What is Hỉ Thần?

What is the Hỉ Thần?

In Tử Bình (Bát Tự, Four Pillars), the hỉ thần is the element beneficial to the chart, the opposite of the kỵ thần. "Thần" here is understood as an element or a stem-branch, not a fixed star. The book Trích Thiên Tủy (attributed to Liu Ji, in the Qing-era condensed edition), in the chapter Nhàn thần, writes: "the hỉ thần need not be many, one favorable element and all good things suffice; the kỵ thần need not be many, one unfavorable element and all harms suffice; apart from the favorable and the unfavorable, what does not deserve to be favorable and does not deserve to be unfavorable is all nhàn thần"^[1]. In the same book, the chapter Nguyệt lệnh, there is another line: "when the hỉ thần obtains the command, it is auspicious"^[2]. Uyên Hải Tử Bình (compiled by Yang Zong, Ming era) uses the word hỉ thần with the same meaning when it writes "when the self encounters the hỉ thần, misfortune turns to fortune".

A point to state at once: the hỉ thần is not a thần sát with a fixed formula looked up by day stem or day branch. It is the conclusion of weighing the whole chart, so two different charts can have different hỉ thần even with the same birth day.

How is the Hỉ Thần determined?

There is no single method for determining the hỉ thần that all schools accept. Traditional texts usually infer the hỉ thần from the day stem (the Nhật chủ, Day Master) placed in relation to the remaining stems and branches, based on the principles of the five elements generating and overcoming one another and of yin and yang, and only then conclude which element is favorable and which is unfavorable. For this reason the hỉ thần is always tied to a specific chart and cannot be looked up separately.

Some later books call the hỉ thần the element that generates and supports the dụng thần. This is a division made by later books, not the wording of Trích Thiên Tủy. Trích Thiên Tủy divides only three categories: favorable, unfavorable and neutral, meaning that apart from the two groups of favorable and unfavorable, what remains is nhàn thần, which deserves to be counted neither as favorable nor as unfavorable.

What does the Hỉ Thần mean in chart interpretation?

When interpreting a period, the arrival of the hỉ thần is often regarded as a phase that is smoother and less obstructed. This is a conditional way of reading a period, one that must be placed within the whole chart and the balance of the five elements, not a promise about any specific event. To say that the arrival of the hỉ thần automatically brings marriage, childbirth, promotion or sudden wealth is an overstatement and should not be used as a definition.

The meaning of the hỉ thần is therefore only relative, dependent on the entire chart, and should not be treated as the sole deciding factor.

Distinguishing the Hỉ Thần from easily confused concepts

The term "hỉ dụng" joins the hỉ thần with the dụng thần, and is used when both are mentioned together. Trích Thiên Tủy divides three categories, favorable, unfavorable and neutral; only some later books call the hỉ thần the element that generates and supports the dụng thần, and this is a division of later books, not to be attributed to Trích Thiên Tủy.

The hỉ thần must be separated from thần sát such as Đào Hoa (which governs romance) or Thiên Hỷ (which governs joyful events). Đào Hoa and Thiên Hỷ are the thần sát, meaning they have a formula looked up by day stem or day branch. The hỉ thần does not. Distinguishing them clearly helps avoid confusion in interpretation.

There is one more place where the wording overlaps and easily causes confusion: in Tử Vi Đẩu Số, Hỷ Thần is the name of a secondary star, the eighth star of the Bác Sĩ cycle. This cycle consists of twelve stars in order: Bác Sĩ, Lực Sĩ, Thanh Long, Tiểu Hao, Tướng Quân, Tấu Thư, Phi Liêm, Hỷ Thần, Bệnh Phù, Đại Hao, Phục Binh, Quan Phủ. The cycle starts from the Lộc Tồn palace and then proceeds forward or backward depending on yin or yang and male or female. The book Tử Vi kinh nghiệm, lower volume, states that the Lộc Tồn cycle belongs to the category of spatial cycles, providing data about the circumstances the native will pass through, and Hỷ Thần is among them. This Hỷ Thần star is entirely different from the hỉ thần of Tử Bình, sharing only the wording. Someone who types "Hỷ Thần" is usually looking at a Tử Vi chart, so it is necessary to establish clearly which system is being asked about before interpreting.

Notes on use

The hỉ thần is a part of traditional knowledge in Bát Tự, of reference value and not yet verified by modern science. Readers should approach it in a spirit of learning and should not treat it as the sole basis for making important decisions in life.

How do the schools understand it differently?

• The Dụng Thần school: Regards the hỉ thần as the element or stem-branch beneficial to the chart, the opposite of the kỵ thần, and its meaning depends entirely on the balance of the five elements. This is the understanding closest to Trích Thiên Tủy and Uyên Hải Tử Bình.
• The division of later books: Calls the hỉ thần the element that generates and supports the dụng thần. This is convenient when interpreting a period but is a later way of speaking, not present in the wording of Trích Thiên Tủy.

The three-step procedure that later books use to determine the favorable and unfavorable is as follows. Step one, examine whether the Nhật chủ is strong or weak, meaning whether the day stem within the chart stands in a strong or weak position. Step two, determine the dụng thần, meaning choose the element most needed to balance the chart. Step three, call the element that generates and supports the dụng thần the hỉ thần, and the element that overcomes the dụng thần the kỵ thần.

For example, if the dụng thần is Wood, then Water (which generates Wood) is usually called the hỉ thần, while Metal (which overcomes Wood) is the kỵ thần. Some Bát Tự texts present the method of determining the hỉ thần along these lines in a relatively understandable way: the hỉ thần is precisely the elements that generate and support and reinforce the dụng thần, or that overcome and weaken the kỵ thần. This book also gives an example: when the dụng thần is Water, the Metal element (because it generates Water) plays the role of hỉ thần; while if the dụng thần is Water, the Fire element (because it overcomes Water) plays the role of kỵ thần.

It should be stated clearly that this is a division that appeared after Trích Thiên Tủy, since Trích Thiên Tủy divides only favorable, unfavorable and neutral, and does not place the hỉ thần in a relationship with the dụng thần in this three-step manner. The division of later books also carries a condition: if the generating and supporting element is already too abundant in the chart, it is no longer regarded as favorable. Some Bát Tự texts emphasize that the dụng thần most fears being harmed and encroached upon, must not be scattered or plundered, and is not permitted to exceed its level or fall short. When the dụng thần has already exceeded its level, meaning it is overly strong, that too is not a good thing, because if the year and period add further support it only damages it more severely. Therefore one cannot mechanically apply the rule "whatever generates the dụng thần is favorable".

• Naming in Tam Mệnh Thông Hội: Vạn Dân Anh, Tam Mệnh Thông Hội, volume 3, chapter Luận thập can Lộc, uses the term "hỉ thần" as a name in certain Lộc combinations, for instance Ất meeting Ất Mão is called "hỉ thần vượng lộc"^[3]. That is a way of naming a combination, not a separate thần sát, and not a formula for looking up the hỉ thần for every chart.
• The Tổng Hợp school: Combines the above approaches, regarding the hỉ thần as both tied to a beneficial element and nameable within specific combinations, and holds that in interpretation it must be placed within the whole chart together with other factors.

How does the hỉ thần differ from the dụng thần?

The dụng thần is the element the chart most needs in order to balance. According to the division of later books, the hỉ thần is the element that generates, supports or protects the dụng thần, helping the dụng thần to function. Trích Thiên Tủy, by contrast, divides only favorable, unfavorable and neutral, and does not place the hỉ thần in a relationship of generating and supporting the dụng thần as later books do.

In other words, the dụng thần is the goal of balancing the chart, while the hỉ thần is the supporting force standing beside it. Some Bát Tự texts describe this relationship as like lips and teeth, the two complementing and rescuing each other: the dụng thần plays the role of the core factor creating balance, while the hỉ thần are the supporting factors that let it function to the fullest. Some Bát Tự texts also note that the interpreter needs to focus intently on a single dụng thần while thoroughly understanding the favorable and unfavorable factors, and should not confuse the two roles.

Is the hỉ thần fixed by age?

No. The hỉ thần is a conclusion about a specific chart, so two people born in the same year can have different hỉ thần. When interpreting a period, one examines the element of the major period and the annual pillar against the favorable and unfavorable elements of that chart, not by looking up the age.

This is also why one cannot draw up a table of "which age has which favorable element" and apply it to everyone. The same birth year, the same age, but different birth month, birth day and birth hour mean different charts, different strength or weakness of the Nhật chủ, different dụng thần, and consequently different favorable and unfavorable elements. When interpreting a period, what is compared is the element of the major period and the annual pillar against the favorable and unfavorable elements of that very chart, so the same year can be favorable for one person and not favorable for another.

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