Chinese Astrology - Zi Wei Dou Shu

As this section involves lots of stars, I will break it up into Part I and Part II.

The stars that are charted based on the Birth Year Branch are as follow:

(a) Tian Ma 天马
(b) Tian Kong 天空
(c) Tian Ku 天哭 and Tian Xu 天虚
(d) Long Chi 龙池 and Feng Ge 凤阁
(e) Hong Luan 红鸾 and Tian Xi 天喜
(f) Gu Chen 孤辰 and Gua Su 寡宿
(g) Fei Lian 蜚廉
(h) Po Sui 破碎
(i) Tian Cai 天才 and Tian Shou 天寿

For this step, you will need your Birth Year Branch.






(a) Tian Ma 天马




Example:


Birth Year Branch being Yin 寅, Tian Ma 天马 is established at Shen 申.






(b) Tian Kong 天空




Example:



Chou 丑 as its first square (Zi 子), count Clockwise using the Branch Sequence
(Zi, Chou, Yin, Mao....) and stop at the square that corresponds with your Birth Year Branch.

In this example, Birth Year Branch being Yin 寅 (counting stops at Yin which is 3rd in sequence)，
Tian Kong 天空 is thus established at the square of Mao 卯.






(c) Tian Ku 天哭 and Tian Xu 天虚




Example:



Both Tian Ku 天哭 and Tian Xu 天虚 start from Wu 午 Palace.

Move Tian Ku 天哭 Anti-Clockwise (Zi, Chou, Yin..). Establish at Chen 辰.

Move Tian Xu 天虚 Clockwise. Establish at Shen 申.





(d) Long Chi 龙池 and Feng Ge 凤阁





Example:


Move Long Chi 龙池 Clockwise from Chen 辰 Palace.
Establish at Wu 午 Palace.

Move Feng Ge 凤阁 Anti-Clockwise from Xu 戌 Palace.
Establish at Shen 申 Palace.

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The stars to be charted next are:

(a) Lu Cun 禄存、 Qing Yang 擎羊 and Tuo Luo 陀罗
(b) Tian Kui 天魁 and Tian Yue 天钺
(c) Si Hua 四化
(d) Tian Guan 天官 and Tian Fu 天福

For this step, you will need your Birth Year Stem.






(a) Lu Cun 禄存、 Qing Yang 擎羊 and Tuo Luo 陀罗




Example:


Pretty straighforward, Birth Year Stem being Jia 甲, thus Lu Cun 禄存 is established at Yin 寅.

Next, establish Qing Yang 擎羊 one square before Lu Cun 禄存,
in this case, the square before Yin 寅 at Mao 卯.

Then, establish Tuo Luo 陀罗 one square after Lu Cun 禄存,
in this case, the square after Yin 寅 at Chou 丑.






(b) Tian Kui 天魁 and Tian Yue 天钺




Example:


Pretty straightforward as well, Birth Year Stem being Jia 甲,
Tian Kui 天魁 is established at Chou 丑
and Tian Yue 天钺 at Wei 未.






(c) Ming Si Hua 命四化



The four Transformation Stars, or Si Hua Stars 四化 are namely -
Hua Lu 化禄, Hua Quan 化权, Hua Ke 化科 and Hua Ji 化忌.

There is a fixed set of Si Hua for each of the 12 years (from Jia 甲 Year to Gui 癸 Year). However,
there are slight variations among the various schools. Depending on what your Birth Year Stem
is, the Si Hua are 'attached' to 4 various Stars to 'transform' their attributes.

On a Natal Birth Chart, or Ming Pan 命盘, this set of Si Hua is called Ming Si Hua 命四化.
A second set of Si Hua is determined on a Decade Chart 大限流盘.
This set is called Decade Si Hua or Xian Si Hua 限四化.
A third set of Si Hua is further determined for a Current Year Chart 小限流盘.
This set is called Current Year Si Hua or Liu Nian Si Hua 流年四化

I will touch on this again later on in the site.


Example:


As the Birth Year Stem is Jia 甲,
Hua Lu 化禄 transforms Lian Zhen 廉贞,
Hua Quan 化权 transforms Po Jun 破军,
Hua Ke 化科 transforms Wu Qu 武曲,
Hua Ji 化忌 transforms Tai Yang 太阳.






(d) Tian Guan 天官 and Tian Fu 天福




Example:


Birth Year Stem being Jia 甲,
Tian Guan 天官 is established at Wei 未
and Tian Yue 天福 at You 酉.

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The stars to be charted next are:

(a) San Tai 三台 and Ba Zuo 八座
(b) En Guang 恩光 and Tian Gui 天貴

For this step, you will need your Day of Birth.






(a) San Tai 三台 and Ba Zuo 八座




Example:


Born on the 26th Day.

San Tai 三台 starts from where Zuo Fu 左辅 is - Xu 戌 Palace as its 1st square.
Move Clockwise to the 26th square.
Position San Tai 三台 in Hai 亥 Palace.


Ba Zuo 八座 starts from where You Bi 右弼 is - Chen 辰 Palace as its 1st square.
Move Anti-Clockwise to the 26th square.
Position Ba Zuo 八座 in Mao 卯 Palace.






(b) En Guang 恩光 and Tian Gui 天貴




Example:


Both En Guang 恩光 and Tian Gui 天貴 are established one square BEFORE the 26th square.
Thus, 26 - 1 = 25.
Instead of counting to the 26th square, the stars will be established on the 25th.


En Guang 恩光 starts from where Wen Chang 文昌 is - Wei 末 Palace as its 1st square.
Move Clockwise to the 25th square.
Position En Guang 恩光 in Wei 未 Palace.

Tian Gui 天貴 starts from where Wen Qu 文曲 is - Wei 末 Palace as its 1st square.
Move Clockwise to the 25th square.
Position Tian Gui 天貴 in Wei 末 Palace.

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The stars to be charted next are:

(a) Zuo Fu 左辅 and You Bi 右弼
(b) Tian Yao 天姚 and Tian Xing 天刑
(c) Jie Shen 解神
(d) Tian Wu 天巫
(e) Tian Yue 天月
(f) Yin Sha 阴煞

For this step, you will need your Birth Month.





(a) Zuo Fu 左辅 and You Bi 右弼




Example:


Born in the 7th Month.

Zuo Fu 左辅 starts from Chen 辰 Palace as its 1st square.
Move Clockwise to the 7th square.
Position Zuo Fu 左辅 in Xu 戌 Palace.


You Bi 右弼 starts from Xu 戌 Palace as its 1st square.
Move Anti-Clockwise to the 7th square.
Position You Bi 右弼 in Chen 辰 Palace.







(b) Tian Yao 天姚 and Tian Xing 天刑




Example:



Tian Yao 天姚 starts from Chou 丑 Palace as its 1st square.
Move Clockwise to the 7th square.
Position Tian Yao 天姚 in Wei 未 Palace.

Tian Xing 天刑 starts from You 酉 Palace as its 1st square.
Move Clockwise to the 7th square.
Position Tian Xing 天刑 in Mao 卯 Palace.





(c) Jie Shen 解神




(d) Tian Wu 天巫




(e) Tian Yue 天月




(f) Yin Sha 阴煞




(c) to (f) are pretty straight-forward, so just fill the stars in as stated.

Example:

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The stars to be charted next are:

(a) Wen Chang 文昌 and Wen Qu 文曲
(b) Huo Xing 火星 and Ling Xing 铃星
(c) Di Jie 地劫 and Di Kong 地空
(d) Tai Fu 台辅 and Feng Gao 封诰






(a) Wen Chang 文昌 and Wen Qu 文曲




For this Step, you will need your Birth Hour.


Example:


Birth Hour being Mao 卯 is the 4th ShiChen 时辰.
(Zi 子(1), Chou 丑(2), Yin 寅(3), Mao 卯(4).....)

Wen Chang 文昌 starts from Xu 戌 Palace as its 1st square.
Count Anti-Clockwise to the 4th square.
Position Wen Chang 文昌 in Wei 末 Palace.


Wen Qu 文曲 starts from Chen 辰 Palace as its 1st square.
Count Clockwise to the 4th square.
Position Wen Qu 文曲 in Wei 末 Palace.







(b) Huo Xing 火星 and Ling Xing 铃星




For this Step, you will need your Birth Year and Birth Hour.

For people born in the Year of Yin 寅, Wu 午 or Xu 戌 -
Huo Xing 火星 starts from Chou 丑 Palace,
Ling Xing 铃星 starts from Mao 卯 Palace.

For people born in the Year of Shen 申, Zi 子 or Chen 辰 -
Huo Xing 火星 starts from Yin 寅 Palace,
Ling Xing 铃星 starts from Xu 戌 Palace.

For people born in the Year of Hai 亥, Mao 卯 or Wei 末 -
Huo Xing 火星 starts from You 酉 Palace,
Ling Xing 铃星 starts from Xu 戌 Palace.

For people born in the Year of Si 巳, You 酉 or Chou 丑 -
Huo Xing 火星 starts from Mao 卯 Palace,
Ling Xing 铃星 starts from Xu 戌 Palace.


Both stars will be moved in the Clockwise direction.


Example:


Birth Year is Yin 寅. Thus, Huo Xing 火星 starts from Chou 丑 Palace.
Birth Hour being Mao 卯(4), move Huo Xing 火星 Clockwise to the 4th square
and position it at Chen 辰 Palace.

Birth Year is Yin 寅. Thus, Ling Xing 铃星 starts from Mao 卯 Palace.
Birth Hour being Mao 卯(4), move Ling Xing 铃星 Clockwise to the 4th square
and position it at Wu 午 Palace.







(c) Di Jie 地劫 and Di Kong 地空





Example:


Both Di Kong 地空 and Di Jie 地劫 start from Hai 亥 Palace.

Move Di Jie 地劫 Clockwise. Establish at Yin 寅 Palace.

Move Di Kong 地空 Anti-Clockwise. Establish at Shen 申 Palace.







(d) Tai Fu 台辅 and Feng Gao 封诰





Example:


Move Tai Fu 台辅 Clockwise. Establish at You 酉 Palace.

Move Feng Gao 封诰 Clockwise. Establish at Si 巳 Palace.

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The Major Stars led by Tian Fu Star 天府 are:
太阴 Tai Yin, 贪狼 Tan Lang, 巨门 Ju Men,
天相 Tian Xiang, 天梁 Tian Liang, 七杀 Qi Sha and 破军 Po Jun.

Their positions are relative to where Tian Fu Star is.
And the rule is as follow:













The Birth Chart at the end of Step 9:


You can double-check the positions of the Stars here or here.

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The palace Tian Fu Star 天府 resides in is determined by the position of Zi Wei Star 紫微.

The following chart summarises the rule.



If Zi Wei Star 紫微 is at Yin 寅 or Shen 申 Palace,
Tian Fu Star 天府 will reside in the same palace as Zi Wei Star.

If Zi Wei Star is at Mao 卯 palace, Tian Fu Star will be at Chou 丑.
Likewise, if Zi Wei Star is at Chou 丑, Tian Fu star will be at Mao 卯.

If Zi Wei Star is at Si 巳 or Hai 亥 palace,
Tian Fu Star will be at Hai 亥 and Si 巳 respectively.






You can double-check the position of Tian Fu Star here.
By the end of Step 8, you would have successfully charted 7 Major Stars.

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The next stars to be charted are the Major Stars that are led by Zi Wei Star 紫微, namely,
天机 Tian Ji, 太阳 Tai Yang (Sun), 武曲 Wu Qu, 天同 Tian Tong and 廉贞 Lian Zhen.

Their positions are relative to where Zi Wei Star is.
And the rule is as follow:













The Birth Chart at the end of Step 7:



You can double-check the positions of the Stars here or here.

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Zi Wei Star 紫微星, being the ‘Emperor’ Star, is the first star to be charted.

The Element Phase or Wu Xing Ju and the date of birth determine
which palace Zi Wei Star is to be established.

The Rule can be put into mathematical terms, like this:

( Birth Date + X ) / Element Phase = Y
( 生日 + X ) / 五行局 = Y

※ X and Y must be whole numbers from 1 to 9.
※ Z is the position of Zi Wei Star.

If X = 0, then Y = Z.
If X = Even number, then Y + X = Z.
If X = Odd number, then Y – X = Z. (However, there are exceptions to this rule.)

- Y indicates the number of squares to move in the Clockwise direction.

- Even-numbered X also indicates the number of squares to move in
the Clockwise direction after moving Y.

- Odd-numbered X indicates moving the specific number of squares in
the Anti-Clockwise direction after moving Y.







Example 1:

Birth Date - 12th day
Element Phase - 水二局 Water (2nd) Phase

Going by formula:
( 12 + 0 ) / 2 = 6

寅 Yin as 1st square, count clockwise and the 6th square (value Y = Z) is 末 Wei.
So, Zi Wei Star is to be established in the palace of 末 Wei.








Example 2:

Birth Date - 7th day
Element Phase - 木三局 Wood (3rd) Phase


Going by formula:
( 7 + 2 ) / 3 = 3
X = 2 = Even number.
So, 3 + 2 = 5 ( Y + X = Z )

寅 Yin as 1st square, count clockwise, the 5th square (value Z) is 午 Wu,
Zi Wei Star is to be established in the palace of 午 Wu.

Or:


寅 Yin as 1st square, counting clockwise, the 3rd square (value Y) is 辰 Chen.
Being an even number, X also moves clockwise by 2 squares and stops at 午 Wu.
Therefore Zi Wei Star is established at 午 Wu Palace.







Example 3:

Birth Date – 15th day
Element Phase – 金四局 Metal (4th) Phase

Going by formula:
( 15 + 1 ) / 4 = 4
X = 1 = Odd number.
So, 4 – 1 = 3 ( Y – X = Z )

寅 Yin as 1st square, counting clockwise, the 3rd square (value Z) is 辰 Chen,
so Zi Wei Star is to be established in the palace of 辰 Chen.

Or:


寅 Yin as 1st square, counting clockwise, the 4rd square (value Y) is 巳 Si.
Being an odd number, X moves Anti-Clockwise 1 square and stops at 辰 Chen.
Therefore Zi Wei Star is established at 辰 Chen Palace.







However, the formula does not work in ALL cases. There are exceptions.

Example 4:

Birth Date – 13th day
Element Phase – 火六局 Fire (6th) Phase

Going by formula:
( 13 + 5 ) / 6 = 3

In this case, X (5) > Y(3)
Going on to the next step, ( Y – X ), we will get a negative number ( 3 – 5 = -2 ) and
the assumption of simply moving 2 squares anti-clockwise (to 丑 Chou) would be wrong!

In this case, to prevent errors, we shall do it manually.



寅 Yin as 1st square, counting clockwise, the 3rd square (value Y) is 辰 Chen.
Being an odd number, X moves Anti-Clockwise 5 squares backwards and stops at 亥 Hai.
So, Zi Wei Star should be correctly established at 亥 Hai Palace.






But what happen if one's Birth Date has a value smaller than his Element Phase?

For example, one who has a Fire (6th) Element Phase borned on the 4th day,
or one who has a Water (2nd) Element Phase borned on the 1st day?

The Rule then changes in such situations.

To simplify the Rule,

For people:

1. Who are of Water (2nd) Phase 水二局 ,
- borned on the 1st day, establish Zi Wei Star in 丑 Chou Palace.


2. Who are of Wood (3rd) Phase 木三局 ,
- borned on the 1st day, establish Zi Wei Star in 辰 Chen Palace.
- borned on the 2nd day, establish Zi Wei Star in 丑 Chou Palace.


3. Who are of Metal (4th) Phase 金四局 ,
- borned on the 1st day, establish Zi Wei Star in 亥 Hai Palace.
- borned on the 2nd day, establish Zi Wei Star in 辰 Chen Palace.
- borned on the 3rd day, establish Zi Wei Star in 丑 Chou Palace.


4. Who are of Earth (5th) Phase 土五局 ,
- borned on the 1st day, establish Zi Wei Star in 午 Wu Palace.
- borned on the 2nd day, establish Zi Wei Star in 亥 Hai Palace.
- borned on the 3rd day, establish Zi Wei Star in 辰 Chen Palace.
- borned on the 4th day, establish Zi Wei Star in 丑 Chou Palace.


5. Who are of Fire (6th) Phase 火六局 ,
- borned on the 1st day, establish Zi Wei Star in 酉 You Palace.
- borned on the 2nd day, establish Zi Wei Star in 午 Wu Palace.
- borned on the 3rd day, establish Zi Wei Star in 亥 Hai Palace.
- borned on the 4th day, establish Zi Wei Star in 辰 Chen Palace.
- borned on the 5th day, establish Zi Wei Star in 丑 Chou Palace.






Back to the example i was using all along,


( 26 + X ) / 3 = Y
Y = 9, move 9 squares Clockwise from 寅 Yin ; stops at 戌 Xu.
X = 1, move 1 square Anti-Clockwise from 戌 Xu ; stops at 酉 You.

Zi Wei Star is established at 酉 You Palace.

You can double-check your calculation here (if you still aren't too sure).

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The next step is to establish one's 五行局 「Wu Xíng Jú」 or 5 Elements Phase.

The rule here is, the Life Palace Stem and Branch determines one's Element.
To simplify this step, please refer to the summarised Table.


In the example provided, the Life Palace Branch being 巳 Sì, and the Stem of the Year of
Birth being 甲 Jia , therefore, the owner of this Birth Chart has the Element of Wood 木三局.





To double-check, refer to the 花甲纳音 「Huā Jia Nà Yīn」 Table. In this case, the owner of the chart
has her Life Palace at 己巳, therefore she is a 大林木 (Forest Trees), which is Wood Element 木三局.




Now that we've completed the framework of the Birth Chart, we will be proceeding to the mapping of the Stars.

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The rule to apply here is "Anti-Clockwise" in the following sequence:

1. Life Palace 命宫 , 2. Siblings Palace 兄弟宫
3. Marriage Palace 夫妻宫 , 4. Children Palace 子女宫
5. Wealth Palace 财帛宫 , 6. Health Palace 疾厄宫
7. Travel Palace 迁移宫 , 8. Friends/Servants Palace 仆役宫
9. Career Palace 官禄宫 , 10. Property Palace 田宅宫
11. Fortune Palace 福德宫 , 12. Parents Palace 父母宫


Your chart will look like this:









Step 4 - Establish Palace Stem 宮干 「Gōng Gān」

Each Palace, besides its own Earthly Branch, has its Heavenly Stem as well. It is
called the Palace Stem or 宮干 「Gōng Gān」. However, as there are only
10 Heavenly Stems, 2 of the stems will be repeated to fill up all 12 Palaces.

The rule here is, the Year of Birth decides which stem goes into which palace.


To chart the Palace Stems, memorise the Golden Rule:

安十二宮天干诀
Establish Palace Stem


If that proves too hard, this Table is derived from the above phrases.







Another easier way of doing it with the help of the Table is this:



Using the same example, the Year of birth being the Stem of 甲 Jia (寅 Yín is Year Branch),
and Life Palace is at 巳 Sì, therefore the Stem of Life Palace is 己 Ji.

Thus, we say, Life Palace 命宫 is located at 己巳.
(This is important when interpreting the chart because interpretions are
based on each Palace's Stem-Branch, or in short, Palace Address 宫位 「Gōng Wèi 」.)


Subsequently, fill up the rest of the palaces with the Heavenly Stems
(Clockwise direction). Take note when charting the 2 repeated Stems.





By now, your chart should resemble this:




The Sequence of the Heavenly Stems is as follow:

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In ZWDS, there are basically 3 types of Charts -

① Heaven Chart 天盘 「Tiān Pán 」
- the original chart determined at birth, also called 命盘 「Mìng Pán 」;
used to determine one's overall fate and luck.


② Earth Chart 地盘 「Dì Pán 」
- also called Decade Chart 大限流盘 「Dà Xiàn Liú Pán 」;
used to determine one's decade's luck.


③ Man Chart 人盘 「Rén Pán 」
- also called Current Year Chart 小限流盘 「Xiao Xiàn Liú Pán 」;
used to determined one's yearly luck.


Right now, we'll proceed to setting up of 命盘 「Mìng Pán 」.









Step 1 - Get Birth Date


First, get hold of your Year, Month, Date, Time and Place of birth.

Convert it to China-Beijing Time Zone.

In ZWDS, the place of birth is relevant as calculations is based on China-Beijing
Time Zone (GMT +8). You can convert to Beijing Time Zone here.

If you are from Singapore, the Time Zone is GMT+7, not GMT+8.
The clock was adjusted earlier by 1 hour due to commercial reasons.


Then, convert the Birth Date to Lunar Calendar. You can do it here or here.

As for the Time of Birth, please refer to this chart.

One thing to note for people born in the Rat Hour or
子 「 Zi 」 Shi Chen which is 2300 hrs - 0100 hrs.
If you are born between 0000 hrs to 0100 hrs, your Lunar Date of Birth
would be counted as the next day.

For example, if your date of birth is 16th day of 5th Lunar Month,
and you are born at 0021 hrs, then, the actual date of birth would
be counted as 17th day of 5th Lunar Month instead. So please take note.


To check if you are born in a year with intercalary months, or 闰月 Run Yue, here is a very good tool.
For people born in a intercalary month, there are two different ways of setting up your charts.

1. As long as you are born in a intercalary month, your birth month is taken to be the following month.



2. If you are born after the 15th day in the intercalary month, your birth month is
taken to be the following month. But if you are born in the first half of the month,
then your birth month would be the previous month.

For example, if you are born on June 18 1974, the second half of the intercalary
month, take your birth month 生月 to be the 5th month, which is the following month.
But if you are born on May 28 1974, the first half of the intercalary month, take
your birth month 生月 to be the 4th month.


The different methods came about due to the different schools of thoughts. But
whichever method you chose, be sure to stick it throughout the setting up of your chart.
You can set up another chart with the other method if you find your chart grossly inaccurate.







The easiest way to get a blank chart would be to fold a piece of paper into
half 4 times before opening it up. This way you will have a paper with the
necessary squares without needing to draw lines.

Once you get the empty chart, write down the Birth Date (especially the now-converted
date) in the middle square as you will be needing it throughout the plotting of the chart.

Then, fill up the Earthly Branches into the 12 empty squares. Starting
from the left-bottom corner, in the Clockwise Direction in the following sequence:

The Sequence of the Earthly Branches 地支 is as follow:


Once done, you will get a chart that looks like this -

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