One Question, One Chart

This site casts an hour chart (時家奇門): the plate is identical for the whole two-hour period (時辰). Asking the same question again within the same period literally produces the same chart, and asking an hour later just invites a second chart to argue with the first.

• Rule of Thumb — Two Weeks: Do not re-ask the same question sooner than about two weeks later. If you ask "Will I find love?", the true answer should not change in a day — it may change in four months. Rapid re-asking does not refine the answer; it only muddies it.
• Exception: If the situation itself has genuinely changed (a new job offer arrived, the other party said something decisive), that is a new question — you may cast a fresh chart for it.

Find Yourself and the Matter

Two palaces anchor every reading, and the calculator already marks them on the plate:

• Day Stem (日干) — the Subject badge: This palace represents you, the person asking. Its condition describes your state in the situation.
• Hour Stem (時干) — the Matter badge: This palace represents the affair you are asking about. Its condition describes how the matter itself is unfolding.

Both stems are located on the Heaven plate. The Four Pillars card above the plate shows which stems these are for your chart.

Asking About Other People

The day stem represents the subject in general — but when the question is about someone else, that person takes over as the subject, and you read their stem's palace instead:

• Year Stem (年干): parents, grandparents, elders, superiors, your boss.
• Month Stem (月干): siblings, peers, colleagues, friends. Asking about your brother? Find the month stem's palace and read it as the subject.
• Day Stem (日干): yourself, the querent.
• Hour Stem (時干): children and juniors — as well as the matter itself.

Reading a Palace in 30 Seconds

Once you have located the right palace, check it in this order:

• The Door: Open (開), Rest (休), and Life (生) are the three auspicious doors. A subject or matter sitting with one of these is well supported.
• The Star and Deity: Auspicious stars and helpful deities (e.g. Zhi Fu 值符, Liu He 六合, Tai Yin 太陰) strengthen the palace; harsh ones (e.g. Xuan Wu 玄武, Bai Hu 白虎) warn of trouble in their own flavor.
• The Warning Chips: The plate already flags Void (空亡), Door Strike (門迫), Punishment (擊刑), and Grave (入墓). Any of these on a key palace weakens or delays what that palace stands for.

Subject and Matter Together

After judging each palace on its own, compare the two by their palace elements:

• Matter generates Subject: the affair comes to you — favorable, things flow your way.
• Subject generates Matter: you must pour effort into it — achievable, but it costs you.
• Matter controls Subject: the affair presses on you — obstacles, proceed carefully.
• Subject controls Matter: you hold the upper hand — pursue it actively.
• Same palace: person and affair are bound together; the palace's overall condition decides both.

Beyond This Guide: Useful Gods (用神)

Deep analysis requires expertise, because each type of question has its own useful gods — dedicated symbols that replace or refine the general subject/matter rule. For example, in a relationship or marriage question:

• Geng 庚 (Yang Metal): the man.
• Yi 乙 (Yin Wood): the woman.
• Liu He 六合: the union or marriage itself.
• Ding 丁 (Yin Fire): the man's other woman.
• Bing 丙 (Yang Fire): the woman's other man.

If instead you ask about your current luck, the weather, or whether your child will be admitted to a school, the useful gods will be different again. Mapping every question type to its useful gods is beyond this short guide — keep in mind that the subject/matter method here is the general entry point, not the whole art.