28 Lunar Mansions and 4 Celestial Animals
The 28 constellations or Lunar Mansions (Хius) are divided into four groups of seven each. Each group of seven Lunar Mansions occupies approximately one-fourth of the ecliptic, forming four "mega-constellations" spanning one-fourth of the sky each, known as "Palaces." Therefore, we have four Palaces: Eastern, Northern, Western, and Southern. The width of these mega-constellations, like the 28 Lunar Mansions, varies because the stars are unevenly distributed in the sky. However, for the purpose of selecting dates, this does not matter much.
The names of these Palaces have become symbols of the cardinal directions: Azure Dragon (Tsuan Lun) in the east, Black Tortoise (Black Warrior) (Suan Yuan) in the north, White Tiger (Pai Hu) in the west, and Vermilion Bird (Chu Chue) in the south. Today, these animals are known to all who study feng shui as the "Four Celestial Animals" or the "four symbols" 四象. In feng shui, they serve as physical protection for dwellings from the left, right, rear, and front, taking the form of landscapes or neighboring buildings. Although the term "Celestial" is present in their names, few feng shui practitioners know about their truly celestial origins. It can be said that, in the quest for an ideal landscape, Chinese practitioners noticed the stars in an effort to replicate conditions on Earth as stable as those in the heavens, in other words, ideal conditions for life.
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Each of the megastars consists of seven Lunar Mansions, They are like parts of the animals' bodies (for example, Dragon's Horn, Dragon's Neck, Dragon's Heart, Tortoise's Head (Scoop), Tiger's Head (Beak), Phoenix's Head (Well). However, each of the Lunar Mansions also has its own name. In each season, only one of these megastars can be fully observed in the night sky. In ancient times, on the days of solstices and equinoxes, the central constellation of each of the four deities occupied the center of the southern sky. For example, on the day of the summer solstice, the highest point in the twilight was reached by the central star of the Dragon's Heart, the Fire Star.
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Despite each quarter of the sky having seven constellations in the Dragon, Tortoise, Tiger, and Bird megastars, the number of stars in each of them is different: the eastern seven constellations have thirty-two stars, the southern seven constellations have sixty-four stars, the western seven constellations have fifty-one stars, and the northern seven constellations include thirty-five stars. In total, throughout the year, we observe one hundred eighty-two stars following a specific orbit called the "ecliptic."
The starting point in this system is always considered to be the Horn constellation, known as Jiao (Dragon's Horn), which corresponds to the constellation of Virgo in the Western zodiac. It is the first constellation in the cycle and always falls on a Thursday.
The 28 Xiu constellations follow each other counterclockwise and are distributed among four Palaces as follows:
Eastern Sector (Azure Dragon Palace, Wood Element):
- Horn (角, Jiao) - Water Dragon (龍, Jiao)
- Neck (亢, Kang) - Dragon (龍, Long)
- Root (氐, Di) - Badger (貉, He)
- Room (房, Fang) - Hare (兔, Tu)
- Heart (心, Xin) - Fox (狐, Hu)
- Tail (尾, Wei) - Tiger (虎, Hu)
- Winnowing Basket (箕, Ji) - Panther (豹, Bao)
North Sector (Black Tortoise Palace, Water Element):
8. Dipper (斗, Dou) - Unicorn (麒, Qi)
9. Ox (牛, Niu) - Ox (牛, Niu)
10. Girl (女, Nu) - Bat (蝠, Fu)
11. Emptiness (虛, Xu) - Rat (鼠, Shu)
12. Danger (危, Wei) - Swallow (燕, Yan)
13. Chamber (室, Shi) - Pig (豬, Zhu)
14. Wall (壁, Bi) - Porcupine (櫬, Chen)
West Sector (White Tiger Palace, Metal Element):
- Legs, Thighs (奎, Kui) - Wolf (Lan);
- Hill, Badger (婁 (娄), Lou) - Dog (Gou);
- Stomach (胃, Wei) - Pheasant (Ji);
- Pleiades (昴, Maoo) - Rooster (You);
- Dipper, Net (畢 (毕), Bi) - Crow (Wu);
- Tortoise, Beak (嘴, Zui) - Monkey (Hou);
- Orion, Gathering (参, Shen) - Anthropoid Ape (Yuan).
Южный сектор (Дворец Красной Птицы чжу цюэ, стихия - Огонь):
22. Well (井, Jing) - Tapir (獴, Meng);
23. Demon (鬼, Gui) - Ram (羊, Yang);
24. Willow (柳, Liu) - Wild Boar (猪, Zhu);
25. Star, Bird (星, Xing) - Horse (马, Ma);
26. Bow, Leaf (張 (张), Zhang) - Deer (鹿, Lu);
27. Wings (翼, Yi) - Snake (蛇, She);
28. Cart, Wagon (軫 (轸), Zhen) - Worm (蚓, Yin).
It is believed that each of the last constellations corresponds to the Earth element with the protector known as the Soaring Snake (腾蛇 téng shé)
In the system of selecting favorable dates based on the 28 Constellations, we consider that each day corresponds to a specific constellation, which brings certain qualities to the day. Since the energies of each day are represented by one constellation, there is a 28-day cycle. There is also a 28-year cycle, in which individual years correspond to specific constellations within this group.