Two complementary maps
If BaZi describes the climate of a life — its elemental architecture and seasonal rhythm — Zi Wei Dou Shu (紫微斗数, "Purple Star Astrology") describes the rooms in which that life plays out.
How Zi Wei works
A Zi Wei chart places 108 stars across twelve palaces:
1. Life (命) — self 2. Siblings (兄弟) 3. Spouse (夫妻) 4. Children (子女) 5. Wealth (财帛) 6. Health (疾厄) 7. Travel (迁移) 8. Friends (交友) 9. Career (官禄) 10. Property (田宅) 11. Mental (福德) — inner life 12. Parents (父母)
The fourteen main stars (led by Zi Wei, the Purple Emperor star itself) carry the strongest weight, supported by dozens of auxiliary and transformation stars. Reading a palace means reading the conversation between the stars that fall in it.
What it does that BaZi doesn't
Where BaZi is excellent at elemental balance, ten-year luck cycles, and broad themes, Zi Wei excels at specific life domains. A question like "what is going on in my marriage" or "why is my career stalling" can be addressed by reading the relevant palace and its triangular relationships to other palaces.
Why use both
A Combined Reading uses BaZi to set the climate (your Day Master, your elemental balance, your decade-by-decade luck pillars) and Zi Wei to walk through specific life domains in detail. The two systems were developed by different lineages and refined by different schools, but they are deeply compatible — and the picture they form together is sharper than either alone.