Close approach

Divinatory Pebbles (rde'u/ rdel)

• Pebbles were traditionally deployed in charts representing the diverse relationships formed by the elements, whether in the context of natal horoscope, or of divinations concerning marriage, obstacle years, ill-health, or death. Such pebbles include the "pebbles of recognition" (ngo bzung gi rdel) which would be green, red, yellow, white or blue, depending on the element they had to symbolise, and the "pebbles of conclusive analysis" (gtang gcod kyi rdel) which represent the actual elemental relationships: white for mother-, friend-, and identity-relationships of earth and water which are deemed to be positive, black for enemy-relationships and identity-relationships of fire, iron, or wood which are considered negative, and mottled for son-relationships that are deemed to be neutral. Nowadays, in the context of the schematic charts or grids, which are actually employed, the white pebbles are represented by circles and the black pebbles by crosses. In some complex calculations, the tally of the pebbles may leave a remainder, which do not fit within the grid. These so-called residual pebbles (rdel ro/ rde'u ro) are then positioned in the margin, eather to the left or right of the grid. See Part VI, pp. 000-000. GD (from the Glossary to Tibetan Elemental Divination Paintings)