Chinese Astrology - Zi Wei Dou Shu

Step 20 - Establish Ming Zhu and Shen Zhu

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Loosely translated, Ming Zhu 命主 means 'Life Master' and Shen Zhu 身主 means 'Body Master'.
There is much to be discussed about Ming Zhu and Shen Zhu, but that will be another topic.

For now, Chart Ming Zhu 命主 as per below.
The Life Palace Branch 命宫宫支 determines one's Ming Zhu.

Chart Shen Zhu 身主 as per below.
The Birth Year Branch 生年支 determines one's Shen Zhu.

Example:

Step 19 - Chart Tian Shang and Tian Shi

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Both Tian Shang 天伤 and Tian Shi 天使 are to be established in the 6th palace before/after Life Palace 命宫.
So to simplify it, Tian Shang will always be in Friends Palace and Tian Shi in Health Palace.

Example:

Step 18 - Chart Xun Kong

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Ok, this part is slightly complicated and cannot be explained in a few words.
This will make explaining easier.

"甲子旬中空戌亥" would mean:
if one is born in the Year of Jia Zi 甲子, Xun Kong 旬空 will be charted in the Xu 戌 Palace.

Why Xu 戌 Palace and not Hai 亥 Palace?
This is because, the stems and branches are paired either Yang-Yang or Yin-Yin (60-year Cycle).
And since Jia Zi is Yang-Yang, Xun Kong will be established in a Yang-branch Palace,
which in this case, is Xu Palace.

In the following year, Yi Chou 乙丑, which is a Yin-Yin, Xun Kong will be established in Hai 亥 Palace.

Followed by Year of Bing Yin 丙寅 (Yang) of which Xun Kong is established in Xu 戌 Palace again.

Example:

Birth Year being Jia Yin 甲寅, Xun Kong 旬空 would be at Zi 子 or Chou 丑 Palace.

Jia Yin being Yang, Xun Kong is established at Zi Palace (Yang).

If you are still unsure, you may check the table here.

Step 17 - Chart Jie Kong

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Example:

Pretty straightforward here, thus no need for 'working'.

Birth Year Stem being Jia 甲, Jie Kong 截空 is established at Shen 申 Palace.

Step 16 - Chart Chang Sheng 12 Shen

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The second set is named Chang Sheng Shi Er Shen 长生十二神
because the first star in the set is Chang Sheng 长生.

The Stars are as follow:
1. Chang Sheng 长生 (Beginning)
2. Mu Yu 沐浴 (Accumulating)
3. Guan Dai 冠带 (Maturity)
4. Lin Guan 临官 (Appointment)
5. Di Wang 帝旺 (Pinnacle)
6. Shuai 衰 (Fading)
7. Bing 病 (Ailing)
8. Si 死 (Deteriorating)
9. Mu 墓 (Dormancy)
10. Jue 绝 (Termination)
11. Tai 胎 (Conception)
12. Yang 养 (Development)

First of all, determine the subject's Element Phase (五行局).

This is pretty straight forward.
If one is of Water Element 水二局, establish Chang Sheng 长生 in Shen 申 Palace.

Thereafter, depending on Yin/Yang Male/Female, the other 11 Stars will be plotted sequentially
into each of the other 11 Palaces, as per the first set of stars.

Example:

The subject is of Wood Element,
thus Chang Sheng 长生 is established at Hai 亥 Palace.

The subject is Yang Female (Anti-Clockwise direction).
Thus, Mu Yu 沐浴 is established at Xu 戌 or Friends Palace.

Followed by the next star Guan Dai 冠带 at You 酉 or Career Palace, and so on,
till the last star, Yang 养 at Zi 子 or Health Palace.

Step 15 - Chart Bo Shi 12 Shen

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This and the next step involve the plotting of 2 sets of stars -
Bo Shi Shi Er Shen 博士十二神 and Chang Sheng Shi Er Shen 长生十二神.

Each set consists of 12 different stars, arranged in a fixed sequence and
each star to be allotted to one of the 12 Palaces.

The first set is named Bo Shi Shi Er Shen 博士十二神 because the first star in the set is Bo Shi 博士.
Alternatively Bo Shi Shi Er Shen is also called Shi Er Gong Tai Sui Shen Sha 十二宫太岁神煞.

The Stars are as follow:
1. Bo Shi 博士 (Cleverness)
2. Li Shi 力士 (Power Monger)
3. Qing Long 青龙 (Green Dragon)
4. Xiao Hao 小耗 (Waste)
5. Jiang Jun 将军 (Pompousness)
6. Zou Shu 奏书 (Scholarly)
7. Fei Lian 飞廉 (Slander)
8. Xi Shen 喜神 (Jubilation)
9. Bing Fu 病符 (Sickness)
10. Da Hao 大耗 (Exhaust)
11. Fu Bing 伏兵 (Deception)
12. Guan Fu 官府 (Litigation)

First of all, determine whether one is Yin Male/Female or Yang Male/Female.
The Birth Year Stem determines whether one is Yin 阴 or Yang 阳.

If one was born in the Year of Jia 甲, and Jia being Yang, he/she is a Yang 阳 Male/Female.
Or, if one was born in the Year of Gui 癸， and Gui being Yin, he/she is a Yin 阴 Male/Female.

The first star in the set, Bo Shi 博士, will be established in the palace in which Lu Cun 禄存 resides in.

If one is either Yang Female or Yin Male,
the other 11 stars in the set will be arranged in each of the other 11 palaces in an Anti-Clockwise direction.

If one is either Yin Female or Yang Male,
the other 11 stars will be arranged in each of the other 11 palaces in a Clockwise direction.

Example:

The subject was born in the Year of Jia, thus she is a Yang Female 阳女.

As Lu Cun 禄存 resides in Children Palace, Bo Shi 博士 is established in Children Palace.

The subject is Yang Female (Anti-Clockwise direction).
Thus, Li Shi 力士 is established in Wealth Palace.

Followed by the next star Qing Long 青龙 in Health Palace, and so on,
till the last star, Guan Fu 官府 in Marriage Palace.

Step 14 - Continued from previous

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(d) Hong Luan 红鸾 and Tian Xi 天喜

Example:

Move Hong Luan 红鸾 Anti-Clockwise (Zi, Chou, Yin) from Mao 卯 Palace.
Establish at Chou 丑 Palace.

Establish Tian Xi 天喜 in the opposite palace, in this case, Wei 未 Palace.

(f) Gu Chen 孤辰 and Gua Su 寡宿

Example:

Birth Year Branch being Yin 寅,
Gu Chen 孤辰 is established at Si 巳
and Gua Su 寡宿 at Chou 丑.

(g) Fei Lian 蜚廉

(h) Po Sui 破碎

Example:

Pretty straightforward here, thus no need for 'working'..
Fei Lian 蜚廉 is established at Xu 戌 Palace.
Po Sui 破碎 is established at You 酉 Palace.

(i) Tian Cai 天才 and Tian Shou 天寿

Example:

Tian Cai 天才 starts from Life Palace 命宫 and moves Clockwise.
Count till the Birth Year Branch (Yin 寅) and establish at Wei 未.

Tian Shou 天寿 starts from Body Palace 身宫 and moves Clockwise as well.
Count till the Birth Year Branch and establish at Chou 丑.

Step 14 - Chart Stars based on Birth Year (Branch)

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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.

Step 13 - Chart Stars based on Birth Year (Stem)

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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.

Step 12 - Chart Stars based on Day of Birth

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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.

Step 11 - Chart Stars based on Month of Birth

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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:

Step 10 - Chart Stars based on Birth Hour

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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.

Step 9 - Chart Major Stars in Tian Fu Series

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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.

Step 8 - Chart Tian Fu Star 天府 (Treasury)

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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.

Step 7 - Chart Major Stars in Zi Wei Series

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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.

Step 6 - Chart Zi Wei Star 紫微 (Emperor)

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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).

Step 5 - Establish Element Phase 五行局

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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.

Listing the 12 Palaces 十二宫

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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:

Setting up Life and Body Palace 命、身宫

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Step 2 - Establish Life Palace 命宫「Mìng Gōng 」

The rule to apply here is "Months Clockwise, Hours Anti-Clockwise".

That is, starting from the square of 寅「Yín 」, which is the 1st Lunar Month,
count in the Clockwise direction, the number of the month in which you are born into.

Which means, if you are born in the 7th Lunar Month, then count 7 Squares.
So 寅「Yín 」 would be 1st Lunar Month, and the 7th Month would be 申「Shēn 」.

Next, taking the last square you stopped at to be the first Shi Chen, which is 子「 Zi 」Hour in this
example, count in the Anti-Clockwise direction and stop at the Shi Chen at which you were born.

The Sequence for 时辰 Shi Chen is this:

Which means, if you were born at 卯「Mao 」Hour (4th Shi Chen), and count 4 squares
Anti-Clockwise from 子「 Zi 」, you will now be at the square of 巳「 Sì 」.

Thus, Life Palace will be established at 巳「 Sì 」 - 命宫在巳.
You can double-check the chart here to confirm.

Step 3 - Establish Body Palace 身宫「Shēn Gōng 」

The rule is "Months Clockwise, Hours Clockwise".

Using the same example, instead of counting Anti-Clockwise for the Hours or Shi Chen,
we will now count in the Clockwise direction to establish Body Palace 身宫.

So, the Body Palace will be at 亥「 Hài 」 - 身宫在亥.
You can double-check the chart here to confirm.

By the end of Step 3, you will get something like this:

To summarise the Golden Rule for Steps 2 and 3 :

安命宫及身宫诀
Establish Life and Body Palace

Setting up Chart - 命盘

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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 -

4 Transformation Stars 四化曜「Sì Huà Yào 」

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「化」 by itself means transform, or to change into. In 《紫微斗数》 context, it can also mean 'to
enhance'. The 4 Transformation Stars 四化曜「Sì Huà Yào 」 'tag onto' different stars every year,
depending on the Heavenly Stem 天干「Tiān Gān 」 of the year. Nevertheless their individual
characteristics DO NOT change. Instead, what changes are the effects of the Stars that they tag onto.

The 4 Transformation Stars are :

Flow 化禄「Huà Lù 」
- Metal Element.
- Means "Transforms into Riches".
- Enhances the flow of fortune, riches, luck etc.

Authority 化权「Huà Quán 」
- Fire Element.
- Means "Transforms into Authority".
- Brings authority, power, supremacy, leadership etc.

Fame 化科「Huà Kē 」
- Wood Element.
- Means "Transforms into Name".
- Brings fame, reputation, self-satisfaction etc.

Cloud 化忌「Huà Jì 」
- Water Element.
- Means "Transforms into Trouble".
- Negates effects of stars.
- Usually indicates obstacles, dangers, risks, disputes, death etc.

At first look, any stars associated with 化禄、权、科 are good, and
any stars associated with 化忌 is bad. But it is not necessarily true.

四化曜 are a VERY big part of 《紫微斗数》, so I will go more into them at a later stage.

6 Harmful Stars 六煞曜「Shà Yào 」

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The 6 Harmful Stars are :

Turmoil 火星「Huo Xīng 」 , Turbulence 铃星「Líng Xīng 」 .
Destruction 擎羊「Qíng Yáng 」 , Obstruction 陀罗「Tuó Luó 」 ,
Nullity 地空「Dì Kōng 」 , Calamity 地劫「Dì Jié 」 .

These 6 煞曜「Shà Yào 」 are there to hamper the Major Stars and to negate
the positive effects of the Auxiliary and Assisting Stars 佐辅曜 under normal
circumstances. In some particular situations, these 煞曜 can help to counter
the negative impacts of the Major Stars (Major Stars are not ALL good).

Just as 佐辅曜 makes the differences in one's life from another's, these
煞曜 have serious influences too. In most situations, they are able to
indicate the period where one is prone to misfortune or untimely death
(caused by accidents or unforseen tragedies like murder).

From a positive perspective, 煞曜 are there to act as a reminder of possible misfortune
so that one can be more conscious of his behaviour and seek to minimise negative impacts.

Auxiliary and Assisting Stars 佐辅曜「Zuó Fu Yào 」

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The 4 Auxiliary Stars are :

Status 天魁「Tiān Kuí 」 , Reputation 天钺「Tiān Yuè 」 ,
Aide 左辅「Zuo Fu 」 , Support 右弼「Yòu Bì 」 .

The 4 Assisting Stars are :

Literature 文昌「Wén Chāng 」 , Eloquence 文曲「Wén Qu 」 ,
Treasurer 禄存「Lù Cún 」 , Celestial Horse 天马「Tiān Ma 」 .

As their names suggest, these Stars are there to support and assist the 14 Major
Stars. They are important, but never more important than the Major Stars.

An analogy to be used here is to liken these Stars to a Manager's Personal
Assistant. With a good assistant who is there to help out, the Manager would
be able to project his capability more effectively.

For 2 people to have the same Major Stars in their Life Palace, how their lives turned
out would depend on these 佐辅曜. They are the ones which make the difference.

14 Major Stars 十四正曜「Zhèng Yào 」

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There are only 14 Major Stars or 正曜「Zhèng Yào 」which are of
utmost importance among the 100+ stars in 《紫微斗数》.

Depending on one's date and time of birth, these 14 stars will land up
in specific palaces of one's chart. The Major Star (or two Stars at most)
that lands in one's Life Palace 命宫 will more or less indicate a person's
characteristics, and his general luck in life. This Star is referred to as 命宮
主星「Mìng Gōng Zhu Xīn 」, or translated loosely, Life's Main Star.

There are different ways to categorise the 14 Major Stars.

1. North and South Clusters -

North Cluster (Big Dipper) -
Emperor Star 紫微, Finance Star 武曲,
Politician Star 廉贞, Flirting Star 贪狼,
Quarrel Star 巨门, Ruinous Star 破军

South Cluster -
Mercy Star 天机, Fortune Star 天同,
Treasury Star 天府, Minister Star 天相,
Aggressive Star 七杀, Blessing Star 天梁

Central Sky - The Sun 太阳 and The Moon 太阴

2. Stars led by Emperor Star 紫微 - 廉贞 , 天同 , 武曲 , 太阳 , 天机

Stars led by Treasury Star 天府 - 太阴 , 贪狼 , 巨门 , 天相 , 天梁 , 七杀 , 破军

3. Yin and Yang -

Each star has its Yin and Yang element, and this is an important
consideration when interpreting the Birth Chart. For example, when
sitting in Life Palace and meeting lucky stars, both Mercy Star 天机 (Yin)
and Flirting Star 贪狼 (Yang) can mean intelligence and ability to learn things fast,
but because Mercy Star 天机 is Yin, the intelligence is not displayed visibly, whereas
for Flirting Star 贪狼 which has a Yang nature, the intelligence would be more apparent.

Note: The stars are only used as an example as their characteristics
would still depend on the stars they meet on the chart.

4. 5 Elements -

For example, if Politician Star 廉贞 (Fire) and Ruinous Star 破军 (Water)
both resides in Life Palace, it will produce a negative effect in normal situations
(without taking other stars into consideration) as Water overcomes Fire.

Another classification of the Major Stars is this -

The Leaders -

Emperor Star 紫微 , Minister Star 天相 , Treasury Star 天府 , Finance Star 武曲

The Pioneers (Action) -

Flirting Star 贪狼 , Ruinous Star 破军 , Politician Star 廉贞 , Aggressive Star 七杀

The Supporters -

The Sun 太阳 , Quarrel Star 巨门 , Mercy Star 天机

The Adapters -

Fortune Star 天同 , Blessing Star 天梁 , The Moon 太阴

Before I go on..

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Please take note of the following:

1. The characteristics of each Star remain constant, for example, if it is
a Yin Wood Star, it will be a Yin Wood whatever palace the Star lands up in.

2. The interpretion of the Stars in various palaces differs. What
each Star means in Life Palace is different when it is in say, Health Palace.

3. The interpretion of the Stars is also different when there are other stars
in the same palace, as compared to when it is on its own.

4. There is a rating of brightness for most of the stars.

The scale is like this:

① 庙「Miào 」 - Glitter - the brightest it can gets.
Good Stars with this rating will manifest their positive traits.
Bad Stars will not have serious impact.

② 旺「Wàng 」 - Radiant - Still very bright.
Good Stars will display their traits.
Bad Stars will not have serious impact.

③ 得「Dé 」 - Bright.
Good Stars will still be good.
Bad Stars will not have serious impact.

④ 平「Píng 」 - Twilight.
Good Stars will have minimum impact.
Bad Stars will display their negative traits without constraint.

⑤ 陷「Xiàn 」 - Dark.
Good Stars will be useless with this rating.
Bad Stars will be at their worst.

5. Even with the above scale of brightness, the Stars would still
not tell a complete picture, as it depends on what other stars in
other relevant palaces they "meet" with.

For example, to see the overall life of a person, the palaces that
are taken into account are Wealth Palace, Career Palace, Life Palace
and Travel Palace. The stars in all 4 of these palaces would then
"meet", and if a particular Glittering Good Star is sitting in Life
Palace, but the other Stars in the other 3 palaces are Dark, then it
will also render the Good Star useless or with no impact.