Introduction: More Than Stars on a Chart When most people first encounter Zi Wei Dou Shu (ZWDS), they approach it with a single question: What will happen to me? This is understandable. The chart looks like a cosmic blueprint, and the language of stars and palaces naturally suggests prediction. But what if we reframed the…
Introduction: The Five Elements in Zi Wei Dou Shu Before the stars align and the palaces take form, there is a deeper layer of reality that underlies all of Zi Wei Dou Shu: the Five Elements (??, Wu Xing) – Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water. These five elemental forces are not merely symbolic; they…
Introduction: The Structural Foundation of Your Chart If the 14 Major Stars are the characters in the story of your life, the 12 Palaces (???) are the stages upon which they perform. Every Zi Wei Dou Shu natal chart is organized into twelve fixed palaces, each governing a distinct domain of human experience. Together, they…
Introduction: The Skeleton of a Zi Wei Dou Shu Chart In Zi Wei Dou Shu (Purple Star Astrology), the 14 Major Stars (????) form the primary skeleton upon which every natal chart is built. Unlike Western astrology which centers on planetary positions at birth, Zi Wei Dou Shu constructs a chart based on the lunar…
How to Read Your First Zi Wei Chart: A Step-by-Step Guide Opening a Zi Wei chart for the first time can feel overwhelming — twelve palaces, dozens of stars, transformations, branches, and stems all arranged in a circular grid. This guide walks you through the first steps of making sense of your chart, focusing on…
The Four Transformations: How Stars Move Through Your Life The Four Transformations (四化, Si Hua) are one of the most dynamic elements in Zi Wei Dou Shu. While the stars themselves represent stable qualities, the transformations show how those qualities shift, intensify, or transform over time — making them essential for understanding life timing and…
The Emperor’s Star Chart: An Introduction to Zi Wei Dou Shu Zi Wei Dou Shu (紫微斗數), often translated as “Purple Star Astrology,” is one of the most respected systems of Chinese metaphysical study. Rooted in Daoist cosmology, it maps the positions of stars and palaces at the moment of a person’s birth to reveal patterns…
