Zi Wei Dou Shu
What Is Zi Wei Dou Shu?
Zi Wei Dou Shu is a much more complex method of forecasting involving a vast array of stars. Each name you see represents a star from asterisms we can see in the sky. The main stars used are from the Big Dipper and Sagittarius constellation.
Zi Wei Dou Shu is the culmination of thousands of years of observations of the cosmos and the astronomical prowess of the ancient Chinese, combining Yin Yang, 5 Elements, and the 8 Trigrams into a single system. It has also been argued that Zi Wei Dou Shu was influenced by other civilizations, namely Jyotish astrology.
Like other methods, it forecasts one’s life, but can go a step further and to reveal the root cause, areas it will impact, and external factors influencing a particular aspect of life.
Zi Wei Dou Shu has 12 Sectors/Houses, each representing an area of your life. Each sector can represent a multitude of things and not just what its name suggests:
Life Sector (命宫)
Siblings Sector (兄弟宫)
Spouse Sector (夫妻宫)
Children’s Sector (子女宫)
Wealth Sector (财帛宫)
Health Sector (疾厄宫)
Travel Sector (迁移宫)
Friends Sector (交友宫)
Career Sector (事业宫)
House & Assets Sector (田宅宫)
Karmic Sector (福德宫)
Parent’s Sector (父母宫)
An in-depth reading involves looking at 3 layers of one’s chart chart: 1) Natal Chart 2) 10-Year Phase Chart 3) Annual Chart.
By looking at where the stars land, the interactions between the sectors, and the three layers, a practitioner can accurately forecast what life has in store for you.
Zi Wei Dou Shu(紫微斗数) vs BaZi (八字)
Although Zi Wei Dou Shu and BaZi are two inherently different systems of forecasting one’s life, the stories they paint about your life will be congruent. Any form of astrology is the study of nature’s laws, and these laws are independent of human bias and perception.
Zi Wei Dou Shu is a form of Chinese horoscopy which uses the “Big Dipper”(Ursa Major) constellation and the “Milk Dipper” from the Sagittarius constellation as reference points. BaZi, while still deeply rooted in astronomy, focuses on the study of ‘qi‘ (气), expressed through Yin Yang & The 5 Elements.
Both astrological techniques have their pros and cons:
Zi Wei Dou Shu allows one to go into much more detail, but with more intricacies comes a more cumbersome process of analyzing the chart.
BaZi may lose out on some details that Zi Wei Dou Shu can catch, but the signs are much clearer to identify.
Regardless of the method used, both Zi Wei Dou Shu and BaZi can give you valuable insights into your path ahead.