The Lo Shu Magic Square (雒書, Luò Shū)

Probably more about the Lo Shu magic square than you were looking for. =P
This lecture will focus on theory and principles.
Timestamps:
00:19 Reviewing the diagram of the Lo Shu magic square
00:41 What is a “magic square”
00:58 Original representation of the Nine Palaces, the Temple of Light
01:40 Four Gates (and Four Faces) of the Temple of Light (Hall of Light)
02:58 Mathematics of the Lo Shu magic square
06:15 The magic sum 369, yin lines in the I Ching as 6, and yang as 9
07:13 What is the Lo Shu
07:47 The Lo Shu’s mythical origins
10:20 The 72 rulers of luck governing the Huang Tao (solar path)
11:32 King Wen reconciling the trigrams with the Lo Shu
12:19 The River Maps as maps of constellations (River = Milky Way)
12:52 The He Tu Diagram
14:22 The Lo Shu Diagram
15:11 Astronomical basis for the Wu Xing directional correspondences
16:03 Comparing the He Tu and Lo Shu diagrams
17:20 Simulation of the pathways of Light in the Temple of Light
18:01 An esoteric (apocalyptic) doctrine behind the Lo Shu
19:06 Review of the He Tu Lo Shu
19:22 Why the Lo Shu is a cornerstone in Taoist mysticism
20:13 Reserving discussion of the two Ba Gua arrangements
20:38 Why any philosophical, spiritual, or mystical path can benefit from study of the Lo Shu
***
Reference to a previous video mentioned at 00:17 is “What is the I Ching (Yijing) Book of Changes?” (at approx. the 6 min. mark) • What is the I Ching (Y...
Reference to a previous video mentioned at 13:40 is “Yarrow Stalk Divination: I Ching” (at approx. the 2-3 min. mark • Yarrow Stalk Divinatio...
Introduction to Buddhist-Taoist Mysticism (Playlist), • Introduction to Taoist...
***
If this video has inspired you to learn more, then check out my third book, I Ching, The Oracle, an updated translation of the I Ching with in-depth annotations, cultural and historical references, and related mystical practices. www.penguinrandomhouse.com/bo...
***
Benebell Wen
P. O. Box 20021
Castro Valley, CA 94546

[@BenebellWen]

For those who like timestamps... 😁 00:19 Reviewing the diagram of the Lo Shu magic square 00:41 What is a “magic square” 00:58 Original representation of the Nine Palaces, the Temple of Light 01:40 Four Gates (and Four Faces) of the Temple of Light (Hall of Light) 02:58 Mathematics of the Lo Shu magic square 06:15 The magic sum 369, yin lines in the I Ching as 6, and yang as 9 07:13 What is the Lo Shu 07:47 The Lo Shu’s mythical origins 10:20 The 72 rulers of luck governing the Huang Tao (solar path) 11:32 King Wen reconciling the trigrams with the Lo Shu 12:19 The River Maps as maps of constellations (River = Milky Way) 12:52 The He Tu Diagram 14:22 The Lo Shu Diagram 15:11 Astronomical basis for the Wu Xing directional correspondences 16:03 Comparing the He Tu and Lo Shu diagrams 17:20 Simulation of the pathways of Light in the Temple of Light 18:01 An esoteric (apocalyptic) doctrine behind the Lo Shu 19:06 Review of the He Tu Lo Shu 19:22 Why the Lo Shu is a cornerstone in Taoist mysticism 20:13 Reserving discussion of the two Ba Gua arrangements 20:38 Why any philosophical, spiritual, or mystical path can benefit from study of the Lo Shu

[@getsmartquick]

Saturn square

[@getsmartquick]

Dragon tortoise tiger and phoenix remind me of Taurus Leo Scorpio and Aquarius. Man this stuff is trippy

[@artistlovepeace]

I believe you @BenebellWen

[@InternetSumerian-le6rp]

Interesting reading this bit of info: While there are 2x2x2, or eight, trigrams. 2 to the exponential power of 3. Then there are 2x2x2x2x2x2 , or 64, hexagrams. 2 to the exponential power of 6.

[@abrazor]

Wow. Been working with I Ching most of my life and yet this is the first time I have had Luo Shu explained so well. Invaluable. Thank you.

[@lessonlearner9788]

Oh wow this is like a very in-depth study of the Lo Shu magic square, I’m very interested in how to apply all of this knowledge. Love this new series

[@taipei2pa]

Benebell Wen, your breadth of knowledge on this topic is nothing short of Master Class 👏🏻

[@OolongTeaGreen]

This was the best explanation of these concepts that I've seen. For years after I first saw it I didn't realize it was a magic square.

[@ifoundthistoday]

this has got to be one of the most instructive videos I've seen - thx !!

[@matthewhern1462]

You explain this in the best possible way. Thank you for sharing your deep knowkedge and wisdom!

[@jamesgiron5187]

Such an incredible video.... This deserves to be seen by the entire world and receive the credit and respect it commands... Thank you!

[@libanduale29]

Your videos are also so amazing. Thankyou 🙏🏾

[@panslamjolliff5051]

I just wanna say that I sincerely appreciate the work that you're doing. Thank you.

[@in80sblues]

Thank you for making these videos Benebell. They are very helpful. ⭐️

[@renatamcstay]

So amazing! So much learning in such a short time. Thank you for sharing. Kia ora

[@hybridmovementpractice]

"when the student is ready..." Thank you dear sister scholar 🙏

[@nemesisurvivorleon]

best channel. amazing depth.

[@mauricejones5962]

I have already preordered the I Ching Oracle book by you. 😍 It's my most anticipated book of the year. Please recommend a further reading list on the subject of the Lo Shu. 🙏

[@manuelsamperio8559]

I noticed that while looking at the He Tu and Lo Shu squares I noticed that the He Tu sort of looks like the symbol of Jupiter and the Lo Shu matches the Saturnian Sigil/magic square and that their meanings also match. That makes the narrative that the more we use magic to control nature (Lo Shu style), the closer we get to a mechanized/computing dead world (Saturnian) make even more sense.

[@explosivetwist]

there's another video about magic squares kzbin.info/www/bejne/hV64lnd5ZdOtidUsi=Yj-gph4yg2iqNx_u that explains what you're describing. the lo shu is indeed destructive in other magical systems, while the he tu is productive. it's expressed in the clockwise and counter clockwise spinning (german ww2 symbol).

[@BradStephensonPlus]

The similarities are super interesting.

[@scholarwarriorhealer]

I am a Wangs water taiji practitioner. Created by Wang Zhuang Hong by fusing XingYi Bagua and Yang style taiji. 5 element 8 directions 13 stances 8 gates 5 steps. I am convinced that taiji is a way to interact with the fifth force and quantum mechanics which I believe to be consciousness. To square the circle and circle the square. Utilizing lines and curves to interact with our bio electrical magnetic torus field. Taiji is an internal alchemical tool to become one with wuji. Thank you for your Barney style break down of these ancient complex topics. These teachings are all I have being Native American tribal member and a descendant of the 季 clan. Your books will be a great tool to expand and expound on the mystery teachings to help make the world a better place.

[@jessicafisher1112]

This channel and these teachings have been the exact thing that my soul has been searching for and DNA desire to gain a comprehensive understanding of as much as I possibly can is a driving force that cannot be explained with words. Nor can I convey the amount of gratitude that I have for content like this along with each and every beautiful majestic spiritual being that I cross paths with along this journey ❤ Thank you for being who you are

[@missrachelreads__]

Fascinating video. I've learnt so much. Thanks for sharing all your knowledge in well crafted videos and I look forward to the one on trigrams. :)

[@InternetSumerian-le6rp]

It can be broken down even further to the most basic unit this way: 0 & 1. the i chings solid and broken lines can all be represented by binary. 0 and 1 if represented as units of the most minimal unit of data, such as 2 pixels on a computer screen = 2. furthermore, 2+2+2 = 6. the number 2x2x2, so exponential powers of 2...= 8 which is the 8 trigrams. 2x2x2x2x2x2 = 64. also, there are four seasons and the 64 hexagrams can be divided in to four sections.. four segments of 16 hexagrams. 4x4 = 16. 4x4x4= 64. thank you for the info, i practiced sahaja meditation while thinking about this introduction for a while and it is fundamental as an introduction to this topic as a whole

[@aniquehable]

Writing a fictional biography set in South Africa across multiple timelines, and this is where I was lead to. ❤ thank you for the inspiration

[@TaichiOsorno]

Great video.. so much work, thank you!!

[@foreston8557]

gonna have to watch this more than a few times. thank you 👉⚡

[@tripletsplaytime]

Mine was spot on. Has become one of my favorite spreads

[@williamrutherford9997]

So grateful for your information!!!!

[@bluelilacfawn]

thorough as always, my inner math nerd is wagging its tail. p.s. love the wednesday addams cosplay

[@BenebellWen]

Lol. I braid my hair when it hasn't been washed and really needs to be. 😂

[@joselozano7585]

Love your videos. Thanks

[@yogisage]

Also i think os related to the Eneagram, from the old Babylonian system from which Gurdjieff extracted the genius Eneagram system. A magic square with 9 numbers is linked to the mathematical number 9, which has magical valences, considering that nothing is 1, but more like a 0.9999999. Also, Yin and Yoang is 1 = yang and 2 = yin and Zero = the void, or the Thing that Emanate Yin and Yang, The Yin And Yang symbol is contain in a Circle and the Circle is the Occult Invisible Creator. So is a Trinity, not a duality, never was.

[@brokeheartwolf3733]

Chinese Taoist Martial Artists also use this pattern for physical practice🙏

[@adambeecroft9305]

How is it used in physical practice

[@brokeheartwolf3733]

@@adambeecroft9305 you pick 9 moves. Ea move represents one number. Follow the linking. At first 1-9 then reverse 9-1. You can jump just walk, spin, run. Sometimes They will do it for rituals too. Can be traced on palm to access various energies… But description here just a general overview.

[@OolongTeaGreen]

@@adambeecroft9305 lookup Bagua Zhang 9 palace circle stepping for a use of this pattern in Chinese martial arts.

[@Lunamoonfang]

Searching trying to find lotto answers and I end up here... :D This is soo mind blowing.. I tried to use the Lo Shu Calculator and guess what? My missing numbers are 2, 7, and 5.. Actually resonates with me. Chinese are so lucky with their ancestors.. No wonder a lot of Chinese people are rich and successful businessmen.

[@jaimes7966]

Is it a coincidence that the seal of Saturn from Cornelius Agrippa’s Three Books of Occult Philosophy resembles the LuoShu? Amazing work as always.

[@meiliyinhua7486]

While I normally appreciate a little bit of mystical thinking, the amount of amazement at the result at 5:47 was genuinely baffling to me... like, don't get me wrong, the earlier result at 4:00 where every row was a magic square wasn't super obvious from first glance (although I'm not shocked that replacing (1...9) with (n, 9+n,...,7*9+n, 8*9+n) also results in this property, and can probably be generalized easily), and was kinda cool But... I wouldn't even have to look to know that this construction had all the original 9 gates in the same position in their respective squares. You've placed them all in the minimum position in their row, all the minimum positions get mapped to the center bottom square in each construction, and then placed all the squares corresponding to each gate... If they didn't all end up there I'd wonder what went wrong To then compare that to quantum theory seems just absolutely wild to me

[@lisanicolesarkisian4636]

Amazing amazing! Thanks.

[@aliakhtar6079]

Thank you for a great video on the charts benebell, I was wondering how would one use the he tu or lo shu as a meditation practice? would be an awesome video for that 🙏

[@brokeheartwolf3733]

Have a great Water Rabbit Year, B.🐰

[@mrpo3496]

Can you consider writing a book about Qi men dun jia divination? I think the divination focus on the magic square.

[@Didarsinggh]

WOWWWW It's Amazing

[@eaenki449]

Coming from the western hermetic tradition, it occurs to me that the Lo-Shu is Saturn, as it is the same magic square and sigil. It then seems that the He Tu is Jupiter, which is the counterpoint to Saturn mythologically. The glyph created in He Tu is very much in line with the alchemical symbol for Jupiter, looking like a 4. My question is if there are more of these types of alignments throughout the Chinese system, as in the Hermetic system there is one magic square for each planet. As I mentioned, the Lo-Shu square is exactly like the magic square of Saturn, but then the magic squares get increasingly complex for each planetary body, ending at the magic square of the moon which makes a sum of 369 in each direction. I am therefore hoping that there would be these types of diagrams from China that would correspond to each planet (and perhaps the sun and moon as well), do you know if this might be true?

[@explosivetwist]

so how do we work with the 72 spirits to benefit our persona luck? is it done through the use of the 64 trigrams? thank you.

[@hagbardc623]

Thank you very much for putting this together it is pure meta- Gold and much more than I could have imagined! and keeping it rather hidden or esoteric, it took me a while to find it, as it should be. That is so interesting what you point our about the compass and the square and its congruency to Masonic lore. I've always said that the those tools represent Yin/Yang polarity in the Hermetic system. I look forward to learning more about the King Wen sequence but this is a great start! Thanks again, deep bow and salute. 🙏

[@tristate0mind]

Wonderful concise summery ^_^ Yu Da WuMan 😉

[@williamkauffman5745]

🙏

[@dnunez773]

Excellent insights! Tarot Astrology Metaphysics Mysticism and other spiritual technologies are most intriguing...

[@crazypikachucrcr7529]

BENEBELL REALLY LOOKS GOOD IN TRDATIONAL WITCH -BLACK

[@davidp605]

My mind is blown

[@dth92301]

Wonderful video thanks, I am sharing with like minded friends. ☯️ ☯️ ☯️. Seeing connections with Tarot so I had to buy Holistic Tarot. Soon I will have all your books. Love that you share this deep wisdom.

[@fgsf9]

What number is lo shu ....10 ?? Like the sephorite in da kabbala?

[@Spectre2434]

A Chinese doctor taught meditating (fixating) on the square

[@Spectre2434]

Isn't the square used with the hand mudras to draw sigils I'm the air ?

[@BenebellWen]

For sure!

[@fgsf9]

Deep he tu looks like a number 4 deep because in every language 4 represents numbers that's not usually positive in German 4 means fear in Chinese for si it's like number for has this association with death but it's not just that it really has an association with the natural laws of flow

[@getsmartquick]

I love it when eastern and western spirituality merge that is lovely ps nice hairstyle what inspired it

[@crazypikachucrcr7529]

She, means the Dynasty is at War ,same people Different families . A Mongolian is a oriental and Chen is Oriental some times both Han Mandarin language .☯️⚡🐉🇨🇳❤🌌☮🦇

[@lunassr7212]

most important because have link same to Mis Shu or 7 star 6000 BCE. draw of astronomi all where human in Galaxy Milky Way

[@islandbuoy4]

Benebell Wen .. could you confirm that the 'lei wen' is known as the 'swastika' in the west?

[@vrixphillips]

seems like Fuxi wanted to be in harmony with nature, while King Wen wanted to dominate it... and now that we're facing climate destruction it might be a good time to return to Fuxi's earlier heaven... or it might be (usually is) more complicated than that.

[@BradStephensonPlus]

Those glyphs and coins at 18:05 look remarkably like celestial alphabets and Solomonic sigils used in Western occult practices. And the 72 spirits seem way too similar to the 72 angels and 72 Goetic demons to be a coincidence. 🤔

[@w.adammandelbaum1805]

The low shoe is not as good as a high boot in the snow...Tse Tse Fly...ancient sorcerer who when asked how many forms of magic he practiced answered, "Only a fu." 对不起

[@crazypikachucrcr7529]

I KNOW ABRAM IS KNOWN FOR GOING WEST SO LEFT FROM THE FAR EAST . POINT ; TOOK THE SAME STORY BENEBELL IS TELLING ON THIS VLOG. AND THIS IS THE BEGGINING OF THE TRADITIONAL HOLY BIBLE::( FU ZI TIAN LIA)🦇🦇☯☯🀄🀄

[@KOl-xj4jt]

su cai fen xu kun fu tai fu