Harms and punishments are named branch patterns, but they are not the main engine of most readings.

Harms are mostly recognition vocabulary in the canon we follow. Punishments have more use, but usually as a compounder. Neither family outranks void, Month Breaker, direct clash, combination, or a formed frame.

Primary forces Void, break, clash, combination, frame

These usually carry the main structural force of the reading.

Secondary friction Harms and punishments

Harms are rarely load-bearing. Punishments can downgrade or complicate a line when other negative signals are already present.

Harms

Harms are branch pairings traditionally associated with irritation, leakage, or friction.

In the canon we are following, Harms are mostly vocabulary. Yehe’s verdict is unusually blunt: he found no reliable verification for the Six Harms doctrine and did not preserve it as a working chapter. They can be named when they appear, but they should almost never carry the reading. If a Harm is the only negative signal on a relevant line, the better summary is that the chart is not saying much through that factor.

Effect Recognition only, most of the time

A harm may describe friction in traditional vocabulary, but it should not carry judgment by itself.

Weight Usually secondary

Do not let a harm outrank a clearer clash, break, or support chain.

Use Confirming detail

Harms are most useful when they explain why an otherwise viable line is uncomfortable.

Punishments

Punishments are harsher than harms, but still need proportion.

Punishments matter more than Harms, but usually as a compounder. They can downgrade a line that is already under pressure; they do not normally nullify a healthy line by themselves. The three-branch punishment patterns need the actual pattern to be present; do not turn a loose pair into the full triangle.

Effect Pressure or penalty

A punishment can show internal strain, consequence, or self-inflicted pressure.

Weight Below major states

It usually downgrades or colors a line rather than replacing the main judgment.

Self-punishment Repeating pressure

Some branches punish themselves when repeated. Treat it as internal pressure, not automatic disaster.

Common traps

Trap 1 Overdramatizing them.

Popular lists often make every harm or punishment sound catastrophic. The source record is much more restrained.

Trap 2 Ignoring them completely.

They can explain why a line is irritated, delayed, punished, or internally conflicted.

Trap 3 Reading them before the target.

First ask whether the harm or punishment touches a relevant line.

Trap 4 Letting them outrank clash or combination.

Clash and combination carry more structural weight. Harms and punishments are lower-priority modifiers.

Source basis: Zengshan Buyi Harm and Punishment chapters. Yehe rejects Harms as a reliable working doctrine and treats Punishments as rare primary causes, mostly useful as compounders when the target is already weak or under attack.

What this module establishes

Harms are recognition vocabulary. Punishments are modifiers. They matter most when they touch the target, support, obstacle, or active path and agree with stronger signals.

-> 5.10 Six-Clash and Six-Harmony Hexagram Types