The twelve palaces: names, the branch ring, and the trine
This page keeps the twelve palace names, the branch each one takes on the illustration, the trine, and the opposite palace. Each palace keeps only its own domain.
Editorial review: 2026-09-22 · Reviewed by fatequery
Learn how the names sit on the branches
The twelve palaces are names of domains, not twelve grades of luck. After the Life Palace is set, the other names follow. Without a cast chart the list cannot be laid on a person.
Write the palace name, then the stars in it. An empty palace is not luck or its absence. It means no major star sits in that cell, so the opposite palace is checked for a star to borrow.
Life Palace
The Life Palace is the cell the other names are hung from. It is the way of starting, and the chart’s centre of gravity. On the illustration it is chou, with the Sun and the Moon.
Find it from the month and the hour under the declared rules, then read the stars in that cell. If the hour is unknown, this palace is not guessed.
Siblings Palace
Siblings is peers and cooperation: who reaches first, and where the boundary is. It does not name a person or count siblings. On the illustration it is zi, with Wu Qu and Tian Fu.
It is closer than Friends and it is not a partner the way Spouse is. Its opposite is Friends. If the Life Palace is unset, this palace is not guessed either.
Spouse Palace
Spouse is how a long relationship is entered, and the pace inside it. A single chart does not name a person. On the illustration this palace is hai, it is also the Body Palace, and the major star is Tian Tong carrying natal ji.
The Body Palace landing here only means this cell is pushed forward later. It does not mean a relationship is already settled. Two people side by side belong to the synastry page.
Children Palace
Children covers the next generation, students, and projects you finish yourself. It is not a fertility reading and it does not set a number of children. On the illustration it is xu, with Po Jun.
The opposite palace is Property. Po Jun here means this cell breaks and then rebuilds. It is not a count of children.
Wealth Palace
Wealth is how resources tend to arrive and leave. It is not an account balance. On the illustration it is you, with no major star, and Wen Qu and Qing Yang in the same cell.
The empty palace borrows Tian Ji and Ju Men from the opposite Fortune palace. The borrowed stars are labelled as borrowed. They are not written as if Tian Ji already sat in Wealth. This is not an income forecast.
Health Palace
Health is how strain is spent and how recovery is paced. It is not a diagnosis, a disease name, or a treatment plan. On the illustration it is shen, with Lian Zhen.
Lian Zhen here keeps the sentence on a cell that holds a standard and also friction. It is not a disease or a course of care.
Travel Palace
Travel is how you look once you leave familiar ground, and how other people meet you first. It does not point at a city. On the illustration it is wei, empty of major stars, with Tian Yue and Tuo Luo.
The opposite palace is Life. The empty cell borrows the Sun and the Moon from Life, and the sentence says they are borrowed.
Friends Palace
Friends is printed as 仆役 on the chart. It is the network, the support, and the quality of alliances, wider than Siblings, and it names no friend. On the illustration it is wu, with Qi Sha.
The 15 June 2026 annual layer lands on this palace. That only means the network cell is pushed forward that year. It does not mean a particular person has been met.
Career Palace
The career palace is named 官禄 on the chart. It is the public role and how a place is given to you. It is not a company name or a promotion date. On the illustration it is si, with Tian Liang and Wen Chang.
Tian Liang first: the public role leans toward shelter and advice. Wen Chang next: the matter often passes through documents. The sentence stays on this cell. It is not an office already obtained.
Property Palace
Property is the base you live on: housing, the household space, and whether a place can hold you. It does not price a house or choose buying over renting. On the illustration it is chen, with Zi Wei and Tian Xiang.
The decade from age 36 to 45 sits on this palace. On 15 June 2026 the nominal age is 37, so that decade is the one in force. The decade pushes Property forward. It does not mean a house has been bought.
Fortune Palace
Fortune is inner ease, rest, and how “enough” is felt. It is not a score of blessings. On the illustration it is mao, with Tian Ji and Ju Men.
It is the opposite of Wealth. When Wealth is empty, those are the stars that are borrowed. Borrowing does not rename Fortune as Wealth.
Parents Palace
Parents is elders, early authority, and how a person was shaped. It does not judge one parent or settle a family decision. On the illustration it is yin, with Tan Lang.
Tan Lang here means that early cell wants many things and scatters effort. It is not a verdict on one elder.
Which four cells are san fang si zheng
The three sides are the palace itself plus two trine palaces. The four cardinals add the opposite. Life’s opposite is Travel. On the illustration Life is chou and the opposite is wei, which is Travel, and that cell is empty of major stars.
A star in the trine is a related condition, not a co-tenant. Do not write a trine star into the Life Palace unless an empty palace is borrowing it and the sentence says so.
The opposite palace and the neighbours
The opposite palace is six branches away. On the illustration Wealth is you and Fortune, the opposite, is mao. A neighbour is the next cell. It is not the opposite, and it is not borrowed from.
An empty palace borrows only the opposite major stars. A neighbour’s stars are read on their own. After a borrow, write that the palace is empty, then name the borrowed stars.
Illustration: which branch each palace name takes
The same set: Life chou, Siblings zi, Spouse hai, Children xu, Wealth you, Health shen, Travel wei, Friends wu, Career si, Property chen, Fortune mao, Parents yin. The empty palaces are Wealth and Travel.
For what Zi Wei Dou Shu is, see what Zi Wei Dou Shu is. When the birth date, time and place are complete, open the chart page.
Common mistakes
- Judging luck from the palace name alone.
- Writing an opposite star as if it sat in the palace, without saying it is borrowed.
- Assigning stars to the other eleven palaces before the Life Palace is set.
Use it in fatequery
Zi Wei chart
Cast a Zi Wei chart and read the palaces, stars, and transformations it prints.
Cast a free Zi Wei chart →Zi Wei synastry
Set two Zi Wei charts side by side and read the relationship the tool actually compares.
Compare two Zi Wei charts →Frequently asked questions
Is an empty Life Palace a bad sign?
No. Empty means no major star sits in that cell, so the opposite palace is checked for a star to borrow. On the illustration the empty palaces are Wealth and Travel, not Life.
Why is Friends also called 仆役?
That is the name printed on the chart. This page describes the domain as Friends and notes the engine’s name.
Can a trine star be written into the palace?
No, unless the palace is empty, the borrow is from the opposite palace, and the sentence says so. A trine star is a related condition, not a co-tenant.
Are these the twelve Western houses?
No. These names sit on earthly-branch cells, and the Life Palace moves. A branch is not a sign.
Sources and editorial basis
- 1. Ziwei Doushu Quanshu (received editions)
Used to cross-check palace names, star lists, and traditional wording. A received text can record a tradition; it cannot prove scientific validity or guarantee an event.
- 2. iztro Zi Wei Dou Shu engine
Supports only what the current fatequery configuration actually calculates: palace placement, major-star arrangements, and the recorded year-boundary, leap-month, and transformation settings. It does not prove that any traditional school is uniquely correct.
- 3. fatequery chart rule snapshot
Each generated report stores the engine settings that produced it. Compare those settings before treating two charts as the same calculation.