The Six Spirits
Last updated 10/7/2026
The Six Spirits are a rotating row of labels. The day stem chooses the label on line 1; the remaining five follow in a fixed order up to line 6.
The fixed rotation is:
Azure Dragon → Vermilion Bird → Hooking Array → Soaring Serpent → White Tiger → Black Tortoise → repeat
Find the line-1 start
| Day stem | Label on line 1 |
|---|---|
| Jia or Yi | Azure Dragon |
| Bing or Ding | Vermilion Bird |
| Wu | Hooking Array |
| Ji | Soaring Serpent |
| Geng or Xin | White Tiger |
| Ren or Gui | Black Tortoise |
After choosing the start, rotate forward one label per line. Every completed chart must contain each label exactly once.
Worked assignment: Case 00035
Case 00035 uses a Ji-Mao day. The Ji stem starts with Soaring Serpent:
| Line, bottom-to-top | Six-Spirit label |
|---|---|
| 1 | Soaring Serpent |
| 2 | White Tiger |
| 3 | Black Tortoise |
| 4 | Azure Dragon |
| 5 | Vermilion Bird |
| 6 | Hooking Array |
This reproduces a visible field of the chart. It does not let a Spirit label overturn palace, Najia, line role, World/Response, motion, or calendar mechanics.
Full rotation check
Use one representative from each start group:
| Day stem | Lines 1 → 6 |
|---|---|
| Jia | Azure Dragon, Vermilion Bird, Hooking Array, Soaring Serpent, White Tiger, Black Tortoise |
| Bing | Vermilion Bird, Hooking Array, Soaring Serpent, White Tiger, Black Tortoise, Azure Dragon |
| Wu | Hooking Array, Soaring Serpent, White Tiger, Black Tortoise, Azure Dragon, Vermilion Bird |
| Ji | Soaring Serpent, White Tiger, Black Tortoise, Azure Dragon, Vermilion Bird, Hooking Array |
| Geng | White Tiger, Black Tortoise, Azure Dragon, Vermilion Bird, Hooking Array, Soaring Serpent |
| Ren | Black Tortoise, Azure Dragon, Vermilion Bird, Hooking Array, Soaring Serpent, White Tiger |
Yi matches Jia, Ding matches Bing, Xin matches Geng, and Gui matches Ren.
Stopping condition
This lesson assigns labels only. Do not turn a label into an event, personality, danger statement, or independent judgment. If two learners use the same day stem, their six-label rows must match before either discusses interpretation.
Source note
The complete start table covers all ten day stems, and the six-row rotation makes each assignment reproducible. Interpretive weight is deliberately outside this lesson.
Next: Continue to Act 3: The Calendar and add time-dependent fields to the completed skeleton.