Purple Star Astrology
Twelve palaces, and the stars that live in them
Zi Wei Dou Shu (Tử Vi in Vietnamese) places over a hundred stars into twelve palaces of life from your lunar birth date and hour. We calculate the chart in code and check it against two independent implementations.
Your birth details
What a Zi Wei Dou Shu chart shows
Zi Wei Dou Shu (紫微斗數, 'Purple Star Astrology') is a Chinese system of birth-chart reading from the Song dynasty, named after its principal star, Zi Wei. It converts your birth date to the lunar calendar, takes the birth hour, and places a hundred-odd named stars into twelve palaces (宮), each palace standing for one area of life.
The twelve palaces are Life (命宮), Siblings, Spouse, Children, Wealth, Health, Travel, Friends, Career, Property, Mental state (福德) and Parents. The Life Palace is the anchor: its position is fixed by the birth month and hour, and the other eleven follow it around the chart. The Body Palace (身宮) shares one of these positions and shows what you grow into after middle age.
The fourteen major stars (十四主星) carry most of the meaning: Zi Wei, Tian Ji, Tai Yang, Wu Qu, Tian Tong, Lian Zhen, Tian Fu, Tai Yin, Tan Lang, Ju Men, Tian Xiang, Tian Liang, Qi Sha and Po Jun. Where each one falls, whether it is bright or dim, and which of the Four Transformations (四化: 祿 wealth, 權 power, 科 fame, 忌 obstruction) it picks up from the birth-year stem, all shape the reading.
Zi Wei Dou Shu and BaZi both start from the same birth moment but look at it differently. BaZi works with the five elements and the balance between eight characters; Zi Wei works with a map of stars and palaces, and is often used for specific questions about one area of life. Our chart is computed by code and cross-checked against two independent implementations; it never asks for anything beyond the birth data.
Zi Wei Dou Shu: common questions
- What is Zi Wei Dou Shu?
- Zi Wei Dou Shu (紫微斗數) is a Chinese birth-chart system that places named stars into twelve life palaces according to your lunar birth date and hour. It is read palace by palace, with the Life Palace (命宮) at the centre, and was traditionally used alongside BaZi.
- Do I need my exact birth hour?
- Yes. The Life Palace, and therefore every other palace, is placed from the birth month and the two-hour period (時辰) of birth. Without the hour the chart cannot be built reliably, which is why the calculator asks for it. If you only know the hour roughly, try the two neighbouring periods and compare.
- What is the Life Palace (命宮)?
- The Life Palace is the palace that stands for you: your character, constitution and the overall shape of your life. The major stars that sit in it, and in the palaces opposite and in trine to it, are read first. The other eleven palaces are counted from it.
- Which are the fourteen major stars?
- Zi Wei (紫微), Tian Ji (天機), Tai Yang (太陽), Wu Qu (武曲), Tian Tong (天同), Lian Zhen (廉貞), 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) and Po Jun (破軍). They form two groups that move around the chart together, led by Zi Wei and by Tian Fu.
- What are the Four Transformations (四化)?
- Each birth-year stem gives four stars an extra role: 化祿 (gain), 化權 (authority), 化科 (reputation) and 化忌 (obstruction). They show where energy flows easily and where it meets resistance in that chart, and are among the first things a reader checks.
- How is Zi Wei Dou Shu different from BaZi?
- Both use the same birth moment. BaZi (Four Pillars) reduces it to eight characters and reads the balance of the five elements, with Luck Pillars for timing. Zi Wei Dou Shu converts it to the lunar calendar and reads a map of stars in twelve palaces, which makes it easier to ask about one area, such as career or marriage. Many readers use both and compare.