Aquarius in Zi Wei Dou Shu: an independent Aquarius can still have steady Tian Fu in the Life Palace

Aquarius usually gets described as independent, ahead of its time and a little unusual: lots of friends, but not clingy. Zi Wei Dou Shu (Purple Star Astrology) doesn't always agree. One Aquarius can have steady, conserving Tian Fu in the Life Palace, another warm and generous Tai Yang, and a third sensitive, sentimental Tai Yin. Your Life Palace is set by the hour you were born and the lunar day.

The short version:

• Aquarius starts at the solar term Great Cold, so Aquarius birthdays fall in the twelfth or first lunar month, usually with Lunar New Year in between. If you were born before Lunar New Year, your chart counts the previous year.
• Each of the fourteen main stars sits in an Aquarius Life Palace 8.2–8.4% of the time, and about 16.7% are empty, counting one chart for every day and double-hour from 1950 to 2009.
• Where the Life Palace sits follows the lunar month and double-hour; which star is inside follows the lunar day and the Five Elements Bureau.
• The form above casts a full chart; the Life Palace star lookup shows the main star only.

What Aquarius is in Zi Wei Dou Shu

Aquarius begins at Great Cold, the "middle" solar term of the twelfth lunar month. The twelfth month sits in the Chou palace and the first month in Yin. About 54.2% of Aquarius birthdays fall in the twelfth month and 45.7% in the first, the widest gap between the two months of any sign.

Lunar New Year almost always lands inside Aquarius: of the sixty from 1950 to 2009, 58 fell in this sign. So for most Aquarians, the month change inside their sign is the night the old year turns into the new one. In 1990, January 26 was the last day of the twelfth month, and a Zi-hour birth puts the Life Palace in Chou. The next day, January 27, was the first day of the first month, and at the same Zi hour the Life Palace moves to Yin. The birth year changes that night too, which the example below comes back to. The general link between the two systems is in the sun signs overview.

One day, twelve double-hours

Pick January 25, 1990. On the Western calendar it is already 1990, but the lunar calendar is still in the Ji Si year, on the 29th day of the twelfth month, two days before Lunar New Year. So this day is charted as a Ji Si year. Here is the Life Palace for each of its twelve hours:

Seven main stars take a turn in the Life Palace that day, and three hours leave it empty. Three of those hours, compared:

• Zi hour: Tian Fu. Tian Fu is the treasury star: steady, security-minded, good at holding on to resources and building them up slowly. Aquarius is supposed to break the rules; this type prefers a method with a clear footing.
• Chou hour: Tai Yang. Tai Yang people are warm and outgoing, quick to speak up for others, and they don't keep score when they give. Aquarius is pictured as keeping people at arm's length, yet this type easily takes on other people's problems as their own.
• Si hour: Po Jun. Po Jun doesn't mind upheaval. If the foundation feels wrong, it wants to start over. This is the closest match to the reformer image of Aquarius.

Same day, three people: one who conserves, one who rushes to help, one who wants to change things. For the reformer the horoscopes promise, you have to wait until after nine in the morning.

Now move the date five days later. January 30, 1990 is already the fourth day of the first month of the Geng Wu year. The stem changes from Ji to Geng, and the transformations change with it: in a Ji year Wu Qu takes Hua Lu, in a Geng year Tai Yang does. Two people born in the last week of January 1990 can have Hua Lu on different stars.

Common Zi Wei types among Aquarians

Call Aquarius unconventional and a little detached, and an Aquarius with one of these three Life Palace stars will probably disagree.

Tian Tong in the Life Palace: an Aquarius in no hurry to change the world. Tian Tong is the star of contentment: easygoing, cheerful, keen on a comfortable life. Aquarius is said to push new ideas hard; this type has just as many ideas, but feels no need to convince anyone and cares more about everyone getting along.

Tai Yin in the Life Palace: a sentimental Aquarius. Tai Yin is sensitive and inward-turning, and its feelings run deep and last. Aquarius gets called rational and a bit detached, yet this type remembers friends' birthdays and still keeps cards from years ago.

Wu Qu in the Life Palace: a practical Aquarius. Wu Qu is the wealth star. It cares about results and keeps numbers and progress clear. Aquarius has an idealist image; this type has ideals too, but after hearing a plan, the first questions are about budget and deadline.

How to find your Life Palace

The hour table above narrows the Life Palace to two palaces. Enter your Western birthday in the form; around Lunar New Year the lunar year and month are converted for you, and the Life Palace on the resulting birth chart is your answer. If you aren't sure of your hour, ask family or check any record kept from your birth.