Selecting an auspicious date or a good date for important functions is deeply ingrained in Chinese culture. The Chinese believe that if you select an auspicious date, the good ‘qi’ of the day will support your activity and increase the chances of success.
In the old days special auspicious dates (and time) are selected for a variety of activities that include travelling, seeking medical treatment, cleaning, installing machinery, purchasing livestock and even execution!
Nowadays, date selection is used mostly for engagement and marriage, opening business, burials, renovations, moving and house warming.
There are a number of date selection techniques but most if not all of them start by eliminating inauspicious dates. Then auspicious dates are selected from the remaining dates using a variety of methods.
Most date selection techniques factor in highly inauspicious days such as “Month Breaker”, “Year Breaker” and “Personal Clash Days” into the calculation. In addition to these high inauspicious days, other inauspicious days such as the “Four Extinct and Departure days”, the “No Wealth or Impoverish Days”, “Master Killing Days” etc may also be considered depending on the activity.
As an example, “Master Killing Days” are eliminated for renovation and moving but are acceptable for other activities. And “No Wealth or Impoverish days” are not selected for any wealth or business activities.
The techniques for selecting auspicious days differ. For example Grandmaster Dong has a methodology for calculating what is known as Grandmaster Dong’s Superior Days. Then there is the 12 Day Officer Method which is usually used in conjunction with the daily positive and negative “Shens” or “Energies”.
The Great Sun Formula makes use of the directional relationship of the 24 Knots and Qi (24 sub-seasons).
The Xuan Kong Da Gua Date Selection method on the other hand searches for dates where the Da Gua element number of the four pillars of the year, month, date and time are in harmony based on either the He Tu Combination, Combination of 10 or Five Element combinations.
Selecting a good day is not an easy task. For example the Xuan Kong Da Gua Date Selection course is quite complex and classes normally takes 3 to 4 full days.
That brings me to this classic question. Does selecting an auspicious day for engagement and marriage guarantees a happy and lasting marriage?
The answer is a flat no. It depends a lot more on the couple’s destiny and luck cycle. Plus how strong is the love! There is a Chinese saying, “Have love, water is enough to keep your from hunger!”
