What is the Twelve Life Stages and which stars does it include?
The Twelve Life Stages (Chinese: 長生十二神) is one of the auxiliary star cycles in Zi Wei Dou Shu, consisting of twelve stars arranged in a fixed sequence: Birth, Bath, Coming of Age, Office, Emperor, Decline, Illness, Death, Tomb, Extinction, Conception, Nurture. Each star represents a stage in the cycle of birth, aging, illness and death of all things, from beginning, growth, peak, decline, ending to rebirth.
How is the Twelve Life Stages placed on a chart?
In the common understanding, this cycle is placed based on the Yang palace of the birth year. From that Yang palace, the chart maker places the Birth star, then places the remaining eleven stars in order, either clockwise or counterclockwise depending on the yin-yang of the birth year and gender. Therefore, for the same age, men and women may have different positions of the Twelve Life Stages.
What is the Twelve Life Stages used to interpret?
The Twelve Life Stages is often used to read the rise and fall rhythm of each palace in a chart. When encountering Birth, Bath, Coming of Age, Office, Emperor, that palace is often seen as being in a rising, developing or peak phase. When encountering Decline, Illness, Death, Tomb, Extinction, that palace is often seen as being in a declining, withdrawing or ending phase. Conception and Nurture represent new sprouts, nurturing and rebirth. It should be noted that the meaning of each star also depends on the palace position, co-located stars and the entire chart, and should not be interpreted in isolation.
How is the Twelve Life Stages different from other star cycles?
The Twelve Life Stages is easily confused with the Tai Sui cycle, the Lu Cun cycle and the Bo Shi cycle. The Tai Sui cycle consists of twelve stars placed by birth year, reflecting social relationships and personality. The Lu Cun cycle consists of twelve stars placed by the heavenly stem of the birth year, reflecting wealth and fortune. The Bo Shi cycle consists of twelve stars placed by the heavenly stem of the birth year, reflecting education and wisdom. The Twelve Life Stages models the cycle of growth, focusing on the rhythm of rise and fall over time rather than specific aspects of life.
Should the Twelve Life Stages be considered a decisive factor?
No. In Zi Wei Dou Shu, the Twelve Life Stages is only a supplementary layer of information. To interpret accurately, one needs to combine main stars, auxiliary stars, four transformations and other star cycles. This is traditional knowledge for reference, not scientifically verified, and should not replace practical decisions in life.