Zi Wei Dou Shu
The 12 palaces of Zi Wei Dou Shu explained
A Zi Wei Dou Shu (Ziwei) chart is a square of twelve boxes. Each box is a palace, one area of your life. Knowing what each palace covers is the first step to reading any chart.
The twelve palaces, one by one
- Life (命宫): your core character, talents and the overall direction of life.
- Siblings (兄弟): brothers and sisters, close peers and partners in small ventures.
- Spouse (夫妻): marriage and long-term partnership, and what you look for in a partner.
- Children (子女): children, students, juniors, and your creative output.
- Wealth (财帛): how you earn and handle money.
- Health (疾厄): your constitution and the parts of life that need looking after.
- Travel (迁移): how you fare away from home, moving, travel and public life.
- Friends (交友): friends, colleagues, staff and social networks.
- Career (官禄): work, career path and achievement.
- Property (田宅): home, family property and your living environment.
- Fortune and mind (福德): inner happiness, hobbies, peace of mind and how you enjoy life.
- Parents (父母): parents, mentors, superiors and official matters.
Reading palaces in groups
No palace is read alone. Each one is read with its opposite palace and the two palaces that form a triangle with it, the “three directions and four corners” (三方四正). For example, the Life palace is read with the Travel palace opposite, and with the Wealth and Career palaces in its triangle: who you are, how you earn and what you do are one story.
The Body palace
One of the palaces is also marked as the Body palace (身宫). It always falls on the Life, Spouse, Wealth, Travel, Career or Fortune palace, and shows what grows in importance after middle age.
Decade periods: the palaces in motion
Every ten years your decade period (大限) moves to the next palace, and that palace temporarily acts as your Life palace. This is how Zi Wei shows the changing themes of each stage of life. Read about the 14 major stars next, to see what fills each palace.
Common questions
Which Zi Wei Dou Shu palace is most important?
The Life palace, read together with its opposite (Travel) and its triangle (Wealth and Career).
What does the Health palace mean?
It describes constitution and the areas to look after. It is a cultural reading, never a medical diagnosis.