Schools and rule variants
Schools differ mostly in rules: star-placement verses, transformation tables, year boundaries. Align the rules before comparing readings. A difference in prose is not a difference in calculation.
Editorial review: 2026-09-22 · Reviewed by fateshow · Editorial method
Explore concepts
What this section is for
When two charts differ, people look for an orthodoxy. This section changes the question to which of five items differs: year boundary, leap month, true solar time, transformation table, star-placement rule.
Only after those five match is an engine version worth checking. Before that, no mysterious cause is required.
What to read first
Read “why two charts differ” first and turn the five items into a checklist. Then return to the calculation-difference section for the year boundary and the hour.
Leave differences of prose and lucky-unlucky wording in the pattern and reading sections. Do not use them to infer the rule.
When you have to leave for a chart
fateshow publishes the live engine settings. Another school’s chart can be compared, but it is not automatically the same chart.
Do not infer the rule from whether the result sounds good. A preferred palace is not a reason to choose a rule.
What this section does not say
Do not sort schools into orthodox and heresy.
Do not compare luck before the rules match.
Different does not mean one chart is fake.
Common mistakes
- Choosing a year boundary because the result sounds better.
- Treating a difference in prose as a difference in star placement.
- Arguing accuracy before the rules match.
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 school does fateshow belong to?
It publishes the live engine and the settings snapshot, not a school name. Other rules can be compared, but the item that differs has to be named.
What if all five items match and the charts still differ?
Check the engine version and the time of the report. If they still differ, do not treat the two charts as one calculation.
Should I study several schools at once?
Finish this site’s settings first. Compare schools after you can list the five differences. Otherwise the palaces and stars will not line up.
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.