The Eight Guardians Flashcards
When a GUARDIAN card turns up another is chosen to take its place and are interpreted in light of the associated card which they influence and modify according. They may also indicate a time factor perhaps revealing a season when a particulare occurance may be expected. Guardians reveal help advice and guidance through difficult times. The replacement card indicates the type or source of the problem which is eventually alleviated. They always have a positive influence but may reveal a situation
Plum Blossom (Lǐ)
Plum Blossom
Symbol: Innocence
This is a sign of renewed vitality and new luck. Innocence and inexperience are an asset not a liability.
The Plum tile reflects renewal and viewing your world with fresh viewpoints.
Mental and physical protection especially emotional distress.
Renewed vitality, a new life, and all the fortune it brings.
East - Spring
The young - and the young at heart - who are happily tied in romance, the Plum Blossom reflects happiness.
Most appropriate in the East becausethe East also represents the querent, providing mental and physical protection, but guarding particularly against emotional stresses.
A welcome card when there are inner anxieties, unexplained depression, problems which the querent is afraid to face, or an apparent sense of unwelcome personal obligation which is difficult to define.
In such cases, the card taken to replace the Plum Blossom Guardian should be seen as the clue to the unravelling of those problems; once the situation is faced squarely, the nagging feelings of doubt and unease will be dismissed.
This response will be doubly underlined if the card drawn to replace the Plum Blossom Guardian is the Knot (8 Wan), while the Sword (2 Wan) is a remonstration to cut oneself off from an involvement which is proving to be a wasteful drain on one’s resources.
Orchid (Lán)
ORCHID (Lan)
Symbol: Refinement
Aim for refinement and the rare and the precious.
There may be rare and refined experiences coming into your life. Enjoy them!
Protector of young girls.
South - Summer
Refinement, and the rare and precious.
The essence of refinement is a contInual process of improvement until absolute perfection is reached, and this quality is indicated when the card drawn to cover the Orchid is Jade (4 Circles). These cards then reveal that great honours are in store as the reward for continually striving to attain the highest standards.
The more material sense of precious treasure is revealed when the Orchid is replaced by the Pearl (1 Circles) or the Peach (6 Circles), when the Orchid indicates that something - or someone - of great value is being protected.
The Orchid Guardian protects young girls, and if it appears in response to a question about a daughter or younger female relative, it serves to allay any anxieties regarding their welfare.
Being the flower representing the Summer season, it is appropriate for this card to appear in the South sector, or next to one of the South cards; in such a case it indicates future prosperity.
When it appears with a card said to be in an unfavourable position, it offers protection against the difficulties shown by the replacement card.
Chrysanthemum (Jǘ)
CHRYSANTHEMUM (Chü)
Symbol: Pleasure
Pleasure, social activities, leisure and entertainment are indicated.
You will enjoy a happy time filled with social activities and leisurely moments untainted by the demands of everyday life.
A mature lady, grace, charm and kindness. Matron.
West - Autumn
A symbol of the Sun
The Chrysanthemum Guardian represents pleasure, social activities, holidays and entertainment.
The Autumn season is the time of harvest and wine making. Its ancient astrological symbol, a wine flask, signifies merriment, jollity, retirement and leisure.
If the querent is obviously not intended, a combination of Chrysanthemum and Peacock will represent an older female relative, revealing her to be contented with her life and surrounded by the joys which a happy family brings.
The most appropriate cards to be drawn to replace it are the Lute (4 Wan) and the West, which is the symbol of Autumn.
Bamboo (Zhú)
BAMBOO (Chu)
Symbol: Scholarship
This is a time for research, planning, writing, learning and scholarship.
An adaptable, useful spirit. The Bamboo tile is also associated with scholarly pursuits.
Writing, learning and scholarship. Help in the form of a communication or document, particularly the announcement of success in examinations.
Bamboo has ten thousand uses, but short stems of bamboo are perhaps most familiar as the stems of the Chinese brush, used in China not only for painting, but for writing, too. Less familiar is the Chinese pen, a simple stem of bamboo with its end carved as a nib.
A very favourable sign when the card drawn to replace the Bamboo is, appropriately, one of the Bamboo suit, it underlines the sense of the written word in interpreting the cards.
With 5 Bamboo (Lotus, also meaning a child) it brings news of a birth.
With 6 Bamboo (Water, also meaning communication) it represents fortunate news with regards to a document. It frequently represents recovery from illness.
The strength of the Bamboo, and the fact that it grows upright, are both symbols of the desired qualities in a young man, and it is sometimes held to be the model of virtuous behaviour. If the Pine (2 Circles) is drawn to replace the Bamboo Guardian, then it affirms the Pine’s symbolism of a youth, but also affirms that the person is honest and true.
The other associated card is North, the direction of Winter. If this is drawn, it means that there will be help and protection through a difficult period.
Guardian - OCCUPATIONS - FISHERMAN (Yu)
FISHERMAN (Yu)
SPRING - EAST WIND - GREEN - WOOD - PLUM BLOSSOM FLOWER
Strive for common sense, good management skills and good working relationships for success.
Success attained through the application of common sense and careful management of your time and relationships.
The Fisherman is thorough and patient. He knows his efforts will be rewarded as long as he does not give up.
Dealing with other people will proceed more smoothly by practising greater tolerance.
Everything is proceeding along the right path, although this may not be evident at the moment.
Favourable in the East sector, when it refers to the querent, or next to an East card, in which case it refers to someone (rather than a situation) very close.
In an unfavourable position, it is wisest to wait until a more opportune moment arrives before taking any steps that may be necessary.
WOODCUTTER (Ch’iao)
WOODCUTTER (Ch’iao)
Symbol: The Woodcutter
Activity brings success.
SUMMER - SOUTH WIND - FIRE - ORCHID FLOWER
He is ambitious and full of drive and energy. He represents gain and success through dedicated work.
Leadership, teamwork, and success through activity.
The Fire represented by the Woodcutter Guardian reveals all the positive influences of vitality, drive, ambition and industry.
The Woodcutter employs three of the 5 elements central to Chinese philosophy: Fire, Wood and Metal.
holding the balance of power in a conflict. Here is the help needed to get a project underway.
It is appropriate for the Woodcutter to appear in the South, or with the South card, when it is a sign of great prosperity.
This is an incentive to greater effort, for the rewards will be great - if not materially, then through promotion, greater recognition, or increased satisfaction.
When in unfavourable position, or with a card that has an adverse interpretation for the querent’s present situation, its message is dearly that the querent should make every effort to hack a way clear through the present entanglements. This will be stressed if the Knot (8 Wan) or the Sword (2 Wan) are present anywhere.
FARMER (Keng)
FARMER (Keng)
AUTUMN - WEST WIND - WHITE - METAL- CHRYSANTHEMUM
Physical and arduous labour are necessary for success. However, hard labour brings many rewards. This tile is associated with the Farmer.
The Farmer represents rewards gained through hard work and faith in oneself. He harvests riches from the planting and nurturing of his crops.
The tasks and toil of bringing in the harvest. Thus, the Farmer Guardian card indicates physical activity and arduous labour, but nevertheless labour which brings its own rich rewards.
Difficulties will be surmounted through physical effort. Note that this card stresses that bodily effort is required - this is not an oblique reference to perseverance or patience. It is a blunt command to get up and put one’s back into a job.
Fortunate with a West card or in the West sector. As West often refers to one’s objectives.
With the Earth card (3 Wan) makes an obvious connection between the Farmer and the land, and can be interpreted at its face value for those who have land or are considering buying it; it might also refer to a legacy involving land ready for development.
Broadly speaking, however, the Farmer represents physical effort, a meaning underlined when Jade (4 Circles) or the Insect (7 Circles) appears in the spread.
SCHOLAR (Tu)
SCHOLAR (Tu)
WINTER - NORTH WIND - BLACK - WATER - BAMBOO FLOWER
This is the time to turn towards paperwork, whether literary or administrative and be cautious. You neeed to conserve your resources.
The Scholar represents gain through intellectual pursuits. The Scholar’s mind is sharp and find solutions to the most difficult problems.
communication - either through speech, literature, or travel / teaching and learning
A good sign for all those connected with counselling and education
Winter is a time when there is little that can be successfully achieved outdoors: farming, hunting. and building must all wait for the better weather. Those of a cultured mind can turn their attentions to the creation of works of literary or artistic merit.
For the manual worker, the Scholar stresses that paperwork must not be neglected.
Water itself symbolizes communication - either through speech, literature, or travel - but when the Scholar Guardian appears, it is the teaching and learning aspect of communication which is emphasized.
In the North it indicates literary and scholarly merit, success in examinations, and recognition in the educational fields.
Those who believe that their practical experience is sufficient for their success are warned that they may be putting themselves at a disadvantage because their theoretical knowledge is insufficient.
The Scholar often stresses the need to attend to correspondence, particularly if the Pine (2 Circles). representing ink, is close by. A spread which contaIns a high proportion of Bamboo suit cards also underlines the Importance of the written word.
