Chapter Seven: The Limitations of Multiple Judgments and the Ethics of Yi Practice

Although Qimen Dunjia can yield multiple judgments from a single chart, we must maintain both rationality and reverence.

7.1 The Resolution of Information

While holographic theory states that the part contains the whole, the "resolution" diminishes progressively.

• Close-up: The pressing matter at the moment of inquiry is clearest.
• Medium shot: Related current circumstances are fairly clear.
• Long shot: The distant past or future becomes blurred.
• Periphery: Information only tenuously connected to the querent (such as the cat belonging to the second uncle of the neighbor next door) can theoretically be read, but accuracy drops sharply because the signal is too faint.

7.2 The Skill and State of the Diviner

Multiple judgments from a single chart places exceedingly high demands on the diviner.

• Knowledge reserves: One must have thorough mastery of universal correspondences — an immense database in one's mind.
• Intuitive inspiration: At its highest level, Yi divination is a matter of "skill ascending into the Dao" (ji jin hu Dao), requiring flashes of inspiration (jifeng).
• Unity of mind and spirit: If the diviner's concentration wavers, they will fail to capture the faint holographic signals.

7.3 Ethics Before Skill

The ability to perceive another's private affairs (as multiple judgments from a single chart often can) does not mean one should speak of them.

• Know what to reveal and what to withhold: Inconsequential private matters, once perceived, should remain unspoken.
• Guide others toward the good: The purpose of divination is to pursue the auspicious and avoid the calamitous, not to show off one's skill. If misfortune is foreseen, one should offer guidance for resolution or mitigation, extend hope, and never sow panic.