Zi Wei Dou Shu: Star system（紫微斗數星曜系統）
Introduction
The star（星曜） system in Zi Wei Dou Shu（紫微斗數） is complex because of its many combinations. You do not need to memorize them all. Personifying each star, remembering its core traits, and deriving other characteristics from them can make learning easier. There are 117 fixed stars and 21 transit stars（流曜）, excluding the ways in which the four transformations（四化星） move between palaces. Fortunately, you only need to master some stars individually and learn the others by category.
The 117 stars comprise 14 major stars, 14 auxiliary stars, 37 miscellaneous stars, 48 symbolic stars（48神煞）, and the four transformation stars（四化星）. Although there are only four transformations, their workings are the most complex part of the system, so they have a separate chapter. This chapter focuses on the other stars.
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Fourteen major stars
The fourteen major stars（十四主星） are also called the fourteen principal stars（正曜）. As major stars（主星）, they play a primary role in the chart; their task is to set the overall character of a palace. If a palace is a classroom, the major stars are its teacher: whether the class excels at Chinese or English depends on the teacher’s strengths. The fourteen stars form two teams led by emperor（紫微） and empress（天府）. To place all fourteen, first locate emperor（紫微）. See Rules for locating emperor（起紫微星訣） if you would like to study the procedure.
The emperor（紫微） team has six members:
- emperor（紫微）
- advisor（天機）
- sun（太陽）
- warrior（武曲）
- fortunate（天同）
- judge（廉貞）
There are 8 members in the empress（天府） team. They are:
- empress（天府）
- moon（太陰）
- wolf（貪狼）
- advocator（巨門）
- minister（天相）
- sage（天梁）
- marshal（七殺）
- rebel（破軍）
Fourteen auxiliary stars（輔星）
The fourteen auxiliary stars（十四輔星） act as student class representatives. In an empty palace（空宮）, the traits of any auxiliary stars（輔星） present become more pronounced because no major star constrains them. The fourteen auxiliary stars fall into three groups: six auspicious stars（六吉星）, six malefic stars（六煞星）, and two supporting stars（二助星）.
Tips
auspicious stars（吉星） and malefic stars（煞星） are traditional labels, and we should look beyond them today. Auspicious stars often suggest sociability and seem approachable; malefic stars suggest less conventional traits and may seem less easy to fit in. Yet, as the saying 人不可貌相 reminds us, appearances do not tell the whole story. The same applies to stars: a classification as auspicious stars（吉星） does not make a star wholly good, nor does classification as malefic stars（煞星） make it wholly bad.
Thirty-seven miscellaneous stars
Zi Wei Dou Shu（紫微斗數） has many miscellaneous stars（雜曜）, which are easier to remember by category. Stars in the same category usually have similar roles and meanings. In our classroom analogy, major stars（主星） are the teacher, auxiliary stars（輔星） are the student class representatives, and miscellaneous stars（雜曜） are the students. Together they shape the class, or palace. Another analogy comes from games: the major stars are the character, the auxiliary stars the equipment, and miscellaneous stars the buffs or debuffs. Miscellaneous stars can be grouped into the following nine categories:
- Social interaction
- Aloofness
- Arts and talents
- Distinction and status
- Inner life
- Luck
- Health
- Rewards
- Thought and introspection
Forty-eight symbolic stars（神煞）
There are two arrangements of symbolic stars（神煞）: one is fixed in the palaces at birth, and the other moves with the yearly soul palace（流年命宮）. The forty-eight symbolic stars usually do not act independently. Compared with miscellaneous stars（雜曜）, they are more like additional attributes, often expressed as mental power or temperament. Think of enchantments on game equipment or inserted runes that increase or decrease a particular attribute. Beginners can therefore leave them aside while learning to read charts.
- Twelve growth-stage stars（長生十二神）
- Twelve Doctor-cycle stars（博士十二神）
- Twelve General-front stars（將前十二神）
- Twelve Year-front stars（歲前十二神）
Tips
In the chapters on the fourteen major stars（十四主星） and fourteen auxiliary stars（十四輔星）, each star has a profile card containing the following information:
Yin Yang and five elements（五行）
A star’s Yin–Yang（陰陽） and Five Elements（五行） qualities give a broad characterization, much like the personality descriptions commonly associated with blood types. The distinctions become more apparent when comparing stars with otherwise similar traits.
Star group
Stars are grouped into the
Central star system（中天星系）,Southern Dipper star system（南斗星系）, andNorthern Dipper star system（北斗星系）. This distinction has negligible influence on chart interpretation and is mainly useful for background knowledge or deeper study.Symbolic nature
The author explains symbolic nature（化氣） through an analogy: the substance remaining after something is burned represents its essence. Here the term refers to a star’s fundamental nature. Knowing its
symbolic naturehelps you quickly remember its characteristic qualities.Element color
Element colors do not affect chart interpretation. I include them for completeness because they appear in my study notes, although I no longer remember the source.
Energy color
The same note applies as for
Element color.Career
The occupation here belongs to the star’s symbolic role, not the chart owner’s actual job. It provides a quick impression of the star and helps explain the personality represented in the chart.
Role
Like
occupation, this role is a broad summary of the star’s characteristics.Alias
These nicknames were coined by later generations to reflect the stars’ characteristics. Remembering a star’s
aliashelps you become familiar with its nature more quickly.
Star brightness（星曜）
The idea of star brightness（星曜亮度） in Zi Wei Dou Shu（紫微斗數） draws on how different intensities of light feel to us. The midday sun can feel hot and dazzling, while the setting sun feels gentler. This underlies the saying that a sun star（太陽） in a weak position resembles moon（太陰）, while a moon star in a strong position resembles sun.
Different Zi Wei Dou Shu（紫微斗數） schools use somewhat different brightness ratings.
Some schools use four brightness levels: [+3]（廟）, [+2]（旺）, [0]（利）, and [-3]（陷）.
Others use seven brightness levels: [+3]（廟）, [+2]（旺）, [+1]（得）, [0]（利）, [-1]（平）, [-2]（不）, and [-3]（陷）.
[+3]（廟） is the brightest level and [-3]（陷） the dimmest. In Zi Wei Dou Shu（紫微斗數）, brightness can be understood as a star’s urge to express its traits. Brighter stars express them more actively; dimmer stars are more reserved. For example, a bright wolf（貪狼） pursues its desires more directly, while a dim wolf is more likely to keep them private or weigh up the pursuit more carefully. A bright sun（太陽） pursues authority more actively and directly; a dim sun is gentler.
Tips
Personality differences in Zi Wei Dou Shu（紫微斗數） become clear through comparison. Warrior（武曲） is stubborn, but a warrior chart with the body palace（身宮） in the soul palace（命宮） is more stubborn still. Add the B transformation（化權） to warrior in that configuration, and the stubbornness becomes even stronger.
Star brightness table
| stars（星曜） | yin（寅） | mao（卯） | chen（辰） | si（巳） | woo（午） | wei（未） | shen（申） | you（酉） | xu（戌） | hai（亥） | zi（子） | chou（丑） |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| emperor（紫微） | [+2]（旺） | [+2]（旺） | [+1]（得） | [+2]（旺） | [+3]（廟） | [+3]（廟） | [+2]（旺） | [+2]（旺） | [+1]（得） | [+2]（旺） | [-1]（平） | [+3]（廟） |
| advisor（天機） | [+1]（得） | [+2]（旺） | [0]（利） | [-1]（平） | [+3]（廟） | [-3]（陷） | [+1]（得） | [+2]（旺） | [0]（利） | [-1]（平） | [+3]（廟） | [-3]（陷） |
| sun（太陽） | [+2]（旺） | [+3]（廟） | [+2]（旺） | [+2]（旺） | [+2]（旺） | [+1]（得） | [+1]（得） | [-1]（平） | [-2]（不） | [-3]（陷） | [-3]（陷） | [-2]（不） |
| warrior（武曲） | [+1]（得） | [0]（利） | [+3]（廟） | [-1]（平） | [+2]（旺） | [+3]（廟） | [+1]（得） | [0]（利） | [+3]（廟） | [-1]（平） | [+2]（旺） | [+3]（廟） |
| fortunate（天同） | [0]（利） | [-1]（平） | [-1]（平） | [+3]（廟） | [-3]（陷） | [-2]（不） | [+2]（旺） | [-1]（平） | [-1]（平） | [+3]（廟） | [+2]（旺） | [-2]（不） |
| judge（廉貞） | [+3]（廟） | [-1]（平） | [0]（利） | [-3]（陷） | [-1]（平） | [0]（利） | [+3]（廟） | [-1]（平） | [0]（利） | [-3]（陷） | [-1]（平） | [0]（利） |
| empress（天府） | [+3]（廟） | [+1]（得） | [+3]（廟） | [+1]（得） | [+2]（旺） | [+3]（廟） | [+1]（得） | [+2]（旺） | [+3]（廟） | [+1]（得） | [+3]（廟） | [+3]（廟） |
| moon（太陰） | [+2]（旺） | [-3]（陷） | [-3]（陷） | [-3]（陷） | [-2]（不） | [-2]（不） | [0]（利） | [+2]（旺） | [+2]（旺） | [+3]（廟） | [+3]（廟） | [+3]（廟） |
| wolf（貪狼） | [-1]（平） | [0]（利） | [+3]（廟） | [-3]（陷） | [+2]（旺） | [+3]（廟） | [-1]（平） | [0]（利） | [+3]（廟） | [-3]（陷） | [+2]（旺） | [+3]（廟） |
| advocator（巨門） | [+3]（廟） | [+3]（廟） | [-3]（陷） | [+2]（旺） | [+2]（旺） | [-2]（不） | [+3]（廟） | [+3]（廟） | [-3]（陷） | [+2]（旺） | [+2]（旺） | [-2]（不） |
| minister（天相） | [+3]（廟） | [-3]（陷） | [+1]（得） | [+1]（得） | [+3]（廟） | [+1]（得） | [+3]（廟） | [-3]（陷） | [+1]（得） | [+1]（得） | [+3]（廟） | [+3]（廟） |
| sage（天梁） | [+3]（廟） | [+3]（廟） | [+3]（廟） | [-3]（陷） | [+3]（廟） | [+2]（旺） | [-3]（陷） | [+1]（得） | [+3]（廟） | [-3]（陷） | [+3]（廟） | [+2]（旺） |
| marshal（七殺） | [+3]（廟） | [+2]（旺） | [+3]（廟） | [-1]（平） | [+2]（旺） | [+3]（廟） | [+3]（廟） | [+2]（旺） | [+3]（廟） | [-1]（平） | [+2]（旺） | [+3]（廟） |
| rebel（破軍） | [+1]（得） | [-3]（陷） | [+2]（旺） | [-1]（平） | [+3]（廟） | [+2]（旺） | [+1]（得） | [-3]（陷） | [+2]（旺） | [-1]（平） | [+3]（廟） | [+2]（旺） |
| scholar（文昌） | [-3]（陷） | [0]（利） | [+1]（得） | [+3]（廟） | [-3]（陷） | [0]（利） | [+1]（得） | [+3]（廟） | [-3]（陷） | [0]（利） | [+1]（得） | [+3]（廟） |
| artist（文曲） | [-1]（平） | [+2]（旺） | [+1]（得） | [+3]（廟） | [-3]（陷） | [+2]（旺） | [+1]（得） | [+3]（廟） | [-3]（陷） | [+2]（旺） | [+1]（得） | [+3]（廟） |
| impulsive（火星） | [+3]（廟） | [0]（利） | [-3]（陷） | [+1]（得） | [+3]（廟） | [0]（利） | [-3]（陷） | [+1]（得） | [+3]（廟） | [0]（利） | [-3]（陷） | [+1]（得） |
| spark（鈴星） | [+3]（廟） | [0]（利） | [-3]（陷） | [+1]（得） | [+3]（廟） | [0]（利） | [-3]（陷） | [+1]（得） | [+3]（廟） | [0]（利） | [-3]（陷） | [+1]（得） |
| driven（擎羊） | - | [-3]（陷） | [+3]（廟） | - | [-3]（陷） | [+3]（廟） | - | [-3]（陷） | [+3]（廟） | - | [-3]（陷） | [+3]（廟） |
| tangled（陀羅） | [-3]（陷） | - | [+3]（廟） | [-3]（陷） | - | [+3]（廟） | [-3]（陷） | - | [+3]（廟） | [-3]（陷） | - | [+3]（廟） |
Transit stars（流曜）
Transit stars（流曜） change with time and correspond to natal stars（本命星曜）. This system includes transit stars for decadal（大限） and yearly（流年） cycles; some schools also place them for other cycles. Their effects apply only to their current cycle. In Chinese names, decadal transit stars receive the prefix 運, while yearly transit stars receive 流. There is no decadal considery（解神）; its yearly form is called considery(Y)（年解）.
Schools use transit stars（流曜） differently, so this program lists them as comprehensively as possible for each school to use as needed. If any are missing, please add me on WeChat (iztroi) and let me know. I would appreciate it. The following stars have time-dependent forms:
- assistant（天魁）
- aide（天鉞）
- scholar（文昌）
- artist（文曲）
- attractive（紅鸞）
- cheerful（天喜）
- money（祿存）
- driven（擎羊）
- tangled（陀羅）
- horse（天馬）
- considery（解神）
- four transformations（四化）