{ "schemaVersion": "wenbu-knowledge-v1", "id": "guide-choose-a-tool", "slug": "choose-a-tool", "language": "en", "title": "BaZi, I Ching, tarot or Zi Wei: where should you begin?", "description": "Choose a tool by the question you have, the information you want to share and the symbolic system you want to learn.", "sections": [ { "heading": "To learn stems, branches and elements: BaZi", "paragraphs": [ "Begin with BaZi if you want to learn the relationship between stems, branches, elements and the Day Master. A birth date is required, while a known time adds the hour pillar. Its clear structure makes it possible to separate calculation from interpretation.", "Prepare a Gregorian birth date and the time zone at the birthplace; leave the hour unknown if necessary. Start with the example chart to recognize the four pillars before deciding whether to enter your own details." ] }, { "heading": "For a present question: I Ching or tarot", "paragraphs": [ "I Ching organizes a reflection through six yin-yang lines and their changes. Tarot uses card themes and spread positions. Neither needs birth information, so both can begin with a concrete question you have now.", "Choose I Ching if you prefer structures and changing relationships. Try tarot if images and narrative associations feel more accessible. Randomness selects the symbols; you remain responsible for what you infer and do." ] }, { "heading": "To explore palaces and stars: Zi Wei", "paragraphs": [ "Zi Wei Dou Shu offers twelve palaces and their stars. It requires a known birth time and usually takes longer to learn. Begin with the Life and Body palaces and the meaning of an empty palace before reading the relationships between them.", "Wenbu keeps palace and star names in Chinese for comparison with source texts. Begin by opening two palaces alongside the introductory guide. If your birth time is unknown, consider BaZi without an hour pillar or start with a conversation." ] }, { "heading": "Start with one question and one tool", "paragraphs": [ "Choose one tool, write one question and save one entry. Return later to note what helped, what did not fit and which action you took.", "Wenbu brings the four tools into a local journal, so you can compare your own reflections without creating an account to keep them." ] }, { "heading": "Still unsure? Start with a conversation", "paragraphs": [ "Open the Agent, choose “Not sure yet,” then “Help me frame a question.” You do not need to pick a tool or supply birth details. The guide creates an editable draft for you to review and send.", "For a learning goal, ask directly: “Explain the Ten Gods with one example,” or “Show me how to identify the upper and lower trigrams.” Finish that small task, then decide which tool you want to try." ] } ], "updated": "2026-09-30", "authorship": "Wenbu · AI-assisted editorial; no independent expert review claimed", "evidenceType": "editorial", "links": { "html": "https://wenbu.app/en/learn/choose-a-tool/", "markdown": "https://wenbu.app/knowledge/en/choose-a-tool.md", "json": "https://wenbu.app/knowledge/en/choose-a-tool.json" }, "outline": [ { "id": "quick-answer", "title": "The short answer" }, { "id": "section-0", "title": "To learn stems, branches and elements: BaZi" }, { "id": "section-1", "title": "For a present question: I Ching or tarot" }, { "id": "reference-table", "title": "Six starting points" }, { "id": "section-2", "title": "To explore palaces and stars: Zi Wei" }, { "id": "section-3", "title": "Start with one question and one tool" }, { "id": "section-4", "title": "Still unsure? Start with a conversation" }, { "id": "worked-example", "title": "Worked example: choosing a starting point for a job offer" }, { "id": "glossary", "title": "Key terms" }, { "id": "questions", "title": "Common questions" }, { "id": "sources", "title": "Sources and their scope" } ], "answer": "Choose by the task you want to complete. Conversation helps frame a question; Sourced research checks concepts. BaZi and Zi Wei let you study birth-chart structures, while tarot and I Ching provide symbolic perspectives on a current question. More symbols or detail do not establish better predictive accuracy.", "takeaways": [ "Decide whether you want to clarify a choice, learn a concept or explore a symbolic structure.", "Birth details are optional for several approaches. BaZi permits an unknown time; Zi Wei currently requires a known time.", "Start with one method. Several readings that resonate do not amount to independent confirmation." ], "figure": { "caption": "Four starting points that need no birth details", "description": "The cards select the first four approaches and an example request for each: Conversation, Sourced research, Three tarot cards and I Ching. None requires birth details. The complete table below includes all six approaches, adding BaZi and Zi Wei with their inputs and results." }, "table": { "title": "Six starting points", "columns": [ "Approach", "A useful first request", "Input and result" ], "rows": [ [ "Conversation", "Help me identify whether time, cost or communication is the main issue.", "A little context; a clearer question or a practical next step." ], [ "Sourced research", "Why does the BaZi year not simply change on January 1?", "A focused concept; an explanation within the available source collection." ], [ "Three tarot cards", "Draw three cards as perspectives on preparing this conversation.", "A current question; cards, orientations, positions and symbolic associations." ], [ "I Ching", "Help me understand the original and relating hexagrams for this question.", "A question; six lines and the changes produced by moving lines, if any." ], [ "BaZi chart", "Show me how to find the Day Master in this chart.", "Gregorian date and birthplace time zone; time may be unknown. Stems, branches and conventions." ], [ "Zi Wei chart", "Help me locate the Life Palace and Body Palace.", "Date, known local time and the traditional sex parameter. A twelve-palace structure." ] ] }, "example": { "title": "Worked example: choosing a starting point for a job offer", "intro": "You know the proposed salary and role but not the travel schedule. You care about regular hours and opportunities to learn, and prefer not to share birth details.", "steps": [ "Choose Conversation and ask: “Help me identify three things to confirm before accepting.” State your priorities rather than asking for a verdict on your future.", "Separate known terms from open questions. Salary may be documented, while travel frequency and mentoring are not. Drafting questions for the employer can close those gaps.", "If you want a visual prompt afterward, explicitly request three tarot cards and ask to keep the factual checklist separate. A work topic does not itself require a draw.", "If a card term interests you, turn it into a learning question: “Explain this traditional association and what the source does not establish.” A card meaning cannot verify the employer’s working conditions." ], "conclusion": "Leave with questions to ask the employer and, if useful, symbolic perspectives to reflect on. Update your decision when real information arrives." }, "faq": [ { "question": "Which approach is easiest for a beginner?", "answer": "Conversation needs the least preparation. Sample charts help you learn the layout; tarot suits visual exploration and I Ching introduces line structures. These are learning preferences, not accuracy rankings." }, { "question": "Can four methods validate one another?", "answer": "You can compare them, but shared context, broad wording or one interpreting model can produce similar conclusions. Preserve each result and its assumptions." }, { "question": "Can research read any website?", "answer": "Not currently. It searches Wenbu and a curated reference catalogue, with limited public excerpts from listed external pages." } ], "glossary": [ { "term": "Explore", "definition": "Clarify a question and use a calculation or draw when requested and relevant." }, { "term": "Research", "definition": "Find, read and compare sources for a focused explanation." }, { "term": "Symbolic interpretation", "definition": "An association used for reflection, distinct from external verification." } ], "sources": [ { "title": "Wenbu · Available starting points", "url": "https://github.com/Digidai/wenbu/blob/main/src/lib/agent-guidance.ts", "scope": "Supports the six approaches, required inputs and default suggestions. Task examples are editorial exercises." }, { "title": "Wenbu · Explore and research behavior", "url": "https://github.com/Digidai/wenbu/blob/main/worker/agent.ts", "scope": "Supports question clarification, requested tool use and the rules for research reports." }, { "title": "Wenbu · Research collection and reference access", "url": "https://github.com/Digidai/wenbu/blob/main/worker/agent-library.ts", "scope": "Supports the collection scope, restricted external URLs and excerpt-based reading." }, { "title": "lunar-typescript · calculation source and examples", "url": "https://github.com/6tail/lunar-typescript", "scope": "Further reading; not validation of real-world predictions." }, { "title": "Chinese Text Project · Book of Changes", "url": "https://ctext.org/book-of-changes", "scope": "Further reading; not validation of real-world predictions." }, { "title": "Project Gutenberg · The Illustrated Key to the Tarot", "url": "https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/43548", "scope": "Further reading; not validation of real-world predictions." }, { "title": "iztro · documentation and calculation conventions", "url": "https://iztro.com/quick-start", "scope": "Further reading; not validation of real-world predictions." } ] }