Stuck on a Decision? Let Xiao Liu Ren Give You an answer
— The easiest divination method for beginners. Learn it in five minutes.
What Is Xiao Liu Ren?
Xiao Liu Ren ("the Minor Six Deities"), also known as "finger divination," is a fast method of divination.
When Can You Use It?
Whenever something is on your mind and you can't decide — when you feel restless or uneasy;
when you're about to head out and wonder whether it's a good idea;
when you've lost something and want to know if it'll turn up;
or even when someone is late and you can't tell whether to wait or leave
— Xiao Liu Ren can help you to make decision.
There Are Only Six Possible Outcomes
Every time you work it out, the result lands on one of six outcomes, known as the "Six Deities." Each reading number result always points to exactly one of them.
Here are the six:
1.Da An (Great Peace) — auspicious; calm and settled
2.Liu Lian (Lingering) — unclear; delay, entanglement
3.Su Xi (Swift Joy) — auspicious; celebration, the moment has come
4.Chi Kou (Red Mouth) — inauspicious; danger, disputes and quarrels
5.Xiao Ji (Minor Luck) — auspicious; good fortune on the way
6.Kong Wang (Void) — inauspicious; no result
Work through the steps below to find which of the six your reading result lands on, then read its meaning above.
The Steps
Step 1: Hold out your left hand, palm up, and memorize the fixed order of the six positions.
The six positions run clockwise on your left hand:
Da An — Liu Lian — Su Xi — Chi Kou — Xiao Ji — Kong Wang (going clockwise)
Traditionally, "finger divination" means counting the month, day, and hour across these six positions; wherever you land is your deity.
Below is a faster formula that gives exactly the same landing point — so you can just use the formula instead of counting on your fingers.
Step 2: Take the month, day, and hour of the moment you ask, and turn them into numbers.
Important: the month and day must be based on the Chinese lunar calendar, not the Western (Gregorian) calendar.
*Not sure of the lunar date? You don't need to calculate it yourself. Most phone calendars (iPhone, Android) can display it — turn on the "Lunar" or "Chinese Calendar" option in your calendar settings. Or simply search online for a "lunar calendar converter" (or "Gregorian to Chinese lunar date"), enter your normal date, and it will give you the lunar month and day.
Example: it's currently June 7th, 10:50 PM (Gregorian), which corresponds to the 22nd day of the 4th lunar month, 10:50 PM.
• Month number: 4
• Day number: 22
• Hour number: 12
For the hour, use the table of the twelve traditional two-hour periods below. Note: the hour is based on your local clock time — it does not need any calendar conversion.
• Zi hour, 11 PM–1 AM → 1
• Chou hour, 1–3 AM → 2
• Yin hour, 3–5 AM → 3
• Mao hour, 5–7 AM → 4
• Chen hour, 7–9 AM → 5
• Si hour, 9–11 AM → 6
• Wu hour, 11 AM–1 PM → 7
• Wei hour, 1–3 PM → 8
• Shen hour, 3–5 PM → 9
• You hour, 5–7 PM → 10
• Xu hour, 7–9 PM → 11
• Hai hour, 9–11 PM → 12
(In this example, 10:50 PM falls in the Hai hour, so the hour number is 12.)
Step 3: Add the three numbers — month, day, and hour — together.
Example: 4 + 22 + 12 = 38.
The number total is: 38
Step 4: Apply the formula.
The formula is: (total number− 2) ÷ 6, and you take the remainder.
• First subtract 2: 38 − 2 = 36. (Why subtract 2? When counting on the fingers, the position where the "month" lands is then counted as "1" to begin counting the "day," and the same again for the "hour." Each handover skips one position, and two handovers skip two — so the formula subtracts 2 to account for this.)
• Then divide by 6 and take the remainder: 36 ÷ 6 = 6, remainder 0.
• Read the result from the remainder: the remainder tells you which of the six outcomes you get; if the remainder is 0, you take the 6th outcome.
In this example the remainder is 0, so it's the 6th outcome → Kong Wang (Void).
Your result: the matter you asked about corresponds to the sixth outcome — Kong Wang (Void): inauspicious; no result.
The beauty of Xiao Liu Ren is its speed — no tools, no pen and paper, just one hand and a few numbers to give that flicker of doubt an answer, anytime, anywhere.
But precisely because it's so quick and simple, Xiao Liu Ren is best for the small, immediate questions right in front of you.
For the choices that truly matter — whether to take that opportunity, whether to make that move, whether the timing for something is really ripe — you often need a deeper layer of casting and interpretation.
This is where Plum Blossom Divination excels.Drawn from the same I Ching roots, and likewise cast in the moment, Plum Blossom Divination reads the timing and the subtle signs surrounding your question to interpret the hexagram more fully — giving you not just "auspicious or not," but concrete guidance on whether to move forward or hold back, and when to act.
Book a Plum Blossom Divination consultation. Bring the question that won't leave you alone, write down what's on your mind, and let the Master use it as the starting point to find the answer that was already yours.