Ziwei Concepts
What Are the Twelve Palaces in Ziwei Doushu?
Also called: Shi Er Gong
Plain Explanation
The Twelve Palaces are the twelve divisions of a Ziwei Doushu chart used to organize themes such as the self, family, work, and resources. Each palace provides a topic for interpretation. Its name alone does not establish an outcome; read it together with its stars and relationships to other palaces.
This entry covers the natal chart. Palace names identify topics; Earthly Branches mark positions. Each palace has a basic scope, with further readings in modern interpretations or relative-palace methods. These meanings are not all unconditional correspondences.
Example
If one box carries both Wealth and Zi (子), Wealth identifies its financial theme, while Zi marks its position. These are not two separate palaces. Another person's Wealth Palace may occupy a different Branch position; Zi is not a permanent name for the Wealth Palace.
An illustration of chart labels, not a complete chart.
Main themes and examples of further readings
| Palace (chart label) | Scope and further readings |
|---|---|
| Life | Personal character and life orientation, considered alongside inner experience in Spirit and outward presentation in Travel. Life alone does not describe the whole personality. |
| Siblings | Sibling relationships and support. Some relative-palace methods extend its use to mothers or liquid funds; these readings require their own derivation. |
| Spouse | Partnership and marriage, including partner preferences, expectations, and attitudes toward intimate relationships. |
| Children | Children and parent–child relationships. Some methods extend this to romantic encounters or work partners; those are additional readings, not the basic definition. |
| Wealth | Earning and using money, including financial attitudes. Distinguish these themes from the household assets and accumulation discussed through Property. |
| Health | Physical condition, constitution, and illness themes. Modern readings also discuss physical burdens, with a different emphasis from inner experience in Spirit. |
| Travel | Activities away from home and outside environments. Modern readings also consider outward presentation and social encounters, beyond moving house. |
| Social | Social circles, friendship preferences, and communication. This palace alone does not identify a particular friend. |
| Career | Work, career, and responsibilities, including approaches to tasks. Its scope is broader than job rank or employment status. |
| Property | Property, the home, and household assets. Modern readings include family relationships and accumulation, distinct from the money-flow emphasis of Wealth. |
| Spirit | Enjoyment, ease, and inner well-being. Modern readings include thought and emotional experience, beyond an abstract idea of good fortune. |
| Parents | Parents, upbringing, and family support. Some methods consult other palaces to distinguish relationships with the father and mother. |
Basic themes help identify the question. Further readings depend on the method, stars, and palace relationships; relative-palace extensions are not universal correspondences.
What It Is Used For
Identify the topic first, then examine the stars in the relevant palace. This helps explain why a description of a star in one palace addresses a different question from a description of that star elsewhere. The twelve palaces provide a structure for reading the chart in context.
Common Misunderstandings
A palace can have several interpretive layers
Sibling relationships are the basic topic of Siblings. Readings about mothers or liquid funds involve further reasoning. Relative-palace methods use a selected palace as the reference and interpret other palaces by their positions relative to it. State that reference and reasoning rather than treating the extension as the basic definition.
The Body Palace is not a separate thirteenth box
The chart marks the Body Palace within one of the existing twelve palaces, sharing that palace's position. Seeing both Life and Body in the same box does not mean a palace is missing.
A palace name does not establish a real-world outcome
Wealth does not mean someone must be wealthy, and Spouse does not mean someone must marry. A palace name identifies a topic; interpretation still involves its stars and the whole chart's relationships.
Older texts may use different names
This entry follows the site's Spouse and Social chart labels. Volume 2 of the classical text Zi Wei Dou Shu Quan Shu lists headings such as Qi Qie (妻妾, wives and concubines) and Nu Pu (奴仆, servants). Their correspondence to modern palace names does not make historical judgments directly applicable to modern relationships.
Related Concepts
Updated 2026-10-17 · Editorial Policy