Scorpio in Zi Wei Dou Shu: the deepest sign can have the chattiest Life Palace
Scorpio birthdays fall in the ninth or tenth lunar month, almost exactly half and half. The table below shows which two palaces the Life Palace usually lands in for each birth hour.
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Scorpio: where your Life Palace sits by birth hour
| Birth hour | Life Palace usually in |
|---|---|
| Zi (23–01) | Hai 50%, Xu 50% |
| Chou (01–03) | Xu 50%, You 50% |
| Yin (03–05) | You 50%, Shen 50% |
| Mao (05–07) | Shen 50%, Wei 50% |
| Chen (07–09) | Wei 50%, Wu 50% |
| Si (09–11) | Wu 50%, Si 50% |
| Wu (11–13) | Si 50%, Chen 50% |
| Wei (13–15) | Chen 50%, Mao 50% |
| Shen (15–17) | Mao 50%, Yin 50% |
| You (17–19) | Yin 50%, Chou 50% |
| Xu (19–21) | Chou 50%, Zi 50% |
| Hai (21–23) | Zi 50%, Hai 50% |
Counted from one chart for every day and double-hour, 1950–2009; not population data. Life Palace stars are spread almost the same for Scorpio as for every other sign: about 8% for each of the 14 main stars and 16% empty (see all twelve signs).
Which of these is yours? Draw your chart to find out.
Scorpio has a reputation for depth: perceptive, private, slow to open up, all in once committed. It's a vivid picture, and it doesn't carry over into Zi Wei Dou Shu (Purple Star Astrology). One Scorpio can have Tan Lang in the Life Palace and enjoy a room more the livelier it gets, another easygoing Tian Tong, a third Tai Yang, whose every thought shows on the face. The birth hour and the lunar birth day settle which.
The short version:
- Scorpio starts at the solar term Frost's Descent, so Scorpio birthdays fall in the ninth or tenth lunar month, about 49.7% and 50.3%.
- Among Scorpios, the fourteen main stars each take the Life Palace between 8.29% and 8.35% of the time, and it is empty about 16.4% of the time, counting one chart for every day and double-hour from 1950 to 2009.
- The Life Palace's position comes from the lunar month and the double-hour; its main star comes from the lunar day and the Five Elements Bureau.
- Enter your birthday and hour in the form above to see your own Life Palace star.
What Scorpio is in Zi Wei Dou Shu
Scorpio begins at Frost's Descent, the "middle" solar term of the ninth lunar month, so Scorpio birthdays fall in the ninth or tenth month, which sit in the Xu and Hai palaces on the chart. The general link between signs and lunar months is in the sun signs overview. Scorpio has a quirk of its own.
Of all twelve signs, Scorpio splits its two months most evenly: about 50.3% in the tenth month and 49.7% in the ninth, a gap of 0.6 percentage points. It is also the only sign where the later month is slightly larger. The other eleven all have a few more birthdays in their first month.
In most years the lunar month changes somewhere inside Scorpio, so a few days can move the Life Palace. In 1979, November 15 was the twenty-sixth day of the ninth month, and a Mao-hour birth puts the Life Palace in Wei, holding Wu Qu and Tan Lang. By November 20 it was the first day of the tenth month: at the same Mao hour, the Life Palace moves to Shen, holding Tai Yang and Ju Men. Five days apart, the same sign, a different palace and a different pair of stars.
One day, twelve double-hours
Here is a real Scorpio birthday: November 15, 1979, the twenty-sixth day of the ninth lunar month. One chart for each of its twelve hours:
| Double-hour | Life Palace | Main stars | Bureau |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zi | Xu | Zi Wei, Tian Xiang | Fire 6 |
| Chou | You | Tian Ji, Ju Men | Metal 4 |
| Yin | Shen | Tan Lang | Metal 4 |
| Mao | Wei | Wu Qu, Tan Lang | Earth 5 |
| Chen | Wu | Tian Tong, Tai Yin | Earth 5 |
| Si | Si | Wu Qu, Po Jun | Wood 3 |
| Wu | Chen | Tian Tong | Wood 3 |
| Wei | Mao | Empty (borrows Tian Ji, Ju Men) | Fire 6 |
| Shen | Yin | Lian Zhen | Fire 6 |
| You | Chou | Tian Ji | Water 2 |
| Xu | Zi | Po Jun | Water 2 |
| Hai | Hai | Tian Liang | Fire 6 |
Eleven of the fourteen main stars take a turn in the Life Palace that day; Tai Yang, Tian Fu and Qi Sha don't, and one hour leaves the palace empty. Tan Lang shows up at both the Yin and Mao hours because the Bureau changes between them, which moves Zi Wei and the whole set of main stars with it. Compare three of the hours:
- Yin hour: Tan Lang. Tan Lang people are curious, have lots of interests and like meeting new people; at a gathering they are often the one keeping things lively. The usual Scorpio watches first and talks later. This type tends to talk first and get to know you along the way.
- Wu hour: Tian Tong. Tian Tong is the star of good fortune. These people are easygoing, care about a comfortable life and rarely hang on to a bad moment. Next to Scorpio's "loves and grudges both run deep" reputation, this type cares more about everyone getting along without strain.
- Xu hour: Po Jun. Po Jun people don't mind upheaval. If a direction feels wrong they start over from scratch, and they tend to go all or nothing. This one matches the "all in" Scorpio, but the match comes from the lunar day and the hour. Move a few hours on the same day and it may be gone.
Three Scorpios born on the same day: one sociable and up for anything, one relaxed and easy to be around, one ready to tear things down and rebuild. Call all three of them deep and intense, and probably only the Xu-hour one would agree.
Common Zi Wei types among Scorpios
If you are a Scorpio whose friends say you are easy to read and can't keep anything in, your Life Palace may hold one of these.
Tai Yang in the Life Palace: the Scorpio who can't keep a secret. Tai Yang is about giving and warmth, and does things out in the open without much detour. This Scorpio still reads people well, but says what they see and likes to clear the air. Keeping a bit of mystery matters less to them than everyone knowing where they stand.
Tian Xiang in the Life Palace: the Scorpio who keeps the peace. Tian Xiang is the seal star, fond of fair rules and good at coordinating, and in a conflict looks first for an arrangement both sides can accept. People expect Scorpios to take sides. This type is more often asked to be the go-between, because they actually listen to both.
Qi Sha in the Life Palace: the Scorpio whose commitment shows in action. Qi Sha is the general star: decisive, independent, quick to move once its mind is made up. This type matches the "all in once committed" Scorpio, but Qi Sha's commitment is out in the open. They are already on their way before they finish explaining, and when things get hard they tend to carry the load alone.
How to find your Life Palace
The hour table above narrows your Life Palace to two palaces. To see which one, and the star inside, cast a birth chart with the form, or use the Life Palace star lookup for the main star only. Not sure what time you were born? Ask your parents first; a birth certificate usually has it too.
FAQ
What star is a Scorpio in Zi Wei Dou Shu?
Zi Wei Dou Shu has no star that belongs to Scorpio. The Life Palace star is worked out from the lunar day, the hour and the Five Elements Bureau, and the Western date's sign plays no part. In one chart for every day and double-hour from 1950 to 2009, each main star takes a Scorpio Life Palace 8.29–8.35% of the time, and about 16.4% of those palaces are empty. Any of them could turn out to be yours.
How is the Life Palace placed for a Scorpio born in a leap ninth lunar month?
A leap month has no "middle" solar term, so a leap ninth month sits between Frost's Descent and Minor Snow and falls entirely inside Scorpio. In 2014, for example, the leap ninth month ran from October 24 to November 21. Xingge follows most modern chart software: days 1–15 of the leap month count as the ninth month, days 16 onward as the tenth. For a Zi-hour birth, that puts the Life Palace in Xu for the first half of the month and in Hai for the second. The classical Zi Wei Dou Shu Quan Shu treats the whole leap month as the following month, so anyone using that older rule would put every birth that month in the tenth-month palace.
If someone is born after 11 p.m., which day does Zi Wei Dou Shu use?
The hour from 11 p.m. to midnight is the late Zi hour. Xingge follows most chart software and counts it as the Zi hour of the next day, with the date moved forward too: someone born at 11:30 p.m. on November 10 gets a chart for the Zi hour of November 11. Some teachers count it as the same day instead. The two methods differ by one lunar day, so the Life Palace star can differ, and it's worth looking at both charts. Your sun sign still follows your calendar birth date and isn't affected.
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Other signs
This is the general reading. On your own chart it shifts with the stars' brightness, the San Fang Si Zheng and the year you are in.
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