Qi Men Dun Jia

Qi Men Dun Jia (奇门遁甲, also romanized qimen dunjia or shortened to qimen) is one of the classical “three cosmic boards” (San Shi, 三式) of Chinese divination, historically nicknamed the “art of emperors” for its association with military strategy. It takes a chosen moment — its solar term, its day and hour in the stem-branch calendar — and lays that moment out as a nine-palace board of stars, doors and deities, from which the tradition reads which timing and which direction favour the matter at hand. This article explains what the system is, where it came from, how the board is built, and how it differs from the Bazi birth chart and the I Ching oracle; to cast one for yourself, use the free Qi Men Dun Jia calculator.