How to Read Annual Fortune via Ziwei Doushu: 3 Key Spots for Yearly Luck Check

1. Why Look at Annual Fortune

Many people’s interest in Zi Wei Dou Shu starts with “wanting to know how their fortune will be this year.”

Your natal chart’s core pattern determines your foundation and the general direction of your life. But when it comes to specifics each year—whether you’ll get a promotion, make money, have romantic prospects, stay healthy, or should switch jobs—all that depends on your annual fortune (liunian).

Annual fortune is like the weather. What kind of person you are (natal chart) is one thing; what the “weather” is like this year (annual fortune) is another. When the weather is good, things go smoothly, it’s easy to go out, and you’re in a good mood. When the weather is bad, you need to hold back, avoid running around, and keep warm.

So looking at annual fortune isn’t fortune-telling—it’s checking the “weather.” Knowing what the weather will be like this year tells you what clothes to wear, what umbrella to bring, and what things to do.

Many people think reading annual fortune is super complicated, requiring checking dozens of palaces and hundreds of stars back and forth. Actually, it doesn’t have to be. For most people, focusing on three core palaces will give you a pretty accurate picture of the year’s fortune.

Which three? The Life Palace, Wealth Palace, and Career Palace.

Put simply: how you’re feeling this year, how easy it is to make money, and how smooth your work and career will be.

Once you understand these three, the year’s general direction becomes clear.

2. First Key: Annual Life Palace — How You’re Doing This Year

The annual Life Palace represents “you” for the year. Your overall state, energy level, mood, whether you’ll get help from benefactors, and whether you’ll run into trouble—all mainly depend on this palace.

How to Tell if Your Annual Life Palace Is Good

Reading the annual Life Palace isn’t as simple as counting how many auspicious or inauspicious stars are in it. You need to look at three dimensions comprehensively.

First, what the main star is.

Different main stars in the Life Palace set different themes for the year. For example:

- With Zi Wei or Tian Fu in the Life Palace: you may feel steady, have leadership qualities, and get support from benefactors this year

- With Tai Yang or Tai Yin in the Life Palace: you may be busier, have more social interactions, and get more chances to stand out

- With Wu Qu or Lian Zhen in the Life Palace: you may put more thought into money and career matters

- With Tian Ji or Tian Tong in the Life Palace: you may experience more changes, have more ideas, and feel tired easily

- With Tan Lang or Po Jun in the Life Palace: there will be big changes and many opportunities, but also a lot of折腾 (hustle and upheaval)

- With Ju Men or Tian Liang in the Life Palace: you’ll talk more, encounter more gossip or disputes, or get help from others

The main star determines the “main melody” of the year.

Second, the mix of auspicious and inauspicious stars.

With more auspicious stars (Wen Chang, Wen Qu, Zuo Fu, You Bi, Tian Kui, Tian Yue, Lu Cun, Hua Lu, etc.), the year will go smoothly, bring more opportunities, and have people to help you.

With more inauspicious stars (Qing Yang, Tuo Luo, Huo Xing, Ling Xing, Di Kong, Di Jie, etc.), the year will be full of upheaval, obstacles, and unexpected issues.

But more auspicious stars aren’t always better. Sometimes too many auspicious stars make people slack off and stop striving. Sometimes one or two inauspicious stars can actually motivate people to fight harder.

The key is balance. Having mostly auspicious stars with a few inauspicious ones as accents is the best state.

Third, where the Four Transformations fly to.

Which palace each year’s Four Transformations (Hua Lu, Hua Quan, Hua Ke, Hua Ji) land in has a huge impact on the year.

Hua Ji in particular: if it clashes with the Life Palace or is closely related to it, the year is likely to be rough, stressful, and prone to problems.

If Hua Lu, Hua Quan, and Hua Ke are in the three opposing palaces or four cardinal directions of the Life Palace, the year will bring more opportunities and better development.

What to Do If Your Annual Life Palace Is Bad

Some people panic as soon as they see many inauspicious stars or Hua Ji in their annual Life Palace: “Oh no, am I going to have bad luck this year?”

Don’t panic. A bad annual fortune doesn’t mean you can’t do anything.

When annual fortune is bad, be more conservative, stay steady, and don’t make reckless moves. Don’t invest, start a business, switch jobs, or make major decisions. Getting through the year safely and peacefully is already a win.

When the weather is bad, stay home and don’t run around. Wait until the sky clears to go out.

3. Second Key: Annual Wealth Palace — How Easy It Is to Make Money This Year

The Wealth Palace reflects your financial fortune for the year. Your income, whether you can save money, if you’ll get unexpected gains, or if you’ll lose money—all mainly depend on this palace.

How to Tell If Your Wealth Fortune Is Good

First, what stars are in the Wealth Palace.

If Lu Cun or Hua Lu are in the Wealth Palace, you’ll have more opportunities to make money, a decent income, and it’ll be easy to save.

If wealth stars like Wu Qu, Tai Yin, or Tian Fu are in the Wealth Palace, your financial fortune is usually not bad either.

If Di Kong, Di Jie, Qing Yang, or Tuo Luo are in the Wealth Palace, you’ll have more expenses, struggle to keep money, and be prone to financial losses.

If Hua Ji is in the Wealth Palace, you’ll either have a hard time making money, spend it extremely fast, or get into financial disputes.

Second, where the money comes from.

Just looking at the Wealth Palace isn’t enough; you also need to see where Hua Lu flies to and where Lu Cun is located.

Hua Lu in the Career Palace: make money through work, income comes from your career.

Hua Lu in the Friends Palace: make money through friends, connections, or business partners.

Hua Lu in the Property Palace: make money through real estate, family, or fixed assets.

Hua Lu in the Children Palace: make money through investments, children, or creative projects.

Hua Lu in the Travel Palace: make money through going out, business trips, or developing in other places.

Knowing where your money comes from tells you which direction to put your effort into this year.

Third, whether you can keep the money.

Some people make a lot but spend a lot too. By the end of the year, when they tally up, there’s not much left. That’s because the Wealth Palace has inflows but no “storage.”

To see if you can save money, you also need to look at the Property Palace and the Tian Fu star. A good Property Palace and strong Tian Fu mean you can save money; a weak Property Palace and weak Tian Fu mean money comes fast and goes fast too.

Making money is a skill; saving money is an even bigger skill.

What to Do If Wealth Fortune Is Bad

In years with bad wealth fortune, don’t dream of making a huge profit. Just do your job well and keep your salary income steady.

Don’t invest, don’t trade stocks, don’t lend money to others, don’t act as a guarantor, and don’t touch high-risk things.

When wealth fortune is bad, losing less is already making money. Hold on to the money in your pocket and wait for the market to improve before making a move.

4. Third Key: Annual Career Palace — How Smooth Your Career Will Be This Year

The Career Palace reflects your career luck for the year. Whether work goes smoothly, if you’ll get a promotion, if you’ll switch jobs, or if starting a business will succeed—all mainly depend on this palace.

How to Read Career Fortune

First, how strong the Career Palace is.

If the main star of the Career Palace is in its exalted position and supported by auspicious stars, your career will go smoothly this year, you’ll work with ease, and it’ll be easy to achieve results.

If the main star of the Career Palace is in its fallen position and surrounded by many inauspicious stars, you’ll easily encounter obstacles at work, have tense relationships with leaders and colleagues, and feel unsatisfied with your work.

Hua Lu or Hua Quan in the Career Palace make it easy to get a promotion, a raise, or more authority.

Hua Ji in the Career Palace means high work pressure, a tendency to make mistakes, possible conflicts with leaders, and even the possibility of switching jobs.

Second, whether there are signs of change.

If the annual chart has highly changeable stars like Po Jun, Tan Lang, or Tian Ji, plus clashes from Tian Ma and inauspicious stars, there’s a high chance of work changes this year—you might switch jobs, change positions, go to another city, or start a business.

Whether the change is good depends on the overall picture. A change with more auspicious stars is a positive one; a change with more inauspicious stars may be forced and make things worse.

Third, how your relationship with your leader is.

When reading the Career Palace, you should also look at the Tai Yang star and the leader’s palace. If Tai Yang is exalted with auspicious stars, you’ll have a good relationship with your leader, be appreciated by superiors, and have someone to support your advancement.

If Tai Yang is fallen with many inauspicious stars, you’ll have a tense relationship with your leader, be easily criticized, and not be given important responsibilities.

Sometimes ability isn’t the most important thing—following the right person is.

What to Do If Career Fortune Is Bad

In years with bad career fortune, don’t impulsively quit your job. Many people want to leave as soon as work feels unsatisfying, only to find the new job is worse than the old one after switching.

Hold on first, observe first, and build up your strength first. Do your job well, don’t make mistakes, don’t offend anyone, and get through it peacefully.

Wait until your fortune improves before thinking about switching jobs or getting a promotion. Then there will be more opportunities and better choices.

5. Reading the Three Palaces Together

Looking at just one palace alone isn’t accurate; you need to read all three together.

Here are some typical combinations:

Good Life Palace + Good Wealth Palace + Good Career Palace → A Year of All-Round Success

If all three are good, needless to say, this is a great year. Your career goes smoothly, you make a lot of money, you’re in a good mood, and you’re healthy.

In years like this, don’t hesitate—go for it when you should, and do what needs to be done. Good luck doesn’t wait for anyone; seize it and you can move up a level.

Good Life Palace + Average Wealth Palace + Good Career Palace → Career Upward Phase, Money Comes Later

A good Life Palace and Career Palace mean you’re in good shape and have career development this year. But an average Wealth Palace means money may not be the focus this year—maybe you’re putting money second for the sake of career growth.

It’s okay. When you’re in an upward phase, focus on development first, then think about money. Once your position goes up, money will naturally follow.

Bad Life Palace + Good Wealth Palace + Bad Career Palace → Money to Make, But Tiring and Rough

The Wealth Palace is good, but the Life Palace and Career Palace are bad. This situation means you can make money, but it’s extremely tiring, hard, and difficult.

Your career isn’t going smoothly, work pressure is high, and you don’t get along well with others—but there’s still money to be made.

If this is your situation, it boils down to one word—endure. For the money, just put up with the tiredness. But pay attention to your health; don’t wear yourself out.

Bad Life Palace + Bad Wealth Palace + Bad Career Palace → A Year to Lay Low, Don’t Make Trouble

If all three are bad, this year is as bad as a “zodiac year” of misfortune. In years like this, don’t make reckless moves, don’t invest, don’t start a business, don’t switch jobs, and don’t make major decisions.

Just staying alive is a victory. Get through the year safely and healthily, and talk about it next year.

The worse the year is, the easier it is to impulsively think “I need a change of environment.” But when your luck is bad, changing environments won’t help. Steady yourself first, then plan for later.

6. A Few Final Words

Don’t be superstitious about annual fortune readings.

What annual fortune tells you is “trends” and “possibilities,” not “fate.”

In the same year of bad wealth fortune, if you know about it, you can be more conservative, invest less, and not spend recklessly—you might just end up making a little less. But if you don’t know, invest blindly, and spend carelessly, you could lose big.

The point of reading annual fortune isn’t to make you resign yourself to fate—it’s to help you go with the flow.

In good years, work harder, strive for more, and get more things done. In bad years, be steadier, hold back more, learn more, and accumulate more.

When the weather is good, go out and be active more. When the weather is bad, stay home and read.

Act in good times, study in bad times. That’s probably the biggest use of reading annual fortune.