# Da Liu Ren timing: when will it happen?

> Da Liu Ren timing names branches, not dates: the first and final transmissions, an empty branch filled, and each harmony and clash, on one example plate.

Canonical page: https://multifate.com/guides/daliuren/timing
Language: English. Content reviewed: 2026-10-20.
Also available in: [中文](https://multifate.com/zh/guides/daliuren/timing/index.md), [日本語](https://multifate.com/ja/guides/daliuren/timing/index.md), [한국어](https://multifate.com/ko/guides/daliuren/timing/index.md)

Da Liu Ren timing answers "when" with earthly branches. Start from the three transmissions: the first shows when the matter stirs, the final when it settles. A transmission in an empty branch waits to be filled, and the branches that harmonise or clash with each transmission mark when it is set moving.

**Key points**

- Da Liu Ren timing stops at an earthly branch: a day, month or year of that branch, not a ready date.
- Candidates come from four rules: the first transmission, the final transmission, an empty branch filled, and each harmony and clash.
- For 21 October 2026, 10:30 the candidates are 卯 Mao and 丑 Chou, plus Xu, You, Hai, Shen, Zi and Wei.
- Whether a branch means a day or a month is read from the first transmission against the year, month, day and hour.
- The free result shows no timing; the complete reading, written for a question you ask about the chart, names the rule and the branch.

## How does Da Liu Ren read timing?

Timing (应期, ying qi) is the "when" of a Da Liu Ren question. The plate points to a few earthly branches taken from the [three transmissions](https://multifate.com/guides/daliuren/three-transmissions), and the matter is read as stirring or showing its shape on a day, month or year of those branches.

1. **Look at the first transmission**: The first transmission taken (发用) is where the matter starts to move, so its branch is read as the time things begin to stir.
2. **Look at the final transmission**: The final transmission is where the matter settles. Its branch is read as the time the outcome becomes clear.
3. **Check the empty branches**: A transmission that falls in the empty branches (旬空) of the day is not yet solid. It waits until that branch is filled or the ten-day group moves on.
4. **Find each harmony and clash**: Every transmission has one branch it harmonises with and one it clashes with. A day or month of those branches is when the matter is drawn in or knocked loose.

![Where Da Liu Ren timing is read: the plates, four lessons, and the three transmissions Mao, Yin and Chou with their generals](https://multifate.com/images/guides/daliuren/figures/daliuren-chart-anatomy-en-v1-1200x608.webp)

Timing candidates come from the third layer only, the three transmissions, together with the empty branches\. Here the first is 卯 Mao, the middle 寅 Yin and the final 丑 Chou\.

## Which four rules give the timing candidates?

The complete reading draws on the same four rules for every plate. The rule names are the traditional ones.

*The four timing rules*

| Rule | Branch it takes | How the tradition reads it |
| --- | --- | --- |
| First transmission taken (发用) | The branch of the first transmission | The matter starts here; things stir when this branch comes round |
| Final transmission (末传) | The branch of the final transmission | The matter settles here; the outcome is clearer on this branch |
| Empty branch filled (空亡填实) | A transmission that sits in the empty branches | Not solid yet; it becomes real once the branch arrives or the ten-day group ends |
| Meeting a harmony or a clash (逢合逢冲) | The six-harmony partner and the clash of each transmission | A harmony draws the matter in, a clash shakes it loose; either can set it moving |

The six harmonies pair the branches as Zi and Chou, Yin and Hai, Mao and Xu, Chen and You, Si and Shen, Wu and Wei. A clash is the branch directly opposite: Zi and Wu, Chou and Wei, Yin and Shen, Mao and You, Chen and Xu, Si and Hai.

Only the six harmonies count here, not the three-branch harmonies, so three transmissions give six such candidates, and some may repeat.

## Worked example: timing for 21 October 2026, 10:30

All the Da Liu Ren guides on this site share one plate. Its three transmissions are 卯 Mao with the Vermilion Bird, 寅 Yin with the Serpent and 丑 Chou with the Noble One.

> **The example plate**
>
> Cast: 21 October 2026, 10:30 Tokyo time
> Day Wu Chen (戊辰), hour Si (巳), month general Tian Gang (辰)
> Plate pattern Yuan Shou
> The day falls in the Jia Zi group, so 戌 Xu and 亥 Hai are empty

*Timing candidates for the example plate*

| No. | Rule | From | Branch |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | First transmission taken | First transmission 卯 | 卯 Mao |
| 2 | Final transmission | Final transmission 丑 | 丑 Chou |
| 3 | Harmony | First transmission 卯 | 戌 Xu |
| 4 | Clash | First transmission 卯 | 酉 You |
| 5 | Harmony | Middle transmission 寅 | 亥 Hai |
| 6 | Clash | Middle transmission 寅 | 申 Shen |
| 7 | Harmony | Final transmission 丑 | 子 Zi |
| 8 | Clash | Final transmission 丑 | 未 Wei |

None of Mao, Yin or Chou is Xu or Hai, so the empty-branch rule adds nothing and the plate has eight candidates. Mao and Chou carry the main line; the other six are supporting clues. The complete reading usually picks the strongest candidate and reads that one, most often the final transmission.

![Example plate: heaven Mao over Chen with the Vermilion Bird, Yin over Mao with the Serpent, Chou over Yin with the Noble One](https://multifate.com/images/guides/daliuren/figures/daliuren-generals-ring-en-v1-1200x608.webp)

A clash sits straight across the plate: heaven Mao stands in the Chen seat, and You, its clash, in the Xu seat opposite\. Timing looks at the branch only, not at the general it carries\.

## What if a transmission falls in an empty branch?

The empty branches are the two branches the ten stems of the current ten-day group do not reach. A transmission that lands in one is read as not yet solid: the matter waits until it is filled, when that branch comes round, or until the days leave the group. The example plate has no such case, but a cast earlier the same day does.

> **Another cast on the same day**
>
> Cast: 21 October 2026, 01:30 Tokyo time; Wu Chen day, Chou hour; month general Tian Gang (辰)
> Pattern Yao Ke, the slingshot; transmissions 亥 Hai, 寅 Yin, 巳 Si
> Empty branches 戌 Xu and 亥 Hai (Jia Zi group); the first transmission Hai is empty
> Candidates: first transmission Hai, final transmission Si, empty branch filled at Hai, plus Yin and Shen from harmony and clash

Check it on a calendar. The Jia Zi group ends on 26 October (癸酉); from 27 October (甲戌) a new group begins and Hai is no longer empty, and 28 October (乙亥) is the first Hai day after that. By the tradition, that is when this transmission leaves the void and is filled. Empty does not mean it fails.

## Does the timing mean a day, a month or a year?

A branch carries no unit: Mao can be a Mao day, a Mao month or a Mao year. The timing verse in volume three of the Liuren Daquan (六壬大全) first asks how the first transmission relates to the year, month, day and hour of the cast.

*Timing verse, Liuren Daquan volume three, against the example*

| Line | What it says | Example plate |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 用起太岁一年中 | First transmission is the year branch: within the year | 2026 is Bing Wu, year branch 午; no |
| 斗建发时当月见 | First transmission is the month branch: within the month | Between Cold Dew and Start of Winter the month branch is 戌; no |
| 传辰旬内应期详 | First transmission is the day branch: within ten days | Day branch 辰; no |
| 用日克期在朝晚 | First transmission is the day stem's lodging palace: the same day | Wu lodges at 巳; no |
| 得时不出八刻中 | First transmission is the hour branch: within eight ke, about two hours | Hour branch 巳; no |

Mao matches none of these, so the verse gives no ready range. A note in volume seven says the year, month, day and hour can all serve as timing.

When the verse does not fit, practitioners usually go by the scale of the matter: days for something due within days, months for a matter of months, years beyond that. Schools differ, and the free calculator does not choose a unit for you.

> **The example on a calendar (worked by hand, not calculator output)**
>
> Final transmission Chou: Chou days are 30 Oct (丁丑) and 11 Nov (己丑); the Chou month starts at Minor Cold, 5 Jan 2027
> First transmission Mao: Mao days are 1 Nov (己卯) and 13 Nov (辛卯); the Mao month starts at Awakening of Insects, 6 Mar 2027

> **Tip** For timing months, the month changes at the solar term that opens it, so the Mao month starts at Awakening of Insects. The month general changes at the middle solar term instead, so keep the two apart. [Da Liu Ren month general](https://multifate.com/guides/daliuren/month-general)

## Where does Multifate show the timing?

The [free Da Liu Ren calculator](https://multifate.com/tools/daliuren) casts the plates, four lessons, three transmissions, Noble One and plate pattern. The complete reading goes through the pattern, the class god, the transmissions and the timing. The chart is free; AI questions have separate limits.

> **What the tool shows** The free result shows no timing; the complete reading names the timing rule and branch, never a date. To read a whole chart in order, see the guide below. [How to read a Da Liu Ren chart](https://multifate.com/guides/daliuren/how-to-read-a-daliuren-chart)

Timing reads best beside the class god and the pattern: the same final transmission Chou lands differently for a money question and a work question. See [Da Liu Ren class gods](https://multifate.com/guides/daliuren/category-spirits) for how the class god is chosen and [Da Liu Ren lesson patterns](https://multifate.com/guides/daliuren/lesson-patterns) for how a matter begins. For the whole system, start at the [Da Liu Ren guide](https://multifate.com/guides/daliuren).

> **Where the reading stops** Timing is a traditional reading of the plate: it says when a matter tends to show its shape, not that an outcome is promised. It does not replace a doctor, a lawyer or a financial adviser.

## Da Liu Ren timing: common questions

### Can the free calculator tell me the exact date?

No. The free result shows no timing, and the complete reading names a branch, not a date. To land on actual days, look the branch up yourself as shown above.

### There are so many candidates. Which comes first?

Start with the first and final transmissions: the first is where the matter starts, the final where it settles. The harmony and clash branches are supporting clues. The complete reading usually reads only the strongest one, most often the final transmission.

### If a transmission is empty, will it fail?

The tradition does not read it that way. Empty means not yet solid; look again when the branch is filled or the ten-day group ends. In the 01:30 cast on 21 October, Hai is empty, the group changes on 27 October and 28 October is a Hai day.

### Why do other sites give different timing for the same moment?

Timing comes from the transmissions, and those depend on when the month general changes and how She Hai is counted, which differ by school. Change the transmissions and the candidates change. Schools also choose the unit differently.

## Sources and scope

- [Multifate Da Liu Ren tool](https://multifate.com/tools/daliuren): The plates, four lessons, three transmissions and pattern of the example, from the same engine.
- [Da Liu Ren sample reading](https://multifate.com/sample/daliuren): A complete reading for one question, showing how the timing part names its rule and branch.
- [Liuren Daquan (六壬大全), volume three (Wikisource)](https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E5%85%AD%E5%A3%AC%E5%A4%A7%E5%85%A8/3): The timing verse quoted above, with its commentary, in the original Chinese.
- [Liuren Daquan (六壬大全), volume seven (Wikisource)](https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E5%85%AD%E5%A3%AC%E5%A4%A7%E5%85%A8/7): The Yuan Shou section, whose note says the year, month, day and hour all serve as timing.
- [Hong Kong Observatory: The 24 Solar Terms](https://www.hko.gov.hk/en/gts/time/24solarterms.htm): The order of the solar terms, used to find where the Mao and Chou months begin.

## Continue with Da Liu Ren

- [Try the Da Liu Ren tool](https://multifate.com/tools/daliuren)
- [Da Liu Ren lesson patterns and how to spot each](https://multifate.com/guides/daliuren/lesson-patterns/index.md)
- [Da Liu Ren class gods (lei shen) by question](https://multifate.com/guides/daliuren/category-spirits/index.md)
- [Da Liu Ren month general and how the plate turns](https://multifate.com/guides/daliuren/month-general/index.md)
- [How to read a Da Liu Ren chart, layer by layer](https://multifate.com/guides/daliuren/how-to-read-a-daliuren-chart/index.md)
- [Twelve heavenly generals of Da Liu Ren: meanings](https://multifate.com/guides/daliuren/twelve-generals/index.md)
- [Three transmissions in Da Liu Ren: how they form](https://multifate.com/guides/daliuren/three-transmissions/index.md)
- [All Da Liu Ren articles](https://multifate.com/guides/daliuren)
- [Fortune telling guides: BaZi, tarot and more](https://multifate.com/guides/index.md)

These guides describe traditional symbolic frameworks and the current Multifate tools, not verified predictions. The chart tools are free; optional AI questions have separate limits. Check the pricing page for current terms. Interpretations do not replace medical, legal, financial or safety advice.