Qimen Dunjia Charting Steps Explained

Qimen Dunjia chart casting is the process of placing symbols such as the Eight Gods, Eight Doors, Nine Stars, Heavenly Plate stems, and Earthly Plate stems into the Nine Palaces according to the time of the question. Once the chart is formed, it becomes a Qimen layout that can be used for interpretation.

Many tools can now generate a Qimen chart automatically, but learning how to cast a chart by hand is still useful for beginners. By going through the process once, you can understand where each symbol comes from and avoid relying only on software results without knowing how the chart is built.

This article uses January 1, 2024, at 12:00 as an example to show how a Qimen Dunjia chart is cast step by step.

0. First Understand the Nine Palaces in a Qimen Chart

A Qimen chart is based on the Nine Palaces. Their positions are fixed:

Four main groups of symbols are placed into the Nine Palaces:

In Qimen Dunjia, the Jia stem is hidden and does not appear directly in the chart. During chart casting, the Six Yi are used to represent the Six Jia: Jia-Zi hides under Wu, Jia-Xu hides under Ji, Jia-Shen hides under Geng, Jia-Wu hides under Xin, Jia-Chen hides under Ren, and Jia-Yin hides under Gui.

1. Step One: Determine the Ju

Determining the Ju means using the solar term of the question time to decide whether the chart belongs to Yang Dun or Yin Dun, and then identifying the specific Ju number.

Yang Dun and Yin Dun represent two different chart-casting directions:
Yang Dun is forward placement. Starting from a certain palace, symbols are arranged according to the Nine Palace number sequence: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. That is: Kan 1 → Kun 2 → Zhen 3 → Xun 4 → Center 5 → Qian 6 → Dui 7 → Gen 8 → Li 9.
Yin Dun is reverse placement. Starting from a certain palace, symbols are arranged in the reverse Nine Palace number sequence: 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. That is: Li 9 → Gen 8 → Dui 7 → Qian 6 → Center 5 → Xun 4 → Zhen 3 → Kun 2 → Kan 1.

The Ju number determines where the symbols begin in the Nine Palaces.

The example time in this article is:

This time falls within the Winter Solstice solar term range, meaning the period from the start of Winter Solstice until the start of the next solar term, Minor Cold. It belongs to the Yang Dun range.

Qimen Dunjia usually uses Winter Solstice and Summer Solstice as the turning points between Yang and Yin. Winter Solstice is the point when Yin has reached its peak and Yang begins to grow, so the period after Winter Solstice enters the Yang Dun range. Summer Solstice is the point when Yang has reached its peak and Yin begins to grow, so the period after Summer Solstice enters the Yin Dun range.

Next, determine the Fu Tou from the Day Pillar, and use the Fu Tou to decide which of the three seasonal periods this day belongs to.

Fu Tou refers to the leading stem-branch of a five-day group within the sixty Jia Zi cycle. The sixty Jia Zi are divided into groups of five. The first stem-branch of each group is called the Fu Tou.

When casting a Qimen Dunjia chart, first check which solar term the inquiry time falls under, and use it to determine whether the chart uses Yang Dun or Yin Dun. Then check which five-day group the Day Pillar belongs to in the sixty Jia Zi cycle, and identify the Fu Tou of that group. After the Fu Tou is found, use the Earthly Branch of the Fu Tou to decide whether the day belongs to the Upper Period, Middle Period, or Lower Period.

In this example, the Day Pillar is Jia Zi. Jia Zi itself is the Fu Tou, so this example belongs to the Upper Period.

After confirming the solar term, Dun type, and Yuan, use the table below to determine the Ju number.

The result is:

So this example begins with Yang Dun 1st Ju.

2. Step Two: Arrange the Earthly Plate Stems

After determining Yang Dun 1st Ju, the next step is to arrange the Earthly Plate stems. The Earthly Plate stems can be understood as the basic stem positions of the chart. They are an important foundation for arranging the Heavenly Plate stems, Chief, Chief Door, and other symbols later.

The Heavenly Stems in Qimen Dunjia are not arranged in the ordinary order of Jia, Yi, Bing, Ding, Wu, Ji, Geng, Xin, Ren, Gui. Because Jia is hidden in Qimen Dunjia, chart casting uses the order of the Three Wonders and Six Yi.

Wu, Ji, Geng, Xin, Ren, and Gui are the Six Yi. Ding, Bing, and Yi are the Three Wonders. When arranging the Earthly Plate stems, this set of stems is placed into the Nine Palaces according to the Ju number and the Yang Dun or Yin Dun direction.

2.1 First Use the Ju Number to Decide Where Wu Begins

The Ju number determines which palace Wu starts from. You can first understand it this way: in the 1st Ju, Wu begins from Palace 1; in the 2nd Ju, Wu begins from Palace 2; in the 3rd Ju, Wu begins from Palace 3, and so on.

This example has already been determined as Yang Dun 1st Ju, so Wu begins from Palace 1. Palace 1 corresponds to Kan 1 Palace, so the first step is to place Wu in Kan 1 Palace.

2.2 Use Yang Dun or Yin Dun to Decide Forward or Reverse Placement

After confirming the starting point of Wu, you also need to check whether the chart is Yang Dun or Yin Dun. Yang Dun uses forward placement, and Yin Dun uses reverse placement.

This example is Yang Dun 1st Ju, so Wu begins from Kan 1 Palace. Then Ji, Geng, Xin, Ren, Gui, Ding, Bing, and Yi are placed into the Nine Palaces in the Yang Dun forward direction.

3. Step Three: Arrange the Heavenly Plate Stems

To arrange the Heavenly Plate stems, first use the hour pillar to find the Xun Shou.

In the sixty stem-branch cycle, every ten stem-branches form one Xun. To determine which Xun a certain hour pillar belongs to, check which group of ten stem-branches it falls into.

The hour pillar in this example is Geng-Wu hour. From the table, Geng-Wu appears in the Jia-Zi Xun row. Jia-Zi hides under Wu, so the Xun Shou is represented by Wu.

Qimen Dunjia is based on hidden Jia. Jia does not appear directly in the chart.
Therefore, the six Xun Shou that contain Jia are represented by the Six Yi:

The Earthly Plate Geng is in Zhen 3 Palace, so place the Heavenly Plate Wu above Zhen 3 Palace.

Earlier, the Earthly Plate stems showed Wu in Kan 1 Palace. Therefore, the Heavenly Plate stems also begin from Kan 1 Palace. Then, by referring to the Earthly Plate stems, write the remaining stems in clockwise order.

For example, on the Earthly Plate, Wu is in Kan 1. The next palace clockwise is Gen 8, where the Earthly Plate stem is Bing. Correspondingly, when Heavenly Plate Wu is in Zhen 3, the next palace clockwise is Xun 4. Since Bing is the next Earthly Plate stem after Wu in the clockwise sequence, the Heavenly Plate stem in Xun 4 is Bing.

4. Step Four: Arrange the Earthly Eight Gods

The Earthly Eight Gods use the Earthly Plate Xun Shou position to determine where Chief is placed. In this example, the Xun Shou is Wu, and Earthly Plate Wu is in Kan 1 Palace, so Earthly Eight Gods Chief is in Kan 1 Palace.

The order of the Eight Gods is:

This example is Yang Dun, so starting from Kan 1 Palace, arrange them clockwise:

5. Step Five: Arrange the Heavenly Eight Gods and Nine Stars

5.1 Arrange the Heavenly Eight Gods

The Heavenly Eight Gods use the Heavenly Plate Xun Shou position to determine where Chief is placed. In this example, Heavenly Plate Wu is in Zhen 3 Palace, so Heavenly Eight Gods Chief is in Zhen 3 Palace.

This example is Yang Dun, so continue arranging them clockwise:

5.2 Arrange the Nine Stars

For the Nine Stars, first look at the original star of the palace where the Earthly Plate Chief is located. The Earthly Plate Chief is in Kan 1 Palace, and the original star of Kan 1 Palace is Tian Peng. Place Tian Peng in the palace where the Heavenly Plate Chief is located, which is Zhen 3 Palace, then arrange the remaining Nine Stars clockwise.

The original positions of the Nine Stars are:

The Nine Stars in this example are arranged as follows:

Tian Qin follows Tian Rui into the same palace. In this example, Tian Qin follows Tian Rui to Qian 6 Palace.

6. Step Six: Arrange the Eight Doors

The order and original positions of the Eight Doors are:

In this example, the Earthly Plate Chief is in Kan 1 Palace, and the original door of Kan 1 Palace is the Rest Door.

Then start Jia-Zi from Kan 1 Palace, where the Earthly Plate Chief is located, and count along the Yang Dun Nine Palace sequence until reaching the current hour, Geng-Wu:

In the sixty stem-branch cycle, every ten stem-branches form one Xun. In this example, Geng-Wu belongs to Jia-Zi Xun.

Therefore, the Rest Door, which is the original door of Kan 1 Palace, moves to Dui 7 Palace. Then arrange the remaining seven doors clockwise according to the Eight Doors order:

7. Step Seven: Mark Void and Traveling Horse

7.1 Mark Void

The hour pillar in this example is Geng-Wu, and Geng-Wu belongs to Jia-Zi Xun. Jia-Zi Xun contains the ten stem-branches from Jia-Zi to Gui-You, corresponding to the Earthly Branches Zi, Chou, Yin, Mao, Chen, Si, Wu, Wei, Shen, and You. It lacks Xu and Hai, so it is called Xu-Hai Void.

Xu and Hai correspond to Qian 6 Palace. Therefore, in this example, mark Void in Qian 6 Palace using ⭕️.

After marking, the chart is shown as follows:

2. Mark the Traveling Horse

The Traveling Horse is found according to the hour branch.

The hour branch in this example is Wu. Wu belongs to the Yin-Wu-Xu group, and the Traveling Horse is in Shen. Shen is in Kun 2 Palace, so mark the horse in Kun 2 Palace using 🐎.

After marking, the chart is shown as follows:

8. Step Eight: Handle the Center 5 Palace Placement

The center palace placement deals with symbols that appear in the center palace.

In this example, the center palace contains Heavenly Plate Ren. During center palace placement, Ren is divided into two positions:

Tian Qin also follows Tian Rui Star into the same palace. In this example, Tian Rui is in Qian 6 Palace, so Tian Qin is also in Qian 6 Palace.

9. Summary of Qimen Dunjia Chart Casting Steps

10. How Beginners Can Practice Qimen Chart Casting

When learning Qimen Dunjia chart casting, you do not need to memorize every symbolic meaning at the beginning. At the beginner stage, focus on three things first.

First, become familiar with the Nine Palace positions. You should be able to write out Kan 1, Kun 2, Zhen 3, Xun 4, Center 5, Qian 6, Dui 7, Gen 8, and Li 9 directly.

Second, practice arranging symbols in sequence. Start with the Earthly Plate stems, then practice the Heavenly Plate stems, Eight Gods, Nine Stars, and Eight Doors.

Third, use the same time repeatedly for practice. After finishing your chart, you can use the AskQimen chart casting tool to compare the result. If the result is different, first check the Ju, Xun Shou, Chief position, Eight Doors starting point, and center palace placement.

Once you can independently cast a Qimen chart using these eight steps, it will be easier to continue learning how the Eight Doors, Nine Stars, Eight Gods, and Heavenly Stems interact during chart interpretation.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Do all symbols follow Yang Dun forward placement and Yin Dun reverse placement?

Not all symbols can be understood simply as “Yang Dun forward placement, Yin Dun reverse placement.” Yang Dun and Yin Dun determine the overall direction of the chart, but different types of symbols also have their own starting points and arrangement methods.

For example, when arranging the Earthly Plate stems, you first need to look at the Ju number, determine which palace Wu begins from, and then arrange the Three Wonders and Six Yi according to the Yang Dun or Yin Dun direction. When arranging the Eight Gods, you first determine where Chief is located, then arrange the spirits according to the Eight Gods order. When arranging the Eight Doors, you first determine the Chief Door, then move that door to the corresponding palace according to the current hour, and only after that arrange the remaining seven doors.

A more accurate way to say it is: Yang Dun and Yin Dun provide the chart-casting direction, but each category of symbols must first establish its own starting point. You should not apply one simple “forward or reverse” rule to every symbol without checking its specific method.

2. Are forward placement and clockwise placement the same thing?

They are not exactly the same.

“Forward placement” usually means moving forward according to a specific prescribed sequence. For example, when arranging the Earthly Plate stems in Yang Dun, the common sequence follows the Nine Palace number order: Kan 1, Kun 2, Zhen 3, Xun 4, Center 5, Qian 6, Dui 7, Gen 8, Li 9. This sequence includes the center palace.

“Clockwise placement” usually means moving around the outer eight palaces along the chart face. For example, starting from one outer palace and moving around the outer ring to the next palace. When the outer eight palaces are arranged clockwise, the center palace usually does not participate in that circular movement.

Therefore, forward placement is not always the same as clockwise placement. When writing chart-casting steps, it is better to clearly state whether the current step follows the “Nine Palace number sequence” or the “clockwise direction of the outer eight palaces.” This helps readers avoid mixing Yang Dun forward placement, outer-ring clockwise movement, and Nine Palace number order into one rule.