Liu Yao Six Spirits (Liu Shen) Archetypes — Born Hour
In Liu Yao divination, the Six Spirits (Azure Dragon, Vermilion Bird, Hook Chen, Flying Serpent, White Tiger, Black Tortoise) append rich qualitative atmosphere and situational cues to the hexagram lines.
Assigning the Six Spirits by Day Stem
The Six Spirits rotate onto the hexagram lines from bottom to top, anchored by the Day Stem of the inquiry moment:
Jia/Yi starts with Azure Dragon; Bing/Ding with Vermilion Bird; Wu with Hook Chen; Ji with Flying Serpent; Geng/Xin with White Tiger; Ren/Gui with Black Tortoise.
Wood element — joy, marriage, celebration, noble assistance, benevolence, and lawful prestige.
Fire element — correspondence, news, oral presentations, legal debates, contracts, or public disputes.
Earth element — real estate, construction, institutional inertia, sluggish delays, and legal entanglements.
Earth/Fire element — anxiety, restless dreams, eccentric surprises, suspicious deception, and psychic agitation.
Northern guardian, water energy, winter. Symbol of concealment, depth, the unseen, and indirect paths. Strong for hidden workings, espionage, and dark places; favor discretion, guard against deceit and loss.
White Tiger and Black Tortoise
The remaining two spirits govern decisive martial force and elusive, hidden realities:
White Tiger (Bai Hu · West)（白虎 · 严刑刚烈）：Metal element — surgical urgency, boldness, physical operations, fierce authority, or sudden accident.
Black Tortoise (Xuan Wu · North)（玄武 · 暗昧深秘）：Water element — stealth, unspoken romance, undercover dealings, intellectual subtlety, or clandestine loss.
Synthetic Reading Technique
Never read a spirit in isolation. A line holding the Useful God with Azure Dragon promises harmonious celebrations; holding a hostile line with White Tiger warns of stern legal or physical conflict.