What the Children Palace Is and What It Shows
The Children Palace (Zi Nu Gong) shows how you get along with children and juniors. It is one of the twelve palaces in Ziwei Doushu. It also covers your creative work, the things you make.
Enter your birth time in the free Ziwei Doushu calculator and find the cell labelled 子女; the chart labels are in Chinese. That cell is your Children Palace. It applies even if you have no children.
Students, younger colleagues and new team members all count as juniors.
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Generate your natal chart to discover which stars shape your destiny and how they interact across your twelve palaces.
Reading the Children Palace in Four Steps
Read the Children Palace in four steps, starting with the cell itself and then looking outward.
- Major starFirst, see which major star sits in the cell. It sets the tone of the bond. Major stars are the fourteen main stars of the chart, such as Ziwei, Tianfu and Qisha.
- BrightnessNext, check the star's brightness, meaning how strong it is. There are seven levels, from Temple (Miao) at the top down to Fallen (Xian) at the bottom.
- TransformationsThen see whether any of the Four Transformations (Si Hua) land in the cell.
- Surrounding palacesFinally, read the Property, Friends and Parents palaces with it.
The Opposite Palace and the Three Directions and Four Squares
The palace opposite the Children Palace is the Property Palace, the cell directly across. The Friends and Parents palaces form a triangle with it, called a trine. Together these four are the Children Palace's Three Directions and Four Squares (San Fang Si Zheng).
| Role | Palace | Covers |
|---|---|---|
| This palace | Children Palace | Your bond with children, fertility, creative output, and juniors |
| Opposite | Property Palace | Property, home life, family assets and savings |
| Trine | Friends Palace | Friends, colleagues, staff and network |
| Trine | Parents Palace | Parents, elders and bosses, and luck with study and paperwork |
The Property Palace covers your home, the place where children grow up. The two palaces are often read as a pair.
The Friends Palace covers peers and staff, and the Parents Palace covers elders and bosses. How you guide juniors often ties in with how you deal with bosses and peers.
The 14 Major Stars in the Children Palace at a Glance
The major star in your Children Palace hints at how you and your children tend to get along. When two major stars share the palace, read both rows together. The reading is the same for men and women.
| Star | With children and juniors | A note to yourself |
|---|---|---|
| Ziwei | Children with their own views and strong pride | Reasoning works better than orders |
| Tianji | Bright, active children full of questions | Think things through with them; go easy on fixed rules |
| Taiyang | You are warm and generous; a lively home | When Fallen, you give a lot and see returns slowly |
| Wuqu | Practical children, independent early, few words | Doing things together beats sitting down to talk |
| Tiantong | A gentle, close and easy bond | Set some rules as well as giving love |
| Lianzhen | Strong-willed children; a generation gap is likely | Be clear about limits and give real freedom |
| Tianfu | Steady, sensible children; a settled bond | Encourage them to try new things |
| Taiyin | A quiet, tender bond that values feelings | Children may keep worries inside, so ask one more question |
| Tanlang | Lively, many-talented children; more like friends | When interests pile up, help them pick one to go deep |
| Jumen | Articulate children who love to argue | Speak plainly so misunderstandings do not build up |
| Tianxiang | Well-behaved, responsible, dependable children | Do not hand them grown-up problems |
| Tianliang | Children mature early; you tend to protect them | Too much care can turn into control |
| Qisha | Independent, stubborn children who resist control | Letting go works better than holding on |
| Pojun | Children with shifting ideas who avoid the beaten path | Leave them room and give fewer orders |
Empty Children Palace: Borrowing from the Property Palace
With no major star, the Children Palace borrows the major stars of the Property Palace opposite. An empty palace only lacks a major star; it does not mean a weak bond with children. The Property Palace then always holds two major stars to lend.
- Only major starsThe other stars in the Property Palace are not borrowed.
- Full brightnessA borrowed star keeps the brightness it has in the Property Palace.
- Transformations tooAny transformation on a borrowed star comes along with it.
The borrowed stars are about home. So your bond with children tends to be tied to the mood at home.
The Four Transformations in the Children Palace
A transformation in the Children Palace strengthens one of your tendencies with children and creative work. The four are Hua Lu (wealth), Hua Quan (power), Hua Ke (fame) and Hua Ji (obstacle), tags that attach to certain stars. They come from three sources, each active for a different span.
- Birth yearset by the year you were born, active for life.
- Decade Cyclechanges every ten years and covers only that decade.
- Annual Fortunechanges every year and covers only that year.
| Transformation | Tendency in the Children Palace |
|---|---|
| Hua Lu | Good ties with juniors; plenty of creative ideas |
| Hua Quan | You take the lead in parenting; discipline leans strict |
| Hua Ke | A bond built on reason; children or your work tend to win praise |
| Hua Ji | Children weigh on your mind, or creative work stalls for a while |
Can the Children Palace Show How Many Children You Will Have, or When?
The Children Palace cannot tell how many children you will have, or when you will get pregnant. It describes how you and your children get along, not whether you can have them. Some old manuals listed a child count for each star; modern readings set that aside.
The cell also shows an age range: the ten years your Decade Cycle spends in this palace. In that decade, or in a year when the Annual Fortune reaches it, children, juniors or creative work tend to take center stage. If you are trying to conceive or are worried about fertility, see a doctor.
