Zi Wei Dou Shu guide
Zi Wei Dou Shu: a separate birth-chart tradition
Zi Wei Dou Shu is a distinct traditional chart system with its own palace and star vocabulary. This guide keeps its core reading path together so that its terms are not mistaken for Bazi concepts merely because both systems use birth data.
Read the chart in stages
- 1Zi Wei Dou Shu / Purple Star Astrology
Start with the chart’s overall structure and vocabulary.
- 2Life Palace (Zi Wei) (命宫（紫微）)
Locate the chart’s central palace concept before reading star names.
- 3Major Stars (十四主星)
Meet the main star groups in their own framework.
- 4Hua Lu (化禄)
Then read how the Four Transformations are named and discussed.
- 5Major Period (大限)
Finish with the time layers that place a reading in sequence.
Compare neighboring traditions
Zi Wei Dou Shu: a separate birth-chart tradition
Set the chart frame
Begin with the system overview, then distinguish the Life Palace and Body Palace.
- Zi Wei Dou Shu / Purple Star Astrology
Learn what Zi Wei Dou Shu is, how the twelve palaces and star patterns work, how it differs from Bazi, and how to generate a FateFolio Zi Wei chart.
- Life Palace (Zi Wei) (命宫（紫微）)
The Life Palace is the chart position from which Zi Wei Dou Shu's twelve named palaces are arranged.
- Body Palace (身宫)
The Body Palace is a supplementary Zi Wei Dou Shu location calculated from birth month and hour.
Read stars in their palace context
Star names are starting points. Their placement and combination within a chart provide the reading context.
- Major Stars (十四主星)
The fourteen major stars are Zi Wei Dou Shu's principal symbolic chart labels.
- Zi Wei Star (紫微星)
Zi Wei is the central symbolic star of the Zi Wei group in Zi Wei Dou Shu.
- Tian Fu Star (天府星)
Tian Fu is the leading star of the second principal placement group in Zi Wei Dou Shu.
Trace transformations and periods
These entries introduce Four Transformations and the period layers used in this tradition.
- Hua Lu (化禄)
Hua Lu is the benefit or resource transformation in Zi Wei Dou Shu's Four Transformations.
- Hua Quan (化权)
Hua Quan is the authority or agency transformation among Zi Wei Dou Shu's Four Transformations.
- Hua Ke (化科)
Hua Ke is the reputation or refinement transformation in Zi Wei Dou Shu's Four Transformations.
- Hua Ji (化忌)
Hua Ji is the obstructive or entangled transformation among Zi Wei Dou Shu's Four Transformations.
- Major Period (大限)
A Major Period, Da Xian, is a roughly ten-year layer of a Zi Wei Dou Shu reading assigned to a palace.
- Minor Period (小限)
A Minor Period, Xiao Xian, is a yearly palace-position cycle in Zi Wei Dou Shu.
- Annual Fortune Chart (Zi Wei) (流年盘)
A Zi Wei annual reading overlays a chosen year's palace and transformation rules on a natal chart, usually alongside the Major Period.
Open a structured chart
Build a chart from birth details and review the palaces, stars, and transformations in a structured report.
Compare with a Bazi chartExplore the separate Four Pillars framework when you want to compare chart traditions.
Browse the FateFolio blogLook for applied examples and wider context in the article archive.