Annual Flying Stars

Pick a year to see where the nine stars fall across the eight directions.

What it answers
This year's star in each direction.
What you need
A year.
What you get
The year's nine-palace chart with notes on each direction.

Year

2026

一白

The nine stars of 2026

丙午 · Centre star 一白

The nine stars of 2026

  1. Northwest二黑Two Black
  2. North六白Six White
  3. Northeast四綠Four Green
  4. West三碧Three Jade
  5. Centre star一白One White
  6. East八白Eight White
  7. Southwest七赤Seven Red
  8. South五黃Five Yellow
  9. Southeast九紫Nine Purple

Month by month

The tables in the Xie Ji Bian Fang Shu list One White, Six White, Eight White and Nine Purple as good for building and repairs. A year runs from Start of Spring, and months change at the twelve solar terms. North is at the top. One traditional method, shown for culture, not advice.

Understanding the Flying Stars

Each year one of the nine stars moves into the centre of the Nine Palaces, and the others spread out in a fixed order. Old almanacs used this to choose directions for building and repairs. The stars are also called Zi Bai, Purple and White.

See the Yearly Guides for dates, directions and the twelve signs →

How it works

  1. Find the eraThree eras of sixty years repeat. The book’s upper era began in 1684, so 1984 opened a lower era.
  2. Find the centre starEach era starts on One, Four or Seven. The centre star falls by one each year.
  3. Spread the starsFrom the centre the numbers rise through northwest, west, northeast, south, north, southwest, east and southeast.
  4. Find the monthYears of Zi, Wu, Mao and You open on Eight. Chen, Xu, Chou and Wei open on Five. Yin, Shen, Si and Hai open on Two. Each month falls by one.

How to read it

  1. Look for the gold cellsThey hold the stars the year tables list as good.
  2. Look at the centreThis is the star of the year or month.
  3. Check the monthA month’s stars sit on top of the year’s and change the picture for that month.
  4. Keep it in proportionThis is one old method for timing building work.

Our method

Year stars
Xie Ji Bian Fang Shu, vol. 8. All sixty years are tested against the tables in vols. 14 to 19.
Month stars
The three lists in vol. 8.
Good stars
The year tables list only One, Six, Eight and Nine under good directions, so only these are marked. We add no other ratings.
Year change
Start of Spring, as the almanac reckons years.

Common questions

Is this the same as a Xuan Kong chart?

No. A Xuan Kong chart also uses the building’s direction and age. This page shows only the year and month.

Why does Five Yellow have no warning here?

The book says common people avoided the centre star on some days, but the year tables give no rating for it, so we add none.

Does this depend on my birth date?

No. It is the same for everyone.

Sources

  • Qin Ding Xie Ji Bian Fang Shu, vols. 8 and 14 to 19, Siku Quanshu text on Wikisource.