Bound Timing
Last updated 5/21/2026
A bound line has force, but the force is held. The question is not whether the line is strong enough. The question is when the bind breaks.
Combination binds. Clash releases.
The release date is based on the branch doing the binding, not the branch that merely looks most favorable. If the bind comes from the day, clash the day branch. If it comes from the month, clash the month branch or watch the month change when the case calls for a broader scale.
The target or support line is tied to another branch and cannot freely deliver its effect.
The branch that clashes the binding branch opens the path.
Which branch do you clash?
If the day forms the binding combination, the release comes when the day branch is clashed.
If the month forms the bind, a clash day can release it. Some cases also wait until the month changes.
If a moving line transforms into its binding partner, time the branch that breaks that transformed bind.
If support is bound before it reaches the target, time the release of that support path rather than the target itself.
Case pattern
The travel case is the clean pattern: the parents line is moving and looks strong, but it is bound. The trip does not happen because the line cannot move freely.
At first glance the target looks ready to act.
The combination holds it in place, so the motion does not deliver.
The branch that strikes the binding partner is the date to watch.
The line can act after release. Until then, strength is trapped.
Source basis: Yehe Laoren, Zengshan Buyi; travel and bound-line case discussions.
Prefer clashing the binder over clashing the target itself. Clashing the target can release a lock in some charts, but it may also wound the line you are trying to free, especially when the target is not seasonally supported. The cleaner timing route is usually the branch that strikes the binding partner.
Traps
The bind exists at the cast. We are timing the release, not the start of the bind.
A moving line that is bound is not fast until the bind breaks.
Sometimes the target is not bound directly, but the support path is. That still delays the result.