Stem-Branch Assignment (Najia)

Najia gives every hexagram line a fixed stem and branch. The operation uses the lower trigram for lines 1–3 and the upper trigram for lines 4–6.

Always construct bottom-to-top: line 1 is the bottom line, and line 6 is the top line.

The calendar does not change these assignments. Month and day will act on the completed labels in Act 3.

The assignment table

Each cell lists stem · branches in line order.

Trigram	Pattern	Inner assignment, lines 1–3	Outer assignment, lines 4–6
Qian / Heaven	111	Jia · Zi, Yin, Chen	Ren · Wu, Shen, Xu
Kun / Earth	000	Yi · Wei, Si, Mao	Gui · Chou, Hai, You
Zhen / Thunder	001	Geng · Zi, Yin, Chen	Geng · Wu, Shen, Xu
Xun / Wind	110	Xin · Chou, Hai, You	Xin · Wei, Si, Mao
Kan / Water	010	Wu · Yin, Chen, Wu	Wu · Shen, Xu, Zi
Li / Fire	101	Ji · Mao, Chou, Hai	Ji · You, Wei, Si
Gen / Mountain	100	Bing · Chen, Wu, Shen	Bing · Xu, Zi, Yin
Dui / Lake	011	Ding · Si, Mao, Chou	Ding · Hai, You, Wei

“Inner” means the trigram occupies the lower three lines. “Outer” means it occupies the upper three. A Kan trigram below and a Kan trigram above use different three-row slices of the Kan entry.

Worked construction: Hexagram 3

Hexagram 3 is Water over Thunder:

• lower trigram: Zhen / Thunder;
• upper trigram: Kan / Water.

Take the inner Zhen assignments for lines 1–3 and the outer Kan assignments for lines 4–6:

Line, bottom-to-top	Trigram source	Stem	Branch	Branch element
1	inner Zhen	Geng	Zi	Water
2	inner Zhen	Geng	Yin	Wood
3	inner Zhen	Geng	Chen	Earth
4	outer Kan	Wu	Shen	Metal
5	outer Kan	Wu	Xu	Earth
6	outer Kan	Wu	Zi	Water

This six-row table is part of Case 00035’s observable chart. It says nothing yet about which line matters or what might happen.

Reproducible exercise

Construct Qian over Heaven. Qian occupies both trigram positions, so the answer is:

Jia-Zi, Jia-Yin, Jia-Chen, Ren-Wu, Ren-Shen, Ren-Xu

Then construct Earth over Lake, Hexagram 19:

1. use inner Dui for lines 1–3;
2. use outer Kun for lines 4–6;
3. obtain Ding-Si, Ding-Mao, Ding-Chou, Gui-Chou, Gui-Hai, Gui-You.

Common failures

• Reading top-to-bottom: line numbers and moving positions will be reversed.
• Using the inner column twice: the upper trigram must use its outer assignments.
• Using the changed chart too early: build primary and changed sides independently; do not mix their trigrams in one six-row table.
• Interpreting the labels: a branch is a construction input here. Strength and timing come later.

Source note

The complete table and combination rule define the assignment convention used in this course. They make the chart construction reproducible but do not establish a historical rationale or predictive authority.

Next: Continue to Six Relatives and derive each line’s routing category from its element.