The Nine Houses of I Ching Astrology

I Ching Astrology not only looks at your own horoscope, in terms of the Stars and Elements and Trigrams that form your special profile, but also looks into which position your Star rotates to within a nine-year, nine-month and even nine-day, cycle.

This pattern of 9 is laid out in a grid known as the Lo Shu Square.

Legend has it that a Chinese sage contemplating the meaning of life noticed a turtle emerge from the River Lo, with these numbers depicted as dots within each section of the shell on its back. Later, given the name of The Magic Square – because every which way you add up the rows of numbers, they come to 15.

This pattern in early Chinese civilization was seen as how elements moved through time. It’s important to note that south (Fire) is depicted at the top with the 9 position, whereas north (1) is positioned at the lower part of the square, east with the three dots on the left-hand side, and 7 from the west on the right-hand side.

The inter-cardinal directions of south-east (4), north-west (6), south-west (2) and the north-east (8), can all be seen ‘flying’ around the central T’ai Chi position of the 5 Star.

In Feng Shui this pattern is often known as the Bagua, which literally means the 8 Trigrams.

Do remember that the 8 Trigrams are all positioned in the outer part of this Magic Square, whereas the 5 T’ai Chi Star in the centre is simply the axis around which all the other Trigrams and Stars rotate.

Each section of the Square is known either as a House or a Palace. The pattern by which the Stars rotate or ‘fly’ forms the basis not only of I Ching Astrology, but also the Flying Stars used in Feng Shui, for looking at how energy patterns move within properties over 20-year cycles.

Your Birth Star will also rotate through these different Palaces year by year and month by month, by knowing which Palace you ‘borrow’ it can help a lot in terms of making decisions and forward planning.

The summary of these 9 positions is as follows:

1 Water House (Planning)

2 Earth House (Germination)

3 Thunder House (Sprouting)

4 Wind House (Rapid Growth)

5 T’ai Chi House (Rebirth and Change)

6 Heaven House (Prosperity and Harvest)

7 Lake House (Celebration and Joy)

8 Mountain House (Stillness and Contemplation)

9 Fire House (Fame and Recognition)

For example, if you discover that by the year you are borrowing the 6 Heaven House, remember that prosperity and harvest means that there is the possibility that you will reap what you have been sewing in recent years. On top of that, remember that the 6 Heaven Star belongs to the Father in I Ching. Therefore, while you pass through the Father’s House, you’re likely to take on his chi or energy. This means that you’re likely to be taken seriously, that you may become very moral, very focused, or even become a natural leader within your particular sphere. This often accounts for why even a youngster within a family can suddenly become the boss by the year or the month or even the day!