Why two Zi Wei charts differ
Two charts of the same birth can still differ. The gap is usually the year boundary, leap months, true solar time, or the transformation table, not which one is more psychic.
Editorial review: 2026-09-22 · Reviewed by fateshow · Editorial method
Explore concepts
Year boundary and leap months
Year boundary and leap months
A Zi Wei chart first decides which day starts the year, and which side of a leap month counts. Change either one and the Life Palace, then the stars after it, can shift a cell.
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Hour and true solar time
Hour branch and true solar time
Zi Wei’s hour is a two-hour branch, not a personality pinned to one minute. True solar time is a longitude correction. Sometimes it pushes the birth into the next branch.
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What this section is for
People compare stars on two screenshots and skip the settings. Different settings are expected to move palaces.
This section gathers the differences into items you can check, so they are not rewritten as which app is better or which reading is higher.
What to read first
Read the year boundary and leap months first, then the hour and true solar time. A different transformation table belongs under si hua and schools. Do not pick a side in this section.
Open the settings snapshot on the report before you compare. If one of the recorded settings differs, do not say the two charts are the same calculation.
When you have to leave for a chart
The wiki cannot edit your year boundary from memory. To see a difference, change a declared setting in the chart tool, cast both, and compare the snapshots.
If the hour is unknown, you cannot even check which setting caused a gap, because the Life Palace itself is unset.
What this section does not say
Do not use a screenshot to prove another app cast the same chart.
A difference is not a verdict about which person is right.
True solar time is not a mystical bonus.
Common mistakes
- Comparing stars and not settings.
- Assuming every calculator changes the year at Beginning of Spring.
- Assigning a leap month when the month is unclear.
Use it in fateshow
Zi Wei chart
Cast a Zi Wei chart and read the palaces, stars, and transformations it prints.
Open tool →Frequently asked questions
Which settings are the orthodox ones?
This site publishes the live engine settings. It does not call another year boundary wrong. Align the settings before comparing readings.
Is true solar time on by default?
Use the snapshot on your report. On or off can push the branch forward, so it has to be written on the chart.
Is this the same day boundary as BaZi?
No. The late-Zi rule in Zi Wei stands on its own. Do not edit a Zi Wei hour with the BaZi day rule.
Sources and editorial basis
- 1. iztro Zi Wei Dou Shu engine
Supports only what the current fateshow configuration actually calculates: palace placement, major-star arrangements, and the recorded year-boundary, leap-month, and transformation settings. It does not prove that any traditional school is uniquely correct.
- 2. Ziwei Doushu Quanshu (received editions)
Used to cross-check palace names, star lists, and traditional wording. A received text can record a tradition; it cannot prove scientific validity or guarantee an event.
- 3. 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.