A Wen Wang Gua cast looks dense the first time you see it: a date, two hexagrams, six stacked lines, line roles, branch names, elements, movement, void status, and World/Response positions.

The good news is that it is just a table. Every column has a job. Once you know the zones, you can look at any course cast and name the visible facts before you know how to interpret them.

This module is visual literacy, not interpretation. We use Reference Case 1, the father’s-illness case used throughout the course.

The working chart

Source case Case 1: Father's Recent Illness Zengshan Buyi
Question What about my father's recent illness?
Outcome Recovery on Chou day.
Void branchesYin and Mao
StructureSix-Clash
Line Primary chart Movement Changed chart Markers
6 Parent / Xu Xu EarthWorld Static Wealth / Mao Mao Wood World
5 Sibling / Shen Shen Metal Static Officer / Si Si Fire
4 Officer / Wu Wu Fire Moving Parent / Wei Wei EarthResponse Response
3 Parent / Chen Chen EarthResponse Static Parent / Chen Chen Earth Response
2 Wealth / Yin Yin Wood Static, void Wealth / Yin Yin Wood
1 Child / Zi Zi Water Static Child / Zi Zi WaterWorld World

Take it in as a whole. The table has three major zones:

Zone 1 Date metadata

Month, day, and void branches. This dates the cast and names the temporary empty branches.

Zone 2 Hexagram metadata

Primary hexagram, changed hexagram, palace, and structural tags such as Six-Clash.

Zone 3 Six-line table

The stacked lines, roles, branches, elements, movement, and World/Response marks.

Zone 1: date metadata

The date row is not commentary. It is the timestamp the whole reading runs against.

Month Chen month

The month branch is one of the main strength authorities in the chart.

Day Wu-Shen day

The day stem and branch drive day effects, hidden movement, and Six Spirit assignment.

Void pair Yin and Mao

Any line carrying one of these branches is temporarily void in this ten-day cycle.

Rule The date is evidence

The same hexagram on a different month and day can produce a different reading.

Full mechanics come in Act 3. For now, know where the date lives and what kind of facts it names.

Zone 2: hexagram metadata

Case 1 begins with Hexagram 1 and changes to Hexagram 9.

Primary palace Qian palace

The primary hexagram belongs to the Heaven/Qian family. Palaces are Act 2.

Primary hexagram Hexagram 1

Heaven over Heaven. This is the cast before movement transforms it.

Changed hexagram Hexagram 9

Wind over Heaven. This is the complete chart after the moving line flips.

Type tag Six-Clash

A structural tag that matters later for speed and instability. Mechanics come in Act 5.

Zone 3: the line table

The line table is drawn top to bottom, but line numbering runs bottom to top. This is the convention that catches almost everyone.

Visible order Top row first

The table displays the top of the hexagram at the top of the page.

but
Line numbering Bottom line is line 1

A hexagram is built from the bottom upward. The top row is line 6.

So when the table shows six rows, read them visually as line 6 down to line 1.

What each line tells you

Line 4 is the most useful row in Case 1 because it moves. It contains several different facts at once.

Role Officer

One of the five line roles. The others are Parent, Sibling, Wealth, and Child.

Branch and element Wu Fire

The line carries a branch, and that branch belongs to one of the Five Phases.

Movement Moving line

This line is active. It flips and participates in the changed chart.

Changed line Parent / Wei Earth

The moving line becomes a different role and branch in the changed chart.

Position Changed-chart Response

The changed side of this row carries the Response marker. The primary side's Response marker is on line 3.

Do not try to interpret all of that yet. Act 1 only asks you to identify it.

The right column is not just a history

One subtle point matters early: the changed column is a complete second hexagram, not only a list of “what changed.”

When line 4 moves, it creates Hexagram 9. Once Hexagram 9 exists, its whole line table is read as its own chart: its own palace, line roles, branches, and World/Response positions. That is why a non-moving row can look different in the changed column. The line did not personally transform; the changed hexagram has its own fixed assignments.

Moving marker Shows what flipped

The movement mark tells you which primary line produced the change.

Changed column Shows the new chart

The right column is Hexagram 9 as a full hexagram, not only a transformation diary.

Later use Interpretation waits

Act 6 teaches how changed lines participate in judgment.

Pop quiz

By the end of Act 1, you should be able to answer these by sight:

  • Where is the moving line? Line 4.
  • Where is the World line on the primary chart? Line 6.
  • Where is the Response line on the primary chart? Line 3.
  • Which branches are void? Yin and Mao.
  • Which primary line carries a void branch? Line 2.
  • What does line 4 become? Parent / Wei Earth.
  • What is the primary palace? Qian.
  • What is the changed palace? Xun.
  • Is the primary hexagram Six-Clash? Yes.

Every answer comes from looking. None requires judgment yet.

Where this lands us

The cast is no longer a wall of notation. From here on, every concept lands on a visible feature: a line, a role, a branch, a movement marker, a date condition, or a changed-chart position.

The next act starts with the first structural label: the palace. Act 2: The Hexagram Skeleton.