Today’s Auspicious Directions
Day and hour flying stars — turning with the moment
The day star turns over once a day, the hour star every two hours. Wherever the two land, that corner of the house leans auspicious or quiet at this moment. This page works out true solar time for your longitude, casts both charts, and says plainly which of the eight directions to use right now and for what. It holds for this hour only — long-term layout belongs to the house chart and the landform, which is a different job.
Re-checked every 30 seconds; the chart turns over by itself when the hour changes.
The eight directions, right now
South at the top, as on a compass. In each palace the day star sits above the hour star: the hour star rules this moment, the day star sets the tone of the day.
In each palace, the top line is the day star — fixed all day; the bottom line is the hour star — it changes every two hours.
This chart follows the hour star: it shows the dos and don’ts of this two-hour period only, not of the whole day. For the directions to use later this morning, this afternoon or tonight, see Today, direction by direction below.
Today, direction by direction🔒 Your day, in plain words
This section is about today; the chart above is about right now — two different questions. The day star holds all day and sets each direction’s tone; the hour star turns every two hours and lets you pick a better moment inside that tone. A direction that is poor at this moment is not poor all day: usually the hour star is only weighing on it, and the hour will turn.
Use E most; steer clear of W.
Good to use · 2
Nine Purple rules the current period and governs celebration — good for gatherings, confessions, congratulations and showing your work.At 19:00–21:00 4 Green arrives and works with the star here — the smoothest window of the day.With the wealth star alongside, joy comes with money.
One White rules reputation and company — today this direction favours meeting people and getting about.At 17:00–19:00 6 White arrives and works with the star here — the smoothest window of the day.With a literary or rank influence alongside, people come round more easily.
Usable · 4
Eight White is the wealth star. In this period it has begun to retreat, yet its remaining qi still holds — still good for money, business, property and collecting dues.At 13:00–15:00 6 White arrives and works with the star here — the smoothest window of the day.With Nine Purple alongside, money and good news arrive together — enough to make up for the retreat.
Six White is rank — good for deciding, negotiating, seeking out people and heading out.At 19:00–21:00 1 White arrives and works with the star here — the smoothest window of the day.With the wealth star alongside, it brings both authority and real gain.
Four Green is the literature star — good for study, writing, exam prep and planning.At 15:00–17:00 1 White arrives and works with the star here — the smoothest window of the day.With One White or Nine Purple alongside, ideas flow better.
Two Black is the illness star, but in this period it is still approaching — its qi has not yet turned. Light use is fine here today; good for rest and storage.At 15:00–17:00 8 White arrives and works with the star here — the smoothest window of the day.If you must act here, wait for a rank influence to arrive — Metal drains its heaviness.
Keep quiet · 2
Three Jade brings disputes — words start easily here today. Good for solitude and tidying loose ends.If you truly cannot avoid it, wait for 15:00–17:00 when 9 Purple arrives — the least-bad moment today.Avoid argument and signing anything — one hard word can cost you.
Five Yellow is the great killer; the air here is the fiercest today. Doing nothing is the best move.If you truly cannot avoid it, wait for 21:00–23:00 when 8 White arrives — the least-bad moment today.No digging, renovation, hammering or shifting — and do not sit or linger.
"Keep quiet" does not mean a bad place, only one you need not disturb today. And if you really cannot duck it, take the hour marked above — acting at the least-bad hour beats blundering in at random.
The twelve hours of today🔒 Full day
The day chart holds all day; only the hour star moves. Find the hour you plan to act in, then read which direction to use and which to leave alone.
| Hour | True solar time | Hour star at centre | Use | Keep quiet |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zi | 23:00–01:00 | 3 Jade | SW | N |
| Chou | 01:00–03:00 | 2 Black | NW | S |
| Yin | 03:00–05:00 | 1 White | SW | N |
| Mao | 05:00–07:00 | 9 Purple | NW | S |
| Chen | 07:00–09:00 | 8 White | SE | NE |
| Si | 09:00–11:00 | 7 Red | E | W |
| Wu | 11:00–13:00 | 6 White | E | S |
| Weinow | 13:00–15:00 | 5 Yellow | SE | W |
| Shen | 15:00–17:00 | 4 Green | NE | W |
| You | 17:00–19:00 | 3 Jade | SW | N |
| Xu | 19:00–21:00 | 2 Black | NW | S |
| Hai | 21:00–23:00 | 1 White | SW | N |
The Zi hour spans 23:00–01:00 and is listed first by convention; the late Zi hour (after 23:00) belongs to the following day’s chart.
How to read this
- Fix the centre first — the geometric centre of the whole home, or of the room in single-room mode. Move the centre and every direction moves with it.
- Then find the directions: "South" on the board is magnetic south. Stand (or sit) at the centre; whichever way you face is the direction you are using.
- An auspicious direction is for doing, not for occupying. Reading, negotiating, deciding — move there for the task; sitting there all day adds nothing.
- A "keep quiet" direction is not a bad place, only one you need not disturb right now. No hammering, no heavy moving, no digging — ordinary living is fine.
Where the rules come from
The day and hour stars both belong to the "visiting star" layer of Xuan Kong; the rules are below. Solstices are taken at their true astronomical moments, not approximated as 21 December or 21 June — a day of error at the boundary shifts the whole chart by one palace.
Hour star: on Zi, Wu, Mao and You days the Zi hour starts at 1 White, on Chen, Xu, Chou and Wei days at 4 Green, on Yin, Shen, Si and Hai days at 7 Red — forward after the winter solstice, backward after the summer. Only the starting star after the summer solstice differs between schools (below).
One thing worth stating plainly: the day and hour stars are guests — they only add to or subtract from the moment. The house chart is the host, and it sets the tone for decades. A guest cannot overrule the host: an auspicious direction will not turn a structurally poor house into a good one, nor will a quiet direction ruin a sound one. Use this page to choose between options, not to pass verdicts.
Which rule set this page uses
Currently using Our default. Switch "Rule set" above to use another; the nine palaces and the twelve-hour table are recast together.
- Our default
- Our default. The day star uses only the two solstices: after the summer solstice it anchors on the first Jia-Zi day, starts at 9 Purple and flies backward until the winter solstice. Hour stars after the summer solstice follow the second textual tradition: 9 Purple on the four cardinal-branch days, 6 Green on the four tomb-branch days, 3 Green on the four growth-branch days, all flying backward.
- Strict classical
- Following Xuan Ze Qiu Zhen (vol. 7) and Xuan Ze Ji Yao. The day star uses six spans (winter solstice, Rain Water, Grain Rain, summer solstice, End of Heat, Frost Descent); the yin period divides threefold — 9 Purple from the summer solstice, 3 Green from End of Heat, 6 White from Frost Descent — each anchored on the Jia-Zi day nearest its boundary, flying backward. Hour stars follow the first textual tradition: 3 Green on the four tomb-branch days, 6 White on the four growth-branch days (exactly swapped against the second tradition).
- Modern common
- The practice of most contemporary charting tools: same anchor as our default, but after the summer solstice the flight stays forward instead of reversing (in effect carrying 9 Purple onward). Hour stars follow the second tradition.
Where the disagreement comes from. For the day star, Xuan Ze Qiu Zhen records "…after the yin begins at the summer solstice the nine palaces reverse; three Green at End of Heat, six White from Frost Descent". For the hour star two readings circulated — "6 White for the growth days, 3 added for the tomb days" against "3 Green for the growth days, six added for the tomb days" — and Qing scholars already wrote on the point. This page sets the three side by side and does not rank them; the chart follows your choice. One note: the hour-star rules here have been corrected to the texts above, so results may differ from older tools.