The Horary Method
Last updated 5/21/2026
The horary method uses the time a question becomes active.
The word โhoraryโ can mislead English readers because it sounds like Western astrology. In this course, it simply means: the moment of inquiry is the input.
When the Moment Counts
Use horary Plum Blossom when:
- The question arrives clearly at a particular moment.
- There is no separate external event cue.
- The time itself feels like the cleanest input.
- You can record date, time, and place.
Do not use it for vague ongoing worries. If the question has been circling for three weeks, choose the moment it becomes precise enough to ask.
Formal Calendar Formula
A common traditional-style formula:
| Hexagram part | Formula |
|---|---|
| Upper trigram | year branch number + lunar month + lunar day, divided by 8 |
| Lower trigram | year branch number + lunar month + lunar day + hour branch, divided by 8 |
| Moving line | year branch number + lunar month + lunar day + hour branch, divided by 6 |
The hour branch is the two-hour Chinese time period. Remainder 0 means Kun for trigrams and line 6 for moving lines.
Some teaching streams use the sexagenary year number, 1-60, instead of the year branch number, 1-12. This courseโs worked example uses the branch-number version because it is easier to audit by hand. A strict traditional-style reading should name the table it is using before calculating.
Worked Example
Suppose a question is asked in:
- Yin year branch: 3.
- Eighth lunar month: 8.
- Twenty-first lunar day: 21.
- Shen hour branch: 9.
Calculation:
| Step | Math | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Upper trigram | 3 + 8 + 21 = 32; divided by 8 leaves 0 | Kun, Earth |
| Lower trigram | 32 + 9 = 41; divided by 8 leaves 1 | Qian, Heaven |
| Moving line | 41 divided by 6 leaves 5 | line 5 |
Primary hexagram: Earth over Heaven, Hexagram 12, Standstill.
The reading would begin from obstruction between above and below, with line 5 as the turning point.
Modern Raw-Time Version
For training, you may use visible clock numbers:
| Input | Formula |
|---|---|
| Hour | divided by 8 for upper trigram |
| Minute | divided by 8 for lower trigram |
| Hour + minute | divided by 6 for moving line |
This is not the same as a formal calendar method. It is a raw-number method using the clock as the cue.
Quality Standard
Before using a horary Plum Blossom reading, write:
- Exact question.
- Time recorded.
- Location or time zone.
- Calendar method used.
- Formula used.
If the reading matters, do not rely on a random online converter without checking its calendar assumptions. Chinese calendar conversion can vary by timezone, day boundary, and whether the method uses lunar month, solar terms, or branch values.
Also avoid a common English-language mistake: do not add the Gregorian year as a raw number to a formal horary formula unless the lesson is explicitly teaching a modern raw-number method. Formal calendar work needs a converted calendar value.
Course Case
The course case is not a formal horary case. It uses the visible clock because the clock was part of the event.
That difference matters:
| Case type | Input |
|---|---|
| External event case | three messages plus visible clock |
| Horary case | calendar value of the asking moment |
Both can be valid. They are not the same calculation.
Next, learn a tactile count method that trains the same principle with physical objects. Continue to The Rice Grain Method.