Black Tortoise (玄武) in Qimen Dunjia
Black Tortoise represents obscured information, loss, misdirection, unofficial channels, and facts that are difficult to verify.
Overview
Black Tortoise represents obscured information, loss, misdirection, unofficial channels, and facts that are difficult to verify. The eight deities are a separate rotating layer. Their sequence begins at the Chief position and runs forward in Yang Dun and backward in Yin Dun. It is sixth in OpenFate’s declared eight-deity sequence.
At a glance
- Page role
- Chart symbol reference
- Terms covered
- Black Tortoise · Xuan Wu · 玄武
- Verification focus
- The eight deities are a separate rotating layer. Their sequence begins at the Chief position and runs forward in Yang Dun and backward in Yin Dun. It is sixth in OpenFate’s declared eight-deity sequence.
- Stop rule
- Black Tortoise cannot identify a thief, liar, affair, fraud, or secret actor. Use logs, contracts, access records, and due process.
Direct answer and scope
Black Tortoise represents obscured information, loss, misdirection, unofficial channels, and facts that are difficult to verify.
- Names and related terms: Black Tortoise
- Names and related terms: Xuan Wu
- Names and related terms: 玄武
How the rule is formed or checked
The eight deities are a separate rotating layer. Their sequence begins at the Chief position and runs forward in Yang Dun and backward in Yin Dun. It is sixth in OpenFate’s declared eight-deity sequence.
Keep the cast moment, UTC offset, method version, palace, and interacting symbols visible before adopting an interpretation.
How to use this in a reading
Use it as a prompt to audit records, access, ownership, and provenance. Ask which fact would change the decision if it proved false.
- Name the visible chart fact before assigning symbolic meaning.
- Compare the asker and matter anchors with every layer in their palaces.
- Record at least one supporting condition and one counter-signal.
- End with a reversible action and an observable review point.
Worked contrast
Black Tortoise with recoverable records can point to a verification task; with no records and escalating claims it signals uncertainty, not proof of wrongdoing.
Common mistake and limit
Black Tortoise cannot identify a thief, liar, affair, fraud, or secret actor. Use logs, contracts, access records, and due process.
Sources and editorial basis
- 《煙波釣叟歌》Wikisource lines 112–220: nine palaces, 陰陽遁, 三元, 值符/值使, 三奇六儀, 伏吟/反吟, gates, stars, vigor, 擊刑, 入墓, and selected patterns.A public-domain classical verse used only for the rule passages it actually states, including nine palaces, Yin and Yang Dun, Three Wonders and Six Instruments, Chief Star and Gate, gate and star sequences, vigor, and selected conditions. Legendary origin verses are not presented as verified history.
- 猪野毅「奇門遁甲の基礎的研究」Abstract and pp. 161–185: history and vocabulary; nine palaces; Three Wonders and Six Instruments; Eight Gates, Nine Stars, and deities; 排宮 and 飛宮 method distinction.A 2010 Hokkaido University research article used for historical vocabulary, the basic board structure, and the documented distinction between rotating-palace and flying-palace approaches. It does not test predictive accuracy.
- OpenFate Qimen hour-chart methodOpenFate docs/QIMEN_SYSTEM.md, “Professional calculation contract,” “Interpretation and evidence contract,” and “Rule-source map,” source-reviewed 2026-09-12.Product-specific reference for OpenFate’s fixed-offset civil-time, hour-Qimen, rotating-plate, Chaibu implementation and its deterministic chart fields. A source review on 2026-09-12 does not prove live deployment, other schools, or predictive validity.