己 Jǐ, The Open Field
田野 tián yě
Yin Earth · nurturing, absorbent, practical
己 Jǐ is the Yin Earth day master 日主 rì zhǔ, “ruler of the day”. Its image is a tilled field.
Nature
Yin Earth is the cultivated field. It takes in seeds and rain and returns harvest. In the household you are the steward who keeps everyone fed.
Inner life
You absorb the moods and needs around you, often more than you realise, and turn them into care.
Shadow side: The field that absorbs everything
Absorbing too much; worry; losing your own shape to others’ demands.
A practice. At day’s end, ask which feelings are yours. Put the rest down.
The verse in the 滴天髓 Dī Tiān Suǐ, “Drops of Heaven’s Marrow”
己土卑湿中正蓄藏
jǐ tǔ bēi shī, zhōng zhèng xù cáng
Ji Earth is low and moist; centred, it stores and keeps.
Dī Tiān Suǐ 滴天髓, the classical verses on the ten stems
In each birth month
The Earth character of the month pillar sets the season, the 月令 yuè lìng, “the month’s command”. It decides how much strength 己 Jǐ draws from the climate it is born into.
Seasonal state 旺相休囚死 wàng xiàng xiū qiú sǐ, “prosperous, supported, resting, confined, dormant”
The season is your own element.
The season feeds you.
You feed the season.
You must work to control the season.
The season presses on you.
己 Jǐ begins its cycle of the 十二长生 shí èr cháng shēng, “twelve stages of long life” at 长生 cháng shēng, “Birth”, in the 寅 Yín Tiger month, and stands at 帝旺 dì wàng, “On the throne”, in the 午 Wǔ Horse month.
Stellae Mundi follows 任铁樵 Rèn Tiěqiáo’s commentary on the 滴天髓: 阴阳同生同死 yīn yáng tóng shēng tóng sǐ, “yin and yang are born and die together”. So 己 Jǐ shares the life-stage cycle of its Yang partner 戊 Wù.
| Month branch | Around | Season | Seasonal state | Life stage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 寅Yín · Tiger | Feb | early spring | 死 sǐdormant | 长生 cháng shēngBirth, newly born and rising |
| 卯Mǎo · Rabbit | Mar | mid-spring | 死 sǐdormant | 沐浴 mù yùBathing, raw and impressionable |
| 辰Chén · Dragon | Apr | late spring | 旺 wàngprosperous | 冠带 guān dàiCapping, coming of age |
| 巳Sì · Snake | May | early summer | 相 xiàngsupported | 临官 lín guānTaking office, capable and established |
| 午Wǔ · Horse | Jun | midsummer | 相 xiàngsupported | 帝旺 dì wàngOn the throne, at peak power |
| 未Wèi · Goat | Jul | late summer | 旺 wàngprosperous | 衰 shuāiWaning, past the peak, seasoned |
| 申Shēn · Monkey | Aug | early autumn | 休 xiūresting | 病 bìngAiling, turned inward |
| 酉Yǒu · Rooster | Sep | mid-autumn | 休 xiūresting | 死 sǐStilled, still and quiet |
| 戌Xū · Dog | Oct | late autumn | 旺 wàngprosperous | 墓 mùEntombed, stored away, hidden |
| 亥Hài · Pig | Nov | early winter | 囚 qiúconfined | 绝 juéSevered, cut off, starting over |
| 子Zǐ · Rat | Dec | midwinter | 囚 qiúconfined | 胎 tāiConceived, an idea taking shape |
| 丑Chǒu · Ox | Jan | late winter | 旺 wàngprosperous | 养 yǎngNurtured, held in the womb |
The six day pillars of 己 Ji
己 Jǐ is the Heaven character of six of the sixty pillars. Each one sets the field on a different Earth branch.