What Is Life Palace (Ming Gong)? What Is Life Gua (Ming Gua)? The chart for checking the Life Gua based on birth year and gender is presented by BTA Feng Shui in the article below.
What Is Life Palace (命宫 – Mìng Gōng)?
In Feng Shui, the Life Palace (命宫 – Mìng Gōng) represents your elemental destiny determined by the Five Elements—Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth.
Your Life Palace is based on your lunar year of birth. Therefore, everyone born in the same lunar year shares the same Life Palace and element. This cycle repeats every 60 years according to the Chinese calendar.
Example: Those born in the year of the Metal Dog (庚戌, Gēng Xū)—1970, 2030, or 2090—belong to the Metal element, symbolizing clarity, precision, and resilience.
What Is Life Gua (命卦 – Mìng Guà)?
The Life Gua, also known as the Kua Number, is a personal Feng Shui number derived from your birth year and gender. It connects you to one of the Eight Trigrams—Qián (乾), Kūn (坤), Duì (兑), Gèn (艮), Zhèn (震), Lí (离), Kǎn (坎), or Xùn (巽)—and determines your favorable directions and compatibility with surrounding Qi energy.
While the Life Palace focuses on your elemental destiny (shared by everyone born in the same lunar year), the Life Gua provides a personalized Feng Shui profile unique to your gender and year of birth.
How the Life Gua System Works
Each Life Gua combines three essential components that define your Feng Shui pattern:
- Element (五行 – Wǔ Xíng): Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth
- Trigram (八卦 – Bā Guà): Qián, Kūn, Duì, Gèn, Zhèn, Lí, Kǎn, Xùn
- Direction (方位 – Fāng Wèi): East, Southeast, South, North, West, Northwest, Northeast, Southwest
By understanding your Life Gua, you can determine auspicious directions for your home, bedroom, and workplace—helping to attract positive Qi, improve relationships, and enhance success and balance in life.
How to Determine Your Life Gua
Step-by-Step Method
- Step 1: Identify your Gregorian birth year.
- Step 2: Add all digits of the year to get a total.
- Step 3: Divide the total by 9.
- If there is a remainder → use the remainder as your Gua number.
- If it divides evenly (remainder = 0) → use 9.
- If the total is less than 9 → use that total directly.
Life Gua Lookup Chart by Number
| Number | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| Male | Kan | Li | Gen | Dui | Qian | Kun | Xun | Zhen | Kun |
| Female | Gen | Qian | Dui | Gen | Li | Kan | Kun | Zhen | Xun |
Example of Calculating Life Gua by Birth Year
Example 1: For someone born in Wood Dog 1994, the Life Gua is calculated as follows:
- 1 + 9 + 9 + 4 = 23 ÷ 9 = 2 remainder 5 (Use 5 to check the chart).
- For Male, the chart indicates the Qian Life Gua.
- For Female, the chart indicates the Li Life Gua.
Example 2: For someone born in Earth Tiger 1998:
- 1 + 9 + 9 + 8 = 27 ÷ 9 = 3 remainder 0 (Since it divides evenly, use 9 to check the chart).
- For Male, the chart indicates the Kun Life Gua.
- For Female, the chart indicates the Xun Life Gua.
Example 3: For someone born in Wood Monkey 2004:
- 2 + 0 + 0 + 4 = 6 (<9), use 6 directly to check the chart.
- For Male, the chart indicates the Kun Life Gua.
- For Female, the chart indicates the Kan Life Gua.
Life Gua Lookup Chart by Birth Year (1949–2029)
Quickly find your Life Gua using the chart below:
| Birth Year | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|
| 1949, 1958, 1967, 1976, 1985, 1994, 2003, 2012, 2021 | Qian | Li |
| 1950, 1959, 1968, 1977, 1986, 1995, 2004, 2013, 2022 | Kun | Kan |
| 1951, 1960, 1969, 1978, 1987, 1996, 2005, 2014, 2023 | Xun | Kun |
| 1952, 1961, 1970, 1979, 1988, 1997, 2006, 2015, 2024 | Zhen | Zhen |
| 1953, 1962, 1971, 1980, 1989, 1998, 2007, 2016, 2025 | Kun | Xun |
| 1954, 1963, 1972, 1981, 1990, 1999, 2008, 2017, 2026 | Kan | Gen |
| 1955, 1964, 1973, 1982, 1991, 2000, 2009, 2018, 2027 | Li | Qian |
| 1956, 1965, 1974, 1983, 1992, 2001, 2010, 2019, 2028 | Gen | Dui |
| 1957, 1966, 1975, 1984, 1993, 2002, 2011, 2020, 2029 | Dui | Gen |
Compatibility Chart for Spousal Life Gua
Checking spousal compatibility through the Destiny Palace involves determining whether the Life Guas of a couple planning to marry are harmonious. This is a traditional Vietnamese custom where compatibility influences the decision to proceed with a wedding. If the Life Guas are incompatible, families may seek remedies or, in some cases, discourage the marriage.
Today, this practice is often seen as ceremonial, with many families no longer strictly adhering to traditional beliefs. However, incompatible Life Guas may still prompt families to seek solutions to harmonize the union.
Spousal Life Gua Compatibility Chart:
| Wife \ Husband | Qian | Kan | Gen | Zhen | Xun | Li | Kun | Dui |
| Qian | Restoration | Six Evils | Heavenly Doctor | Five Ghosts | Misfortune | Extinction | Longevity | Vitality |
| Kan | Six Evils | Restoration | Five Ghosts | Heavenly Doctor | Vitality | Longevity | Extinction | Misfortune |
| Gen | Heavenly Doctor | Five Ghosts | Restoration | Five Ghosts | Extinction | Misfortune | Vitality | Longevity |
| Zhen | Five Ghosts | Heavenly Doctor | Six Evils | Restoration | Longevity | Vitality | Misfortune | Extinction |
| Xun | Misfortune | Vitality | Extinction | Longevity | Restoration | Heavenly Doctor | Five Ghosts | Six Evils |
| Li | Extinction | Longevity | Misfortune | Vitality | Heavenly Doctor | Restoration | Six Evils | Five Ghosts |
| Kun | Longevity | Extinction | Vitality | Misfortune | Five Ghosts | Six Evils | Restoration | Heavenly Doctor |
| Dui | Vitality | Misfortune | Longevity | Extinction | Six Evils | Five Ghosts | Heavenly Doctor | Restoration |
Meanings:
- Restoration: A harmonious marriage with a happy family.
- Heavenly Doctor: A fulfilling marriage with cooperative children and a prosperous, wealthy family.
- Longevity: A stable and peaceful marriage with moderate success and prosperity.
- Vitality: A harmonious marriage with smooth progress and strong emotional bonds.
- Five Ghosts: Misfortune in life, especially in marital relationships.
- Misfortune: Frequent conflicts, gossip, and setbacks in life.
- Extinction: A turbulent marriage with a high risk of divorce.
- Six Evils: Frequent misfortunes and an unstable marriage.
Meanings of Each Life Gua in Eight Mansions Feng Shui
What is the Li Life Gua?
The Li Life Gua, one of the eight trigrams in Eight Mansions Feng Shui, symbolizes the sun, fire, lightning, dry wood, shadows, and seals. Associated with the Fire element and the South direction, it represents wisdom, clarity, and brilliance. Representative colors for Li are red, purple, and pink.
What is the Kun Life Gua?
The Kun Life Gua, tied to the Earth element and the Southwest direction, represents fog, storehouses, dark clouds, and markets. In Feng Shui, Kun symbolizes nurturing, humility, and modesty. People with the Kun Life Gua are dynamic, ambitious, and possess hidden talents. They dislike stagnation and strive to create their own success. Representative colors are brown and yellow.
What is the Kan Life Gua?
The Kan Life Gua, associated with the Water element and the North direction, symbolizes rain, snow, mist, the moon, and wine. Individuals with the Kan Life Gua are adaptable, confident, and enjoy adventure and risk-taking. Representative colors are blue and black.
What is the Xun Life Gua?
The Xun Life Gua, linked to the Wood element and the Southeast direction, represents fans, wind, compliance, and lush growth. Those with the Xun Life Gua are socially adept, empathetic, and compassionate but may face an unstable career path. Representative colors are green and lime green.
What is the Zhen Life Gua?
The Zhen Life Gua, tied to the Wood element and the East direction, symbolizes courage, dignity, vigor, and success. People with the Zhen Life Gua are dynamic, brave, persistent, and reliable but can be hot-tempered and rough. The representative color is green.
What is the Dui Life Gua?
The Dui Life Gua, associated with the Metal element and the West direction, represents drizzle, marshes, musical instruments, the crescent moon, stars, or writing tools. Individuals with the Dui Life Gua are reserved, eloquent, and handle issues tactfully but may have complex emotions, leading to conflicts. Representative colors are white, silver, and gray.
What is the Gen Life Gua?
The Gen Life Gua, linked to the Earth element and the Northeast direction, symbolizes great mountains. People with this Life Gua are virtuous, value stability and tranquility, and are sensitive and reliable but may lack quick decision-making skills. Representative colors are brown and yellow.
What is the Qian Life Gua?
The Qian Life Gua, tied to the Metal element and the Northwest direction, symbolizes ice, snow, and gold. In Feng Shui, Qian represents heaven, denoting individuals with strong willpower, resilience, and radiant virtue. They live honorably and with refinement. Representative colors are white, gray, and silver.
This guide from BTA Feng Shui provides a comprehensive overview of the Life Palace, Destiny Palace, and detailed Life Gua lookup charts. We hope this knowledge proves valuable to you. Please rate us 5 stars and share this article on social media if you find it helpful!
