What a kua number is
In the Eight Mansions (Ba Zhai) school of feng shui, your kua number is a personal number from 1 to 9. There is no kua 5. Your kua number comes from your birth year and your gender, and it places you in the East group (kua 1, 3, 4 and 9) or the West group (kua 2, 6, 7 and 8).
Each kua number gives four favourable and four unfavourable directions. Traditionally, these guide where you sit, sleep and work. They are a way to think about your space, not a prediction of what will happen to you. The Eight Mansions overview explains the system in full.
Step 1: Check your birth year
The Chinese solar year starts at Li Chun, around 3 to 5 February. A birthday in January or early February may fall in the previous solar year. Check the exact Li Chun date for your birth year before you calculate. If your birthday is later in February, or any other month, use your calendar birth year.
Step 2: Add the last two digits and reduce
Take the last two digits of the year and add them together. If the total has two digits, add those again until one digit remains. Call this single digit d.
- 1981: 8 + 1 = 9, so d = 9.
- 2003: 0 + 3 = 3, so d = 3.
Step 3: Apply the formula for your gender
- Born before 2000. Men subtract d from 10. Women add 5 to d.
- Born in 2000 or later. Men subtract d from 9. Women add 6 to d.
- Reduce the result to one digit. For women, 14 becomes 5, then 8 (see the rule for 5 below).
- The rule for 5. There is no kua 5. Men with a result of 5 become kua 2, and women with a result of 5 become kua 8.
- Zero. A man born in 2000 or later with d = 9 gets 0, which counts as 9.
Quick lookup table
If you have worked out d, find your kua number in this table. It covers all four cases, so you can skip the arithmetic.
| d | Men, before 2000 | Women, before 2000 | Men, 2000 or later | Women, 2000 or later |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 | 6 | 8 | 7 |
| 2 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 8 |
| 3 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 9 |
| 4 | 6 | 9 | 2 | 1 |
| 5 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
| 6 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| 7 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 4 |
| 8 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 8 |
| 9 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 6 |
Remember to check the Li Chun date first for births in January or early February.
Worked examples
| Person | Birth year | d | Calculation | Kua number |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Man | 1981 | 9 | 10 − 9 | 1 |
| Woman | 1986 | 5 | 5 + 5 = 10, then 1 + 0 | 1 |
| Man | 1964 | 1 | 10 − 1 | 9 |
| Woman | 1975 | 3 | 3 + 5 | 8 |
| Man | 1975 | 3 | 10 − 3 | 7 |
| Woman | 2003 | 3 | 3 + 6 | 9 |
The man and woman born in 1975 get different numbers from the same year. That is why gender matters in the calculation.
East and West groups
Your kua number places you in one of two groups:
- East group (kua 1, 3, 4 and 9): favourable directions are north, east, southeast and south.
- West group (kua 2, 6, 7 and 8): favourable directions are northeast, northwest, west and southwest.
The chart: four lucky and four unlucky directions
The four favourable sectors are Sheng Chi (growth, wealth and success), Tian Yi (health), Yan Nian (relationships and longevity) and Fu Wei (stability and personal growth). Fu Wei is the life palace, the sector that matches your kua number.
The four unfavourable sectors are Jue Ming (total loss, the most serious), Liu Sha (six killings, setbacks and disputes), Wu Gui (five ghosts, gossip and loss) and Huo Hai (mishaps and friction).
Favourable sectors
| Kua | Group | Sheng Chi | Tian Yi | Yan Nian | Fu Wei |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | East | Southeast | East | South | North |
| 2 | West | Northeast | West | Northwest | Southwest |
| 3 | East | South | North | Southeast | East |
| 4 | East | North | South | East | Southeast |
| 6 | West | West | Northeast | Southwest | Northwest |
| 7 | West | Northwest | Southwest | Northeast | West |
| 8 | West | Southwest | Northwest | West | Northeast |
| 9 | East | East | Southeast | North | South |
Unfavourable sectors
| Kua | Jue Ming | Liu Sha | Wu Gui | Huo Hai |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Southwest | Northwest | Northeast | West |
| 2 | North | South | Southeast | East |
| 3 | West | Northeast | Northwest | Southwest |
| 4 | Northeast | West | Southwest | Northwest |
| 6 | South | North | East | Southeast |
| 7 | East | Southeast | South | North |
| 8 | Southeast | East | North | South |
| 9 | Northwest | Southwest | West | Northeast |
For each number’s full guide, see the spoke pages: Kua 1, Kua 2 and 8, Kua 3 and 4, Kua 6 and 7 and Kua 9.
Is the kua system effective?
The kua system is a traditional method within the Eight Mansions school. It is not supported by scientific evidence, and it is not a way to predict outcomes. Many people use it as a practical guide for arranging a room, which is a reasonable way to use it. If the directions do not fit your home, use the nearest favourable sector, or use the room layout you already have.
Where to go next
- If you are not sure of your birth date or the Li Chun check, see how to find your kua.
- To know which sectors to use at home, see how to know your feng shui direction, the front door guide and the office desk guide.
- For pairs, see the compatibility guide for couples.
- For children, see the babies and children guide.
- Kua numbers describe the person. For the areas of the home itself, see the bagua map guide, and for the time-based layer that changes each year, see Xuan Kong flying stars.
- For the other questions in this cluster, see what is the luckiest direction, is 5 a good number and house numbers to avoid.
These are traditional guidelines, not scientific findings. Use them as a starting point for arranging your home, not as a verdict on a person.