ORIENTFATE / TRADITIONAL SYSTEMS
Traditional Methodology
Understand the structure before the interpretation.
01 / FOUR PILLARS ANALYSIS
BaZi
BaZi organizes the traditional calendar’s heavenly stems and earthly branches into four pillars: year, month, day, and hour. The analysis considers the relationships between those pillars.
THE FOUR PILLARS
The year pillar pairs a heavenly stem with an earthly branch. The calendar convention used for the analysis determines when the year begins.
The month pillar usually changes at solar-term boundaries, rather than on the first day of a Gregorian calendar month.
The day pillar is a stem–branch pair for a date. Its stem is a central reference in the traditional analysis.
The hour pillar represents a traditional time period. Preparing a personal chart requires checking the birth time and the time-zone rules used.
Select a pillar to explore its role. Illustrative structure only; no birth data or personal chart is used.
02 / TWELVE PALACE FRAMEWORK
Zi Wei Dou Shu
Twelve palaces organize themes such as family, relationships, work, and home. Their arrangement gives a traditional structure to a conversation about personal circumstances.
Not Currently Accepting Consultations
How the Method WorksTWELVE PALACES
The Self palace is the reference point for this twelve-palace example.
A traditional category concerning siblings and peer relationships.
A category associated with partnership. It does not establish another person’s feelings or future behavior.
The traditional children category; it is not a fertility or health assessment.
A traditional category concerning financial resources. This diagram offers no investment advice or prediction of income.
The traditional health-related palace. This diagram provides no diagnosis or medical assessment.
A category concerning movement and environments beyond the familiar.
A category traditionally called Friends or Servants; terminology varies by school.
A category associated with work and public responsibilities, considered alongside practical evidence.
A traditional category concerning home and property; no property or investment recommendation is implied.
A category associated with inner experience, values and reflection.
A category traditionally associated with parents and family context.
In this example, the Self palace is at Zi (子). The twelve earthly-branch positions stay fixed; the locations of the thematic palaces depend on the individual chart. No personal chart or star positions are calculated here.
03 / CLASSICAL STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK
Qi Men Dun Jia
A nine-palace framework brings together time, directions, and symbolic categories. It offers a cultural way to discuss context, choices, and changing circumstances.
Not Currently Accepting Consultations
How the Method WorksNINE PALACES
Palace 4 · Southeast. The upper-left position in this south-up Lo Shu grid.
Palace 9 · South. The upper middle position in this arrangement.
Palace 2 · Southwest. The upper-right position in this arrangement.
Palace 3 · East. The middle-left position in this arrangement.
Palace 5 · Center. The reference point around which the eight directions are arranged.
Palace 7 · West. The middle-right position in this arrangement.
Palace 8 · Northeast. The lower-left position in this arrangement.
Palace 1 · North. The lower middle position in this arrangement.
Palace 6 · Northwest. The lower-right position in this arrangement.
Classical structure layers
The Lo Shu grid sets out the eight directions around a central palace.
Rest (休), Life (生), Injury (伤), Obstruction (杜), Scenery (景), Death (死), Alarm (惊), and Open (开).
Tian Peng, Tian Rui, Tian Chong, Tian Fu, Tian Qin, Tian Xin, Tian Zhu, Tian Ren, and Tian Ying.
One common set is Zhi Fu, Teng She, Tai Yin, Liu He, Bai Hu, Xuan Wu, Jiu Di, and Jiu Tian. Lineages vary; no palace assignments are made here.
South is at the top. 4–9–2 / 3–5–7 / 8–1–6 is the Lo Shu arrangement. The layers above are conceptual categories only; no event chart or palace assignment is generated. English gate names are explanatory translations and can vary across lineages.
THE EIGHT TRIGRAMS
Eight symbols, each formed from three lines.
Explore the eight traditional symbols and their names. Select any trigram to see its line structure and classical image.
THE SELECTED TRIGRAM
乾 · Qian
Three unbroken lines. The traditional image is heaven.
The three lines are read from bottom to top. These symbols belong to the wider Yi tradition; this display does not perform a reading.
THE SELECTED TRIGRAM
兑 · Dui
Two unbroken lower lines and a broken upper line. The traditional image is a lake.
The three lines are read from bottom to top. These symbols belong to the wider Yi tradition; this display does not perform a reading.
THE SELECTED TRIGRAM
离 · Li
A broken line between two unbroken lines. The traditional image is fire.
The three lines are read from bottom to top. These symbols belong to the wider Yi tradition; this display does not perform a reading.
THE SELECTED TRIGRAM
震 · Zhen
An unbroken lower line beneath two broken lines. The traditional image is thunder.
The three lines are read from bottom to top. These symbols belong to the wider Yi tradition; this display does not perform a reading.
THE SELECTED TRIGRAM
巽 · Xun
A broken lower line beneath two unbroken lines. The traditional image is wind.
The three lines are read from bottom to top. These symbols belong to the wider Yi tradition; this display does not perform a reading.
THE SELECTED TRIGRAM
坎 · Kan
An unbroken line between two broken lines. The traditional image is water.
The three lines are read from bottom to top. These symbols belong to the wider Yi tradition; this display does not perform a reading.
THE SELECTED TRIGRAM
艮 · Gen
An unbroken upper line above two broken lines. The traditional image is mountain.
The three lines are read from bottom to top. These symbols belong to the wider Yi tradition; this display does not perform a reading.
THE SELECTED TRIGRAM
坤 · Kun
Three broken lines. The traditional image is earth.
The three lines are read from bottom to top. These symbols belong to the wider Yi tradition; this display does not perform a reading.
How the systems differ
These traditions share parts of their cultural history, but use different structures and rules. BaZi uses four pillars, Zi Wei Dou Shu twelve palaces, Qi Men Dun Jia nine palaces, and the Yi tradition eight trigrams. One system’s rules cannot simply be applied to another. These diagrams introduce the structures only.