TL;DR: Vietnamese Tử Vi books do not share a single order for reading a chart, but all move from root to branch. This article sets out seven steps: Mệnh and Thân, Cục and the position of Tử Vi, main stars, tam phương tứ chính, auxiliary stars, đại hạn, tiểu hạn; this is the article's own arrangement, based on the twelve points to note in Tử Vi đẩu số tân biên (Vân Đằng Thái Thứ Lang) and the five kinds of factors in Tử Vi tổng hợp (Nguyễn Phát Lộc). Tử Vi tổng hợp writes that Mệnh and Thân are the root, đại hạn is the branch, and tiểu hạn cannot override đại hạn. This is a reference reading drawn from certain books, not a single standard for every Tử Vi school.
In What Order Should You Read a Tử Vi Chart?
Vietnamese Tử Vi books do not share one order for reading a chart. The two books with a section on method, Tử Vi đẩu số tân biên by Vân Đằng Thái Thứ Lang and Tử Vi tổng hợp by Nguyễn Phát Lộc, both go from root to branch: the yin-yang and five-element relations, Bản Mệnh and Cục, the Mệnh and Thân palaces first, the stars next, the periods last[4][1]. This article arranges those points into seven steps: Mệnh and Thân, Cục and the position of Tử Vi, the major stars, tam phương tứ chính, auxiliary stars, the major period (đại hạn) and the minor period (tiểu hạn). The seven steps are this article's arrangement for ease of following, not the order of any single book. Tử Vi tổng hợp writes that Mệnh and Thân are the root, the major period is only the branch, and the minor period cannot override the major period[1].
Mệnh and Thân: Read the Root First or the Branch First?
Read the root first. Tử Vi tổng hợp treats Mệnh and Thân as two long-term frames: major periods of the early years sit within the frame of the Mệnh palace, and those of the later years are set within the Thân palace. The book mentions the view that a good major period is better than good Mệnh and Thân, then rejects it: it is Mệnh and Thân that frame the good and bad of the major period, and the major period only varies within that frame[1].
Tử Vi áo bí biện chứng học by Việt Viêm Tử also teaches that when examining a chart one should combine Mệnh, Thân, Tài and Quan to see which configuration is present, and first check whether the major star in Mệnh and Thân agrees with the element of the Bản Mệnh or clashes with it[2]. The two books differ in wording but share one point: Mệnh and Thân are the entrance.
Cục and the Position of Tử Vi: Read the Number or the Position?
Cục does not stand alone; it is tied to the position of the star Tử Vi on the twelve palaces. The chart-casting part of Tử Vi áo bí biện chứng học reviews the steps in order: establish Mệnh, place Thân, find the Cục, determine the yin or yang of the native, then use the mnemonic of the Cục to find the position of Tử Vi (the book's example is Long Ngưu Hổ for Mộc tam cục), and then place the Tử Vi group of six major stars and the Thiên Phủ group of eight major stars[2]. When reading, two books look at Cục in relation to Bản Mệnh but rank the cases differently: Tử Vi đẩu số tân biên holds that Bản Mệnh generating Cục is better than Cục generating Bản Mệnh[4], while Tử Vi tổng hợp ranks Cục generating Bản Mệnh best and Bản Mệnh generating Cục second[1].
Tử Vi nghiệm lý toàn thư by Thiên Lương discusses Nhật Nguyệt (Thái Dương and Thái Âm) at length as the yin-yang pair of the chart, symbols of Heaven and Earth, and holds that each position must be analysed carefully[3]. The same star Thái Dương standing in Ngọ differs from standing in Tỵ, Thìn, Mão, Dần, Sửu or Mùi[3]. This is why the step of reading Cục and position cannot be separated from the step of reading the major stars.
Major Stars and Tam Phương Tứ Chính: Read One Palace or All Four?
Read all four. Tử Vi đẩu số tân biên instructs that to read a palace one must also read its two tam hợp palaces, its opposite palace and its nhị hợp palace[4]. Counting from the palace being read, the two tam hợp palaces are the fifth and the ninth, and the opposite palace is the seventh; the palace being read together with those three is commonly called tam phương tứ chính. Tử Vi tổng hợp adds the view of some readers that a star sitting in a palace is stronger than one shining on it, and the opposite palace stronger than the tam hợp palaces[1].
A configuration (cách) is the name for a set of major stars meeting in those palaces. Tử Vi tổng hợp lists major-star configurations such as Tử Phủ Vũ Tướng, Sát Phá Liêm Tham, Cơ Nguyệt Đồng Lương and Cự Nhật[1]. Tử Vi áo bí biện chứng học instructs the reader to combine Mệnh, Tài and Quan to see which configuration is present, for example Tử Phủ or Sát Phá[2]; Tài Bạch and Quan Lộc are precisely the two tam hợp palaces of the Mệnh palace. By the star-placement rules, Tham Lang, Thất Sát and Phá Quân always stand four palaces apart, so when one of them is in the Mệnh palace the other two are in Tài Bạch and Quan Lộc.
| Reading step | What is read | Why it is read at this step |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Mệnh, Thân | The presiding major star, the element of Bản Mệnh | Mệnh and Thân frame the good and bad of the major period[1] |
| 2. Cục and position of Tử Vi | Cục, its relation to Bản Mệnh, position of Tử Vi | The position of Tử Vi is found from Cục and birth day[2] |
| 3. Major stars | Nature of the star; miếu, vượng, đắc or hãm địa | The same star is read differently in a different position[3] |
| 4. Tam phương tứ chính | The two tam hợp palaces and the opposite palace | Reading a palace means reading the palaces shining on it[4] |
| 5. Auxiliary stars | Tứ Hóa, Lục Sát, other stars | Auxiliary stars adjust and supplement the major stars[1] |
| 6. Major period | The palace entering a ten-year period | It is the root of the ten minor periods[1] |
| 7. Minor period | The palace entering a one-year period | It only modifies the major period[1] |
Auxiliary Stars: Where Do Sát Tinh and the Four Hóa Fit in the Order?
Read them after the major stars and the palaces shining on them are clear. Tử Vi tổng hợp writes that the major stars decide the nature of a matter, while auxiliary stars only adjust and supplement[1]. In the twelve points of Tử Vi đẩu số tân biên, Tứ Hóa (Hóa Lộc, Hóa Quyền, Hóa Khoa, Hóa Kỵ) and Lục Sát (Kình Dương, Đà La, Hỏa Tinh, Linh Tinh, Địa Không, Địa Kiếp) come right after the major stars of the palaces[4]. Tử Vi áo bí biện chứng học gives examples of star sets that clash: when Mệnh, Tài and Quan have a Tử Phủ configuration and the period brings Không Kiếp, the book calls it most unfavourable; a Nhật Nguyệt configuration dislikes a Dương Đà period, and Cơ Nguyệt Đồng Lương most dislikes Hỏa Linh[2].
Tử Vi đẩu số tân biên defines a bright, good star as one with a good nature or one placed at miếu địa, vượng địa or đắc địa, and a dim, bad star as one with a bad nature or one placed at hãm địa[4]. The book's reading of each auxiliary star is split along those two cases, so auxiliary stars are not read alone but by set and by the stars they meet.
Major Period and Minor Period: Which Comes First?
Read the major period first, the minor period after, and always place the minor period within the frame of the major period. Tử Vi tổng hợp holds that the major period is the foundation of the ten minor periods and decides the general good or bad trend of each year; if the minor period is good it only adds to the good, and cannot be so good as to override the bad already present in the major period[1]. The book also notes that the small period must be checked against the large period, because it sits entirely within the frame of the large period; and whenever one examines a major period, one must always place that major period inside the frame of Mệnh or of Thân[1].
Tử Vi đẩu số tân biên by Vân Đằng Thái Thứ Lang presents a method for reading periods, including observing the root of the ten-year major period, the one-year lưu đại hạn, the one-year lưu niên tiểu hạn, then examining the mutual generation and overcoming between the period palace and the Bản Mệnh, between the period palace and the presiding star of the period, and between the presiding star of the period and the Bản Mệnh. The book also reminds that when reading periods, besides the root of the ten-year major period, the one-year lưu đại hạn and the lưu niên tiểu hạn, one must also note the influence of moving stars such as Thái Tuế, Tang Môn, Bạch Hổ, Thiên Khốc, Thiên Hư, Lộc Tồn, Kình Dương, Đà La and Thiên Mã[4].
Why Do the Books Not Fully Agree on the Order?
Because each book arranges things its own way. Tử Vi đẩu số tân biên opens its section on interpretation with twelve points to note, in this order: whether the year, month, day and hour of birth agree or conflict in yin and yang, generate or overcome one another, and combine or break; Bản Mệnh and Cục; the birth year and the Mệnh palace; the major star of the Mệnh palace; the Mệnh palace and the Thân palace; the Phúc Đức palace; the major stars of the palaces; Tứ Hóa; Lục Sát; and last, the periods[4]. Tử Vi tổng hợp divides the factors to be examined into five kinds: yin-yang and the five elements, configurations and Cục, palaces, stars, then periods[1]. Tử Vi áo bí biện chứng học instructs the reader to combine Mệnh, Thân, Tài and Quan to see which set is present, and only then to judge the degree of good or bad when a major or minor period arrives[2]. All three put Mệnh first and the periods last, but they do not match in the middle: Tử Vi đẩu số tân biên examines the Phúc Đức palace before the major stars of the palaces, whereas the seven steps of this article have no separate step for the Phúc Đức palace.
Nhật Nguyệt's Suggestion: Read by Layer, Not by Isolated Palace
Nhật Nguyệt's suggestion: when reading a chart yourself, follow the seven layers as in the table above, and write one short conclusion for each layer before moving to the next. Do not rush to conclude at the Mệnh layer before seeing tam phương tứ chính, and do not rush to conclude at the major period layer before checking against Mệnh and Thân. This method helps avoid two common mistakes: first, rejoicing at a good star in Mệnh, and second, worrying at a sát tinh in a period, while Tử Vi tổng hợp states plainly that a small period only modifies the large period and rarely changes its deeper characteristics[1].
It should be added that Tử Vi is a system of divination with its own conventions, not a scientific method that has been verified. Vietnamese Tử Vi books present the method of reading according to the system of that discipline, and the reader should take it as a form of cultural reflection, not as a certain conclusion about the fate or finances of a specific person.
