Azure Dragon, beast of the east
The Azure Dragon (qing long, 青龍) is the beast of the east. Early sky-watchers drew it across the seven eastern lunar mansions, from Horn (jiao, 角) to Winnowing Basket (ji, 箕), stars that climb the evening sky in spring. The Huainanzi pairs the east with Mu, spring and the planet Jupiter (sui xing, 歲星).
Main-character energy at the start of the arc: new shoots, big plans, always leaning toward the light.
Mu, the phase behind it
Mu is the phase of growth: things sprouting, stretching and branching out. In a chart it shows up as plans, learning and the urge to begin.
| Direction | East (東方) |
|---|---|
| Season | Spring |
| Phase | Mu (木) |
| Day stems | 甲 and 乙 |
| Planet | Jupiter (sui xing, 歲星) |
| Lunar mansions | Horn (jiao, 角), Neck (kang, 亢), Root (di, 氐), Room (fang, 房), Heart (xin, 心), Tail (wei, 尾), Winnowing Basket (ji, 箕) |
| Color | green |
| Numbers (He Tu, 河圖) | 3, 8 |
The Huainanzi (淮南子, 2nd century BCE), in its chapter on the patterns of heaven (Tianwen xun, 天文訓), gives each of the five directions a phase, a season, a planet and a beast. The four quarters carry the four beasts that ancient sky-watchers drew across the 28 lunar mansions (er shi ba xiu, 二十八宿); the centre carries the Yellow Dragon. The Huainanzi writes this beast as 蒼龍; 青龍 is the later, more common name.
Who has the Azure Dragon?
Your guardian follows your favorable phase (xi yong shen, 喜用神): the phase your BaZi chart needs most to stay in balance, worked out from your birth date, time and place with simplified strength-balance (fu yi, 扶抑) rules. When Mu is your favorable phase, the Azure Dragon is your beast and your color is green. Two people born in the same year can have different beasts.
Collect the five
Each beast holds one corner of the sky, and the set of five covers all of it. The Guardian Figure is an 8 cm collectible printed to order with an engraved base ($39).
The other four
- Vermilion Bird, beast of the south (Huo, rising heat)
- Yellow Dragon, beast of the centre (Tu, steadiness)
- White Tiger, beast of the west (Jin, refining, edge)
- Black Tortoise, beast of the north (Shui, flow)
All five beasts · The five phases
The five beasts are star-lore symbols of the four quarters and the centre, not deities. Our figures are designed collectibles: not blessed or consecrated, and nothing here promises luck, protection or any outcome.