TL;DR: Huyen Vu is one of the six beasts of the Liu Yao method, assigned to the six lines according to the heavenly stem of the day of casting, starting from the first line: on Giap and At days Green Dragon starts, on Binh and Dinh days Chu Tuoc, on Mau day Cau Tran, on Ky day Dang Xa, on Canh and Tan days White Tiger, on Nham and Quy days Huyen Vu. Zeng Shan Bu Yi writes that Huyen Vu governs theft and robbery, but it treats the six beasts as auxiliary spirits only: only when Huyen Vu is active and clashes with the Self line is it considered inauspicious, while the fortune or misfortune of the hexagram is decided by the generation and overcoming of the five elements.
What Is Huyền Vũ in Lục Hào?
Huyền Vũ is one of the six beasts of the Lục Hào method, meaning the six symbolic animals assigned to the six lines of a hexagram when it is cast: Thanh Long, Chu Tước, Câu Trần, Đằng Xà, Bạch Hổ, Huyền Vũ. These six beasts are not part of the original hexagram or line texts of the Kinh Dịch; they are an extra layer of information that the caster places in order to read the meaning of an affair according to the flavour of each line. In Chinese characters Huyền Vũ is 玄武; Tăng san bốc dịch, the source of this article, writes it 元武 (Nguyên Vũ) because the character 玄 was taboo under the Qing dynasty, so the quotations below keep 元武.
Tăng san bốc dịch gives the six beasts a chapter of their own, the Lục Thần chapter (chapter eighteen, 六神章第十八). The chapter opens with the table for placing the beasts by day stem, then argues against the habit of calling a hexagram good on sight of Thanh Long and bad on sight of Bạch Hổ. It cites Thiên Nguyên phú, Toái Kim phú, Bốc Phệ Nguyên Quy and Bốc Phệ Đại Toàn and faults them for setting the five elements aside and judging life and death by the six spirits. In the book's words the six spirits are "附合之神" (attendant spirits): a good hexagram with Thanh Long is better still, a bad hexagram with Bạch Hổ is worse still[1]. On Huyền Vũ, the same chapter says: "且元武主盜賊，朱雀主口舌，無不驗也" (moreover Huyền Vũ governs theft and Chu Tước governs quarrels, and this never fails to prove true)[1].
How Is Huyền Vũ Placed by the Day Stem?
The six beasts are placed by the stem of the day on which the hexagram is cast, starting at the first line and moving up through all six. In Tăng san bốc dịch the rule is given as the table that opens the Lục Thần chapter: on Giáp and Ất days the first line is Thanh Long, on Bính and Đinh days Chu Tước, on a Mậu day Câu Trần, on a Kỷ day Đằng Xà, on Canh and Tân days Bạch Hổ, on Nhâm and Quý days Huyền Vũ (written 元武 in the book)[1]. Students usually remember the table through a verse: "甲乙起青龍，丙丁起朱雀，戊日起勾陳，己日起螣蛇，庚辛起白虎，壬癸起玄武" (Giáp Ất start Thanh Long, Bính Đinh start Chu Tước, a Mậu day starts Câu Trần, a Kỷ day starts Đằng Xà, Canh Tân start Bạch Hổ, Nhâm Quý start Huyền Vũ).
In ordinary terms: look at the stem of the day the hexagram is cast, place the corresponding animal on the first line (line one), then in the order Thanh Long, Chu Tước, Câu Trần, Đằng Xà, Bạch Hổ, Huyền Vũ move up to the second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth lines. Thus on a Nhâm or Quý day Huyền Vũ sits on the first line. On a Giáp or Ất day Huyền Vũ sits on the sixth line, because then the first line is Thanh Long, the second Chu Tước, the third Câu Trần, the fourth Đằng Xà, the fifth Bạch Hổ and the sixth Huyền Vũ.
The table below rearranges the table of the Lục Thần chapter by day stem group (in the book the top line is the first row)[1].
| Day stem group | Line one | Line two | Line three | Line four | Line five | Line six |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 甲乙 (Giáp Ất) | Thanh Long | Chu Tước | Câu Trần | Đằng Xà | Bạch Hổ | Huyền Vũ |
| 丙丁 (Bính Đinh) | Chu Tước | Câu Trần | Đằng Xà | Bạch Hổ | Huyền Vũ | Thanh Long |
| 戊 (Mậu) | Câu Trần | Đằng Xà | Bạch Hổ | Huyền Vũ | Thanh Long | Chu Tước |
| 己 (Kỷ) | Đằng Xà | Bạch Hổ | Huyền Vũ | Thanh Long | Chu Tước | Câu Trần |
| 庚辛 (Canh Tân) | Bạch Hổ | Huyền Vũ | Thanh Long | Chu Tước | Câu Trần | Đằng Xà |
| 壬癸 (Nhâm Quý) | Huyền Vũ | Thanh Long | Chu Tước | Câu Trần | Đằng Xà | Bạch Hổ |
This table is a convention of the Lục Hào method. The same hexagram cast on a day with a different stem has Huyền Vũ on a different line, while the hexagram and line texts stay the same.
What Does Huyền Vũ Govern?
In the Lục Thần chapter, Tăng san bốc dịch names what only two of the beasts govern: Huyền Vũ governs theft (元武主盜賊) and Chu Tước governs quarrels (朱雀主口舌); it adds that the six spirits cannot be left out when reading a house or a grave site (至於家宅墳塋不可少也)[1].
In the preface, in the passage on reading the fortunes of a year, Dã Hạc writes: "騰蛇朱雀臨兄，鬼動而克世者，須防口舌。元武臨兄，鬼動而克世者，防賊盜及陰人" (when Đằng Xà or Chu Tước sits on the Huynh Đệ line and Quan Quỷ moves and overcomes the Thế line, guard against quarrels; when Huyền Vũ sits on the Huynh Đệ line and Quan Quỷ moves and overcomes the Thế line, guard against theft and âm nhân)[1]. The term âm nhân (陰人) is usually understood as someone who harms in secret, and sometimes as a woman.
How Does Tăng san bốc dịch Argue Against "Seeing Huyền Vũ Means Bad"?
Tăng san bốc dịch argues directly against judging fortune or misfortune on sight of a single beast. After citing the older books, the Lục Thần chapter says: "此皆不以五行，竟以六神而斷生死" (all of these set the five elements aside and judge life and death by the six spirits alone); in the book's view the six spirits are only attendant spirits, and what decides is the generating and overcoming of the five elements[1].
As proof the book gives two hexagrams. The first was cast on a Mậu Tý day (戊子) about a birth, giving Sơn Địa Bác changing to Phong Địa Quán. The Tử Tôn line, Tý Water, moves and changes into Quan Quỷ Tị Fire, and Thanh Long sits on that very Tử Tôn line. The book records: "子水子孫化絕變鬼，本日落艸而亡" (Tử Tôn Tý Water changes into its extinction and becomes Quan Quỷ; the child was born that day and died), and asks: with Thanh Long on the Tử Tôn line, can this be called joy[1]?
The second was cast in the Thân month on a Giáp Thìn day (甲辰) about an elder brother's illness, giving Thủy Lôi Truân changing to Chấn. The book takes the Huynh Đệ line, Tý Water, as dụng thần; the kỵ thần and the nguyên thần both move: Earth moves and generates Thân Metal, Thân Metal moves and generates Tý Water, the month also generates Tý Water, and on the Mậu Thân day the grave illness lifted (至戊申日沈屙復起). The book asks: can one then say that a moving Đằng Xà means death and a moving Bạch Hổ means mourning (蛇動死，虎動主喪)[1]?
The book reasons the same way about Huyền Vũ in its chapter on which goods to buy (買何貨爲吉章第七十六). The old method held that Huyền Vũ favours goods of the water kind (元武水利). Dã Hạc reports a hexagram Lữ cast in the Mùi month on a Mậu Thân day by a man going to Guangdong to visit relatives, who asked which goods to bring back for profit: he judged that the journey would go well and, as to which goods, said he had no such method (予無此法); the man later bought incense and kingfisher feathers (攢香翠毛) and made a large profit on both. He then asks: by the old method, with Thê Tài on Huyền Vũ in this hexagram, should the man have bought fish and salt (財臨元武，可買水利魚鹽耶)[1]?
Why Should Huyền Vũ Not Be Read Apart from the Five Elements and Line Position?
Tăng san bốc dịch treats the six beasts as an attendant layer, while fortune and misfortune are decided by the generating and overcoming of the five elements. The Lục Thần chapter cites the Thiên Kim phú with approval: "惟千金賦曰：虎興而遇吉神不害其吉，龍動而逢凶曜難掩其凶。此正理也" (only the Thiên Kim phú says: when the Tiger rises but meets an auspicious spirit, the good is not harmed; when the Dragon moves but meets a baleful star, the harm is hard to hide. This is the right principle)[1].
In its chapter revising the Hoàng kim sách Thiên kim phú (chapter thirty-four), the book examines the old saying "元武爲盜賊之事，亦必官爻。朱雀爲口舌之神，必須兄弟" (Huyền Vũ means theft only on the Quan Quỷ line; Chu Tước, spirit of quarrels, must be on the Huynh Đệ line) and judges: "此論欠理" (this argument is unsound). According to the book, when Huyền Vũ, Chu Tước, Câu Trần or Đằng Xà moves without overcoming the Thế line there is no harm; when it moves and overcomes the Thế line it is counted as bad in every case, with no need to distinguish Huynh Đệ from Quan Quỷ (動而克世者，皆以爲凶，勿分兄弟官鬼)[1].
In Which Readings Does Tăng san bốc dịch Mention Huyền Vũ?
Outside the Lục Thần chapter, the book mentions Huyền Vũ here and there in its chapters on particular questions, mostly together with the Huynh Đệ or Quan Quỷ line:
- Travel (出行章): "武鬼動憂盜賊", when Quan Quỷ carrying Huyền Vũ moves, robbery on the road is the worry[1].
- Avoiding disputes and lawsuits (防非避訟章): "武鬼必凶盜賊陰人", Quan Quỷ with Huyền Vũ is bad in the matter of thieves and âm nhân[1].
- Entrusting goods to a trading house or broker (投行損益章): "武鬼同發，須慮盜賊", when Huyền Vũ and Quan Quỷ move together, theft must be reckoned with[1].
- Opening a trading house or shop (開行開店及各色鋪面章): "應臨元武兄爻，暗中盜騙", when the Ứng line carries Huyền Vũ and is a Huynh Đệ line, there is stealing and cheating in secret[1].
- Marriage (婚姻章): "兄臨元武，防劫騙", with Huyền Vũ on the Huynh Đệ line, guard against being robbed or swindled[1].
- Avoiding harm (趨避章): Quan Quỷ overcoming the Thế line with Huyền Vũ points to robbers and weapons (元武戾充盜賊兵戈); the chapter records a hexagram in which Huyền Vũ moves and changes into a tiến thần, overcoming the Thế line and Thê Tài, after which robbers broke into the querent's house and took everything[1].
- The lie of a grave site (占地形勢章): "元武逢破散後脈空虛", when Huyền Vũ meets breaking or scattering, the vein behind is hollow; here Huyền Vũ stands for the ground behind the grave[1].
It must be stressed: all these readings are conventions of the Lục Hào method, not conclusions about real people or real events. A hexagram with Huyền Vũ does not mean theft or deceit will certainly occur. This is how the method describes the flavour of an affair, and the reader should treat it as a way of looking, not a verdict.
