Zi Wei Dou Shu: Palace system（紫微斗數宮位系統） ​

Introduction ​

A palace, also called an enclosure（垣）, is one of the twelve squares arranged around a Zi Wei Dou Shu chart according to the Earthly Branches. A palace and a position are different concepts: a palace has a fixed name, whereas a position is defined relative to a reference palace. Consider your dad and grandpa: these are absolute relationship names relative to you. Your father is represented by your parents（父母） palace. Your grandfather is represented by your spirit（福德） palace; viewed from your parents（父母） palace, he occupies its parents position（父母位）.

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The twelve palaces are arranged counterclockwise on a Zi Wei Dou Shu chart（紫微斗數星盤） in the following order:

Apart from the soul palace（命宮）, the other 11 palace labels usually omit the word palace. The diagram above shows both the palace name and the Earthly Branch（地支）. Branch positions stay fixed, but the palace name assigned to each position varies between people. We therefore use two naming systems. A name formed from Earthly Branch（地支） + palace, such as mao palace（卯宮） or xu palace（戌宮）, always refers to the same place in the chart. A palace name, by contrast, can occupy different positions in different charts. For example, one person's wealth（財帛） palace might be in the chen palace（辰宮）, while another person's wealth（財帛） palace is in the shen palace（申宮）. These two naming systems also give rise to two ways of classifying palaces. Before exploring those classifications, let us first learn about the twelve palaces.

soul（命宮） ​

The soul palace（命宮） shows the chart owner's basic character, much like a character class in a game. But personality has many dimensions, so it describes one's essence rather than every aspect of behavior. You may have heard that Character determines destiny. In the author's view, however, understanding matters more: people with similar personalities can see the same situation differently because their understanding differs. We should therefore avoid judging an entire chart as good or poor, favorable or unfavorable, using rigid traditional categories. Although the soul palace shows intrinsic traits, the first impression others receive often comes from the surface（遷移）.

siblings（兄弟） ​

The siblings palace（兄弟宮） primarily describes relationships with brothers and sisters. When distinguishing father from mother, it also helps describe the relationship with one's mother. Why the mother? This follows the distinction between palace and position explained in the introduction. The chart owner's siblings（兄弟） palace is also, relative to their parents（父母） palace, its spouse position（夫妻位）. Once familiar with this method, you can derive other relationships. Traditional practitioners also consider the siblings（兄弟） palace when examining finances, because relative to the wealth（財帛） palace it occupies the property position（田宅位）, giving a view of available funds. Avoid repeatedly extending these relationships without a clear purpose: the reasoning can quickly become confusing. First understand the palace's primary role in sibling relationships, then explore further interpretations.

spouse（夫妻） ​

The spouse palace（夫妻宮） represents relationships, showing attitudes toward relationships and choosing a partner. Although it is outside the soul palace's trine and opposite palaces（三方四正）, relationships and marriage can still shape an entire life. This is why balance across all twelve palaces matters more than one outstanding palace. If you are unsure what kind of person attracts you, your chart may offer a reference. chart comparison for compatibility（合盤） means comparing both partners' soul and spouse palaces to examine whether their values and relationship attitudes fit. Contrary to a common assumption, the spouse palace is not the palace of romantic attraction（桃花）; romantic attraction（桃花） is chiefly represented by the children（子女） palace.

children（子女） ​

In the spouse-palace discussion, we described the children palace（子女宮） as the palace of romantic attraction（桃花）. This association comes from intimacy leading to childbirth: before becoming parents, a couple has no children. Besides children and romantic attraction（桃花）, this palace can also describe relationships with business partners. That is because the children（子女） palace, relative to the career（官祿） palace, occupies the friends position（僕役位）, indicating work partners.

wealth（財帛） ​

Many people assume a strong wealth palace（財帛宮） guarantees good financial fortune, but it primarily shows attitudes toward money, financial management and material desires. It represents the sustenance needed for the chart owner's life. A prominent wealth palace suggests greater material needs: more resources may be needed to maintain the same standard of living. This can encourage skill in money management and sensitivity to earning opportunities. The saying knowing how to spend can motivate you to earn describes such people. The actual accumulation of wealth is shown by the property（田宅） palace.

health（疾厄） ​

The health palace（疾厄宮） concerns the chart owner's body and physical constitution. Many charting applications call it the health palace, but that label is incomplete: a healthy person may endure physical strain, while someone who is ill may receive exceptional care. The Chinese name translated here as health（疾厄） encompasses both illness and physical hardship. There is no need to fear the phrase physical hardship. Even enjoyable extreme sports can be a form of physical hardship for the body. Long working days, six or seven days a week with virtually no rest, or work exposed to wind and sun can also be physical hardship. This palace also reflects how people treat their bodies, offering clues to why some maintain an exercise routine and manage their physique while others gain weight easily.

surface（遷移） ​

The surface palace（遷移宮） acts as an entry point into the chart. People present an outward image to protect themselves, and the surface（遷移） shows that protective outward image or self-presentation. This explains remarks such as 'You were different when we first met': over time, others see through the surface（遷移） to the soul（命宮） and even the spirit（福德）. A strong surface palace suggests skill in presenting oneself and building a public persona, which often brings favorable first impressions. A weaker showing can indicate being less socially adept, casual about appearance, or having little approachability. A casual person who pays less attention to others' opinions may therefore attract more labels or distance from others.

friends（僕役） ​

Also known as the friendship palace（交友宮）, the friends palace（僕役宮） shows your social circle and approach to choosing friends: what kinds of friends you prefer, how you choose them, and whether your circle contains influential people or mostly companions for eating, drinking and entertainment. These are mainly read from the friends（僕役） palace. This palace receives relatively little attention: people ask about work, relationships, money, parents, children and health, but rarely about friends. Friendship involves considerable freedom of choice, and this palace does not identify one particular friend, which helps explain that neglect. Yet the friends（僕役） palace also concerns communication. We discuss this under Classification by palace name, in the social line（兄友線）.

career（官祿） ​

The career palace（官祿宮）, also called the career palace（事業宮）, reflects your approach to getting things done and attitude toward work. If you have no clear career plan, it can offer a direction and help you identify the skills needed for the kind of work you hope to do. Does it matter if you have not started working, manage the home full-time, or rely financially on a partner? Yes: it concerns your approach to handling tasks, whether or not you have paid employment. For students, studying is their daily work; for full-time homemakers, it is caring for the family. For someone supported by a partner, maintaining that financial support becomes their daily concern.

property（田宅） ​

The property palace（田宅宮） concerns holding and accumulation. Besides real estate, it represents relationships with family. Traditional interpretations value domestic harmony highly and therefore look to this palace when discussing fortune and misfortune. A harmonious home can support life greatly; if the home situation represented here is particularly difficult, living independently may be worth considering. As explained under the wealth（財帛） palace, the property palace also shows wealth accumulation because it acts as a storehouse of wealth. A strong wealth palace with a disrupted property palace can describe someone who earns a great deal but spends a great deal too. A weaker wealth palace with a strong property palace may instead describe someone who manages income and expenses carefully and enjoys saving. These differences do not make one chart good and another bad; they reflect different attitudes toward spending and holding resources.

spirit（福德） ​

The surface palace（遷移宮） represents outward presentation, like a character's cosmetic appearance in a game. The soul palace（命宮） shows underlying traits, like initial attribute points: whether a character is strength-focused, intellect-focused, or agility-focused. The health palace（疾厄宮） concerns bodily strength, comparable to physical resistance. The spirit（福德） palace represents thoughts. When practitioners advise you to cultivate inner resilience, they mean developing inner resilience and emotional stability, rather than letting external circumstances or personal setbacks dictate your reactions. This reduces impulsive or mistaken decisions in response to outside pressure. Other palaces often express subconscious responses, while the spirit（福德） palace concerns considered responses. Strengthening this inner stability can help you handle difficulties and recover from mistakes.

parents（父母） ​

In this framework, the parents palace（父母宮） is the palace that represents the generation before the chart owner, shown by the soul palace（命宮）. It concerns the family into which we are born, a relationship we cannot choose. It describes the parents, most often the father. As discussed under the siblings（兄弟） palace, the relationship with the mother is examined through the siblings（兄弟） palace. The parents palace represents support present from birth. If the person is a tree, this palace is the soil feeding the seedling: some have rich soil and abundant support, while others grow in poor conditions. Many people would like to be born into privilege and start life with every advantage, but that is not everyone's experience. Zi Wei Dou Shu emphasizes the balance of the whole chart. If the parents palace dominates, other areas are relatively weaker; once parental support is removed, the person may face greater challenges than others.

Special palaces ​

Besides the palaces shown in the chart's twelve squares, Zi Wei Dou Shu uses three additional, hidden palaces: the body（身宮） palace, the hidden partner palace（暗合宮）, and the origin（來因） palace.

body（身宮） ​

The body palace（身宮） shows the direction of change of the chart owner's personality and influences the traits of the soul（命宮） palace. The soul palace concerns innate traits, whereas the body（身宮） palace concerns acquired traits. Think of a game character's starting attributes, for example:

The starting attributes are fixed when the character is created. The body（身宮） palace is like the choice of where to allocate points gained while leveling up: some prioritize agility, others strength or intellect. Likewise, people whose soul palace contains emperor（紫微） may develop differently depending on the major star in the body palace. One may become more domineering, like a tyrant; another more open-minded, like a wise ruler. The body（身宮） palace can occupy only these six palaces:

• body palace in the soul palace（身宮在命宮）

  When the body palace（身宮） and soul palace（命宮） share a position, convictions tend to be firmer and personality more stable. In the game analogy, someone starting as a strength-based character is likely to keep investing in strength as they develop. Choosing a sound direction is therefore especially important: persistence can support steady progress toward success, but a mistaken direction can turn the same persistence into stubborn refusal to change course.

• body palace in the surface palace（身宮在遷移宮）

  People with the body palace（身宮） in the surface palace（遷移宮） care strongly about how others see them and about their outward presentation. In the game analogy, they pay more attention to the character's cosmetic appearance. They also prefer being out and about. Building an image that earns others' respect can become a lifelong goal, so external recognition matters greatly. If pursued in a sound direction, this may help them earn recognition; if pursued through inappropriate methods, it can instead damage their reputation.

• body palace in the spouse palace（身宮在夫妻宮）

  When the body palace（身宮） lies in the spouse palace（夫妻宮）, relationships tend to receive greater emphasis. Building a fulfilling relationship may become a central life task. Emotions are among the most complex aspects of life. Strong attachment can make someone become trapped by relationship worries and more vulnerable to emotional manipulation. Some people therefore withdraw from love after being deeply hurt, despite longing for a lasting bond; this is an instinctive form of self-protection. When the relationship feels right, however, they may feel content with love even when money is scarce, and they may willingly give up other priorities for it.

• body palace in the career palace（身宮在官祿宮）

  With the body palace（身宮） in the career palace（官祿宮）, people pay particular attention to their behavior and the way in which they complete a task. This develops into a strong focus on work or career. Because career is central to their goals, they are more likely to become a workaholic and devote themselves fully to achievement. But if their skills are insufficient or their efforts misdirected, setbacks at work can affect them more deeply than others.

• body palace in the wealth palace（身宮在財帛宮）

  People with the body palace（身宮） in the wealth palace（財帛宮） have stronger material needs and find security in wealth. They are therefore more prone to preoccupation with money. Most people value money, but this placement puts particular emphasis on it. The traditional ideal is to earn it through proper means. Excessive attachment to relationships, work or wealth can be unhelpful; here it is especially tempting because money and material resources are tangible, encouraging the urge to control, possess and compete for them.

• body palace in the spirit palace（身宮在福德宮）

  With the body palace（身宮） in the spirit palace（福德宮）, people place greater value on inner fulfillment. As explained under the spirit（福德） palace, this concerns inner experience and thought. The placement strengthens that inward focus and desire for enjoyment. It can also increase susceptibility to dependence, making someone more dependent on the people, activities or objects they like. As with the question of direction of pursuit in other body-palace placements, pursuing an unhelpful path here can lead to particularly difficult problems. These people therefore need to pay greater attention to their psychological state.

hidden partner palace（暗合宮） ​

The hidden partner palace（暗合宮） comes from the six pairings of the Earthly Branches（地支六合）. You do not need to memorize the pairs: divide the chart down its vertical center, and each palace's left–right mirror position is its hidden partner.

hidden pairing（暗合） describes a connection working behind the scenes. In the visible recognition and hidden prosperity（明科暗祿） pattern, the soul（命宮） palace contains transformation C（化科）, while its hidden partner palace（暗合宮） contains transformation A（化祿） or money（祿存）. This combines visible fame with less visible wealth. The author links its favorable reputation to a traditional Chinese preference for public recognition accompanied by quiet prosperity. This is why visible recognition and hidden prosperity（明科暗祿） is a well-regarded pattern. We discuss patterns in Chart patterns.

origin（來因） ​

The origin palace（來因宮） considers the question of why one has come into this life. Treat it as a reference: it is used relatively little in practice, and it is enough here simply to know the concept exists.

• What is the origin palace（來因宮） used for?

  The origin palace（來因宮） can offer a reference when choosing a field of work. In the children（子女） palace, it may suggest work involving parents and children, social interaction, or mergers and acquisitions. In the wealth（財帛） palace, examples include finance, securities, and investment. These are possibilities to consider, not a rule for deciding your career.

• How do you find the origin palace（來因宮）?

  Find the palace whose stem matches the birth year's Heavenly Stem（天干）. For someone born in a gui-mao（癸卯） year, the palace with stem gui（癸） is the origin palace（來因宮）. The zi（子） and chou（丑） positions are excluded; this rule is called heaven and earth are excluded as origins（天地不做來因）. As explained in Terminology, the zi palace（子宮） represents heaven and the chou palace（丑宮） represents earth. If the matching stem falls at either of these positions, use the yin palace（寅宮） or mao palace（卯宮） instead, respectively. These share their stems with zi and chou.

Classification of palaces（宮位） ​

Classification by Earthly Branch ​

Each palace position has distinct properties that add tendencies to the chart owner's character. This classification comes from the five elements（五行）. In this model, ⛰️Earth is the final resting place of all material things: 🪙Metal, 🪵Wood, 🌊Water, and 🔥Fire ultimately return to ⛰️Earth. On that basis, the positions fall into three groups:

four growth positions ​

These are also called the four horse positions（四馬地） because horse（天馬） appears only in these four positions. Excluding ⛰️Earth, they mark the birth of the other four elements. Like energetic, curious children who want to explore, they add ability to take action and a desire to explore, but their limited stability can also make them changeable. The positions are:

• yin（寅）

  🪵Wood: growth position

• shen（申）

  🪙Metal: growth position

• si（巳）

  🔥Fire: growth position

• hai（亥）

  🌊Water: growth position

They occupy the chart's four corners, as shown below:

four thriving positions ​

Also called the four decline positions（四敗地）, these four positions are where 🌊Water, 🪵Wood, 🔥Fire, and 🪙Metal are in their prime. This is associated with drive, a sense of satisfaction and confidence that nothing is beyond reach. The positions therefore add self-confidence and a desire for control, but also impulsiveness. Overconfidence can encourage actions beyond one's abilities and lead to a major setback, which explains the alternative name four decline positions（四敗地）. They are:

• zi（子）

  🌊Water: peak position

• woo（午）

  🔥Fire: peak position

• you（酉）

  🪙Metal: peak position

• mao（卯）

  🪵Wood: peak position

They occupy the following four positions in the chart:

four storage positions ​

After childhood curiosity and the confidence of one's prime comes the composure of middle age. These four positions add steadiness and concentration, but reduce some vitality and drive. The money（祿存） star does not occupy them, hence the traditional rule 祿存遇土不進. We introduce it under The money star（祿存）. It symbolizes wealth; the author takes this as a reminder that resources need flow, a connection he admires as an example of the ancients’ insight. The four storage positions are:

• chen（辰）

  🌊Water: storage position

• xu（戌）

  🔥Fire: storage position

• chou（丑）

  🪙Metal: storage position

• wei（未）

  🪵Wood: storage position

They occupy the following four positions in the chart:

Classification by palace name ​

Classifying palaces by Earthly Branch describes tendencies added to the chart owner's character. Classifying them by palace name concerns life matters instead. The twelve palaces form six paired lines based on the six oppositions of the Earthly Branches（地支六衝）. Each pair is an opposing pair: its two palaces are closely connected, supporting one another while also creating tensions. The six lines are:

• fate line（命遷線）

  This line connects the soul（命宮） and surface（遷移） palaces, representing the person's inner nature and outward presentation. Palaces interacting with this line therefore directly affect the chart owner.

• social line（兄友線）

  This line connects the siblings（兄弟） and friends（僕役） palaces and represents social interaction. Because social interaction depends on communication, it is also called the communication line（溝通線）. A person's social network reflects the circles in which they can act and develop, which is why another name is the achievement line（成就線）.

• career line（官夫線）

  This line connects the career（官祿） and spouse（夫妻） palaces and concerns career. A supportive partner can help your working life; a partner who is dissatisfied with or opposed to your work can make it harder. Your career situation also affects your standing within the relationship. Balancing the two sides is therefore difficult: too much focus on work can neglect the relationship, while too much focus on the relationship can slow professional progress and give an impression of limited ambition. Handling this balance well can make a substantial difference to your life.

• children and property line（子田線）

  This line connects the children（子女） and property（田宅） palaces. It is also called the romance line（桃花線）; see the children（子女） palace for the explanation. Its scope includes parent–child relationships, family relationships, partnerships and relationships with the opposite sex.

• financial line（財福線）

  This line connects the wealth（財帛） and spirit（福德） palaces, chiefly reflecting attitudes toward spending and financial management.

• parents and health line（父疾線）

  This line connects the parents（父母） and health（疾厄） palaces. It is also called the documents line（文書線）, because it represents the relationship between the chart owner and their parents in terms of a contractual bond.

trine and opposite palaces（三方四正） ​

This term refers to four palaces together, not one palace: the target palace（本宮）, the opposite palace（對宮） (also called the opposite position（四正位）), and the two trine palaces（三合宮） (also called trine positions（三方位）). Because the trine positions（三方位） and opposite position（四正位） strongly affect the target palace, they are analyzed together.

• target palace（本宮）

  The target palace is whichever palace you are currently examining.

• opposite palace（對宮）

  The branch of the target palace（本宮） forms one of the six oppositions（六衝） with another branch. The palace at that other branch lies, relative to the target palace, directly opposite, hence its name, opposite palace（對宮）. For example, the palace opposite the yin palace（寅宮） is the shen palace（申宮）.

• trine palaces（三合宮）

  These are the two other palaces whose branches join the target palace in one of the Earthly Branch trine groups（地支三合局）. For example, the trine palaces of the shen palace（申宮） are the zi palace（子宮） and the chen palace（辰宮）.

  si（巳）target palace	woo（午）	wei（未）	shen（申）
  chen（辰）			you（酉）trine positions
  mao（卯）			xu（戌）
  yin（寅）	chou（丑）trine positions	zi（子）	hai（亥）opposite position