Glossary — Divination Terms Explained

Every term used across FateSpectrum's readings, grouped by system. Terms keep their hanzi and pinyin so you can recognise them anywhere.

BaZi · Four Pillars

八字 · BaZi bāzì

The eight characters formed by the Ganzhi (stem-branch) notation of your birth year, month, day and hour — the core chart of Chinese fate calculation.

四柱 · Four Pillars sìzhù

The year, month, day and hour pillars; each pillar is one heavenly stem paired with one earthly branch.

日主 · Day Master rìzhǔ

The heavenly stem of your birth day. It represents you in the chart and is the reference point for the Ten Gods and strength readings.

天干 · Heavenly Stems tiāngān

The ten-character cycle (Jia to Gui), each paired with one of the five elements and a yin/yang polarity.

地支 · Earthly Branches dìzhī

The twelve-character cycle (Zi to Hai), mapped to the twelve zodiac animals and the twelve double-hours of the day.

十神 · Ten Gods shíshén

Ten roles derived from how each stem relates to the Day Master: Bijian 比肩 (Friend), Jiecai 劫财 (Rob Wealth), Shishen 食神 (Eating God), Shangguan 伤官 (Hurting Officer), Piancai 偏财 (Indirect Wealth), Zhengcai 正财 (Direct Wealth), Qisha 七杀 (Seven Killings), Zhengguan 正官 (Direct Officer), Pianyin 偏印 (Indirect Seal), Zhengyin 正印 (Direct Seal).

五行 · Five Elements wǔxíng

Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water — five energies in generating (Wood feeds Fire…) and controlling (Wood parts Earth…) cycles.

大运 · Luck Pillars dàyùn

Ten-year stem-branch periods derived from the month pillar, describing how fortune unfolds across life stages.

真太阳时 · True Solar Time zhēntàiyángshí

Local clock time corrected by the equation of time and your longitude offset from the timezone's standard meridian — needed to place the hour pillar accurately.

生肖 · Zodiac Animal shēngxiào

The animal of your birth year's branch: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, Pig.

中和 · Balance (Zhonghe) zhōnghé

A chart state where the Day Master and the overall elements are well proportioned — neither too strong nor too weak.

Zi Wei Dou Shu · Purple Star

紫微斗数 · Zi Wei Dou Shu zǐwēi dòushù

A Chinese fate system that places the Purple Star (Ziwei) and thirteen companion stars across twelve palaces based on your birth month and hour.

十四主星 · Fourteen Major Stars shísì zhǔxīng

Ziwei, Tianji, Taiyang, Wuqu, Tian tong, Lianzhen, Tianfu, Taiyin, Tanlang, Jumen, Tianxiang, Tianliang, Qisha and Pojun — the stars that define each palace's character.

命宫 · Life Palace mìnggōng

The first of the twelve palaces — your innate character and overall disposition.

身宫 · Body Palace shēngōng

The palace describing your acquired tendencies — where life's energy is invested.

四化 · Four Transformations sìhuà

Lu (禄, blossoming), Quan (权, authority), Ke (科, renown) and Ji (忌, obstruction) — yearly-stem transformations that highlight or challenge specific stars.

十二宫 · Twelve Palaces shí'èrgōng

Life, Siblings, Spouse, Children, Wealth, Health, Travel, Friends, Career, Property, Fortune and Parents — the twelve arenas of life.

五行局 · Element Bureau wǔxíngjú

Water-2, Wood-3, Metal-4, Earth-5 or Fire-6 — the bureau derived from the Life Palace that fixes where Ziwei is placed.

Western Astrology

本命盘 · Natal Chart běnmìngpán

The snapshot of planetary positions at your birth moment — the foundation of a western reading.

上升星座 · Ascendant (Rising Sign) shàngshēng

The sign rising on the eastern horizon at your birth — your outward style and first impression.

中天 · Midheaven (MC) zhōngtiān

The highest point of the chart — career direction and public standing.

太阳星座 · Sun Sign tàiyáng

The sign the Sun occupied at birth — your core identity and vitality.

月亮星座 · Moon Sign yuèliàng

The Moon's sign — your emotional reflexes and inner needs.

相位 · Aspect xiàngwèi

The angle between two planets: conjunction 0° (fusion), sextile 60° (opportunity), square 90° (friction), trine 120° (harmony), opposition 180° (polarity).

容许度 · Orb róngxǔdù

The allowed deviation from an exact aspect angle for the aspect to count.

元素 · Element yuánsù

Fire, Earth, Air and Water — the four temperaments of the zodiac signs (action, pragmatism, thought, feeling).

宫位 · House gōngwèi

One of twelve life arenas; the house a planet occupies shows where its energy plays out.

Vedic Astrology · Jyotish

吠陀占星 · Jyotish féituó

India's classical astrology — sidereal zodiac, lunar emphasis and timing systems.

恒星制黄道 · Sidereal Zodiac héngxīng

The zodiac measured from the fixed stars (ayanamsa-corrected) — about 24° behind the tropical zodiac used in the West.

阿育吠陀岁差 · Ayanamsa āyànāmsà

The accumulated precession offset between the tropical and sidereal zodiacs (Lahiri ≈ 24°).

二十七宿 · Nakshatra èrshíqīxiù

The Moon's mansion — one of 27 lunar divisions of 13°20', each with its own ruling planet.

Vimshottari 大运 · Vimshottari Dasha dàyùn

A 120-year planetary period cycle starting from your birth nakshatra's lord — the classical Vedic timing system.

Human Design

人类图 · Human Design rénlèitú

A synthesis system combining the I Ching's 64 gates, astrology, the chakras and the Kabbalah — built from two activation snapshots (birth and 88° of solar arc before birth).

类型 · Type lèixíng

One of five energy strategies: Manifestor, Generator, Manifesting Generator, Projector or Reflector.

内在权威 · Authority quánwēi

Your body's decision-making mechanism — e.g. Emotional (wait for clarity) or Sacral (in-the-moment gut response).

人生角色 · Profile rénshēngjuésè

The conscious/unconscious line pair of your Personality and Design Suns (e.g. 4/6) — your life's role theme.

九大能量中心 · Nine Energy Centers néngliàngzhōngxīn

Head, Ajna, Throat, G, Heart, Sacral, Solar Plexus, Spleen and Root — each either defined (consistent, coloured) or open (undefined, white).

通道 · Channel tōngdào

A fixed connection between two gates (36 in total) — a defined channel is what makes a center defined.

设计日期 · Design Date shèjì

The moment the Sun was 88° of arc before your birth position (~88 days earlier) — the unconscious 'Design' side of the chart.

Tarot & Divination

塔罗 · Tarot tǎluó

A 78-card imagery system (22 Major + 56 Minor Arcana) used for reflection and guidance.

大阿卡纳 · Major Arcana dà'ākǎnà

The 22 trump cards from The Fool to The World — archetypal life themes rather than everyday events.

正位 / 逆位 · Upright / Reversed zhèngwèi / nìwèi

Card orientation: upright reads the core meaning; reversed suggests blockage, internalisation or excess.

牌阵 · Spread páizhèn

A fixed layout of cards, each position carrying a role — e.g. past, present and future in a three-card spread.

易经 · I Ching yìjīng

The Chinese classic of change — 64 six-line hexagrams, each an image with an attached judgement.

卦 · Hexagram guà

Six yin/yang lines stacked into one of 64 figures, read as an upper trigram over a lower trigram.

动爻 · Moving Line dòngyáo

The line flagged as changing in a cast — the focus of the reading, transforming the first hexagram into a second.

梅花易数 · Plum Blossom Numerology méihuā yìshù

Song-dynasty casting method attributed to Shao Yong — a hexagram derived from time, numbers or phenomena, read by trigram interactions.

老弗萨克 · Elder Futhark lǎofúsàkè

The oldest runic alphabet (24 staves, Fehu to Othala) — each rune a name and a force, drawn for guidance.

称骨算命 · Bone-Weight Fortune chēnggǔ

A Tang-era method attributed to Yuan Tiangang — birth year, month, day and hour each carry a bone weight; the total maps to a verse.

姓名五格 · Name Five Grids wǔgé

Five numerology grids computed from the Kangxi stroke counts of a name, read with the Sancai elements and 81 numbers.

三才 · Sancai sāncái

The element triad of the Heaven, Human and Earth grids — their generating/controlling relations sketch the name's base temperament.

Chinese Almanac

黄历 · Chinese Almanac (Huangli) huánglì

The traditional Chinese almanac — a day-by-day guide of Ganzhi, favorable and unfavorable activities.

建除十二神 · Twelve Jianchu Officers jiànchú

Jian, Chu, Man, Ping, Ding, Zhi, Po, Wei, Cheng, Shou, Kai, Bi — twelve day-officers cycling against the month branch, each with its own do's and don'ts.

冲煞 · Clash & Sha chōngshà

The day branch's opposition sign (e.g. Rat day clashes Horse) marked as a caution for that animal, with an unlucky compass direction (Sha).

六合吉时 · Six-Harmony Hours liùhé

The hours whose branch is in six-harmony with the day branch — traditionally the smooth windows of the day.