| Strings of Fate | Zodiac Notes |
| Character Guide | Enrichment | Page Jump |
|Links | Contact |





Astrology, take 2

By Sushu

 

Okay, Kineko has written up a simplified version of the whole directions/seasons combo. Let me see if I can give you the complete version, starting from the beginning.
There are some fundamental concepts that direct the organization of the world perceived by the Chinese. Dodging all the complicated Yi stuff, there’s basically Heaven and Earth, Ying and Yang, and the five directions. The five directions then stem into other "fives" that is organized into the five "palaces".

You start with the five directions: east, south, west, north, center.
Then the five elements: metal/gold, wood, water, fire, earth.
Don’t forget the five colors: red, navy blue, yellow, black, white.
There’s also the five "yang" numbers: one, three, five, seven, nine.

 
    NORTH
water
black
seven
  
WEST
metal/gold
white
one
CENTER
earth
yellow
five
EAST
wood
navy blue
nine
  SOUTH
fire
red
three
 
 

This is then combined with astonomy’s Four Appearances (four gods), 28 constellations (seishi). (Names modified for easier recognition by our dear Fushigi Yuugi fans), as well as the 28 creatures of the earth. To make things slightly more confusing, the 28's form their own four directional systems, combining the constellations, the creatures, and the five elements+sun+moon (like Japanese days of the week).

 
    NORTH
water
black
seven
Black Turtle/Snake combo (Genbu)
ConstlnElementCreature
box
ox
woman
empty
danger
room
wall
wood
metal
earth
sun
moon
fire
water
xie
goat
bat
rat
swallow
pig
yu
  
WEST
metal/gold
white
one
White Tiger (Byakko)
ConstlnElementCreature
wa?
several
stomach
rise
finish
mouth
attend
wood
metal
earth
sun
moon
fire
water
wolf
dog
quail
cock
bird
monkey
ape
CENTER
earth
yellow
five
EAST
wood
navy blue
nine
Blue Dragon (Seiryuu)
ConstlnElementCreature
horn
di
kong?
house
heart
tail
dustpan
wood
metal
earth
sun
moon
fire
water
jiao
dragon
mink
fox
rabbit
tiger
panther
  SOUTH
fire
red
three
Red Bird (Suzaku)
ConstlnElementCreature
well
ghost
willow
star
zhang
wing
zhen
wood
metal
earth
sun
moon
fire
water
an/han
sheep
river deer
horse
deer
snake
earthworm
 
 

footnotes:
xie: one horned mythological creature.
yu: not in dictionary
di: root, fundamental
wa: not found
kong: not found
jiao: renegade dragon
zhang: open, broad
zhen: wheel axle; pain
an/han: mythical creature that guards prisons, or humped deer


Got all that? Good. Then we tack on the folk-oriented Four Seasons, as well as the Five Planets as seen by the Chinese. (Which they helpfully named by the five elements: Venus is Gold/Metal, Jupiter is Wood, Saturn is Water, Mars is Fire, and Earth is Earth.)

So here's the final chart:

 
    NORTH
water
black
seven
Black Turtle/Snake combo (Genbu)
ConstlnElementCreature
box
ox
woman
empty
danger
room
wall
wood
metal
earth
sun
moon
fire
water
xie
goat
bat
rat
swallow
pig
yu

Winter
Saturn (water planet)
  
WEST
metal/gold
white
one
White Tiger (Byakko)
ConstlnElementCreature
wa?
several
stomach
rise
finish
mouth
attend
wood
metal
earth
sun
moon
fire
water
wolf
dog
quail
cock
bird
monkey
ape

Autumn
Venus (gold planet)
CENTER
earth
yellow
five
Earth (earth planet)
EAST
wood
navy blue
nine
Blue Dragon (Seiryuu)
ConstlnElementCreature
horn
di
kong?
house
heart
tail
dustpan
wood
metal
earth
sun
moon
fire
water
jiao
dragon
mink
fox
rabbit
tiger
panther

Spring
Jupiter (wood planet)
  SOUTH
fire
red
three
Red Bird (Suzaku)
ConstlnElementCreature
well
ghost
willow
star
zhang
wing
zhen
wood
metal
earth
sun
moon
fire
water
an/han
sheep
river deer
horse
deer
snake
earthworm

Summer
Mars (fire planet)
 
 

 

| Strings of Fate | Zodiac Notes |
| Character Guide | Enrichment | Page Jump |
|Links | Contact |