How a Zi Wei Chart Is Cast

Zi Wei Dou Shu Chart Construction Methods

Constructing a Zi Wei Dou Shu chart is a rigorous mathematical and deductive process that translates the year, month, day, and hour of birth into a complete chart. The following are the basic steps for casting a chart.

Step 1: Determine the Position of the Life Palace

The palace position of the Life Palace (Ming Gong) is determined by the birth month and the time of birth. The mnemonic formula states: "Using the month as the count, start at Yin for the first month and count backward to the birth month; then from that position, start at Zi for the Zi hour and count forward to the birth hour. The palace arrived at is the Life Palace."

Step 2: Establish the Twelve Palaces

Starting from the Life Palace, arrange the following in a clockwise sequence: Life Palace, Siblings, Spouse, Children, Wealth, Health, Travel, Friends, Career, Property, Fortune, and Parents.

Step 3: Determine the Five Elements Frame

Based on the combination of the Heavenly Stem (Tian Gan) and Earthly Branch (Di Zhi) at the position of the Life Palace, consult the Nayin Five Elements table to determine the Five Elements frame (Water Second, Wood Third, Metal Fourth, Earth Fifth, and Fire Sixth).

Step 4: Place the Zi Wei Star

Based on the day of birth and the number of the Five Elements frame, use a specific formula to calculate the position of the Zi Wei Star:

• Divide the frame number by the birth day number
• Determine the palace position of the Zi Wei Star based on the quotient and remainder

Step 5: Place the Tian Fu Star and Other Major Stars

Once the Zi Wei Star is established, the remaining thirteen major stars are placed sequentially according to fixed arrangement rules. The six stars of the Zi Wei series have fixed relative positions, and the Tian Fu Star is arranged symmetrically based on the position of the Zi Wei Star.

Step 6: Place Auxiliary and Malefic Stars

• Zuo Fu and You Bi: Placed according to the birth month
• Wen Chang and Wen Qu: Placed according to the birth hour
• Tian Kui and Tian Yue: Placed according to the birth year stem
• Qing Yang and Tuo Luo: Placed according to the birth year stem
• Huo Xing and Ling Xing: Placed according to the birth year branch and birth hour
• Di Kong and Di Jie: Placed according to the birth hour

Step 7: Establish the Four Transformations

Based on the Heavenly Stem of the birth year, determine which stars the Four Transformations (Si Hua) stars—Hua Lu, Hua Quan, Hua Ke, and Hua Ji—will respectively land upon.

Modern Chart Casting

Traditional manual chart casting requires extensive lookup tables and calculations, so modern practice typically utilizes computer programs to accomplish this. However, understanding the principles behind chart casting is essential for deeply comprehending the operational logic of Zi Wei Dou Shu.