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Six Relatives (Five Relationship Types)

The "Six Relatives" (Liu Qin) in Liu Yao divination is in fact a collective term for five types of relationships: the Parent line (Fu Mu Yao), the Brother line (Xiong Di Yao), the Offspring line (Zi Sun Yao), the Wealth line (Qi Cai Yao), and the Official line (Guan Gui Yao). The determination of the Six Relatives is based on the generating and overcoming relationships between the Five Elements (Wu Xing) of the hexagram's palace and the Earthly Branch elements of each line.

Principles for Determining the Six Relatives

Taking the palace element as "self":

• That which generates self is the Parent - For example, if the palace belongs to Metal, then Earth lines are Parents.
• That which self generates is the Offspring - For example, if the palace belongs to Metal, then Water lines are Offspring.
• That which overcomes self is the Official - For example, if the palace belongs to Metal, then Fire lines are Officials.
• That which self overcomes is Wealth - For example, if the palace belongs to Metal, then Wood lines are Wealth.
• That which is the same as self is the Brother - For example, if the palace belongs to Metal, then Metal lines are Brothers.

People and Things Represented by the Six Relatives

Parent line:

• People: Parents, elders, teachers, superiors.
• Things: Documents, certificates, houses, clothing, vehicles, and boats.
• Abstract concepts: Protection, shelter, toil.

Brother line:

• People: Siblings, friends, colleagues, competitors.
• Things: Financial loss, obstacles.
• Abstract concepts: Competition, division and seizure, assistance.

Offspring line:

• People: Children, juniors, students, subordinates.
• Things: Medicine, monks and priests, happiness.
• Abstract concepts: Overcoming the Official, dispelling disasters and resolving difficulties, generating Wealth.

Wealth line:

• People: Wives, girlfriends, lovers (when asked by a man).
• Things: Money, valuables, food.
• Abstract concepts: Financial fortune, profit, enjoyment.

Official line:

• People: Husbands, boyfriends (when asked by a woman), leaders, officials.
• Things: Work, lawsuits, illness, disasters.
• Abstract concepts: Power, restriction, pressure, worry.

Relationships Among the Six Relatives

Mutual generating and overcoming relationships exist among the Six Relatives:

• The Parent generates the Brother, and the Brother generates the Offspring.
• The Offspring generates Wealth, and Wealth generates the Official.
• The Official generates the Parent (forming a cycle).
• The Offspring overcomes the Official, and Wealth overcomes the Parent.

These relationships are highly important in hexagram interpretation and directly affect the determination of the strength and weakness of the governing line (Yong Shen).