Chinese astrology Chinese astrology is based on the traditional astronomy and calendars. Chinese astrology came to flourish during the Han Dynasty (2nd century BC to 2nd century AD). Chinese astrology has a close relation with Chinese philosophy (theory of the t ...

, the symbolic stars, also translated as star spirits or calendar spirits, () represent beneficial and baleful influences believed to be present during particular times (including the year, month, and hour), typically in relation to the specific positions and interactions of the

heavenly stems The ten Heavenly Stems or Celestial Stems () are a Chinese system of ordinals that first appear during the Shang dynasty, c. 1250 BC, as the names of the ten days of the week. They were also used in Shang-period ritual as names for dead family mem ...

and

earthly branches The twelve Earthly Branches or Terrestrial Branches are a Chinese ordering system used throughout East Asia in various contexts, including its ancient dating system, astrological traditions, zodiac and ordinals. Origin This system was built ...

used in

traditional Chinese timekeeping The traditional Chinese time systems refers to the time standards for divisions of the day used in China until the introduction of the Shixian calendar in 1628 at the beginning of the Qing dynasty. Han-era system The third chapter of the Huai ...

and the

sexagenary cycle The sexagenary cycle, also known as the Stems-and-Branches or ganzhi ( zh, 干支, gānzhī), is a cycle of sixty terms, each corresponding to one year, thus a total of sixty years for one cycle, historically used for recording time in China and t ...

. Although they do not correspond to any particular observable stars visible in the night sky, they are described in similar terms to observable

astronomical object An astronomical object, celestial object, stellar object or heavenly body is a naturally occurring physical entity, association, or structure that exists in the observable universe. In astronomy, the terms ''object'' and ''body'' are often us ...

s with the actual influence of any particular symbolic star at a given moment involving multiple cosmic factors, including its relationship to other such "stars" (whether in harmony or in opposition), its phase (

ascendant The ascendant (Asc, Asc or As) is the astrological sign on the eastern horizon when the person was born. According to certain astrological theories, celestial phenomena reflect or influence human activity on the principle of "as above, so belo ...

or descendant), its

aspect Aspect or Aspects may refer to: Entertainment * ''Aspect magazine'', a biannual DVD magazine showcasing new media art * Aspect Co., a Japanese video game company * Aspects (band), a hip hop group from Bristol, England * ''Aspects'' (Benny Carter ...

, and the time of its

apogee An apsis (; ) is the farthest or nearest point in the orbit of a planetary body about its primary body. For example, the apsides of the Earth are called the aphelion and perihelion. General description There are two apsides in any ellip ...

, in addition its relationship to the

Five Phases (; Japanese: (); Korean: (); Vietnamese: ''ngũ hành'' (五行)), usually translated as Five Phases or Five Agents, is a fivefold conceptual scheme that many traditional Chinese fields used to explain a wide array of phenomena, from cosmi ...

and

Yin and Yang Yin and yang ( and ) is a Chinese philosophy, Chinese philosophical concept that describes opposite but interconnected forces. In Chinese cosmology, the universe creates itself out of a primary chaos of material energy, organized into the c ...

which are also used to characterise the influence of observable celestial objects such as the seven luminaries. The term "" is sometimes translated literally as "gods and devils", but in-fact they do not relate to any ghosts or celestial beings; in this case, () means beneficial influence and () means baleful influence. The calculation of the symbolic stars is logically connected to the () melodic elements theory, Ten Gods () theory, Twelve Gods of Longevity (), etc. The symbolic stars are like the “leaves” of the heavenly stems and earthly branches in the big tree of Chinese astrology and can provide a very specific information in the horoscope analysis. The symbolic stars are used in many methods of Chinese astrology and metaphysics:

Four Pillars of Destiny The Four Pillars of Destiny, as known as "Ba-Zi", which means "eight characters" or "eight words" in Chinese, is a Chinese astrology, Chinese astrological concept that a person's destiny or fate can be Divination, divined by the two sexagenary ...

Zi wei dou shu Zi Wei Dou Shu (Chinese: ), commonly referred to in English as Purple Star Astrology, is a form of fortune-telling in Chinese culture. The study of destiny (Chinese: , ming xue) is one of the five arts of Chinese metaphysics. Along with the Bazi ...

Da Liu Ren Da Liu Ren is a form of Chinese calendrical astrology dating from the later Warring States period. It is also a member of the Three Styles () of divination, along with Qi Men Dun Jia () and Taiyi (). Li Yang describes Da Liu Ren as the highe ...

, Feng Shui,

Wen Wang Gua Wen Wang Gua () is a method of interpreting the results of I Ching divination that was first described in writing by Jing Fang (78–37 BC) in Han dynasty China. It is based on correlating trigrams to the Celestial Stems and Earthly Branches of t ...

. In Chinese astrology, there are more than 180 symbolic stars.

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Symbolic Stars Chinese astrology Taoist divination

See also

References

Bibliography