Nayin 纳音 · sound element #13 of 30
Fire born inside water: a discharge, not a flame — enormous, instantaneous, and impossible to sustain.
| Term 纳音 | 霹雳火 — Thunderbolt Fire (pi li huo) |
|---|---|
| Element of the image | 火 Fire |
| Pillars it covers | 戊子、己丑 — Wuzi and Jichou (pair #13 of 30) |
盖气在一阳，形居水位，水中之火，非神龙则无，故曰霹雳火
Why the name: the qi is in the first yang and the form sits in the seat of water; fire in the middle of water is not to be had without the divine dragon; hence Thunderbolt Fire.
霹雳火者，一缕毫光，九天号令，电掣金蛇之势，云驱铁马之奔
Thunderbolt Fire: a single thread of fine light, the command of the ninth heaven; the force of a golden snake whipping out, the rush of iron horses driven on cloud.
Zi and Chou are deep-winter water. A fire seated in water is a contradiction, and the derivation says so outright: 水中之火，非神龙则无 — fire within water does not exist except by way of the divine dragon.
So this fire is not read like the others. San Ming Tong Hui: 此火须资风水雷方为变化 — it needs wind, water and thunder to transform, and getting even one of the three makes it work. Where every other fire wants fuel, this one wants conditions.
Sources: 《三命通会》 (San Ming Tong Hui, Ming dynasty, 万民英) — chapters 论纳音取象 and 释六十甲子性质吉凶. Both passages above are quoted from a local plain-text edition and checked character by character by a test before this page can ship. Translations are ours.
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Open the chart calculator →炉中火 Fire in the Furnace · 山头火 Hilltop Fire · 山下火 Fire at the Foot of the Hill · 覆灯火 Lamp Flame · 天上火 Fire in the Sky · all thirty →