An overview of Qi Men
A Qi Men board belongs to one hour and one question. The nine palaces are cells. The eight doors are channels. Birth data is not an input.
Editorial review: 2026-09-22 · Reviewed by fateshow · Editorial method
Explore concepts
Nine palaces and eight doors
Nine palaces and eight doors
A Qi Men board belongs to one hour and one question. The nine palaces are the cells. The eight doors are the channels on those cells. Birth data is not an input. Another hour is another board.
View definition →
Lead star and lead door
The lead star and the lead door
The lead star heads this board and the lead door heads the doors. A reading starts by finding which palaces they occupy. They are not the names of two spirits, and they are not an order to act.
View definition →
The calendar method
How the calendar method sets the board
Chai bu uses the solar term and the hour to decide whether the board is yang or yin, and which number it is. A different method can produce a different number. Read which method the chart names first.
View definition →
Three wonders and six instruments
The three wonders and the six instruments
Yi, Bing, and Ding are the three wonders. Jia does not appear alone. It hides among the six instruments Wu, Ji, Geng, Xin, Ren, and Gui. They are stems in the cells of this board, not charms.
View definition →
Another hour is another board
Doors and stars turn with the board. A position memorised from the last board does not transfer to the next hour.
The three wonders and six instruments are stems on the board
Yi, Bing, and Ding are the three wonders. Jia is hidden among the six instruments. They are symbols, not three objects you can obtain.
The Open Door in Li
Illustration: this board places Open in Li. Write that on this hour’s board, Open is in Li. It is not “today is suitable for going out to handle business.” If the question was not stated before the board, the door has no matter to meet.
Common mistakes
- Using Qi Men in place of a birth chart.
- Treating the eight doors as eight lucky dates.
- Judging luck from how large the board number is.
Use it in fateshow
Qi Men Dun Jia
A nine-palace board cast from the moment, read by useful god, palace and direction
Open tool →Frequently asked questions
Can one hour answer several questions?
One board belongs to one stated question. A new question needs a new board, even inside the same hour.
Is the Death Door simply unlucky?
Its traditional tone is ending and gathering-in. The palace and the question tell you what that tone sticks to.
Is chai bu the only method?
It is not the only traditional method. The live tool uses chai bu. Do not add a method the chart does not name.
Sources and editorial basis
- 1. fateshow chart rule snapshot
Each generated report stores the engine settings that produced it. Compare those settings before treating two charts as the same calculation.
- 2. fateshow interpretation dictionary
Plain-language tendencies used in reports. They describe conditions and cautions, not fixed personality or inevitable outcomes.