Self-transformation: outward and inward
Most flying lines leave one palace and land in another. Sometimes, though, a palace’s stem transforms a star sitting right inside that palace. That is a self-transformation. The Flying Star school pays close attention to it, and a lot of exaggerated claims surround it. This page pins down the definitions, then looks at how common it really is.
Two kinds, two definitions
| Outward self-transformation | Inward self-transformation | |
|---|---|---|
| How it arises | The palace’s own stem transforms a star in the same palace | The opposite palace’s stem transforms a star in this palace |
| Usage | This is what “self-transformation” usually means | Some lineages call it “transformed in from opposite”; some do not use the term at all |
| Direction | Outward: what belongs to this palace drifts away | Inward: an outside force flows in |
“Inward self-transformation” is the least consistent term across lineages. Our chart calculates both, but when we say self-transformation on its own we mean the outward kind.
Reading self Lu, Quan, Ke and Ji
| Self-transformation | Common reading | A gentler way to put it |
|---|---|---|
| Lu | Benefit arrives easily and leaves easily | Generous and easygoing; good things get shared out |
| Quan | Opinions shift; you argue with yourself | Full of ideas and willing to revise, but may not hold one course to the end |
| Ke | Reputation and helpful people come lightly and do not last | Relaxed, does not claim credit, not very bothered by what others think |
| Ji | Has it but cannot keep it; grip first, let go later | Cares about it yet often lets go at the end; also a place where you can let things go |
Always read a self-transformation through the meaning of its palace. A self-transformed Lu in the Wealth Palace is “money comes and goes, spent with pleasure”; in the Spouse Palace it is generosity toward a partner.
When it meets a birth-year transformation
If a star already carries a birth-year transformation and the palace stem then self-transforms it, Flying Star readers take special note. A birth-year Quan that is also self-transformed into Ji reads as “wanting to hold on, and loosening the grip without meaning to”. A birth-year Lu that is also self-transformed into Lu reads as “blessed with affinity, but it does not stay”. The example chart has one of these.
The example chart
Example chart: a woman born on 15 June 1988 at 10:00 (a made-up birthday), Wu-Chen year, Si hour, Metal-4 bureau, with the Life Palace in Yi-Chou holding Tai Yang and Tai Yin. It has 5 outward self-transformations: Wu Qu Ke in the Siblings Palace; Tai Yin Ji in the Life Palace; Tian Ji Lu in the Mind Palace; You Bi Ke in the Friends Palace; Wen Qu Ke in the Wealth Palace.
Tai Yin in the Life Palace already carries the birth-year Quan and is self-transformed into Ji by the Life Palace stem Yi: the Quan-meets-self-Ji case above.
What 16,802 charts show: self-transformation is the norm
How we counted: our engine cast one Zi Wei chart for every day from 1960 to 2005, with the birth hour drawn by a fixed-seed random sample and sexes alternating, 16,802 charts in all. Palace stems, flights and self-transformations come from this site's engine, which we checked chart by chart against the open-source iztro library.
Every chart has a self-transformation and 72.0% have at least one self-transformed Ji. The claim that a self-transformed Ji is a bad sign would mean most people have bad charts, which makes no sense. What is worth noticing is which palace, which transformation, and whether the star also carries a birth-year transformation.
A self-transformation breaks the chart’s pattern.
The average chart has 4.01, and every chart has at least one. It is normal, not a special configuration.
A self-transformed Ji is always bad.
It says “cares but cannot keep hold”, which can also be read as “able to let go”. In some palaces that is a strength.
Inward and outward self-transformation are the same thing.
No. Outward is the palace’s own stem; inward comes from the opposite palace’s stem, and lineages define inward differently.
A straight word: flying transformations are a way of reasoning, not a verdict
The Flying Star school reads a chart as a web of cause and effect between palaces. That makes it good at breaking a question into where it starts, how it unfolds and where it lands. But there are many lineages, their terms and readings differ, and two teachers can tell two different stories from the same Ji line. We only describe the skeleton the lineages share, write readings as tendencies, never make doom calls, and never read health or lifespan. A chart is a map; which road you take is still up to you. Everything on this site is for reference and entertainment.
Count the self-transformations on your chart
The interactive chart marks each outward self-transformation with ↻ and lists inward ones when you tap a palace.
Self-transformation: FAQ
What does self-transformation mean in Zi Wei?
A palace’s own stem transforms a star sitting in that same palace. It is read as the palace’s energy flowing out by itself.
What is inward self-transformation?
The opposite palace’s stem transforms a star in this palace. Some lineages call it inward self-transformation or “transformed in from opposite”; others do not use the idea.
Does every chart have self-transformations?
In our 16,802-chart sample, yes: every one, with 4.01 on average.