The Eight Dynamics
Last updated 5/21/2026
Once a line moves, compare the moving line with the transformed line.
The eight dynamics are the common transformation patterns that tell you what the movement means.
The transformed line generates the moving line. The effect feeds the cause.
The transformed line controls the moving line. The effect attacks the cause.
The line stays in the same element and intensifies.
The line stays in the same element but declines or loses force over time.
The effect exists but cannot act fully until the void resolves.
The effect is damaged by the Month and may need rescue or release.
The effect may land in the moving line's cutoff position; it only bites when the line lacks enough support.
The changed line belongs to a different Six Relative role than the moving line.
How to use the map
Do not memorize them as slogans. Ask three questions:
This catches head-back generation and head-back control.
This catches advancing and retreating spirit.
This catches the remaining dynamics.
One transformation can carry more than one dynamic. A line can change role and also generate back. A line can look supportive and also bind itself. Classify the primary dynamic first, then add qualifiers instead of forcing the movement into one box.
What each dynamic means
The line produces an effect that returns support.
The line produces an effect that harms or blocks itself.
The line becomes more of what it already is.
The line begins to lose force or withdraw.
The result is real but delayed, repaired, or calendar-dependent rather than erased.
The line starts in one social role and ends in another.
Advance and retreat are time-sensitive. Advance strengthens the same element. Retreat fades over time, so a near-term matter may resolve before retreat fully matters.
Cutoff is conditional. Check Act 5 strength before treating it as termination. A strong, supported line meeting its nominal cutoff branch may still act through support instead of collapsing into cutoff.
Common traps
The effect is delayed, not erased.
Some same-element transformations retreat.
A role shift can be good or bad depending on what the question asks.
Some transformations are layered: element dynamic, state change, and role shift can all be present.
Source basis: Zengshan Buyi moving-and-transforming, advance-retreat, void, break, and life-cycle discussions. Conditional cutoff and exact timing are deferred to Act 8.
What this module establishes
The transformed line is not just a second label. It tells what the moving line becomes.
Next we add two cross-chart cases: transformation into combination and transformation into clash.