Which Zi Wei Dou Shu star is Aries? It depends on the hour you were born

Aries has a clear reputation: quick to act, first through the door, a temper that flares fast and fades just as fast. Look at the same late-March and early-April birthdays through Zi Wei Dou Shu (Purple Star Astrology) and the Life Palace might hold the hard-charging Qi Sha, the unhurried Tian Fu, or the quiet, perceptive Tai Yin. In Zi Wei terms, an Aries can be any star.

The short version:

• Aries starts at the Spring Equinox. Converted to the lunar calendar, most Aries birthdays fall in the second or third lunar month.
• Across one chart for every day and double-hour from 1950 to 2009, each of the fourteen main stars sits in an Aries Life Palace 8.3–8.4% of the time, and the palace is empty about 16.4% of the time. No other sign differs.
• The lunar month plus your birth double-hour decide which palace is your Life Palace. The lunar day and the Five Elements Bureau decide which star sits there.
• To find yours, cast a chart with the form above or use the Life Palace star lookup.

What Aries is in Zi Wei Dou Shu

Aries starts at the Spring Equinox, the day when daylight and darkness are about equal. In the lunar calendar the equinox is the "middle" solar term of the second month; the next one, Grain Rain, falls in the third month, and that is where Taurus takes over. So a little over half of Aries birthdays fall in the second lunar month and the rest in the third. Between 1950 and 2009, only 2004 brought a leap second month.

On the chart, the second month sits in the Mao palace, on the left side of the board, due east. An Aries can have the Life Palace in Mao in only two ways: born in the Zi hour in the second month (about 51.6% in the table), or born in the Chou hour in the third month (about 48.4%). In other words, every Aries with a Mao Life Palace was born between 11 pm and 3 am. Each later hour moves the Life Palace back one palace, and by the Wu hour at midday it has reached You or Xu. You sits directly opposite Mao. The overview explains why the sign can't take you further than this.

One day, twelve double-hours

Take March 28, 1996, an Aries birthday and the tenth day of the second lunar month. One chart for each double-hour:

In a single day, twelve of the fourteen main stars show up, plus two Empty Palaces. Three hours side by side:

• Yin hour: Tian Fu. Tian Fu is the treasury star, about keeping and building up. People with Tian Fu in the Life Palace are steady. They like a solid base before moving forward, measure their spending and their trust in people, and rarely decide on impulse.
• Si hour: Tai Yin. Tai Yin is the Moon: reserved, perceptive, attentive to feelings and to the mood at home. These people seldom speak first. A thought goes round a few times in their head before it comes out.
• Hai hour: Qi Sha. Qi Sha is the general star: driven, decisive, ready to take on a hard problem alone. Of the twelve charts, this one comes closest to the usual picture of Aries.

Born between 3 and 5 a.m., steady and patient. Between 9 and 11 a.m., quiet and inward. Between 9 and 11 p.m., out in front. Same birthday, same sign, and the Life Palace stars describe three quite different people. The famous Aries rush matches only a few of that day's twelve charts.

Common Zi Wei types among Aries

Every main star is about equally likely in an Aries Life Palace. Here are three more that sit furthest from the Aries image:

• Tian Tong in the Life Palace. Tian Tong is the star of contentment: mild-tempered, valuing a comfortable life and easy relations with people. This Aries avoids head-on clashes and cares more about everyone getting along than about being first.
• Tian Xiang in the Life Palace. Tian Xiang is the seal star: good at coordinating, respectful of rules, often the go-between in a group. This Aries checks the rules and other people's positions before acting, and wants things done fairly.
• Tian Ji in the Life Palace. Tian Ji is the star of wit: quick-minded, likes to think things through first, and often revises the plan. This Aries puts the drive into ideas and tends to think faster than they act.

If you are an Aries who never felt particularly headlong, your Life Palace star may simply point another way. On the other hand, an Aries with Qi Sha, Po Jun or Tan Lang in the Life Palace, the Sha Po Lang group, will find the sign and the chart saying similar things.

How to find your Life Palace

You need your birth date and birth hour. Find your hour in the table above to see which two palaces are possible, then use the form to cast a full birth chart, which shows your Life Palace star and the other eleven palaces. If you only want the Life Palace star, use the Life Palace star lookup. If you don't know your hour, ask your family or check your birth certificate or hospital records. For all twelve signs side by side, see the sun signs and Zi Wei overview.