Learn Liu Yao
Multiple-choice questions on Liu Yao (Six Lines) concepts, drawn from the Đại Toàn course and the Dictionary.
1According to the East Asian philosophical view the source cites, in what sequence were the Eight Trigrams formed?
The source quotes verbatim: Wuji gives rise to Taiji, Taiji to the Two Modes, the Two Modes to the Four Images, and the Four Images split into the Eight Trigrams. Option A is a common mistake because it swaps Wuji with Taiji and drops the Two Modes stage.
2In terms of information, what does a Frame combination signal?
The source states: in terms of information, a Frame combination signals a group, an organization, an association; more generally, many interlinked ties.
3A moving line transforms into a changed line that combines with it, namely the Zi–Chou pair. If the Zi line is Weak or Resting, how is it counted?
The source singles out the Zi–Chou combination: if Zi is Prosperous, wait until Wei, and for urgent matters effectiveness is only 50%; but if Zi is Weak or Resting, it is treated as transforming into control, not a combination.
4Which two elements both have their Growth stage at Shen?
The source states: Water and Earth have Growth at Shen, Peak at Zi, Tomb at Chen, Extinction at Si — that is, Water and Earth share the same Twelve Life Stages cycle, both with Growth at Shen.
5A Month Break line moves and transforms into Extinction, but is generated by another moving line. What is the result?
The source states: if this Month Break line is generated by another moving line, it becomes usable. Example from the lesson: Offspring You Metal in Month Break moves and transforms into Extinction, but fortunately Wei Earth Sibling transforms into Prosperous, so it counts as an ordinary line.
6Someone asks about their child's exams. According to the source, which line is taken as the Useful God to decide success or failure?
The source gives exactly this example: when asking about a child's exams, Offspring is the sole Useful God and Parent need not be examined. Option B is the most common mistake because it takes the Useful God of the matter instead of the Useful God of the person being asked about.
7You plan to change jobs and what you care about is income at the new job. What is taken as the Useful God?
The source states: if you care about promotion, take the Officer; if about income, take Wealth; if worried about your children, take the Offspring — everything depends on the querent's current aim.
8A hexagram with moving lines asks about life and death; the Taboo God moves but is weaker than the Useful God line. What is the conclusion?
The source states: if the moving Taboo is stronger than the Useful God line, death; if the moving Taboo is weaker than the Useful God, life, with the timing of recovery at the point when the Taboo is clashed.
9What does the Repetition Groan signal?
The source states: the Repetition Groan signals tiresome turmoil; inner means one's own mind, household matters or close relationships, and outer means outside affairs. The summary section puts it briefly: the Repetition Groan means worry without rest, worry wherever you turn.
10For marriage, what does the Retreating Spirit indicate, and to which line does it apply?
The source states: for marriage, Retreating means a change of heart, for both the Self line and the Useful God. It also notes that if the Self line or the Useful God is in Void, it is useless as well, and if it is in the Tomb, a new romantic bond will come when the Tomb is clashed.
11Which factors can affect a line's original nature?
The source states: the factors that can affect a line's nature are the Day, the Month, moving lines and the changed line corresponding to each moving line. Option B is a common mistake because a static line can never act on another line.
12What does a Six-Clash hexagram transforming into a Six-Harmony hexagram indicate?
Six Clashes transforming into Six Harmonies means bad at first, good later, and the final outcome is always success. Option B is the most common mistake because that is Six Harmonies transforming into Six Clashes, exactly the opposite direction.
13Why is the Pure hexagram used to find the Hidden Spirit?
The source states: a Pure hexagram always contains all Six Relatives, so when we reference it, the Useful God we need is certain to exist.
14Which element do the four branches Chou, Chen, Wei and Xu belong to?
The source states: Chou, Chen, Wei and Xu are Earth. These are the only four Earth branches among the twelve Earthly Branches, so a hexagram always has at least two Earth lines.
15Can a moving line act on its own changed line?
A basic principle of the Changes: a moving line cannot act on a changed line; the relationship runs one way only, from the changed line to the moving line. This very principle is why a Useful God located at a changed line cannot be harmed by control from a moving line.
16The Self line holds the Taboo God; the Self line is Weak while the Useful God is Prosperous. How does the source describe this situation?
In the Self-holds-Taboo-God table: Self Weak – Useful God Prosperous means one is both incompetent and on the wrong path for a matter with potential. Option B is the Self Prosperous – Useful God Weak cell, exactly the reverse; option D is the Self Weak – Useful God Weak cell.
17What does the source call the method of I Ching reading?
This principle avoids a common error: when Parent is the Useful God and Sibling is on the Self line, it does not mean losing money, because here Sibling is the line that drains Parent, not the Taboo God of Wealth.
18Can a Hidden Movement line be combined by another moving line, or be clashed away by another line?
The source states: a Hidden Movement line can still be combined with the Day or Month, but not by another moving line; another special point is that it cannot be clashed away by another line.
19Why does a hexagram always have at least one pair of Double Appearance?
The source states: a hexagram has at least one pair of Double Appearance, because there are always two Earth lines in a hexagram due to how the Earthly Branches are arranged — the four Earth branches are Chen, Xu, Chou, and Wei.
20When a woman asks about love and marriage, which of the Six Relatives is taken as the Useful God?
A woman asking about love and marriage takes Officer as the Useful God; only a man asking about love and marriage takes Wealth. Option A is the most common mistake because it mixes up the rules for men and women.
Learn Liu Yao free — every answer marked on the spot
This page is for practice, not for reading about practice. The three parts build on each other: Theory asks about concepts, Casting makes you lay the hexagram out yourself, and Outcome hands you a finished chart and asks for your judgement. Answer and you know at once, with the reasoning shown.
The casting drill is generated from the laying-out rules themselves, so it never runs out and its answers are always right: branch assignment, the Six Relations, the Six Spirits, the Self and Other lines, Void, Month Break, what a moving line changes into, the changed hexagram, the Palace and hidden lines — thirteen kinds, drawn at random each time.
Look up anything unclear in the Liu Yao Dictionary — over sixty entries written for beginners. To hear it taught, watch the Đại Toàn course, sixty lessons in teaching order. To cast a real hexagram for your own question, use the Liu Yao casting page.
How to practise so it sticks
- One set a day, fifteen minutes — better than one long session then nothing for a week.
- When you miss one, read the explanation, then look the concept up before moving on.
- Lay the hexagram out in your head first and check only after you answer — peeking teaches nothing.
- Get eight out of ten on the casting drill before moving to the outcome drill.
Common questions
- Is this free?
- Yes. All three drills are free, with no account and no limit on how many sets you do. Nothing you answer is stored.
- I am completely new — where do I start?
- Start with the theory questions, then move to the casting drill until laying a hexagram out becomes quick. Only then try the outcome drill. Look up anything unclear in the Dictionary, and watch the matching lecture in the Videos tab.
- How long until I can cast a chart on my own?
- The casting drill is machine-generated, so it never runs out. Fifteen minutes a day usually gets a learner casting in their head within a few weeks. Reading the chart takes longer — that is what the outcome drill is for.
- Where do the outcome answers come from?
- They are computed by the Academy's own reading engine, not written by hand. Each case uses a clean chart — a one-off matter, the Target line appearing exactly once, free of Void, Month Break and Tomb — so the answer does not depend on whose reading style you follow.