 丁; 门 to the eight doors; and 遁甲 to the way the stem 甲 "hides" behind the six 仪 stems 戊, 己, 庚, 辛, 壬, 癸. In every chart, the six 甲 periods of the sexagenary cycle are represented by those six stems.

The nine stars

The nine stars (九星) are 天蓬, 天芮, 天冲, 天辅, 天禽, 天心, 天柱, 天任 and 天英. Each has an element and an original palace, and each carries traditional associations — for example 天心 with planning and medicine, 天辅 with learning and culture, 天蓬 with boldness and risk. In a chart the stars rotate around the palaces according to the duty star of the hour.

The eight doors

开, 休 and 生 are traditionally called the three auspicious doors.

Constructing a chart, step by step

1. Determine the solar term and period. The date sets the solar term and whether we are in its upper, middle or lower period (上中下元).
2. Determine yin or yang dun and the structure number. These come from tables keyed to the solar term and period.
3. Lay out the earth plate. The six 仪 and three 奇 are placed in the nine palaces starting from the structure number.
4. Find the duty star and duty door. They come from the 甲 period of the hour.
5. Rotate the heaven plate and doors. The duty star moves to the palace of the hour stem; the duty door moves by the count of hours.
6. Place the eight deities. They follow the duty star, forward in yang dun and backward in yin dun.

The Qi Men tool carries out these steps and shows each plate, so you can follow the construction rather than only see the result.

Reading patterns

Practitioners look for well-known stem combinations on the heaven and earth plates, such as 乙+己, 丙+戊 or 戊+丙, which have classical names and meanings. They also check:

• Door and palace element. A door that controls its palace is called 门迫 (door pressing); a door controlled by its palace is restrained; mutual production is smoother.
• Empty palaces (空亡). Matters there may be delayed or lack substance.
• The horse star (马星). Movement and speed.
• Entering tomb (入墓). A stem stored in a tomb branch palace is held back.

How Qi Men differs from BaZi

BaZi is personal and slow-moving: a birth chart plus ten-year and yearly cycles. Qi Men is situational and fast: a new chart every two hours. Many practitioners use BaZi to understand a person and Qi Men to choose timing and direction for specific actions. See the comparisons for more on how the systems relate.

Using it responsibly

Qi Men has many schools and technical variants, and they can produce different charts for the same moment. Learn one method thoroughly, keep records, and treat readings as one input among several. Do not use it for medical, legal or financial decisions.

Frequently asked questions

Is Qi Men the same as feng shui? No; it uses some of the same concepts but is a timing method.

Why do two Qi Men apps differ? Different methods for setting the period (拆补 vs 置闰) and rotating vs flying plates.

Do I need my birth data? Not for basic charts; some methods add the birth year stem to locate the querent.

Key vocabulary

Knowing these terms makes classical texts and the Qi Men FAQ much easier to follow.

A simple reading workflow

For beginners, a disciplined sequence prevents getting lost in the many symbols:

1. Write the question clearly, with a time frame — for example, "Is it a good time this month to approach the new client?"
2. Cast the chart for the moment the question is asked, using the Qi Men tool.
3. Choose the use symbol. For a business approach, practitioners commonly look at the Life door (生门) and the 戊 stem, which is associated with capital.
4. Read the palace holding the use symbol: star, door, deity and the heaven–earth stem pair.
5. Check the querent's palace, usually the palace of the day stem, and its relation to the use palace by element and direction.
6. Check obstacles: empty palace, door pressing, entering tomb, or a clash from the hour.
7. Summarise in two or three sentences and record the outcome later.

Each step uses only a few pieces of information, which makes the reading reviewable.

Direction in Qi Men

Because each palace corresponds to a direction, Qi Men readings often include directional advice: for example, a favourable door in the south-east palace may be read as support for actions in that direction. This is one of the method's distinctive features and one of its most traditional. Treat it as a cultural practice rather than a physical claim, and never let it override practical considerations such as safety or convenience.

Learning resources

Classical sources include 烟波钓叟歌, a verse summary of the method, and later compilations such as 奇门遁甲统宗. Modern study usually begins with chart construction until it can be done by hand, then learns the stem pairs and door meanings. Our Qi Men FAQ answers common beginner questions about methods and settings.

Key points

• Qi Men Dun Jia casts a chart for a moment or a question, not for a person's birth.
• The chart has four layers on the nine palaces: the earth plate, the heaven plate with the nine stars, the human plate with the eight doors, and the spirit plate with the eight deities.
• From the winter solstice to the summer solstice the chart uses yang dun. From the summer solstice to the winter solstice it uses yin dun. Each solar term has three periods, and each period has a structure number.
• 甲 hides under the six 仪 stems. 乙, 丙 and 丁 are the three wonders.
• A reading picks the use symbol, reads its palace, compares it with the querent's palace and checks obstacles such as emptiness and door pressing.
• Schools differ in how they set the period and in whether they rotate or fly the plates, so two apps can disagree.
• Learn one method thoroughly, keep records, and do not use Qi Men for medical, legal or financial decisions.

Key terms in this article

Nine Palaces · 九宫

The nine palaces are the Luo Shu magic-square grid used in Qi Men Dun Jia: eight directions plus the centre. Stars, doors, deities and stems are laid out across them for a given two-hour period.

Trigram · 八卦

The eight trigrams — 乾兑离震巽坎艮坤 — are three-line figures associated with heaven, lake, fire, thunder, wind, water, mountain and earth, and with five-element attributes. Mei Hua Yi Shu reads the relation between the body and use trigrams.

Solar Terms · 二十四节气

The twenty-four solar terms divide the sun's path into 15° steps. The twelve 节 (jie) terms such as 立春 and 惊蛰 begin BaZi months; the twelve 中气 terms such as 雨水 mark mid-months. Each term has a precise astronomical moment, not just a date.

Void Emptiness · 空亡

Each ten-day "decade" (旬) of the sixty cycle leaves two branches without a stem; these are void (空亡) for pillars in that decade. In BaZi it is a secondary indicator; in Liu Yao divination void lines are a central technique.

See also: Qi Men FAQ.