At a glance
- Count
- Eight; no separate central door
- Three favorable doors
- Rest, Opening, Life
Definition and terminology
Common ordering gives Rest, Life, Injury, Obstruction, View, Death, Alarm and Opening. Rest, Opening and Life are traditionally called three favorable doors, yet suitability depends on purpose and conditions. The words Death or Injury must not be converted directly into a guaranteed prediction about a real person.
Structure and rules
Base associations commonly pair Kan/Rest, Gen/Life, Zhen/Injury, Xun/Obstruction, Li/View, Kun/Death, Dui/Alarm and Qian/Opening. Constructed charts move doors through Chief Envoy and timing rules. Palace interaction and center treatment need their own definitions; there is no independent ninth door merely to fill the central palace.
Worked reading
In the base table, View at Li 9 suggests display or written presentation; Obstruction at Xun 4 suggests restriction. A research-publication exercise can ask how to explain information clearly and manage unpublished material. This is an analogy using base associations, not a complete timed chart or guarantee of publication or confidentiality.
Context and limits
The Tongzong says even Opening’s favorable status depends on conditions, showing that names alone are insufficient within the tradition. Modern opportunity or obstacle language is reinterpretation. Preserve Chief Envoy, placement and rules. Reproducible door placement does not make an emotionally positive or negative label an objective measurement of real outcomes.
References & further reading
Historical sources document ideas and rules of their time, not empirical proof of predictive accuracy. Source notes identify the nature and scope of each reference.
- 《奇门遁甲统宗》Primary / tradition source
Public-domain received Qimen manual; documents palace, star, door and spirit rules and variants, not modern validation.
- 《遁甲演义》（四库全书本）Primary / tradition source
Public-domain Qimen source; editorial account distinguishes legends from documentation and describes palaces, stems, doors and stars.