What Is Qi Men Dun Jia (奇門遁甲)?
Qi Men Dun Jia (奇門遁甲) is a classical Chinese timing and direction system: for each two-hour period it lays nine stars, eight doors and eight spirits over the nine palaces of the Luo Shu square, and practitioners read it to choose when and in which direction to act.
| Grid | Nine palaces (Luo Shu square) |
|---|---|
| Layers | Earth plate, heaven plate, 9 stars, 8 doors, 8 spirits |
| Structures | 18 (9 yang dun + 9 yin dun) × 3 yuan per solar term |
| Chart changes | Every two-hour period (時家奇門) |
| Hidden stem | 甲 hides under the six 儀 (戊己庚辛壬癸), hence "Dun Jia" |
| Typical uses | Choosing times and directions for meetings, travel, launches |
A worked example
For 2027-02-06 10:00 Hong Kong time on Lunar New Year's Day 2027 (solar term 立春), the chart is 陽遁五局, 中元. The duty star is 天柱 and the duty door is 驚門; void branches 午 未.
| Palace | Direction | Star | Door | Spirit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 坎 | North | 天柱 (Pillar) | 休門 (Rest) | 值符 |
| 2 坤 | Southwest | 天輔 (Assistant) | 死門 (Death) | 玄武 |
| 3 震 | East | 天蓬 (Canopy) | 傷門 (Harm) | 太陰 |
| 4 巽 | Southeast | 天任 (Ren) | 杜門 (Block) | 六合 |
| 6 乾 | Northwest | 天芮 (Grass) | 開門 (Open) | 九天 |
| 7 兌 | West | 天英 (Hero) | 驚門 (Shock) | 九地 |
| 8 艮 | Northeast | 天心 (Heart) | 生門 (Life) | 騰蛇 |
| 9 離 | South | 天沖 (Thrust) | 景門 (View) | 白虎 |
The eight doors
| Door | English | Traditional use |
|---|---|---|
| 開門 | Open | Openings, business, new roles |
| 休門 | Rest | Meetings, rest, asking for help |
| 生門 | Life | Income, property, growth |
| 傷門 | Harm | Competition, collecting debts |
| 杜門 | Block | Hiding, privacy, stopping |
| 景門 | View | Exams, presentations, publicity |
| 死門 | Death | Endings, burials; avoided for new starts |
| 驚門 | Shock | Disputes; avoided for calm matters |
Yang dun and yin dun
From the winter solstice to the summer solstice the charts run in yang dun (陽遁), with the numbers moving forward through the palaces; from the summer solstice back to the winter solstice they run in yin dun (陰遁). In 2027 the summer solstice falls on June 21, 2027 at 22:10 and the winter solstice on December 22, 2027 at 10:42 (UTC+8).
History
Tradition credits Qi Men to strategists of antiquity; what survives is a Song-to-Ming system recorded in imperial compilations and in the mnemonic poem below. It was long used for military timing and is now mostly used for choosing times and directions.
How it is read
Each event has key symbols: the Open door for business, the Life door for income, the Rest door for meetings and so on. A practitioner finds the palace where that symbol sits, checks the stars, spirits and stem combinations there, and treats that palace's compass direction as the direction to face or travel.
How askjoss computes it
Joss Timing builds hour charts with the rotating-plate, chai-bu method, scores every two-hour window in your range for the event you pick, and gives the direction of the palace holding the event's key door or spirit. Scoring weights are product choices, not classical constants. Full notes, including every simplification, are on How we calculate.
Common misconceptions
- "Qi Men is magic." It is a calendrical model of time and space; askjoss uses it to compare windows.
- "There is one correct method." Rotating and flying plates, chai-bu and zhi-run methods all exist; results can differ.
Sources
- 《煙波釣叟歌》: the classic mnemonic poem that sets out the structures.
- 《奇門遁甲統宗》 (Ming): a comprehensive manual of chart construction and symbols.
Related: What is BaZi? · Day Master · Five elements · Tong Shu almanac · Da Liu Ren · Zodiac clashes (Tai Sui)
Frequently asked questions
What does Qi Men Dun Jia mean?
Roughly "strange gates, hidden Jia": the eight doors (門) and the 甲 stem hidden (遁) under the other stems.
What is Qi Men Dun Jia used for?
Mostly for timing and direction: choosing an hour and a direction for a meeting, journey, signing or launch.
How often does a Qi Men chart change?
In hour Qi Men, every two-hour period, with the structure changing at each solar term.
askjoss presents Chinese metaphysics as cultural tradition and a tool for self-reflection. It is not medical, legal, financial or psychological advice, and no reading can promise an outcome.