Sukuyo Astrology
The 27 Lunar Mansions of Sukuyo Astrology: Your Birth Mansion and Its Relationships
Sukuyo astrology traces a path from Indian astronomy, through Buddhism and China, into Japan. Its source text, the Sukuyokyo, is said to have been brought back from Tang-dynasty China by the monk Kukai, and it was widely used among Heian-era court nobility. It reads fortune through 27 lunar mansions based on the Moon's movement through the sky.
What the 27 mansions are
Because the Moon takes roughly 27.3 days to orbit the Earth, Sukuyo astrology divides the celestial sphere into 27 "mansions": the Pleiades, Net, Turtle Beak, Three Stars, Well, Ghost, Willow, Star, Extended Net, Wings, Chariot, Horn, Neck, Root, Room, Heart, Tail, Winnowing Basket, Dipper, Girl, Emptiness, Rooftop, Encampment, Wall, Legs, Bond, and Stomach Mansions.
Whichever mansion the Moon occupied on the day you were born is your "birth mansion," reflecting your basic temperament. The Ghost Mansion, for example, is considered the very best of the 27 — carrying high virtue and a protected fortune. The Pleiades Mansion brings an almost fastidious sense of justice, while the Heart Mansion brings passion and quick decisiveness.
The relationship between your mansion and today's decides your fortune
What makes Sukuyo astrology distinctive is that a day's fortune is decided purely by the distance between your birth mansion and today's mansion — meaning the same calendar day can be lucky for one person and unlucky for another.
A distance of zero — the day your own birth mansion comes back around — is called Destiny, a day to face yourself and find your answer by returning to first principles. From there, nine relationships repeat in cycle: Prosperity, Affinity, Friendship, Collapse, Success, Danger, Peace, Karma, and Gestation.
Prosperity is your most fortunate day, when recognition, income and results tend to gather. Affinity deepens relationships and brings support; Friendship rewards working with others. Collapse, by contrast, is a day to avoid new commitments or big purchases, and Danger calls for care with travel, wording, and your health.
Using it to size up how much to take on each day
The practical use of Sukuyo astrology is deciding how much weight to put on a given day. Important negotiations or a confession of feelings are best scheduled on a Prosperity, Affinity, Friendship, Success, or Peace day, while plans should be shifted off a Collapse, Danger, or Karma day wherever possible.
It's thought that Heian-era nobles kept track of their mansion in their diaries for exactly this kind of scheduling. Even today, it pairs well with a calendar app for genuinely practical use.
How this site calculates it
Your date of birth is converted to the lunar calendar, and your birth mansion is found from the remainder of (lunar month × 30 + lunar day) divided by 27, with the first day of the first lunar month set as the baseline for the Pleiades Mansion.
Today's mansion is found the same way, and the relationship name is judged from its distance from your birth mansion — a distance of 0 is Destiny, with the remaining nine relationships cycling from there. Your lucky colour, item and direction are all drawn from the table associated with your birth mansion.
* This article introduces the ideas behind this divination tradition and makes no claim to scientific validity. Please enjoy your reading as entertainment.