Zi Wei Dou Shu
What Is Zi Wei Dou Shu? Reading Your Chart Through the Life Palace and 14 Main Stars
Zi Wei Dou Shu is an astrological system that originated in China, said to have been founded by the Song-dynasty Taoist Chen Xiyi. It remains, alongside BaZi, one of the two major traditions still widely practised in Taiwan and Hong Kong. It builds a chart from your birth date and time, then reads your life from the stars placed within it.
The 12 palaces: twelve areas of life
A Zi Wei Dou Shu chart is divided into twelve palaces: the Life Palace, Siblings Palace, Spouse Palace, Children Palace, Wealth Palace, Health Palace, Travel Palace, Friends Palace, Career Palace, Property Palace, Fortune Palace, and Parents Palace.
The Life Palace reflects your own essential nature; the Spouse Palace, your relationship with a partner; the Wealth Palace, income and spending; the Career Palace, your work and how it's recognised; the Health Palace, your physical condition; and the Fortune Palace, your peace of mind and enjoyment. Dividing life into twelve distinct areas that can each be read on its own is what sets Zi Wei Dou Shu apart.
The 14 main stars shape your personality
Many stars are placed across a chart, but fourteen of them — the main stars — form its core: Zi Wei, Tian Ji, Tai Yang, Wu Qu, Tian Tong, Lian Zhen, Tian Fu, Tai Yin, Tan Lang, Ju Men, Tian Xiang, Tian Liang, Qi Sha, and Po Jun.
Zi Wei is an emperor star that performs best the more it's relied upon. Tian Ji is a star of wisdom, strong in planning and analysis; Tai Yang is a star whose fortune improves the more it gives to others. Wu Qu governs wealth and practical matters, Tian Tong brings a non-confrontational warmth, and Lian Zhen represents a passion that commits fully to its own convictions. Whichever main star occupies your Life Palace is thought to shape your basic approach to life.
Why the lunar calendar is used
Finding your Life Palace requires your lunar-calendar month and the two-hour "branch hour" corresponding to your time of birth. The Life Palace is calculated as (14 − lunar month − branch-hour index) mod 12.
The lunar calendar is used because Zi Wei Dou Shu is a system built around the phases of the Moon. Using a solar-calendar date directly would throw the whole chart off, so conversion to the lunar calendar is essential. This site performs that conversion accurately using the lunardate library.
How this site calculates it
Your date of birth is converted to the lunar calendar to obtain the lunar month, your birth time is converted to its branch-hour index, and the Life Palace is fixed from these two values. If your birth time is unknown, the branch-hour index is treated as 0. The 14 main stars are then placed across the twelve palaces relative to that Life Palace.
The combination of the yin-yang polarity of your birth year and your gender also determines which direction your fortune "flows." A man born in a yang year, or a woman born in a yin year, is read as moving forward; a man born in a yin year, or a woman born in a yang year, is read as moving in reverse. If "prefer not to say" is chosen for gender, the calculation defaults to a neutral, forward-moving interpretation.
Your fortune for a given day is judged by how many palaces separate your Life Palace from the day's transiting palace, which is derived from today's lunar month and day.
Frequently asked questions
How do I find my birth date in the lunar calendar?
Enter your Gregorian date and this site converts it automatically. The lunar calendar includes leap months in some years, so a conversion table is needed if you want to check it yourself.
My Life Palace has no main star. Is that a problem?
An empty palace is common. It is read by borrowing the star from the opposite palace, and is usually interpreted as a flexible, less fixed disposition.
Are there stars beyond the 14 main ones?
Yes: auxiliary stars such as Zuo Fu and Wen Chang, malefic stars such as Qing Yang and Tuo Luo, and many minor stars. See the reading screen for what this site displays.
What is a 'shichen'?
One of twelve two-hour divisions of the day, named after the earthly branches. The birth hour is mapped to a shichen to locate the Life Palace.
How do the ten-year and annual cycles differ?
The ten-year period (Da Xian) sets the broad theme of a decade; the annual cycle (Liu Nian) reads the specific year. Practitioners read the two together.
Can Zi Wei Dou Shu read compatibility?
Yes, by overlaying two charts to see which palace of yours the other person's main stars fall into. This site shows compatibility through Sukuyo astrology, but the method exists in Zi Wei Dou Shu as well.
How are leap-month births handled?
Schools differ: some assign the birth to the previous month, some to the next, and some split the month at the fifteenth day. This site's rule is noted in the calculation section.
* This article introduces the ideas behind this divination tradition and makes no claim to scientific validity. Please enjoy your reading as entertainment.