Yearly star (Nine Luminaries) & Tam Tai
Find out which of the nine guardian stars you meet this year and whether you are in your three Tam Tai years. All it needs is your birth year and sex, since a man and a woman of the same age meet different stars. You get the star, what folk belief says about it, and a few things to watch this year.
Where this comes from
The yearly star (the Nine Luminaries) is a folk belief: each year each person is matched with one of nine stars, looked up from lunar age and sex. The order of the nine stars and the lookup match Tử Vi khảo luận (Hoàng Thường, Hàm Chương); sources do not fully agree on how good or bad the three middle stars are.
Day and month are optional, used only to convert to the lunar year: anyone born between early January and about 20 February usually still belongs to the previous year.
This tool is part of Tử Vi (Purple Star astrology). See every tool and article on Tử Vi (Purple Star astrology).
Classical allusion
“Cư trần lạc đạo thả tuỳ duyên, cơ tắc xan hề khốn tắc miên.”
Translation: Dwell in the world, delight in the Way, and follow what comes: eat when hungry, sleep when tired.
Trần Nhân Tông · Rhapsody on Dwelling in the World and Delighting in the Way
Next
House-building year check
Planning to build or renovate this year? The house-building check looks at Kim Lâu, Hoang Ốc and Tam Tai for that year.
Open House-building year checkWhere the schools differ
Whether Thủy Diệu is good or bad
What no one has shown
No study has shown that the year's star corresponds to what happens in that year. The table uses only the birth year, so everyone of the same birth year and sex gets the same result.
Read on
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How are the guardian star and Tam Tai worked out?
The guardian star (the Nine Luminaries, Cửu Diệu) is a folk belief that each year every person falls under one of nine stars: La Hầu, Thổ Tú, Thủy Diệu, Thái Bạch, Thái Dương, Vân Hớn (also read Vân Hán), Kế Đô, Thái Âm and Mộc Đức. The nine repeat on a nine-year cycle.
The year's star follows your lunar age: one at birth, plus one every Tết. Men and women run through the stars in two different orders. In 2026, for example, a man born in 1990 (lunar age 37) meets La Hầu, while a woman of the same age meets Kế Đô.
In the usual ranking, La Hầu, Kế Đô and Thái Bạch are the three bad stars; Thái Dương, Thái Âm and Mộc Đức the three good ones; Thổ Tú, Thủy Diệu and Vân Hớn sit in between. Almanacs do not fully agree on how heavy those middle three are.
Tam Tai is a separate matter: three consecutive years in each twelve-year cycle that folk belief treats as a rough patch for one group of birth signs. The group follows the animal of your birth year, not your guardian star or your sex. People born in Monkey, Rat and Dragon years, for example, meet Tam Tai in Tiger, Cat and Dragon years.
The birth year here is the lunar year. If you were born between early January and Tết, you belong to the previous lunar year; add your birth day and month and the page converts it.
Many Vietnamese families check their star at the start of the year as a custom, sometimes with a temple rite to ease a bad year.
| Star | Folk ranking | Usually linked with |
|---|---|---|
| La Hầu | Bad | Gossip, paperwork, lawsuits |
| Thổ Tú | Middling, leaning bad | Land and houses |
| Thủy Diệu | Middling | Money leaking away, travel by water |
| Thái Bạch | Bad | Losing money |
| Thái Dương | Good | Career, help from others |
| Vân Hớn | Middling, leaning bad | Temper, quarrels, small mishaps |
| Kế Đô | Bad | Sudden events, gossip |
| Thái Âm | Good | Family and love going smoothly |
| Mộc Đức | Good | Peace, helpful people |
Frequently asked questions
Which age is the guardian star based on?
Your lunar age: one at birth, plus one every Tết. The birth year is taken on the lunar calendar.
Why do a man and a woman of the same age meet different stars?
Because the folk table runs men and women through two separate orders in the nine-year cycle. Picking the wrong sex gives the wrong star.
How long does Tam Tai last?
Three years in a row. After that it does not come back for another twelve years.
Which birth signs meet Tam Tai in which years?
Monkey, Rat and Dragon meet it in Tiger, Cat and Dragon years. Tiger, Horse and Dog in Monkey, Rooster and Dog years. Snake, Rooster and Ox in Pig, Rat and Ox years. Pig, Cat and Goat in Snake, Horse and Goat years.
Are the guardian star and Tam Tai connected?
No. The guardian star follows lunar age and sex; Tam Tai follows your birth sign and the current year. A year can bring a good star and still fall in Tam Tai.
What do people usually do in a bad-star year?
By custom, many people attend a temple rite at the start of the year, or take more care with paperwork, money and what they say. These are folk customs.
Public API, returns JSON, no sign-in: GET https://api.nhatnguyet.org/api/v1/calc/sao-chieu-menh?namSinh=1990&gioiTinh=Nam&namXem=2027