How do Chinese chess divination, spiritual perception and religious services relate?

Chinese chess divination is a tool we use to understand problems, considered alongside spiritual perception. For me, the point is more than saying good or bad. We need to identify the issue so the person understands possible next directions and why we make those suggestions.

My spiritual perception was limited in the early days, so I studied the Yijing, Chinese chess and Tarot. With a friend who communicated with spirits, we tried answering the same client’s question separately, writing down spiritual messages and comparing them with the divination answer. The correspondence we found strengthened my belief that divination could help understand unseen matters without first learning spirit communication. This was my research experience, not independent scientific verification.

Chess-piece definitions are written before any piece is turned. Clients select pieces and can consult the meanings of single pieces and pairs to follow our interpretation. Some clients did not let us touch the pieces, selecting and turning them themselves, and still felt the reading matched their circumstances. What matters to me is a shared basis for interpretation, not a guarantee of correctness every time. Students build fundamentals through divination and may become more sensitive after long service, just as makeup artists gradually develop judgment through meeting many clients.

But spiritual perception, understanding a reading and being able to conduct religious services are not identical. Strong feelings still need judgment; turned pieces still need skilled questions and interpretation. Learning divination does not confer ability in every ritual, and not every problem should be called unseen interference. One agreement between two methods does not mean they can never be wrong afterward.

A friend who ran a photography company had little business for more than half a year. His reading showed a black horse and black elephant, a combination our school calls a wealth-robbing harmful influence. After we assisted him, work returned a little over a week later. When I shared the story one or two years later, he was still busy. This was a memorable religious-service experience, but the change before and after does not establish that all business resulted from the ritual. The company’s situation then also does not establish its situation today.

After finding direction, you still need to act in life. My early introductions to chess divination aimed to go beyond talking about fate, understand obstacles in work and relationships and consider adjustment. Some require changed ideas, some action, and some faith-based assistance. Matters do not resolve automatically when a reading ends. Fellow practitioners also specialize in the Yijing, Tarot, spiritual cards and character reading, each with methods and strengths. Using chess does not require dismissing every other tool.

Questions about deceased relatives also arose early on. Before my perception became as strong as later, a young girl asked about her mother. I interpreted the reading religiously and told her the mother was engaged in spiritual practice, which comforted her. This encouraged my study of how divination could help people. But it was her particular reading, not an answer applicable to every deceased person.

In actual service, we continue comparing perceptions with divination. If a feeling arises, we examine whether the reading agrees and what remains to confirm. During intervention we also check whether something needs completing. This is our way of staying careful, not proof that one agreement guarantees no future error.

I encountered spirit movement and spiritual cultivation very early. I could then practice my own energy but did not know how to identify or address the difficulties others brought me. Chess divination later gave me more direction. These two aspects help each other: personal practice matters, and understanding someone else’s situation involves its own learning.

Even after developing perception, I still use readings and spend time talking with clients when making judgments. Looking at the same arrangement helps us explain the interpretation clearly. Understand the problem before choosing an approach, rather than giving everyone the same procedure.

I also promote chess divination because people without spirit communication or spiritual perceptions can begin learning. If you can recognize the chess pieces, you have an entry point without first chasing unusual experiences. Other schools may use different systems, however; Sheng Zhen Men is not the only school practicing chess divination. A learned tool must be used to help people, not deceive them.

I am grateful to the deities for letting us help people through chess divination. It is a visible, learnable tool requiring accumulated knowledge and developed wisdom, rather than constant attention only to how much one senses or how powerful one’s spirit communication is. Learning sound judgment requires more work than endlessly following feelings.

The ground-disturbance case was a concrete example. Dao Xuan initially perceived the Nine Heavens Mysterious Lady, but a further chess reading indicated unfinished work. During another attempt, she perceived a phoenix addressing harmful earth influences, and we checked again with chess. This describes that religious-service process: feeling that a deity has arrived does not establish that everything is complete.

I also used chess to confirm which deity to ask for help in that case. In our faith, different deities represent different energies. We first need to understand the immediate need and seek suitable help, rather than stop thinking once a familiar deity’s name appears.

Images and feelings also need to be discussed. When Dao Xuan or YOYO perceives something, we explore together what may be right and what may be misunderstood. I find corresponding perceptions more useful as reference, but wisdom and judgment still matter. One feeling cannot be allowed to lead everything.

Clients sometimes already believe they have spirit interference while our reading does not indicate the same situation. Some ask about unusual sounds at home, and different cases receive different interpretations. We cannot simply follow a client’s conjecture or apply one method to everyone. Miao Nian also said she valued separating different problems for understanding rather than giving one answer to all.

When a listener’s own divination-block answer differed from our chess reading, I once said that, based on my professional understanding, I would place more trust in my reading. This concerned how we viewed unclear information on that occasion. It does not mean anyone holding chess pieces necessarily gives more accurate answers than other methods. Knowing how to ask and interpret remains essential.

In the early days, I also asked other spirit communicators, cast divination blocks and conducted my own reading, comparing the different answers. Agreement across all three made me consider the result worth reference. Even then, I kept questions open and continued judging. Cross-checking within faith supports caution; it cannot prove immunity from error.

I have shared that sometimes a particular piece appeared in my mind before turning and was then actually selected. This was a personal perception after long involvement with chess, but I explicitly said I did not deliberately seek it and did not know in advance every time. Learning should not measure divination ability by guessing the next piece. The tool has learnable definitions; unusual perceptions need separate consideration.

YOYO said everyone initially built fundamentals and learned by doing, not with the aim of spirit communication or special powers. I also reminded people that focusing only on gaining an ability might mean no amount of seeking brings it. Begin with learning and the wish to help. There is no need to demand seeing or hearing something before you even start.