Stilling死

Stilling is the eighth stage, where the outward motion that carried on through Resting comes to a halt. In the life story this is the scene where a life reaches its close, so the original name sounds heavy. What the stage depicts in this tradition, though, is pulling back from outside activity to become absorbed in thinking things through and putting them in order. Movement stops on the surface while thought carries on underneath, so the name is used for deep concentration on a single subject, an eye for substance over appearance, and a knack for clean endings.

• 死to pass away, the end of life (Korean reading: sa)

A life that has run its course: in the life story, the point where all movement comes to a halt.

Stilling sits seven seats from Sprouting, just after Resting, reached in branch order by yang stems and against it by yin stems. The seat lies directly opposite Bathing, and opposite branches belong to the same group of four. So for a yang Day Master, Stilling falls among the four branches that hold Peak for yang stems, and for a yin Day Master among the four that hold Peak for yin stems.

Stilling marks a seat where an idea, once grasped, gets turned over for a long time. Firming things up inwardly rather than displaying them, it is seen as finding strength in work that asks for persistence, such as research or record keeping, and sharing thoughts aloud helps them reach others. Several Stilling seats are a cue to tell taking a break apart from quitting. Where the stage does not appear, the plus is a lively readiness to act first.

A 庚 (Geng) Day Master reaches Stilling at 子 (Zi), directly across from 午 (Wu), its Bathing seat. The yin stem 辛 (Xin) counts backward and meets this stage at 巳 (Si), which is where 庚 finds Sprouting.

• A common idea

  A Stilling stage means something serious is about to happen.

  How we read it

  The worry exists because some readings shun the low-strength stages such as Stilling, Storing, and Severing. This service does not read Stilling as a sign of events or of how long anyone lives; it describes drawing back from activity to consolidate thought.

• A common idea

  Stilling is the end, with no climbing back.

  How we read it

  The twelve stages turn in a circle: after Stilling come Storing, Severing, Conceiving, and Nurturing, then Sprouting again. As this service shows, the same Day Master moves through other stages as the Luck Pillar branch changes.

A 甲 (Jia) Day Master meeting 午 (Wu) is at Stilling. Where yin stems are made to follow the yang direction, 乙 (Yi) reaches the same stage at 午. In this service 午 is the Sprouting seat of 乙, so the two methods read one branch in opposite ways.