Patrick Sia · Qimen Training · 奇门遁甲
Finding the Hidden Jia Why 甲 never shows on a Qimen chart, and how to find it
Your Day pillar says 甲, but the chart shows no 甲 anywhere. Nothing is wrong. Jia is hiding on purpose. Learn one simple formula and six memory pictures, and you'll find it every time.
1Why can't you find Jia?
There are ten Heavenly Stems, but a Qimen chart only ever shows nine of them. The missing one is always 甲 Jia.
Think of a general on a battlefield. Jia is the leader of the ten stems. A leader who stands in the open is the first target, so Jia always travels in disguise, hidden behind one of six loyal bodyguards: 戊 己 庚 辛 壬 癸. Wherever that bodyguard stands on the chart, Jia is standing right behind it.
The name says it all
"Dun Jia" 遁甲 means "hiding Jia". The whole art of Qi Men Dun Jia is named after this one idea.
Why it hides
庚 Geng is metal, like an axe, and 甲 Jia is a big tree. Metal chops wood, so Jia stays out of sight to stay safe.
Six groups of ten
The 60 date and time pillars form six groups of ten. Each group starts with a Jia, and each of those six Jia is given its own bodyguard.
2The formula
A pillar always has two characters: a stem on top and an animal (Earthly Branch) next to it. When the stem is 甲, the animal tells you which bodyguard Jia is hiding behind.
Pick a Jia pillar below, or tap a picture, to see where Jia is hiding.
Which Jia pillar do you have?
Six memory pictures
Each picture tells a tiny story that links the animal to its stem.
3A worked example
Say you open a chart for 17 October 2026 at 8:00 pm. M.Qimen shows these four pillars at the top:
- Spot the Jia. Two pillars start with 甲: the Day pillar 甲子 and the Hour pillar 甲戌. Look across the nine palaces and you won't find 甲 anywhere.
- Read the animal next to each Jia. The Day pillar has 子, the Rat. The Hour pillar has 戌, the Dog.
- Use the formula.
- Find the stand-in on the chart. Your Day Stem is now 戊, so the palace where 戊 is the bottom stem is your palace. The hour's Jia is standing behind 己.
Not a Jia? If your stem is any of the other nine, you can find it on the chart directly. You only need this formula when the stem is 甲.
4Try it yourself
Answer a few quick questions to lock the six pairs into memory.
Keen to learn more Qimen?
Hidden Jia is one of the first building blocks of reading a Qimen chart. Reach out to Patrick to learn the rest, from the nine palaces to reading a full chart, or to ask about the Free Beginner Series.
Using the NS Vocation Finder? Go back to Qimen NS Vocation Finder once you've found your stem.