Divination and Guidance
Are Chinese Chess Divine Guidance Cards only for divination, or can they support learning?
English translation draft · Based on the Chinese article. This is not a word-for-word translation approved by Master Shengyuan.
They can also prompt reflection on life and practice. After drawing a card, besides asking its meaning, consider how the principle relates to your current situation and what deserves further understanding or adjustment.
The cards use people, deities, Buddhas, and images to make meanings more approachable. After learning piece definitions, you can use them to consider directions and adjustments in situations. Do not merely remember good or bad and put the card away.
Miao Yuan shared that revisiting tarot’s major arcana involved entering the pictured situation and considering why people react that way, practicing understanding others. Seeing deities on these guidance cards also prompted reflection on their virtues and personal feelings. I agree with this exploration: actual tool use gradually accumulates learning.
However, exploration needs direction. Discuss with an experienced teacher whether understanding fits the card or has gone astray. Early on, I cross-referenced Chinese chess and tarot and found it interesting. But combining tools does not remove their separate definitions. What matters is learning and applying it in daily life.