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Doushu Astrology Palace Types

🏰 Doushu Astrology Life Chart

In Doushu Astrology, a person’s birth chart is called a Life Chart. It consists of 12 small boxes that are connected together to form a large box. Each of the small boxes is called a terra or palace. Stars are placed in the 12 palaces according to a person’s birth. The names of each of the 12 palaces were originally named after the 12 Earth Branchs. The position of each of the Earth Branchs on the life chart is fixed. It is the same for everyone.

Each of the 12 Earth Branches is associated with one of the 12 Year-Animals. For ease of memorization, this website uses the names of the Year Animals to refer to specific locations on the chart.

For example, the Monkey Terra is always located in the upper right corner of the chart, labeled as “e9”. The Tiger Terra is always found in the lower left corner, labeled as “e3”. The letter “e” represents an Earth Branch, starting from “e1”, the first Earth Branch, to ‘e12,’ the last Earth Branch. Each Earth Branch is associated with an animal; thus, “e1” always represents the Mouse Terra, and “e12” always represents the Pig Terra.

🏰 The 12 Palaces

In Doushu Astrology, a person’s life has 12 aspects. Each palace on the Life Chart represents a particular aspect of life.
The 12 palaces are:
1. Life Palace → 2. Sibling Palace → 3. Spouse Palac → 4. Child Palace → 5. Wealth Palace → 6. Health Palace → 7. Journey Palace → 8. Friend Palace → 9. Career Palace → 10. Home Palace → 11. Fortune Palace → 12. Parent Palace

The 12 palaces follow a specific sequence, which is the same for everyone. However, the location of the Life Palace (the first palace) may vary.

🏰 The 12 Terras

Traditionally, the term “palace” is used to describe both specific locations on the chart and the 12 aspects of life. To avoid confusion, this website uses the term “terra” to refer to specific locations on the chart. For example, “The Sun Star is in the Snake Terra” or “The Sun Star is on e6”. When referring to the 12 aspects of life, the term “palace” is used. For example, “The Thinker Star is in the Wealth Palace” or “The Wealth Palace is in the Rabbit Terra”. Sometimes the terms “palace” and “terra” are used interchangeably on this site.

🏰 The Self Palace

The Self Palace is the palace of interest. For example, if you want to find out something about a person’s wealth, locate the Wealth Palace on the chart, which will be the Self Palace. If you want to find out something about a person’s interests and hobbies, the Fortune Palace becomes the Self Palace. When reading about a person’s life, the Self Palace is the Life Palace.

🏰 The Opposite Palace

When reading a Self Palace or, any palace, its Opposite Palace must be read together. The Self Palace is the Inner Palace, and its Opposite Palace is the Outer Palace of the Self Palace. When describing a person, the Self Palace represents the inner landscape of the person’s mind, while the Opposite Palace represents how the person expresses and presents themselves.

When describing an activity or event, the Self Palace represents the story behind the scenes, and the Opposite Palace represents how the activity or event is perceived by others. The opposite palace is six palaces clockwise or counterclockwise away from the Self Palace. For example, if the Self Palace is the Wealth Palace, its Opposite Palace is the Fortune Palace. If the Self Palace is the Career Palace,  its Opposite Palace is the Spouse Palace.

🏰 Trio Palaces

Each palace has two companion palaces. The palace itself plus the two companion palaces are called the Trio Palaces. The first trio place is the Self  Palace (the palace of interest). The second trio palace is four palaces clockwise from the Self Palace. The third trio palace is four palaces counterclockwise from the Self Palace.

🏰 Quartet Palaces

The Quartet Palaces consist of the Trio Palace plus its Opposite Palace. When interpreting a palace, all the members of the Quartet Palaces should be considered together. For example, when reading the Life Palace, the Journey, Wealth, and Career Palaces should be read together. When reading the Wealth Palace, the Fortune, Life, and Career Palaces should be read together.

🏰 Adjacent Palaces

Adjacent palaces are the two neighboring palaces next to the Self Palace.  For example, the two adjacent palaces to the Life Palace are the Parent Palace and the Sibling Palace. The two adjacent Palaces of the Journey Palace are the Friend Palace and the Health Palace.

🏰 Central Palace (Enclosed Palace/Sandwiched Palace )

The palace that is enclosed by the two adjacent palaces is called the Central Palace (Enclosed Palace/Sandwiched Palace).

🏰 Six Person Palaces

🌷On the Doushu Life Chart, there are six Person Palaces, each symbolizing a specific person. The Life Palace symbolizes you, while the other five Person Palaces represent the people you have a relationship with. These five are the Parent Palace, Sibling Palace, Spouse Palace, Child Palace, and Friend Palace. Together, the Life Palace and these five Person Palaces are collectively known as the Six Person Palaces.

The Six Person Palaces:

• 🧬 The Life Palace represents the self. It represents you.
• 👨🏻 The Parent Palace represents your father.
• 👩🏻 The Sibling Palace represents your mother and your eldest brother.
• 👩🏻‍❤️‍👨🏻 The Spouse Palace represents your partner.
• 🍼 The Child Palace generally represents your children, specifically your eldest son.
• 🍻 The Friend Palace represents your friends and everyone else.

More...

In general, the stars inside a Person Palace represent the personality and behavior of the person. For example, if the Gold Star is in your Life Palace, then you are a reliable person who works hard and loves money. If the Gold Star is in your Spouse Palace, then your spouse or the person with whom you have a romantic relationship reflects the characteristics of the Gold Star. If there are no main stars in a palace, then the main stars from its opposite palace are used as the main stars. More...

🏰 Six Affair Palaces

🌷The Six Affair Palaces describe matters of personal concern other than your relationships with others.

The Six Affair Palaces

• 🚗 The Journey Palace represents how you express yourself, as well as your personality and experiences when you are away from home.
• 🏃‍♂️‍➡️ The Health Palace represents your body and the health issues you may encounter.
• 💰 The Wealth Palace represents how you make money and the types of occupations that are suitable for you.
• 💖 The Fortune Palace represents how you enjoy life, including your interests, hobbies, and spending habits.
• 🍼 The Home Palace represents your living environment, including whether you own or rent your home.
• 🍻 The Career Palace represents your activities and how well you perform in school or at work.

🏰 Six Inner Palaces

🌷The Six Inner Palaces describe personal matters related to the self.

• 🧬 The Life Palace represents the self. It represents you.
• 💖 The Fortune Palace represents how you enjoy life, including your interests, hobbies, and spending habits.
• 🍼 The Home Palace represents your living environment, including whether you own or rent your home.
• 🍻 The Career Palace represents your activities and how well you perform in school or at work.
• 🏃‍♂️‍➡️ The Health Palace represents your body and the health issues you may encounter.
• 💰 The Wealth Palace represents how you make money and the types of occupations that are suitable for you.

In some books, the Journey Palace is classified as one of the Inner Palaces. The Journey Palace represents a person’s behavior, activities, and encounters when they are away from home. If you live abroad, work abroad, or work far from home, you should consider the Journey Palace as one of your Inner Palaces.

Note: Classification is unimportant. What matters is understanding how the palace affects you—how you can use it to your advantage and avoid potential issues.

🏰 Six Outer Palaces

🌷The six Outer Palaces describe matters that are not related to the self.

• 👨🏻 The Parent Palace represents your father.
• 👩🏻 The Sibling Palace represents your mother and your eldest brother.
• 👩🏻‍❤️‍👨🏻 The Spouse Palace represents your partner.
• 🍼 The Child Palace generally represents your children, specifically your eldest son.
• 🍻 The Friend Palace represents your friends and everyone else.
• 🚗 The Journey Palace represents how you express yourself, as well as your personality and experiences when you are away from home.

🏰 Empty Palace

A palace with no main stars is called an “empty palace”. To interpret an empty palace, use (or borrow) the main stars from its opposite palace.
Example: Life Palace in Goat Terra, no main stars. The opposite of the Life Palace is the Journey Palace. Use the Child Star and the Dark Star from the Journey Palace as the main stars.
For empty palace star formations click here.

🏰 Sky Net and Earth Web Terras

🐉Dragon   🐕Dog
The Dragon Terra and the Dog Terra are known as the Sky Net Terra and the Earth Web Terra. According to most Doushu astrology texts, if a person’s Life Palace, Major Fortune, or Current Year Fortune is located in the Sky Net or Earth Web Terras, it signifies hardship and difficulties. In reality, however, this is not always true, because many successful people have their Life Palace in the Sky Net or Earth Web Terras.

🏰 The Six Covertly Jointed Terras

Covertly Jointed Terras are only used in special situations, and their validity is difficult to prove. They are primarily used by Four Pillar Divination practitioners, but rarely by Doushu astrologers.
There are six pairs of covertly jointed Terras.

🏰 Yin and Yang Terras

Yin resembles feminine, massive, passive, negative, dark, and condensed. Yang resembles masculine, little, positive, light, and dissipate.
Click here for more …

🏰The Five Element Terras

🌳Wood   🔥Fire   🌏Earth   🪓Metal   💧Water
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🏰 Lunar Month Terras Terras

The first lunar month begins at the Tiger Terra and the last lunar month ends at the Ox Terra.

🏰 The Time Terras

On the Doushu Astrology chart, one palace represents two hours. There are a total of 12 palaces, thus 24 hours.
A day begins at the Mouse Terra(12:00 am) and ends at the Mouse Terra(11:59 pm).

🏰 The Compass Direction Terras

In a Polaris Astrological life chart, the compass direction is different from the Western compass. Note that the south is at the top and the north is at the bottom. East is on the left and West is on the right.

🏰 The Day and Night Terras

In a Doushu Astrology chart, the Day Terras begin at the Tiger Terra and end at the Goat Terra. Night Terras begins at the Monkey Terra and ends at the Ox Terra. Day and Night Terras must be considered when analyzing the Sun Star, Moon Star, and Dark Star. The brightness of the Sun Star and Moon Star is different in different terras. Also, the Sun Star can alleviate the negative effects of the Dark Star.

🏰 The Four Love Terra

🐁Mouse   🐎Horse   🐇Rabbit   🐓Rooster
Love Terra represents increased human interactions. When a person’s Life Palace, Major Fortune, or Annual Fortune is in a Love Terra, they become more socially active and communicate more with others.

🏰 The Four Transport Terra

🐅Tiger   🐒Monkey   🐍Snake   🐖Pig
Transport Terra symbolizes mobility. If an individual’s Life Palace, Major Fortune, or Annual Fortune is in a Transport Terra, it indicates potential travel opportunities. This suggests the person is frequently on the move, whether for leisure, business, or other purposes.

🏰 Four Tomb Terra

🐉Dragon   🐕Dog   🐂Ox   🐐Goat
The element of the Four Tomb Terra is “Earth”. Tomb Terra represents termination, storage, conservatism, inactivity, stability, and loneliness. If a person’s Life Palace, Major Fortune, or Annual Fortune is located in a Tomb Terra, it suggests minimal social interactions or a period of stability in their current circumstances.