Liushijiazi(六十甲子籤)

What Is the Sixty Jiazi Qian (六十甲子籤)

The Sixty Jiazi Qian is the most widely used oracle-slip (籤詩) system in Taiwan's Mazu temples, City God temples, and Wangye temples. A single slip shaken from the bamboo tube is the deity's answer, and each slip number corresponds one-to-one with the sixty jiazi ganzhi pairs, from 甲子 to 癸亥.

This slip corpus is not the property of any single deity — it is a common qianpu (籤譜) shared across many temples. So anywhere in Taiwan, the slip of a given number carries nearly the same verse; only each temple's interpretation (解籤) differs slightly.

Traditionally, after drawing a slip you must confirm with jiaobei whether it is truly the deity's answer. Only when shengjiao appears is the slip accepted — that is the formal process of asking the divine.

Anatomy of a Single Slip

Each slip consists of a ganzhi (干支), a Yijing hexagram (易經卦), a five-element direction (五行方位), a four-line seven-syllable verse (四句七言詩), and a hexagram-head precedent (卦頭典故). The sixty ganzhi from 甲子 to 癸亥 pair with the slip numbers, and sixty of the sixty-four hexagrams are allotted to the slips.

The five-element direction is a traditional annotation in a form like '屬金利秋 宜其西方' — marking the element, season, and direction favorable to that slip. The hexagram-head precedent is the old tale the slip alludes to — a scene from Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Investiture of the Gods, or traditional opera — a device for reading the verse against an event in history.

For example, slip No. 1 (甲子) opens with '日出便見風雲散' (the sun rises and wind and clouds scatter), paired with the Qian-weitian hexagram and the precedent of Judge Bao — carrying the promise that a blocked matter clears and a new start begins.

Slips Without Grades

The Sixty Jiazi Qian has no grading like the daikichi-to-daikyo ranks of Japanese omikuji. Fortune is read from the metaphor and the flow of the verse itself. The same slip can conclude differently depending on what is asked and the situation — that is the character of this system.

Temple interpreters (解籤人) also unfold the verse and precedent to fit the question's context, so readings of the same slip often diverge. Hence the Taiwanese saying: 'read the slip as a reference — the wording itself is not the final answer.'

Eight Slip Types (籤型)

This service divides the sixty slips into eight types by their character. 等待型 tells you to wait for the right time, 轉機型 marks a turning point, 放下型 tells you to let go of attachment.

守成型 says hold what you have, 累積型 says build step by step, 開創型 says start anew, 行動型 says move now, and 緣分型 points to human connection as the key. A slip type is not a grade — it is a signpost showing which way to read.

The Temple Custom of Extra Head Slips

Many temples add extra slips — 籤首, 籤王, 頭籤, 籤頭 — to the sixty base slips, operating with sixty-one or sixty-four. That is why Taiwan passes down the caution that the slip number alone is not enough: you must compare the verse of the slip you drew to confirm it belongs to the same corpus.

This service follows the published standard sixty base slips (甲子–癸亥). The original slip verses are public-domain classical texts, and the commentary was compiled by cross-checking materials published by the temples.

How to Draw — and the Right Attitude

Set your question, then draw. Read the slip's ganzhi, hexagram, verse, and precedent together — but rather than fixating on a single line's surface, the accurate reading looks at the flow the whole paints: is this a matter to stop now, to wait out, or to advance.

Even an unfavorable-looking slip is not a 'sentence of misfortune' — the traditional attitude reads it as a message to adjust timing and re-examine direction. The slip does not decide for you; it is closer to a lamp that lights your decision.

References

Liushijiazi (六十甲子籤) 60-slip standard canon — sexagenary stem-branch assignments (甲子~癸亥), 60 unique I Ching hexagram mappings (Shenku reference), five-element directions (屬X利Y 宜其Z方), four-line seven-character poems, historical allusions (戲曲典故) — cross-verified with Qianshi Wang (chance.org.tw), Taiwan Temple Network (temples.tw), and folk.tw Shenku

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Frequently Asked Questions

What Is the Sixty Jiazi Qian (六十甲子籤)?

The Sixty Jiazi Qian is the most widely used oracle-slip (籤詩) system in Taiwan's Mazu temples, City God temples, and Wangye temples. A single slip shaken from the bamboo tube is the deity's answer, and each slip number corresponds one-to-one with the sixty jiazi ganzhi pairs, from 甲子 to 癸亥.

Anatomy of a Single Slip?

Each slip consists of a **ganzhi (干支)**, a **Yijing hexagram (易經卦)**, a **five-element direction (五行方位)**, a **four-line seven-syllable verse (四句七言詩)**, and a **hexagram-head precedent (卦頭典故)**. The sixty ganzhi from 甲子 to 癸亥 pair with the slip numbers, and sixty of the sixty-four hexagrams are allotted to the slips.

Slips Without Grades?

The Sixty Jiazi Qian has no grading like the daikichi-to-daikyo ranks of Japanese omikuji. Fortune is read from the metaphor and the flow of the verse itself. The same slip can conclude differently depending on what is asked and the situation — that is the character of this system.

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