Dong Gong Date Selection
One of the most frequently asked questions when choosing dates is the question: "What to do if the day has different indications regarding the favorability of this or that task?" For example, you see "Success" as the Day Officer, and are ready to act, but then you notice negative stars on the same page of the calendar and can’t understand, if it is a good day or not? It seems that such a problem did not arise now, and one of the people who wanted to solve it was Master Dong Dezhang (德彰先生號). We will talk about him and his method today.
Among the Chinese sources on choosing auspicious dates, one that stands out is Dong Gong Date Selection (董公選擇日要覽, Dong Gong Xuan Ze Zhi Yao Lan). This is a collection of notes compiled by Master Dong Dezhang (董德彰), who was also known as Lord Yinfeng (銀峰). Who Master Dong really was is unknown. It is believed that he was a Ming Dynasty astrologer who spent his life meticulously studying the 60 Jia Zi days of each of the 12 Chinese solar terms. As a result, he outlined in some detail the influence of each of the many astrological "stars" in combination with each of the 12 Officers that we take into account when choosing auspicious dates. The book contains predictions about favourable and unfavourable days, and is written in a simple and clear manner, which is what earned it its reputation. It is believed that this book was revealed to the public by Master Shang Shang Gong (商山公), who practiced Taoism for decades and benefited many people with this book. According to him, all the predictions about lucky and unlucky days described in this book turned out to be true, which earned everyone's respect and trust.
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When it comes to pre-selecting the day for important events in life, such as starting a new job, being appointed to a position, traveling, getting married, starting a construction project, or moving to a new home, as well as sad events related to death and funerals, we all strive for good luck and avoid bad luck. In order to ensure peace and prosperity, as well as to achieve success and good luck, it is necessary to select the right day and hour. For this purpose, Dong Gong Date Selection is used.
"Dong Gong Date Selection" is based on the description of the interaction of each of the 12 Day Officers with the Earthly Branch of the month in which we find it and depending on the stars present on that day. Then Master Dong adds his comments regarding this combination, what the day is suitable for, what it is not suitable for, and what consequences may occur if these recommendations are followed or violated. That is, Master Dong tried to resolve all the contradictions between the instructions of the "Officer" and the "Stars" that occurred on the same day. More precisely, to combine the contradictory instructions together and draw his own conclusions.
For example, you can consider how Master Dong evaluates a couple of days.
About the Remove days of in the month of the Snake (for example, May 6 and 18, 2024), Master Dong's text says the following
This day is ruled by the Star of Yellow Embraces 黃砂. The day of Geng Wu 庚午 is supported by the positive energy of the Monthly Virtue Star, while the days of Jia Wu 甲午 and Ren Wu 壬午 are similarly enhanced by the positive energies of the auspicious Yellow Spiral 黃羅, Purple Sandalwood 紫檀, Heavenly Emperor 天皇 and Earthly Emperor 地皇 stars. Because of this, these days are suitable for carrying out important activities or undertakings such as renovations and renovations, getting married, starting a business, traveling, starting new academic studies, and moving to a new home. Those who use these auspicious days for such activities will experience an increase in wealth and material assets (such as real estate) within 60 to 120 days. They will also see their family size increase with the birth of noble children. However, the days of Bing Wu 丙午 and Wu Wu 戊午 are accompanied by the negative star Drilling Heaven and Earth Sha 天地轉煞, which makes them unsuitable for any activities or undertakings.
On the days of Filling in the month of Horse (for example, June 13 and 25, 2024), there will be other indications:
This day has the positive stars Heavenly Fortune 天富 and Heavenly Happiness 天喜, which make it favorable. The days of Jia Shen 甲申, Bing Shen 丙申 and Wu Shen 戍申 are considered "minor" favorable days, and therefore are suitable for funerals, marriage, moving to a new place of residence, starting a business and traveling. However, keep in mind that these days are not suitable for laying a foundation. Geng Shen Day 庚申 is only suitable for burial, it should not be used for renovation or moving to a new house. Likewise, Qi on Ren Shen 壬申 day is extremely weak, therefore such a date should not be used for any activities or undertakings.
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We see that Master Dong bases his predictions on two things: the 12 Officers and the Stars that come on a given day. However, it is not so easy to find the specific characteristics of each of the Stars, as well as the method of calculating them for choosing dates. Some of them, for example, the Monthly Virtue Star, are quite well known, while others are quite specific Stars with specific names and influences, which are very difficult to find in open sources, for example: Yellow Embrace Star 黃砂, Yellow Spiral 黃羅, Purple Sandalwood 紫檀 and others. Most likely, they came from various Chinese metaphysical sciences: Qi Men Dun Jia, Zi Wei Dou Shu and various Chinese beliefs. These "Stars" are not actually stars from the sky, but what is called: "Shen-Sha" (神煞), a collection of energy influences of time, in which there are more than 130 "Stars". No one knows the exact number of "Stars", since different sources use different numbers.
Furthermore, we see that Master Dong makes distinctions between days of the same Officer with different Heavenly Pillars. This is again due to the presence or absence of certain Stars on those days. For example, in the month of Horse 午 (in the last example), all Monkey 申 days will be the Full days. However, if the days of Jia Shen 甲申, Bing Shen 丙申 and Wu Shen 戍申 are “secondarily favorable”, then the day of Geng Shen 庚申 is only suitable for burial, and the day of Ren Shen 壬申 should not be used for any activity or undertaking at all.
The book describes the interactions of each of the Officers with the Earthly Branch of the month in the same way. For example, the Officer "Full", having one known characteristic, will carry different influences from month to month, since the combination of Earthly Branches will be different. For example, all the days of the Monkey 申 in the month of the Horse 午 or all the days of the Goat 未 in the month of the Snake 巳 will be the Full days. However, since the relationships between animals can be different, the interaction between the month and the day will also be different.
"Dong Gong Date Selection" is an important work, the result of Master Dong's life research. He investigated the influence of the effects of various Stars on each of the 60 days of Jia Zi, in each solar month. We can use his findings, but in practice it will not be so easy to do. Firstly, because of the cultural difference between China during the Ming Dynasty, since many medieval concepts are perceived today much more tragically. Secondly, because of the accelerated lifestyle and, often, the unwillingness of modern man to wait many months for a good day. In addition, many today do not trust recommendations for which we cannot find logical explanations, and Master Dong, unfortunately, has practically no such explanations.
For example, Rabbit Days 卯 in the Rabbit Month 卯 (Establishment Day), according to Master Dong, will carry the following meaning: “This day is not suitable for any activity, if this rule is violated, its harmful energies will destroy the homes of your loved ones, both young and old. They will be especially affected by deterioration in health and financial losses, and many other unfortunate events will follow. What’s worse, the harmful effects can last for 3 years minimum and 9 years maximum; with the possibility of even fatal accidents threatening family happiness. Establishment Day 建 (Jian) of the second month is a particularly inauspicious day, also known as Sha (Killing) of the “Turning of Heaven and Earth” 天地轉煞.” Would you agree to not engage in any activity on such days, meaning, not going to work and generally being completely passive, so as not to bring any problems upon yourself?