Life Palace
Core personality, talent, and life direction—all other palaces are positioned from here.
Zi Wei Dou Shu · Chinese Astrology
Zi Wei Dou Shu Basics
Understand Zi Wei in five minutes: a chart is built from fourteen major stars, twelve palaces, and the Four Transformations. See how it differs from BaZi, what each system is best at, then cast your own free chart.
What is Zi Wei Dou Shu?
Zi Wei Dou Shu dates back to the Song dynasty and was long used in the imperial court. It converts the lunar birth date and hour into a twelve-palace square chart, distributing over a hundred stars—with the fourteen major stars carrying the most weight.
A Zi Wei chart reads more like a map than a formula: each palace governs a life domain, and the stars within it—bright or fallen, meeting auspicious or challenging influences—describe how that domain unfolds. This palace-level detail is why many people use Zi Wei for career, marriage, and wealth questions.
The Twelve Palaces
Every chart shares the same twelve palaces, anchored by the Life Palace. Its position is set by birth month and hour. The diagram below shows the layout—hover to highlight trine groups; click a palace to jump to its description.
Hover a palace to highlight its trine group; click to scroll to the matching description below.
Career Palace
Career path, leadership style, and the work environment where you thrive.
Wealth Palace
How you earn and how wealth gathers or disperses—style, not a fixed fortune number.
Marriage Palace
Partner patterns, intimacy traits, and themes in the pace of love and marriage.
Health Palace
Constitutional tendencies and stress patterns worth watching through life.
Siblings Palace
Siblings and peer allies—support from those beside you, not above or below.
Children Palace
Children and all you create and nurture—students, works, projects that carry your imprint.
Property Palace
Home, real estate, and family assets—your living space and material roots.
Friends Palace
Friends, networks, and subordinates—whether your circle lifts you or drains you.
Fortune Palace
Inner fortune—mental state, taste, capacity for joy, and the inner reserve you retreat to under stress.
Parents Palace
Parents and elders—the shelter and expectations you grew up under.
Travel Palace
Travel and relocation—opportunities abroad and how the outside world receives you.
Fourteen Major Stars at a Glance
A chart has over a hundred stars, but the fourteen majors carry most of the weight. Which palace each lands in—and how bright it is—colors that domain:
Zi Wei · Emperor
Dignity, leadership drive, need for respect; the chart organizes around it.
Tian Ji · Strategist
Quick mind, planning, restless energy; thrives in change and analysis.
Tai Yang · Light
Radiance, giving, public-facing roles; shines while serving something larger.
Wu Qu · Wealth General
Decisive, disciplined, hands-on with money; action over talk.
Tian Tong · Fortune
Ease, kindness, enjoyment; fortune through softness, not force.
Lian Zhen · Prison
Principles and desire in tension; sharp, magnetic charm.
Tian Fu · Treasury
Steady, good at holding; conservative wealth—a keeper, not a raider.
Tai Yin · Moon
Gentle, accumulative, quiet building; power that works at night.
Tan Lang · Desire
Charm, many talents, big appetite; the social center—and its temptation.
Ju Men · Shadow
Speech, debate, scrutiny; wins and wounds by words.
Tian Xiang · Seal
Loyalty, service, reputation; the reliable deputy who keeps things running.
Tian Liang · Shelter
Protection, wisdom, care for others; arrives with problems, leaves with gratitude.
Qi Sha · General
Courage, risk, command in crisis; born for frontiers, restless in ease.
Po Jun · Breaker
Destruction and rebuild; tear down the old to open the new.
Brightness and the Four Transformations
A star’s brightness depends on palace and earthly branch—from full power (miao/wang) to weakened (luo/xian). A bright Qi Sha commands; a fallen one stirs conflict.
The Four Transformations follow the birth year’s heavenly stem, turning specific stars into Lu (flow), Quan (authority), Ke (fame), and Ji (obstruction). Where Hua Ji sits often marks recurring life lessons—and is where most readers look first.
Origins of Zi Wei Dou Shu
Tradition credits Taoist master Chen Tuan (late Five Dynasties to early Song). Named after Zi Wei, the polar emperor star, it was historically a palace art used for succession and appointments.
It reached common people later than BaZi and kept an “imperial study” reputation. Taiwan and Hong Kong remain where the tradition is most alive today.
Zi Wei or BaZi—How to Choose
The systems complement each other. BaZi, rooted in the Five Elements, is stronger on timing (“when to act”). Zi Wei is a palace map, stronger on detail (“how it unfolds”). Ask BaZi which decade suits a startup; ask Zi Wei’s Marriage Palace what kind of partner fits.
Serious practitioners often use both. Chart tools on this site are free to use.
Why Zi Wei Uses the Lunar Calendar
A common beginner confusion: BaZi uses the solar-term Ganzhi calendar, while Zi Wei casts from the traditional lunar month and day plus birth hour. The same birthday can fall in different months across the two systems—that is normal.
That is also why a proper Zi Wei tool must handle leap months and calendar conversion precisely. Our tool converts Gregorian birthdays to lunar automatically—you do not need conversion tables.
How to Generate a Chart
1 · Enter birth details
Date, time, and place. Zi Wei is more sensitive to hour than BaZi—the hour sets the Life Palace.
2 · Get the palace chart
The caster converts to lunar, places the fourteen majors and key auxiliaries, and renders the full twelve-palace chart.
3 · AI reading
AI explains career, wealth, and relationships palace by palace—in plain language, no classical Chinese required.
💬 Zi Wei Dou Shu FAQ
Is Zi Wei Dou Shu the same as Purple Star Astrology?
Yes. Purple Star Astrology is the common English name, from the lead star Zi Wei (Emperor Star).
Do I need an exact birth time?
Yes—even more than BaZi. The hour sets the Life Palace, the chart’s anchor. An uncertain hour shifts every palace; verify birth records when you can.
Is chart casting free?
Yes. A full twelve-palace chart with the fourteen majors needs no signup. You can add paid AI deep readings on top.
Which is more accurate—Zi Wei or BaZi?
Neither is “more accurate”—they answer different questions. BaZi excels at timing and elemental balance; Zi Wei at domain detail via palaces. Using both is most complete.
Learn more
Cast your twelve palaces
A Zi Wei chart takes about a minute. Start with a free chart, then explore AI readings of Life, Career, Wealth, and Marriage palaces.