What are the twelve heavenly generals?
A Da Liu Ren plate has two rings of the twelve earthly branches: a fixed earth plate and a heaven plate turned by the month general and the hour. The twelve heavenly generals are a third layer. Each one stands on one seat and rides the heaven branch above it, so every branch on the plate carries a general.
Do not confuse them with the month general (月将), such as Tian Gang 天罡. The month general is the branch that turns the heaven plate. The twelve heavenly generals are figures laid on top once the plate stands. If the plate itself is new to you, start with what is Da Liu Ren.
- Heavenly general天将 tian jiang
- Also called: General
- One of the twelve figures laid on the plate. Each brings a traditional theme to the branch it rides.
- Noble One贵人 gui ren
- Also called: Tian Yi Noble
- The first and leading general. Where it sits decides where all the others go.
- Seat地盘 di pan, the earth plate
- One of the twelve fixed earth branches. A general stands on a seat and rides the heaven branch over it.
How are the twelve generals placed on the plate?
Placement takes four inputs the plate already has: the day stem, the hour branch, the turned heaven plate and the fixed order of the generals. These are the steps the free Da Liu Ren tool follows.
Find the Noble One's branch
Look up the day stem in the table below. It gives two branches, one for a day hour and one for a night hour.
Choose day or night
The hour of the question decides. In this tool the hours Mao 卯 to Shen 申, 05:00 to 16:59 on the clock, are day; the rest are night.
Find the seat
Find that branch on the heaven plate. The earth seat beneath it is where the Noble One stands.
Pick the direction
From a seat between Hai 亥 and Chen 辰 the generals run forward through the branch order; from a seat between Si 巳 and Xu 戌 they run in reverse.
Lay the other eleven
Put Serpent, Vermilion Bird, Six Harmonies and the rest on the following seats, one each, in the fixed order.
| Day stem | Day hours (Mao to Shen) | Night hours (You to Yin) |
|---|---|---|
| Jia 甲, Wu 戊, Geng 庚 | Chou 丑 | Wei 未 |
| Yi 乙, Ji 己 | Zi 子 | Shen 申 |
| Bing 丙, Ding 丁 | Hai 亥 | You 酉 |
| Ren 壬, Gui 癸 | Si 巳 | Mao 卯 |
| Xin 辛 | Wu 午 | Yin 寅 |
A general on a transmission is the one standing on the seat where that branch sits on the heaven plate. How the transmissions themselves are chosen is covered in the three transmissions.
Follow along with the free tool.
Try the Da Liu Ren toolWhy do other sources place the generals differently?
The order of the twelve is shared almost everywhere. The disagreements come earlier, in where the Noble One starts and which way the rest turn, so two calculators can lay the same moment out differently without either making an arithmetic slip.
| Question | What varies | This tool |
|---|---|---|
| Which branch is the Noble One's | Several verses circulate, and they disagree for some stems | The table above |
| When day ends | Fixed hour branches (Mao to Shen as day) or real sunrise and sunset | Mao to Shen is day, whatever the season |
| What sets the direction | Most texts go by the earth seat the Noble One stands on; books word it slightly differently | The seat: Hai to Chen forward, Si to Xu reverse |
| Names | Teng She 腾蛇 is also written 螣蛇; Xuan Wu 玄武 appears as 元武 in some Qing editions | 腾蛇 and 玄武. The result's transmission line prints these Chinese names; the labels that appear when you point at a seat on the plate use the English names in the next table |
What does each heavenly general stand for?
Each general has a home branch and an element, and tradition gives it a cluster of themes. Six are counted auspicious and six cautionary. That label is a starting tone, not a sentence: a cautionary general can be exactly what a question needs, and an auspicious one can point to excess.
| General | Home and element | Tone | Traditionally linked with |
|---|---|---|---|
| Noble One 贵人 | Chou 丑, Earth | Auspicious | Help from someone with standing, a fair hearing, things put in order |
| Serpent 腾蛇 | Si 巳, Fire | Cautionary | Worry, surprises, odd dreams, a situation that keeps shifting |
| Vermilion Bird 朱雀 | Wu 午, Fire | Cautionary | Messages, documents, exams, speech, and arguments that start with words |
| Six Harmonies 六合 | Mao 卯, Wood | Auspicious | Agreements, partners, go-betweens, marriage and deals |
| Hook Line 勾陈 | Chen 辰, Earth | Cautionary | Delay, entanglement, disputes, land and property |
| Azure Dragon 青龙 | Yin 寅, Wood | Auspicious | Money, gain, celebrations, and spending as well as earning |
| Sky Void 天空 | Xu 戌, Earth | Cautionary | Empty promises, things that come to nothing, staff and service |
| White Tiger 白虎 | Shen 申, Metal | Cautionary | Illness, injury and loss, but also roads, speed and decisive action |
| Great Constant 太常 | Wei 未, Earth | Auspicious | Food, clothing, ceremonies, rewards and steady routine |
| Dark Warrior 玄武 | Hai 亥, Water | Cautionary | Loss, theft and hidden dealings, and also quiet planning |
| Great Yin 太阴 | You 酉, Metal | Auspicious | Discreet help, privacy, women in the matter, things kept out of view |
| Heavenly Empress 天后 | Zi 子, Water | Auspicious | Grace, a wife or senior woman, care and favour |
Traditional readers also pair generals with kinds of question: the Azure Dragon for money, the Vermilion Bird for documents and exams, Six Harmonies and the Heavenly Empress for marriage, the White Tiger for illness and travel, and the Noble One for work and superiors. A pairing tells you where to look first, not what will happen.
Which generals ride the three transmissions in our example?
Every Da Liu Ren guide on this site uses one moment: 21 October 2026 at 10:30, Tokyo time, entered as the clock reads. The engine gives a Wu Chen 戊辰 day, the Si 巳 hour and the month general Chen 辰, Tian Gang 天罡. The four lessons behind it are set out in the four lessons.
Noble One's branch
The day stem is Wu 戊 and Si is a day hour, so the Noble One takes Chou 丑.
Seat
On this plate the heaven branch Chou sits over the earth seat Yin 寅, so the Noble One stands on Yin.
Direction
Yin lies between Hai and Chen, so the generals run forward: Serpent on Mao, Vermilion Bird on Chen, and on round the plate.
| Earth seat | Heaven branch above it | General |
|---|---|---|
| Yin 寅 | Chou 丑 | Noble One 贵人 |
| Mao 卯 | Yin 寅 | Serpent 腾蛇 |
| Chen 辰 | Mao 卯 | Vermilion Bird 朱雀 |
| Si 巳 | Chen 辰 | Six Harmonies 六合 |
| Wu 午 | Si 巳 | Hook Line 勾陈 |
| Wei 未 | Wu 午 | Azure Dragon 青龙 |
| Shen 申 | Wei 未 | Sky Void 天空 |
| You 酉 | Shen 申 | White Tiger 白虎 |
| Xu 戌 | You 酉 | Great Constant 太常 |
| Hai 亥 | Xu 戌 | Dark Warrior 玄武 |
| Zi 子 | Hai 亥 | Great Yin 太阴 |
| Chou 丑 | Zi 子 | Heavenly Empress 天后 |
Three transmissions and their generals
- First transmission: Mao 卯, over the Chen seat, Vermilion Bird 朱雀
- Middle transmission: Yin 寅, over the Mao seat, Serpent 腾蛇
- Final transmission: Chou 丑, over the Yin seat, Noble One 贵人
- Noble line in the free result: 丑 · 顺 (Chou, forward)
Read in order, tradition would describe a matter that opens with a message or a piece of paperwork, passes through a nervous or unsettled stretch, and ends with someone who has the standing to help. That is a theme to think with, set beside what you already know about the question.
Is a White Tiger or a Serpent a bad sign?
Not on its own. Tradition reads a general together with the branch it rides, the lesson or transmission it falls on and the question. The White Tiger that worries someone asking about health is the expected general for a question about a journey or a fast decision.
- Start with the general on the first transmission: it names the theme the matter opens with.
- Then follow the middle and final transmissions to see how that theme changes.
- Ask how the general fits your question, rather than what it predicts.
- Treat auspicious and cautionary as tone. Neither settles the answer.
Put the generals on your own plate
Pick a moment and a clear question, build the plate with the free Da Liu Ren calculator, and find the three generals on the transmissions first. For the whole method in one place, read the Da Liu Ren guide, or go back to what is Da Liu Ren if the plate is still unfamiliar.
Twelve heavenly generals: common questions
Where does the Noble One go on a Da Liu Ren plate?
Look up the day stem to get a day branch and a night branch, use the one that matches the hour, then find that branch on the heaven plate. The Noble One stands on the earth seat beneath it.
Do the twelve generals run clockwise or counter-clockwise?
It depends on the Noble One's seat. From Hai, Zi, Chou, Yin, Mao or Chen they run forward through the branch order, which is clockwise on the usual square plate. From Si to Xu they run in reverse.
Why does another calculator show different generals for the same moment?
Usually a different convention: another Noble One verse, another day and night boundary, or another rule for the direction. A different month general or hour moves the whole plate too. See the three transmissions for how the transmissions are picked.
Are the twelve heavenly generals the same as the month generals?
No. A month general, such as Tian Gang for Chen, names the branch that turns the heaven plate. The twelve heavenly generals are laid on the plate afterwards, one per seat.
Sources and scope
- Multifate Da Liu Ren tool: The plate, the Noble One table, the day and night hours and the direction rule this guide describes, as the tool calculates them.
- Da Liu Ren guide: The hub for the other Da Liu Ren articles on the plate, the lessons and the transmissions.
