Which Zi Wei Dou Shu star is Pisces? A dreamy Pisces can have a very decisive Life Palace

Pisces is usually described as romantic, soft-hearted and imaginative, quick to pick up on other people's feelings and sometimes carried along by them. Look at the same late-February and early-March birthdays through Zi Wei Dou Shu (Purple Star Astrology), and the Life Palace might hold Wu Qu, who gets straight to the point, Ju Men, who says what others won't, or Qi Sha, who makes up its own mind. In Zi Wei terms, a Pisces can be any star.

The short version:

• Pisces starts at Rain Water. Converted to the lunar calendar, Pisces birthdays fall in the first or second lunar month: about 52.5% in the first, 47.4% in the second.
• Cast a chart for every day and double-hour from 1950 to 2009, and each main star sits in a Pisces Life Palace 8.29–8.40% of the time, with about 16.4% empty. No star is favored.
• The month and double-hour give the Life Palace its branch; the lunar day and the Five Elements Bureau give it its stars.
• To see your own, fill in the form above; the Life Palace star lookup answers only the main-star question.

What Pisces is in Zi Wei Dou Shu

Pisces begins at Rain Water, the "middle" solar term of the first lunar month, so Pisces birthdays fall in the first or second month: about 52.5% and 47.4%.

The first month is the Yin palace, the very spot where the Life Palace count begins. The Zi Wei Dou Shu Quan Shu places the first month at Yin, so for someone born in the first month there is no month counting at all: you call Yin the Zi hour and count backward to the birth hour. A first-month Pisces born at the Zi hour has the Life Palace in Yin; at the Yin hour, two steps back, in Zi. February 21, 2001, the twenty-ninth day of the first month, works out exactly that way. Born in the second month, you start from Mao instead, and every hour lands one branch further on: Mao for the Zi hour, Chou for the Yin hour.

The Lantern Festival often falls in Pisces too: 33 of the sixty from 1950 to 2009, with the other 27 in Aquarius. The sun signs overview walks through the Life Palace method step by step.

One day, twelve double-hours

For a Pisces example, use February 25, 2001, the third day of the second lunar month. One chart for each double-hour:

Every one of the twelve charts has a main star in the Life Palace, so there is no Empty Palace that day. Eight stars take a turn; Tian Ji, Tian Tong, Lian Zhen, Tian Liang, Qi Sha and Po Jun don't show up at all. Here are three of them:

• Zi hour: Tai Yin. Tai Yin is the Moon: sensitive, perceptive, fond of quiet surroundings, and not always ready to say what it feels. Of the twelve charts, this one is closest to the usual picture of a Pisces.
• Si hour: Wu Qu. Wu Qu is the wealth star: practical and decisive, looking at results first and doing the math before spending. This Pisces is rarely swept along by the mood in the room and would rather know what happens next than talk about how everyone feels.
• Wei hour: Tai Yang and Ju Men. Tai Yang is warm and willing to step forward; Ju Men is articulate and full of questions. Together they make someone who says things directly, asks openly when something seems off, and often ends up steering the conversation.

Midnight, mid-morning, mid-afternoon: three people share a birthday. One is quiet and inward, one keeps careful accounts, one speaks plainly. Only the midnight one is the Pisces the horoscopes describe.

Common Zi Wei types among Pisces

As the numbers above show, any main star can turn up in a Pisces Life Palace. Among the stars that missed out on that day, a few sit especially far from the romantic, soft-hearted, go-with-the-flow image:

Qi Sha in the Life Palace: a Pisces who makes the call. Qi Sha is the general star: independent and decisive, acting once its mind is made up without waiting for anyone's nod. This Pisces still has a feeling side, but rarely hesitates over a decision and would rather carry a hard problem alone.

Tian Liang in the Life Palace: a Pisces others lean on. Tian Liang is the elder star: principled, reasonable, used to thinking through consequences first. People assume Pisces needs looking after; this type is often the first friend called when something goes wrong, and the advice is down to earth.

Tian Ji in the Life Palace: a Pisces who thinks it through first. Tian Ji is the star of wits: quick, full of ideas, inclined to analyze before anything else. Pisces is said to go with its feelings; this type feels just as finely, but runs through the whole story in their head first, and the plans keep changing.

Two people can both be called Pisces, yet with different stars in the Life Palace, the dreamy side takes up very different amounts of room: all of one person, a small corner of another.

How to find your Life Palace

Use the hour table above to see which two palaces your hour points to. A full birth chart from the form settles which one it is and which star sits there. If your hour is uncertain, ask your family; casting the two neighboring hours and comparing them is another way in.