Structure of the Nine-Palace Chart
Structure of the Nine-Palace Chart
The Qi Men Dun Jia chart is built upon the Luo Shu Nine Palaces, with each palace stacking four layers of information:
┌─────┬─────┬─────┐
│ Xun4 │ Li9 │ Kun2 │
├─────┼─────┼─────┤
│ Zhen3 │ Center5 │ Dui7 │
├─────┼─────┼─────┤
│ Gen8 │ Kan1 │ Qian6 │
└─────┴─────┴─────┘The Five-Element attributes of the palaces are fixed: Kan is Water, Kun and Gen are Earth, Zhen and Xun are Wood, Center Earth resides in Kun, Qian and Dui are Metal, and Li is Fire. Direction, number, and Five-Element attribute form a trinity — when judging directions, simply use the palace's correspondence (Kan = North, Li = South, Zhen = East…).
What Each Layer Reveals
| Layer | Content | Represents |
|---|---|---|
| Deity Plate | Eight Deities (Zhi Fu (Chief), Teng She, Tai Yin…) | Hidden assistance, undercurrents, the nature of benefactors or villains |
| Heaven Plate | Nine Stars + Heaven Plate Stems | Timing, the macro environment, the higher-level energy of the matter |
| Human Plate | Eight Gates | Human affairs fortune and misfortune: whether this matter "can move forward" |
| Earth Plate | Earth Plate Stems + fixed palace attributes | The hidden cards, the foundation, the underlying nature of the opponent/environment |
Generation and Restraint Within the Same Palace
When the Five-Element attributes of Gates, Stars, and Deities interact with the palace's attribute through generation or restraint, fortune and misfortune are directly increased or decreased:
- Gate Pressure (门迫) (Gate restrains Palace): A favorable Gate under pressure turns inauspicious — for example, the Open Gate (Metal) restraining the Zhen/Xun (Wood) palaces turns a good thing into a bad one
- Star Decline: A favorable star out of season loses its power; an unfavorable star in season becomes even more harmful
- Entering Tomb / Punishment (击刑) / Void (空亡): These are the three major fatal flaws — check these three first before analyzing any configuration