Parents Palace 父母宫

父 「Fù 」means Father. 母 「Mu 」means Mother. As its name suggests,
this palace has everything to do with one's parents. It covers their general
luck, martial bliss, health and longevity and to a certain extent, their character.

The karmic relationship with one's parents is also indicated here. Whether
a lot or little help comes from them (help could be in monetary terms or
advice), or the parents-child relationship is in good or bad shape, all
these fall under karmic relationship.

There is a Chinese saying, 一日为师，终身为父 「Yī Rì Wéi Shī, Zhōng Shēn Wéi Fù 」,
which means, a teacher is respected and treated as you would a father. So, one's
relationship with his teachers and mentors can be indicated in 父母宫 as well.

Fortune Palace 福德宫

There are various names for this Palace such as, Fortune Palace,
Virtue Palace, Karma Palace, Happiness Palace etc. But all these
names do not do justice to its Chinese name 福德宫 「Fú Dé Gōng 」.
For convenience sake, I'll just call it Fortune Palace here.

福 「Fú 」 means Happiness, Fortune, Good Luck, Blessing. From the
Chinese perspective, 福 is very abstract and subjective. One needs
not be born rich or smart to be considered fortunate or blessed. As long as
one is satisfied and contented with one's living, and has peace of mind,
he is considered happy and blessed.

One's desire to enjoy life is also indicated here. For example, one can be rich, yet
scrimps and saves on meals or one can be poor but enjoys good food (the best he
can afford). Thus, this palace also covers one's ability to manage his wealth outflow.

德 「Dé 」 means Ethics, Morals, Virtue. Ethics and morals can be shaped by
beliefs, or vice versa. How one behaves does not necessarily reflect his thinking.
福德 reveals one's psychological aspects such as, mental state of happiness,
stress, emotional state, contentment, spirituality etc. Whether one is optimistic
or pessimistic, or has inclination to suicide is also indicated here.

Generally, if a person has a weak 命宫,
a strong 福德宫 can make dramatic changes to his life.


One with good morals will beget good fortune.

A happy state of mind will beget longevity.

Property Palace 田宅宫

In the past, people work in the fields to have their food. Their houses
are where they stay after a hard day's work. The field 田 「Tián 」 where work is
done under sunlight is 阳 「Yáng 」, and the house 宅 「Zhái 」 where they
sleep at night is 阴 「Yīn 」. Thus, 田宅宫 「Tián Zhái Gōng 」 literally
means Field and House Palace, and needs a balanced 阴 and 阳 .

In modern context, since most people are no longer farmers, Field is
equivalent to one's place of work or business assets such as factories.

A home is where one grows up in (parents' house), and also where one will
be settling down with your spouse and children. One's living environment
is indicated here, and covers his extra-marital affairs as well.

Other things like inheritance (from parents or grandparents), how much
properties one is likely to own, and the quality and security of one's
properties (whether the house is likely to collapse, or catch fire etc.)
are also indicated in 田宅宫.

Career Palace 官禄宫

官 「Guān 」 means Official. 禄 「 Lù 」 means Wealth.

In ancient China, (actually even now too, if you are in Singapore), being an
Official or Politician will assure one a life of riches and wealth and stable career.
So 官禄 used in the modern context refers to Career - work that brings in
wealth (and sometimes glory) and brings about stability in one's life.

官禄宫 「Guān Lù Gōng 」 simply indicates what kind of career one should pursue,
one's job achievement, ability in mastering the job, promotion prospects, reputation,
business-related lawsuits, and whether one is suited to be an entrepreneur etc.

Not everyone has a job, but that does not mean 官禄宫 is redundant.

For a housewife, her 'workplace' would be her home. Whether her house
is spick and span or a junkyard can be deduced from 官禄宫. School is a
student's 'workplace' and 官禄宫 would indicate his ability in school. For
the old and retired, it would indicate how they fare in their social lives.

Friends/Servants Palace 仆役宫

仆 「Pú 」 means Servants and 役 「Yì 」 means service.

Hiring servants/slaves were pretty common in the olden days, especially
for the rich. Originally, 仆役宫 「Pu Yì Gōng 」 was about one's servants
and subordinates as the Emperor(s) wanted to know the loyalty of his
officials and servants. However, servants and subordinates were the
closest people to the Imperial family as there was daily interaction.
So for this reason, this palace was also called Friends Palace.

Even though there is no longer slavery now, the original meaning is retained,
and indicate one's relationship with subordinates at work or domestic helper
at home; any hired help will fall into 仆役宫. Whether one's subordinates or
helpers are competent and of great help is also indicated.


Friends are important people in one's growing up years. The Chinese
saying, 近朱者赤, 近墨者黑 「Jìn zhū zhě chì, jìn mò zhě hēi 」rings true
for most people. Friends are able to influence one's beliefs and behaviour,
sometimes more than any other people would.

So, the kind of friends one has will shape his life to some extent. Whether one's
friends are true and loyal or are just weather friends or backstabbers, bring happiness
or troubles, all these will be indicated in here. 'Friends' here covers close friends,
acquaintances, classmates, girlfriends/boyfriends, business partners and network.

If one is a public figure, celebrity or performer, his rapport with his supporters,
fans or audience will be covered in 仆役宫. If one is a teacher or mentor, his
relationship with his students or disciples will also be indicated here.


In the olden days, one finds his status through servants.

But in this age, one needs his friends to find himself.

Travel Palace 迁移宫

迁移 「Qiān Yí 」 means travelling, moving or shifting.

In ancient China, imperial exams were held in the capital city every few years.
Scholars from all parts of the country travelled to the capital in the hope of
attaining success in the exams. If succeeded, a life of glory and wealth will follow.

Travelling from all corners to the capital by foot is no joke. The journey would
take months or even a year, and is arduous and dangerous. Unlucky scholars
sometimes did not even make it to the capital, due to lack of funds, sickness,
or met with mishaps or bad people. Thus, the development of Travel Palace.

In the modern context, this palace is relevant to trips away from home, be it for
leisure or work-related purposes, and even daily commuting to and from home.

This palace indicates first and foremost, whether one should stay in his hometown, or
travel far to seek better achievement in career. It also indicates one's social skills and
luck when travelling; whether one gets help from strangers or meets with mishaps
and disasters etc. Specific events like traffic accidents can also be known from here.

Beside these, 迁移宫 also covers house-moving, changes in employment status.

Health Palace 疾厄宫

疾 「Jí 」 means illness or disease and 厄 「È 」 means misfortune.

Simply, this palace describes one's born physique, physical health and the
type of sickness(es) one is particularly prone to getting. Serious or fatal
injuries resulted from accidents or natural causes are also indicated here.

Wealth Palace 财昂宫

财 「Cái 」 means riches and 昂 「Áng 」 means rise.
So 财昂 refers to how much riches one will accumulate.

This palace covers one's level of income; whether you have to work
very hard for it or often has windfall fortunes. It describes one's
financial situation in general. The way one should make his money,
one's wealth luck and earning capacity are also indicated here.

That is not all. The focus of 财昂宫 is on how one manage his finances.
One who spends more than he earns will not be wealthy. One who earns
little but save a big portion of his earnings can only get richer. This palace
has close ties with Fortune Palace 福德宫 which covers cash outflow.

In the modern context, 'Wealth' is no longer defined in dollars and cents.
When determining the overall wealth of a person, Property Palace 田宅宫
and Fortune Palace 福德宫 have to be taken into consideration as well.

Most experienced fortune tellers are not willing to predict the exact period
of one's sudden wealth luck or windfalls. Such things are better left not known.

Children Palace 子女宫

子 「Zi 」 means son, and 女 「Nu 」means daughter.

子女宫 「Zi Nu Gōng 」 covers everything that has to do with one's
next generation - from one's fertility, pregnancy and chances of
miscarriage to one's relationship with his children, their looks,
general character, intelligence, health and their general luck. 'Next
generation' includes one's adopted children and friends of one's children.

Additionally, this palace can also indicate one's satisfaction with
his/her sexual lifestyle (with one's spouse) and general luck with
the opposite sex (for those who are still single).

For businessmen, 子女宫 represents the company's shareholders.

Marriage Palace 夫妻宫

夫 「Fū 」 means Husband and 妻 「Qī 」 means Wife.

夫妻宫 「Fū Qī Gōng 」 indicates one's marital bliss, spouse's looks and
personality, whether one's spouse is more of an 'asset' or 'liability'.
Separation, divorce, or death of one's spouse can also be deduced from here.

Chinese believe that one's affinity with his/her spouse has something
to do with karma, which is why the saying, "Beauty lies in the eyes of
the beholder". A deep affinity will make a marriage last longer whereas
casual affinity will result in a premature separation or divorce.
One will be able to find the explanation in his/her 夫妻宫.

Note: In ancient China, couples were matchmade and saw each other for
the first time (usually) on their wedding day. So I'm not too sure whether
the accuracy is there by using 夫妻宫 to analyse steady relationships or lovers.

Siblings Palace 兄弟宫

Unlike Children Palace 子女宫 which is no longer accurate in predicting
the number of children one may have (due to the many many
contraceptive methods), Siblings Palace 兄弟宫 is able to indicate
how many siblings one has (depending on what are the stars in the palace).

兄弟宫 「Xiōng Dì Gōng 」 is indicative of one's relationship with his
siblings; whether there is siblings rivalry or unison. Besides blood
siblings, it also covers close friends and buddies - those who are so
so close that one probably sees them more than his/her own siblings.
However, these close friends will have to be those of the same generation.

For businessmen, 兄弟宫 represents business partners.

The 13th Palace - 身宫 「Shēn Gōng 」

身 「Shēn 」 means 'Body'. 身宫 「Shēn Gōng 」 is the 13th Palace (aka Body Palace)
on the Birth Chart. Its position is dependent on the location of the Life Palace 命宫.
While 命宫 is 'pre-heaven', 身宫 is 'post-heaven' or called 后天 「Hòu Tiān 」.

Using the cell phone analogy, 命宫 is the 'hardware' (blue-tooth, MP3 player or Java-
games capabilities,etc.) , and 身宫 is its 'software' (wallpaper, ring tone, phone list etc.).

Generally, 命宫 tends to represent one's early life (before 35 years old) and 身宫
represents the later part. For example, if 命宫 is strong, but 身宫 is weak, it would
indicate the person has an easier time till his 30s before life takes a worse turn.

And also, the location of one's 身宫 indicates where he is headed in life. Generally,

1. When 身宫 is in Life Palace 命宫 - the person is seldom affected by external
circumstances.

2. When 身宫 is in Marriage Palace 夫妻宮 - the person is attached and emotional,
committed to his/her family and can be easily influenced by his/her spouse.

3. When 身宫 is in Wealth Palace 财昂宫 - the person's ulitmate goal in life
is to make money and more money, and often his/her mood and happiness
is determined by economic factors.

4. When 身宫 is in Travel Palace 迁移宫 - the person adapts well to changes
of circumstances or environment.

5. When 身宫 is in Career Palace 官祿宮 - the person is career-minded and
seek success in the form of fame and society status.

6. When 身宫 is in Fortune Palace 福德宮 - the person places emphasis on
the quality of life, lacks the zeal and drive necessary to succeed and does
not adapt well to changes.


Note: These are only general descriptions based on the location
of 身宫 without taking the Stars in the palace into considerations.

Life Palace 命宫

This is not called 命宫 「Mìng Gōng 」for nothing. It has to do with 'pre-heaven'
先天 「Xiān Tiān 」 - Destiny - and what has already been decided;
the specifications which had been *determined by the manufacturer.

This palace is the main focus of the birth chart and is concerned with one's inborn
capabilities, character, physical appearance, general luck and potential development.

The position of 命宫 is of paramount importance as it also determines
the location of the 13th Palace, 身宫 「Shēn Gōng 」.







* Just to clarify:

When I said, 'determined by manufacturer' or 'pre-determined', it is just an easier
way to bring my point across. There is a certain amount of karmic element in Chinese
Astrology - what a person is now, is a result of what he was in his past life. And
where he ends up in this life, will be a result of what he makes of his present
life, given the 'specifications' he brought over from his last life.

So in short, we are our own manufacturers of our fate.

Whether there is a God or not is not relevant here.

The 12 Palaces - 十二宫

宫 「Gōng 」 or palace originated from the concept of house or temple -
a space where spirits or souls dwelt in. 'Space' does not exist outside 'time',
so each 宫 can relate to the timespan of events happening in the particular 宫.





The 12 Palaces, or 十二宫 「Shí Èr Gōng 」 are arranged
in Anti-clockwise direction in this fixed sequence -

1. Life Palace 命宫 「Mìng Gōng 」

2. Siblings Palace 兄弟宫 「Xiōng Dì Gōng 」

3. Marriage Palace 夫妻宫 「Fū Qī Gōng 」

4. Children Palace 子女宫 「Zi Nu Gōng 」

5. Wealth Palace 财昂宫 「Cái Áng Gōng 」

6. Health Palace 疾厄宫 「Jí È Gōng 」

7. Travel Palace 迁移宫 「Qiān Yí Gōng 」

8. Friends, Servants Palace 仆役宫 「Pu Yì Gōng 」

9. Career Palace 官禄宫 「Guān Lù Gōng 」

10. Property Palace 田宅宫 「Tián Zhái Gōng 」

11. Fortune, Virtue Palace 福德宫 「Fú Dé Gōng 」

12. Parents Palace 父母宫 「Fù Mu Gōng 」


In addition, there is a 13th Palace called 身宫 「Shēn Gōng 」or literally, Body Palace.
It is as important as any of the other 12 Palaces in interpreting one's life events.