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Jiu Gong Ming Li: An Introduction To 9 Palace Fate Calculations
The Onmyoji - Guardians of the 9 Palaces
The Onmyoji were the Japanese practitioners of "Onmyodo", the way of Yin and Yang and the Wu Xing (5 Phases), and achieved their notoriety as the occult scientists that worked in the service of the Heian period emperor. They studied astrology and astronomy, natural and supernatural phenomena. They practiced exorcisms and Feng Shui, and there is no doubt that the old imperial city of Kyoto was founded and constructed according to the principles of Taoist metaphysics.
The majority of the Onmyoji worked directly for the Mikado, and were forbidden to share any of their knowledge or predictions outside the walls of the imperial palace. Unfortunately, this is probably why so much of the knowledge the Onmyoji collected, and so many of their contributions have disappeared. Oral transmission of knowledge was carried on only within the walls of the imperial court.
The practices of Onmyodo are responsible for much of the Taoist and Buddhist interaction with the Shinto religion, leading to the similarities in the practices and homogeneity of beliefs that characterize Japanese metaphysical and religious belief even today.
The Onmyoji were also responsible for introducing Yijing (I-Ching), the Lunar/Solar Calendar and Chinese astro-numerology to Japan, as well as the diagnostic model and treatment methods of Chinese medicine. Yijing became so revered by Japanese rulers and scholars that by the time of the Tokugawa Shogunate, military advisors were all skilled in its interpretation; battle plans and troop movements were made, treaties were signed, and just about all important activities were carried out with the Yijing at the root of their decision making process.
Among the occult sciences that were imported or protected by the Onmyoji was the Jiu Gong Ming Li, known today as the 9 Star Ki system of fate calculation. Although it was abandoned in China because of numerous philosophical and political developments, the Onmyoji kept the system alive, and are responsible for its use today.
In deference to this contribution, the term Ki will be used here instead of the Chinese word Qi in descriptions of the energy of the stars.
At some point in the history of the art, the method of calculating what the Japanese call the tendency star was developed, and the method of calculating the day star was lost. Luckily, modern scholars of the sciences of Yin and Yang and the Wuxing have re-introduced the correct method of its calculation and use. There is no way to know whether the method was changed in Japan, or if the currently common way of calculating the tendency star was a theoretically inconsistent method that managed to reach Japan. The current popular method calculates the same tendency star for everyone with the same year and month stars, instead of each person having a star based on the day they were born. By using a distinct number for each day based on the same astro-numerological cycles that are used throughout the system of Taoist metaphysics, the 9 Star Ki system is proving itself daily to be a powerful tool in the arsenal of the modern practitioner.
Armed with this information, never released to the general pubic until now, Kyusei (another name for the Ki system) can now serve any human being who seeks its counsel. 9 Star Ki is no longer a secret tool of emperors and shoguns. Today the average person can use the 9 Palace system to work with their personal Ki chart and bring balance and power to their lives.