LESSON L20 / 28 OF 36
Dou Jun and the monthly palace: where this month starts
Know how Dou Jun is found, and how this month's Life Palace is counted from it.
Original app lesson · free on the web
This lesson has been self-reviewed and is awaiting final sign-off. The classical passages have been checked word by word; the plain-language text and the exercises are written by this project.
Which cell do I start from for this month?
Fictional birth data · teaching example · not a real person's chart · 2026-10-12
In plain words
Dou Jun is where the months start, the first lunar month. Count the year's Life Palace as month one and go backward to your birth month; treat that palace as the Zi hour and count forward to your birth hour; where you stop is Dou Jun. The second lunar month is the next palace, and so on; a leap month uses the same number.
What the text says
The counting comes word for word from Volume 2's rule on placing Dou Jun.
Compare with your own chart
Find which of your natal palaces is this month's Life Palace.
An everyday example
The monthly starting point may change at a lunar-month boundary without implying a sudden personality change. Check the month and leap-month convention before interpreting it.
Confirm the lunar month and leap-month convention before comparing monthly positions.
CHECK YOURSELF
Now, try it yourself.
Answer both questions correctly to complete the lesson. The original explanation appears after each answer.
FIND IT IN THE CHART
Find it on a chart.
Say which of your palaces is this month's Life Palace.
Open my chart ↗Classical sources
於流年太歲宮起正月逆至本生月，又從本生月起子順數至本生時安斗君。
From the palace of the year's Tai Sui, count the first month and go backward to the birth month; from there count the Zi hour forward to the birth hour, and place the month marker.
Zi Wei Dou Shu Quan Shu, Volume 2, "Placing Dou Jun"; traditionally attributed in received editions
Classical texts provide cultural context. Everyday examples and exercises are written by this project.
YOUR STUDY / L20