What it is. Zi Wei Dou Shu (Purple Star) lays your life out as twelve PALACES — career, wealth, marriage, health, and so on — and places named stars into them from your birth date and hour on the lunar calendar.
The parts. MAJOR STARS are the principal actors; each has a character (the Emperor, the Army Breaker, the Greedy Wolf) and a BRIGHTNESS rating from 'temple' (full strength) to 'trapped' (weakest). MINOR STARS add texture — helpers, disruptors, wealth markers. The SOUL PALACE is your core self; the BODY PALACE is where that self gets lived out in the world.
How to read it. Read the Soul Palace and Body Palace first, then the palaces for whatever you asked about. A palace with no major star is normal — it takes its character from the stars opposite it and from its minor stars.
The twelve palaces
Zi Wei divides a life into twelve palaces, each a domain. Stars fall into them from your birth date and hour. The Soul Palace (命宮) is the anchor — your core self — and every other palace is counted from it. The Body Palace (身宮) always coincides with one of the others, and that overlap says where your inner life gets lived out.
- Soul Palace命宮 · Life / Destiny Palace
- Your core self, character and life direction — the palace everything else is read against.
- Siblings Palace兄弟宮
- Brothers, sisters, close peers — and how you handle equals.
- Spouse Palace夫妻宮 · Marriage Palace
- Marriage and long partnership — who you're drawn to, and what partnership does to you.
- Children Palace子女宮
- Children, creativity, what you produce — and your relationship with the next generation.
- Wealth Palace財帛宮
- Money — how you earn it, keep it, and feel about it.
- Health Palace疾厄宮
- Body, illness, and the difficulties that recur — where you're vulnerable.
- Travel Palace遷移宮 · Migration Palace
- Life away from home — movement, opportunity abroad, how you fare out in the world.
- Friends Palace交友宮 · Servants Palace
- Friends, colleagues, subordinates — the people around you and the help you get.
- Career Palace官祿宮 · Official Rank Palace
- Work, status, achievement — your public role and how you rise.
- Property Palace田宅宮
- Home, real estate, family assets — where you're rooted and what you hold.
- Spirit Palace福德宮 · Fortune / Blessings Palace
- Inner happiness, mental life, what you enjoy — the quality of your inner weather.
- Parents Palace父母宮
- Parents, elders, authority figures — and what you inherit from them.
- Body Palace身宮
- Where your Soul Palace's themes get lived out in the world — always shares a palace with one of the other eleven; that palace becomes a second centre of gravity.
The fourteen major stars
The major stars are the principal actors. Each has a fixed character and an element, and its BRIGHTNESS in a given palace rates how strongly that character shows. A palace can hold none, one or two.
- Zi Wei紫微 · the Emperor · Earth
- Authority, dignity, leadership — wants to be in charge and treated accordingly; noble, and needs good ministers.
- Tian Ji天機 · the Strategist · Wood
- Intelligence, planning, adaptability — quick thinking, a mind that never stops; changeable.
- Tai Yang太陽 · the Sun · Fire
- Warmth, generosity, visibility, service — shines on others, gives more than it takes; tires itself out.
- Wu Qu武曲 · the General · Metal
- Decisiveness, wealth-making, toughness — action over talk, good with money, hard on itself and others.
- Tian Tong天同 · the Child · Water
- Ease, enjoyment, kindness, luck — wants comfort and harmony; can drift.
- Lian Zhen廉貞 · the Bureaucrat · Fire
- Principle and passion in the same star — disciplined or reckless, rarely in between; magnetic.
- Tian Fu天府 · the Treasurer · Earth
- Stability, accumulation, conservatism — keeps what it has, manages well, avoids risk.
- Tai Yin太陰 · the Moon · Water
- Sensitivity, refinement, quiet wealth — gentle, artistic, works behind the scenes; moody.
- Tan Lang貪狼 · the Wolf · Wood/Water
- Desire, charm, appetite for everything — social, versatile, sensual; the star of wanting more.
- Ju Men巨門 · the Advocate · Water
- Speech, argument, suspicion — persuasive and critical; wins with words and makes enemies with them.
- Tian Xiang天相 · the Minister · Water
- Loyalty, fairness, service — the trusted second; supports others well, decides slowly for itself.
- Tian Liang天梁 · the Elder · Earth
- Protection, wisdom, longevity — the guardian and mentor; solves problems for others, lectures.
- Qi Sha七殺 · the General in the field · Metal
- Courage, independence, drive — charges ahead alone; powerful and volatile.
- Po Jun破軍 · the Destroyer · Water
- Breaking and rebuilding — tears down what's finished to start again; restless, pioneering, costly.
The minor stars
Minor stars colour a palace rather than lead it. The helpers (Zuo Fu, You Bi, Wen Chang, Wen Qu, Tian Kui, Tian Yue) bring support and talent; the disruptors (Qing Yang, Tuo Luo, Huo Xing, Ling Xing, Di Kong, Di Jie) bring friction, loss or delay; Lu Cun and Tian Ma bring wealth and movement.
- Zuo Fu左輔 · Left Assistant
- Loyal helpers, support from allies — things get done because people show up for you.
- You Bi右弼 · Right Assistant
- Quiet assistance, second chances — help that arrives through others' goodwill.
- Wen Chang文昌 · Literary Star
- Scholarship, writing, exams, formal talent — the academic mind.
- Wen Qu文曲 · Literary Music
- Artistic and verbal flair — eloquence, music, charm in expression.
- Tian Kui天魁 · Heavenly Leader
- A mentor or patron — help from someone senior, usually male, at the right moment.
- Tian Yue天鉞 · Heavenly Halberd
- A benefactor — help from someone senior, usually female, at the right moment.
- Lu Cun祿存 · Salary Star
- Steady income, savings, security — money that comes reliably rather than in windfalls.
- Tian Ma天馬 · Heavenly Horse
- Movement, travel, change of place — opportunity found by going somewhere.
- Qing Yang擎羊 · the Ram / Yang Ren
- Sharp force — injury, conflict, surgery, decisive cuts; drive with an edge.
- Tuo Luo陀羅 · Spinning Top
- Delay, entanglement, going in circles — things that drag; persistence learned the hard way.
- Huo Xing火星 · Fire Star
- Sudden flare-ups — temper, accidents, fast change; energy that ignites.
- Ling Xing鈴星 · Bell Star
- Slow-burning friction — irritation, alarms, chronic disturbance; also stamina.
- Di Kong地空 · Earth Void
- Emptiness where you expected substance — plans that evaporate; also detachment and spiritual insight.
- Di Jie地劫 · Earth Robbery
- Loss, expense, things taken — what slips through; also freedom from holding on.
- Hua Lu化祿 · Transformation of Prosperity
- A star given a bonus of fortune — ease and gain in that palace.
- Hua Quan化權 · Transformation of Power
- A star given authority — control and influence in that palace.
- Hua Ke化科 · Transformation of Fame
- A star given recognition — reputation and academic luck in that palace.
- Hua Ji化忌 · Transformation of Obstruction
- A star given trouble — the palace where things stick and hurt.
Star brightness
Every major star is rated in each palace on a seven-level scale. 'Temple' is the star at full strength — its best character shows; 'trapped' is its weakest — the difficult side shows. The character in the data table is the Engine's own rating.
- Temple庙
- Strongest; the star at full expression.
- Thriving旺
- Strong.
- Gaining得
- Favorable.
- Advantageous利
- Mildly favorable.
- Average平
- Present but needs cultivation.
- Weakened不
- Struggles to express.
- Trapped陷
- Weakest; the star's difficult side shows.