How to Look Up Shen Sha: Using Year Branch, Day Stem, and Day Branch

In Chinese metaphysics, the layer known as 神煞 is largely determined by lookup rather than derivation. One takes the year branch, day stem, or day branch and compares it against a fixed table; whichever position is matched yields the corresponding 神煞. This differs from the 十神 layer, which is produced through the logic of generation and control among the five elements.

神煞查法的三种起点

The standard starting points for 神煞 are the year branch, the day stem, and the day branch. Each starting point selects a different class of table, and a single 神煞 may appear under more than one starting point depending on the tradition. The year branch is used for annual cycles and broader background influences; the day stem is used for personal qualities tied to the self; the day branch is used for relational and environmental positions. When a source gives a table, it usually states which of these three is the reference. If no reference is stated, the table cannot be applied reliably.

以日干起、以日支起与以年支起

天乙贵人 is checked from the day stem. The formula given in 《渊海子平》 is: 甲戊庚牛羊，乙己鼠猴乡，丙丁猪鸡位，壬癸蛇兔藏，六辛逢虎马. That is, for day stems 甲，戊, and 庚 the branches are 丑 and 未; for 乙 and 己 the branches are 子 and 申; for 丙 and 丁 the branches are 亥 and 酉; for 壬 and 癸 the branches are 巳 and 卯; for 辛 the branches are 寅 and 午.

文昌贵人 is also checked from the day stem: 甲见巳，乙见午，丙戊见申，丁己见酉，庚见亥，辛见子，壬见寅，癸见卯. Only the branch is considered; hidden stems within the branch are not used for this determination.

羊刃 is determined from the day stem by locating the branch of its 帝旺 position in the twelve-stage cycle: 甲卯，丙午，戊午，庚酉，壬子. 《子平真诠》 also gives the saying that the position one before 禄 is 羊刃, and the branch indicated by that saying is the same as the 帝旺 method.

华盖 is based on the storage position of each three-harmony group: 寅午戌见戌，亥卯未见未，申子辰见辰，巳酉丑见丑. 《三命通会》 records both the year-branch method and the day-branch method, with different sources emphasizing one over the other.

驿马 is based on the branch that clashes with the three-harmony group. The formula in 《渊海子平》 is: 申子辰马在寅，寅午戌马在申，巳酉丑马在亥，亥卯未马在巳.

空亡 is determined by the ten-day stem-branch cycle to which the day pillar belongs. In each of the sixty cycles, ten stems are matched with twelve branches, leaving two branches unused; those two branches are the 空亡 of that cycle. For example, a day pillar 乙亥 belongs to the 甲戌 cycle, so its 空亡 branches are 申 and 酉.

红鸾 and 天喜 are both checked from the year branch, one moving backward and one moving forward. 红鸾 moves backward from the year branch to 卯, and 天喜 moves forward from the year branch to 酉. In the sequence of twelve branches, the two are always six positions apart.

同名神煞的不同查法

The same name may be assigned by different methods in different sources. 华盖 is a clear example: one version checks it from the year branch, another from the day branch, and the resulting branch can differ for the same chart. 羊刃 is another case where the classical wording differs from the 帝旺 wording, even though the two point to the same branch for the stems listed. These differences are not necessarily contradictions in outcome; sometimes they are differences in presentation, and sometimes they are genuine differences in reference point. When a named 神煞 has multiple check methods, this knowledge base records the method alongside the name. If only the name is given without the method, the entry is treated as incomplete.

查到之后还要看什么

After a 神煞 is found in the chart, the next step is to see whether it falls in the stem or branch of a pillar, and whether that position is active in the reading. The mere presence of the position does not by itself determine a conclusion. The table result is only one layer; its significance is read together with the five-element structure, the 十神 relations, and the strength of the relevant stems and branches. A 神煞 may be present but weak, present but overridden, or present and supported. Some sources also distinguish between the year branch, month branch, day branch, and hour branch for the force of the position, but the base fact remains that the lookup only names the position; it does not supply the interpretation by itself.

查法分歧时的处理

Disagreement in the checking method is common in this layer. Many named 神煞 have no single authoritative table because the transmitted sources differ, and there is no verifiable base text that resolves the conflict. For such items—examples include 隔角煞，孤鸾煞，流霞煞, and 阴差阳错—this site states only what the name refers to and does not publish a lookup table. Where sources conflict but one method is widely attested and the other is fragmentary, the article notes the conflict and gives the attested method with its source. Where no method can be verified, the article remains descriptive only. This distinction is maintained so that a reader is not given the impression that every named 神煞 has a fixed procedure. The presence of a name in the literature does not by itself mean that its checking method is recoverable.