The Twelve Palaces form the structure of a Ziwei Doushu chart. Each palace represents a life domain, and the stars occupying it shape how that domain plays out. The palaces are the first thing to learn when reading a chart. They set the stage for everything else.
Self Palace represents your core personality and life direction. It is the most important palace in the chart, defined by whichever of the 14 major stars occupies it, such as the Ziwei Star or Tianfu Star.
Siblings Palace covers relationships with siblings, close friends, and peers. It also indicates your mother's influence.
Spouse Palace governs marriage, romantic relationships, and the nature of your ideal partner.
Children Palace reflects your relationship with children, fertility, and creative output.
Wealth Palace describes your financial capacity and earning patterns.
Health Palace reveals physical constitution, health tendencies, and vulnerability to illness.
Travel Palace covers public image, social presence, and opportunities abroad.
Friends Palace maps your social network and the quality of your wider circle.
Career Palace governs your professional path and vocational aptitude.
Property Palace relates to real estate, family assets, and home environment.
Fortune Palace reflects inner happiness, spiritual life, and mental health.
Parents Palace covers your relationship with parents, upbringing, and inherited traits from your father.
Palaces do not exist in isolation. Opposite palaces form axis pairs that balance each other: Self ↔ Travel (inner self vs. public image), Career ↔ Property (professional life vs. home life), Wealth ↔ Fortune (material gain vs. inner satisfaction). When a palace has no major stars, it borrows influence from the stars in its opposite palace. No palace in Ziwei Doushu is truly empty.
The Four Transformations create energy flows between palaces. When Hua Lu (abundance) lands in your Career Palace, professional opportunities come easily. When Hua Ji (obstruction) connects to your Spouse Palace, relationship challenges demand attention. These connections show how one life domain influences another. Career success can affect relationships, and family dynamics can shape financial patterns.
During each Major Cycle and Annual Fortune period, a new set of palaces activates with fresh star configurations. Your decadal Self Palace may differ from your natal one, shifting focus across life phases. This makes the twelve-palace system a dynamic life-mapping tool, not a static portrait.
See your Ziwei Doushu chart
Generate your natal chart to discover which stars shape your destiny and how they interact across your twelve palaces.
Try the Free Ziwei CalculatorThe Self Palace is the most important because it defines your core personality and life direction. However, a complete reading considers all twelve palaces in context, especially the Career, Wealth, and Spouse Palaces.
Yes. Star placement depends on your birth date and time. The same star will land in different palaces for different people, producing unique charts.
An empty palace borrows influence from the stars in its opposite palace across the chart axis. This is a key technique in Ziwei Doushu. No palace is truly empty or without meaning.
14 major stars, twelve palaces, one chart. The most detailed personality and timing system in Chinese astrology.
Hua Lu (abundance), Hua Quan (authority), Hua Ke (recognition), Hua Ji (obstruction). Four modifiers that show where fortune and trouble land in your chart.
The Emperor Star. Its position sets where every other star falls. Signals leadership and self-possession.
The Treasurer Star. Stable, conservative, good at holding onto money. Forms the Emperor-Prime Minister axis with Ziwei Star.