Zi Wei Dou Shu Chart
Zi Wei Dou Shu describes a person through a chart of twelve palaces. It takes the same moment of birth as BaZi but converts it differently: BaZi uses the solar-term calendar, Zi Wei uses the lunar calendar. This page explains how the chart is constructed.
The twelve palaces
The chart has twelve fixed positions matching the twelve Earthly Branches. In order they are Life, Siblings, Spouse, Children, Wealth, Health, Travel, Friends, Career, Property, Fortune and Parents. The Life Palace is located from the lunar month and the hour of birth, and the remaining palaces follow in fixed sequence.
The palace opposite the Life Palace is Travel, and the two form a paired relationship. Classical reading works with the palace together with its opposite and its two trine palaces. A conclusion drawn from a single palace in isolation is usually incomplete.
Major and supporting stars
Fourteen major stars divide into two series. Placing the Purple Star fixes the first series, and the second series follows from it, so the whole arrangement is determined once that anchor is set.
Beyond the major stars there are many supporting stars, malefic stars and minor stars. They do not change the underlying nature of a major star, but they substantially change how a palace presents.
The Four Transformations
Four Transformations are Wealth, Power, Status and Obstacle. The stem of the birth year determines which four stars are activated. This mechanism is what most distinguishes Zi Wei Dou Shu from other systems, because it turns an otherwise static chart into a directed structure.
In addition to the birth-year set, each decade limit and each annual period generates its own set, and these layer on top of one another.
How the timing differs from BaZi
BaZi bounds its months by solar terms, while Zi Wei locates the Life Palace using the lunar month. For the same moment of birth the two systems may disagree about which month it is. That is not a contradiction; they are two independent calendar conventions.
The handling of the hour is the same in both: twelve two-hour periods, both affected by true solar time, both most sensitive at the boundary between periods.
How to use it
- Enter the Gregorian date and time of birth; the lunar date and hour period are derived from it
- The Life Palace is located, the major and supporting stars are placed, and the twelve palaces are laid out
- Layer the birth-year, decade and annual transformations to read the structure