Feng Shui Nine Periods Lookup
Enter a date to find its era and period, with the year range, the periods before and after, and the period star with its element, luck and direction.
Three eras nine periods
This page takes one solar date: the year between 1901 and 2100, a month, and a day checked against both. Submitting returns the era and period that date falls in, with the period name and its year range, the periods before and after, how many years have passed in it and how many are left, and the period star with its element, luck and direction.
How to look up
The Three Eras Nine Periods form a fixed time line: 180 years to a round, split into an Upper, Middle and Lower Era of 60 years each, and each era into three periods of 20 years. Counting starts at 1864, the first period of the Upper Era, stepping one period every 20 years and one era every 60, then wrapping to period 1 of the next round, which lands on 2044.
Current period and years
The year turns at Start of Spring, not at Chinese New Year. A date before the term counts as the previous ganzhi year and its period steps back one: January 25, 2004 sits before Start of Spring on February 4, so it still reads as a Guiwei year inside Lower Era Period 7 (1984 to 2003), and Lower Era Period 8 (2004 to 2023) only begins on February 4. The result page prints the Start-of-Spring year pillar beside the date, so late January and early February are easy to check.
Links to Xuan Kong and Purple-White
Below the form sits the Three Eras and Nine Periods table for the current round, 1864 to 2043, one row per period across six columns: Period, Period Star, Element, Luck, Direction and Years, with the period you are in marked after its name. Start of Spring 2024 opened Lower Era Period 9: 9 Purple is in command, its element is Fire, its Xuankong name is You Bi, its direction is South, and its range is 2024 to 2043.
Purple-White and almanac
A period covers twenty years; which star flies where in a given year or month is a purple-white question, so the center stars and the nine-palace grids are charted on the Feng Shui Purple-White Stars Chart page and day-by-day ground-breaking notes on the Chinese Almanac page. What this page gives is a calendar range and the direction of the period star, not a reading of health, money or family.
Three Eras and Nine Periods
| Period | Period Star | Element | Luck | Direction | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Upper Era, Period 1 | 1 White | Water | Auspicious | North | 1864 to 1883 |
| Upper Era, Period 2 | 2 Black | Earth | Inauspicious | Southwest | 1884 to 1903 |
| Upper Era, Period 3 | 3 Jade | Wood | Inauspicious | East | 1904 to 1923 |
| Middle Era, Period 4 | 4 Green | Wood | Auspicious | Southeast | 1924 to 1943 |
| Middle Era, Period 5 | 5 Yellow | Earth | Highly Inauspicious | Center | 1944 to 1963 |
| Middle Era, Period 6 | 6 White | Metal | Auspicious | Northwest | 1964 to 1983 |
| Lower Era, Period 7 | 7 Red | Metal | Inauspicious | West | 1984 to 2003 |
| Lower Era, Period 8 | 8 White | Earth | Auspicious | Northeast | 2004 to 2023 |
| Lower Era, Period 9 Current period | 9 Purple | Fire | Auspicious | South | 2024 to 2043 |
FAQ
How are the Three Eras and Nine Periods counted?
Counting starts at 1864, the first period of the Upper Era. One period is 20 years, three periods make an era (60 years), and three eras make a round (180 years): the Upper Era holds periods 1 to 3, the Middle Era 4 to 6, the Lower Era 7 to 9. The count moves forward, and 2044 opens period 1 of the next round.
Why is January 2024 still Period 8?
Because the year turns at Start of Spring, not on January 1 and not at Chinese New Year. Start of Spring 2024 falls on February 4, so earlier dates read as a Guimao year inside Lower Era Period 8 (2004 to 2023), and Lower Era Period 9 (2024 to 2043) begins on February 4 with the Jiachen year.
What does the Direction column refer to?
The home palace of the period star in the Luoshu chart: 1 White in Kan (North), 2 Black in Kun (Southwest), 3 Jade in Zhen (East), 4 Green in Xun (Southeast), 5 Yellow in the Center, 6 White in Qian (Northwest), 7 Red in Dui (West), 8 White in Gen (Northeast), 9 Purple in Li (South). Period 9 is ruled by 9 Purple, so the direction is South.
How should a period star marked inauspicious be read?
The luck column states a star's quality in Xuankong, not a verdict on a year. 2 Black, 3 Jade and 7 Red are marked inauspicious and 5 Yellow highly inauspicious; the received rule is that their home palaces stay quiet through those periods, while sectors reached by auspicious stars suit documents and activity. A period only sets the sector; the yearly reading comes from where the annual purple-white star flies.
How do the nine periods relate to purple-white flying stars?
Two uses of one time line. The period names the star in command for twenty years; purple-white names the star that enters the center palace of a given year or month and flies the other eight from there. Both switch years at Start of Spring, and the grids are charted on the Feng Shui Purple-White Stars Chart page.
What does "9 Purple Fire" mean?
9 Purple is the ninth of the nine stars (1 White through 9 Purple). Its element is Fire and its Luoshu palace is Li, so the two are read together as 9 Purple Fire. Period 9 is the twenty years ruled by that star, here 2024 to 2043.
Is the look-up limited to 1901 through 2100?
The year selector offers 1901 to 2100, and the day list follows the month you picked (February ends at 28 or 29), so a date that does not exist cannot be chosen. The rule holds outside that span: a period every 20 years, an era every 60, a round every 180, and the current round from 1864 to 2043 is already laid out in the table.
Is a feng shui period the same as a BaZi life phase?
No. The periods here are the Three Eras Nine Periods: twenty years long and identical for everyone in that span. Life phases on the BaZi Chart page are stepped off a birth date and gender and differ from person to person.
