The TONG SHU Online is designed to make it particularly easy to:

•	Read the over-all quality of QI for the day in question.

•	Find the best times for planning activities and rest.

•	Make the best energetic use of times available.

The daily page displays twelve astrological and calendric cycles, some of prominent importance, others more limited in strength of influence, or narrower in use. A system of Dots (in red and black) indicates the quality of QI through each of the cycles. Red indicates that the QI is bright, flowing, and favorable to activity. Black indicates that the QI is soft, still, and favorable to inactivity.

	Most Favorable to Action
	Favorable to Action
	Neutral to Action
	Adverse to Action
	Most Adverse to Action

Looking over the page, one can see the over-all "brightness" or "darkness" of the QI of the day. Using the Date-Book daily, one can see the patterns of QI as they shift and transform, and gradually learn to read their meanings and influences, particularly as they relate to one's own experience and MING.

The best instruction in the use of any Tong Shu comes through long-term comparison of the daily notations with one's own daily experiences. However, as a starting point with the TONG SHU Online, or as a technique for quick reference to each day, the following steps are suggested:

1.

Note the Dots for the LUNAR LODGE and SOLAR INDEX: (Above and below the western-calendar date for the day.)These are principle cycles for the day, as they influence everyone fairly equally, and are broad in their range of concerns. The LUNAR LODGE can be viewed as a basic energy "signature" of the day, descriptive of the day's temperament and "atmosphere." The SOLAR INDEX is an indicator of how much (and in what ways) the day's energy can be put to use.

2.

Scan the FAVORABLE and ADVERSE activities. Some listings are more suggestive than exact, and can be read with creativity. An item can be indicated in more than one cycle. When it shows up twice or three times in the list, then the indication is much stronger. When it shows up in both FAVORABLE and ADVERSE lists, the cycles disagree, and the activity may proceed with balance, but also with higher internal tension (rather like driving with the parking brake on!)

3.

Note the "bright" (red) and "dark" (black) hours on the Hours-Page: "Dark" hours are particularly good for rest and recuperation; activities which fall in them go best if dealt with lightly, and with lower expectations. "Bright" hours can be used more energetically; important or strenuous activities will benefit from the "flowing" QI

There's a proverb: "Patience was invented in China." Picking one area on the page and following its indications with some consistency will prove more satisfying than trying to swallow the distillation of two hundred centuries in one gulp. The daily page is like a page from a dictionary or encyclopedia; you don't need to read the entire page to get valuable information from one entry. But the cycles do interact and influence each other. As you become more familiar with the flow-and-feeling of the changes noted in the cycle you're following, you can add attention to one or two others. A sensory and hands-on approach is much more effective in the use of the almanac than purely academic study, and is in fact the proper pre-requisite to academic understanding. If you're used to understanding by doing, this will make perfect sense. The practicality of Chinese culture has long been based upon the sweetness and simplicity of earned wisdom. As another Chinese proverb has it: "Looking long, seeing deep."