Zi Wei Dou Shu Basics
Zi Wei Dou Shu (Purple Star Astrology) casts a twelve-palace chart from the lunar year, month, day and hour of birth, then places more than a hundred stars in the palaces. A reading starts with the Life palace and its alignment (the opposite palace and the two trines), then looks at each palace's main stars, supporting stars, transformations and brightness, and combines them into a picture of temperament and tendencies across the areas of life.
This guide collects the concepts and readings used by our chart tool. They are compiled from general convention and are a way into the symbolic system; where schools disagree, we say which version we use.
The fourteen main stars
Main stars set the basic character of a palace. Six belong to the Zi Wei group and eight to the Tian Fu group. Each page covers the star's nature, its reading in every palace and its brightness.
Zi Wei group (Northern Dipper)
Tian Fu group (Southern Dipper)
- Tian Fu (天府)
- Tai Yin (太陰)
- Tan Lang (貪狼)
- Ju Men (巨門)
- Tian Xiang (天相)
- Tian Liang (天梁)
- Qi Sha (七殺)
- Po Jun (破軍)
The twelve palaces
Starting from the Life palace, the twelve palaces each govern one area of life.
- LifeYour nature, talents, scope and the keynote of your whole life; chief of the twelve palaces.
- SiblingsTies with siblings, peers, colleagues and partners, and the help you give each other.
- SpouseYour pattern in love, the shape of a partner, and how you carry yourself and what you need in intimacy.
- ChildrenTies with children, juniors and students, extending to creative work and personal charm.
- WealthHow you earn, the nature of your income, your attitude to money and your spending habits.
- HealthTraditionally your constitution and health tendencies, and how body and mind carry stress.
- TravelGoing out, travel, moving and changes of environment, and the image you present to others.
- FriendsFriends, staff, clients and your wider circle: the quality of these ties and the help they bring.
- CareerCareer direction, kind of work, performance at work and the route to achievement, including studies.
- PropertyProperty, living environment and family atmosphere; traditionally also the family's fortunes and its store of savings.
- FortuneInner life, interests, emotions and contentment; traditionally also how much good fortune you enjoy.
- ParentsTies with parents, elders and bosses, and traditionally documents, contracts and exams.
More topics
- The Four Transformations: Lu, Quan, Ke and JiWhat the four transformations mean in Zi Wei Dou Shu, with the transformation table for the ten heavenly stems.
- Star Brightness (Miao, Wang, Li, Xian) TableThe brightness table for the fourteen main stars and the key benefic and malefic stars in Zi Wei Dou Shu, with the meaning of the seven grades.
- Common Zi Wei Dou Shu PatternsConditions and readings for 37 common Zi Wei Dou Shu patterns, such as Zi Wei with Tian Fu, Ji Yue Tong Liang, Sha Po Lang and Sun and Moon Both Bright.
- Supporting, Malefic and Minor StarsWhat the supporting stars (Zuo Fu, You Bi, Wen Chang, Wen Qu, Tian Kui, Tian Yue), malefic stars (Qing Yang, Tuo Luo, Huo Xing, Ling Xing, Di Kong, Di Jie) and common minor stars mean in Zi Wei Dou Shu.
This is fixed text compiled from general convention, not a reading of any individual chart and not a prediction. For important decisions, please consult qualified professionals.