LESSON W03 / 06 OF 36
Workshop: reading an unfamiliar chart
Use three steps to pick out the frame of an unfamiliar chart in a minute.
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.
Handed an unfamiliar chart, how do you see its frame in one minute?
Fictional birth data · teaching example · not a real person's chart · 2026-10-12
Three steps
Step one, find the Life Palace and its branch. Step two, find which palace holds the Body Palace. Step three, see which major stars the Life Palace lists. All three are reading only, no explaining. After them, the frame of the chart is clear.
What the text says
The Gu Sui Fu says that once the body marker is placed, the foundation is known. That is why the three steps start with the Life and Body palaces.
Why the frame comes first
Every later lesson builds on the frame: palace topics, star descriptions, the opposite palace and the four positions. If the frame is misread, everything after it is wrong, so practise the three steps first.
Compare with your own chart
Do the three steps on your own chart, read them out loud, and time yourself for a minute.
An everyday example
For a chart screenshot, start with whose chart it is, its birth data and the displayed time layer, not the most striking star. Missing settings should remain questions, not guesses.
Confirm birth data and time layer, marking any missing information.
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.
Three steps on your chart: first, say your Life Palace branch.
Open my chart ↗Classical sources
安身便曉根基
Place the body marker and the foundation is known.
Zi Wei Dou Shu Quan Shu, Volume 1, "Gu Sui Fu"; traditionally attributed in received editions
Classical texts provide cultural context. Everyday examples and exercises are written by this project.
YOUR STUDY / W03