The Children Palace in Zi Wei Dou Shu: What Kind of Elder You Are
In the old texts the Children Palace was about offspring: how many children you would have and how they would fare. We do not make predictions of that kind. The modern reading is who you are when you face the next generation: your attitude towards children, younger relatives, students and team members, your style of raising and guiding them, and what you want to leave behind. For people without children, the Children Palace still describes their relationship with younger people and with their own work.
How to read the Children Palace
- Start with the major star. The star here describes your parenting and mentoring style: Zi Wei and Tian Liang lean towards setting direction and being a mainstay, Tian Tong and Tai Yin towards gentle companionship, Qi Sha and Wu Qu towards independence and toughening up, Ju Men and Tian Ji towards talking and thinking things through. Each of the fourteen is covered below.
- Compare with the Life Palace. The kind of person you are is often the kind of elder you become. Reading the Life and Children Palaces together shows whether you carry your nature over to the next generation or become someone a little different with them.
- Look at the Spouse Palace. The Spouse Palace sits right next to the Children Palace, and the shape of your partnership is often also the way the two of you face the next generation together.
- Look at the Children–Property axis and the trine. Opposite is the Property Palace, so the next generation and home pull on each other; the trine is the Parents and Friends Palaces: the generation above, the generation below, and friends and team members, read as one group.
- Look at transformations and malefic stars. Hua Lu here means an easy relationship with the next generation; Hua Ji means you care and worry about them a great deal; malefic stars usually mean more friction and a need for more communication.
Fixed links to the Life, Spouse and Property Palaces
The Life Palace is always three palaces forward from the Children Palace and the Spouse Palace always one palace forward, and the fourteen major stars keep fixed positions relative to each other. So for 8 of the stars the Life Palace star is settled once you know the Children Palace star, and for 9 of them the Spouse Palace star is settled. Tian Fu and Qi Sha, and Tian Xiang and Po Jun, always sit opposite each other, so with any of these four in the Children Palace, the Property Palace is fixed as well.
| Children Palace star | Life Palace always holds | Spouse Palace always holds | Property Palace always holds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tian Ji | varies | Zi Wei | varies |
| Tai Yang | Zi Wei | varies | varies |
| Wu Qu | Tian Ji | Tai Yang | varies |
| Tian Tong | varies | Wu Qu | varies |
| Lian Zhen | Tian Tong | varies | varies |
| Tian Fu | Ju Men | Tai Yin | Qi Sha |
| Tai Yin | Tian Xiang | Tan Lang | varies |
| Tan Lang | Tian Liang | Ju Men | varies |
| Ju Men | Qi Sha | Tian Xiang | varies |
| Tian Xiang | varies | Tian Liang | Po Jun |
| Tian Liang | varies | Qi Sha | varies |
| Qi Sha | varies | varies | Tian Fu |
| Po Jun | Tai Yin | varies | Tian Xiang |
For example, with Tian Fu in the Children Palace, the Life Palace always holds Ju Men and the Spouse Palace always holds Tai Yin: you are analytical and speak your mind, your partnership is tender and attentive, and with the next generation you become a steady, thoughtful backstop.
The fourteen major stars in the Children Palace
What our sample shows
How we counted: this site’s engine cast one Zi Wei chart for every day from 1960 to 2005 (birth hour drawn by a fixed-seed random sample), 16,802 charts in all. These figures describe how chart structures are distributed; they do not measure anyone’s chances of having children or what their children achieve.
Myth: the Children Palace shows how many children you will have.
We do not make that kind of prediction. Whether you have children, how many and whether they are boys or girls depend on far too many real-world factors; the Children Palace describes how you relate to the next generation.
Myth: malefic stars or Hua Ji in the Children Palace mean you "harm" your children.
"Harming the children" is a phrase from the old texts, and this site does not use it. With malefic stars or Hua Ji here, you tend to worry more and there is more friction; what it calls for is communication, not worry.
Myth: an empty Children Palace means no bond with children.
About 16.2% of charts have an empty Children Palace. You read it through the major stars of the Property Palace opposite and pay attention to Lu Cun, the transformations and the minor stars inside; it does not mean a lack of bond with children.
A straight word: the Children Palace is about how you relate to the next generation, not whether you will have children
The Children Palace describes your attitude, your style of raising and guiding, and what you pass on when you deal with children, younger relatives, students or team members. It cannot tell you whether you will have children, how many, or whether they will be boys or girls, and it cannot judge a child's wellbeing or achievements. Classical phrases such as "harming the children" or "late offspring" are not used on this site. Questions about having children or about health belong with a medical professional. Everything on this site is for reference and entertainment only.
Find out which star sits in your Children Palace
Enter your date of birth and birth time to cast your chart, then tap the Children Palace to see its major stars, transformations and four-way set.
Children Palace: FAQ
What does the Children Palace show in Zi Wei Dou Shu?
How you relate to children, younger relatives, students and team members, your style of raising and guiding them, and what you create and pass on. This site does not predict whether you will have children, how many or their sex.
Does the Children Palace still mean anything if I have no children?
Yes. It describes your attitude towards the next generation, including younger relatives, students and team members, as well as your own work and what you want to leave behind.
Which palaces make up the Children Palace's four-way set?
The opposite palace is the Property Palace, and the trine is the Parents and Friends Palaces. The Spouse Palace sits right next to the Children Palace and is often read together with it.
How do you read an empty Children Palace?
Borrow the major stars of the Property Palace opposite, and look closely at Lu Cun, the minor stars and the transformations inside the Children Palace. In our sample about 16.2% of charts have an empty Children Palace.