The Four Transformations (四化, sì huà) are the mechanism that assigns four changes — Lu 禄, Quan 权, Ke 科, Ji 忌 — to specific stars based on a stem, and it is what lets a Zi Wei Dou Shu chart say not only where a star sits but what it is doing in a given period.
Four Transformations are keyed to exactly 10 heavenly stems × 4 transformations = 40 fixed star assignments, drawn from only 15 distinct stars; because the same 15 stars recur every decade and year, the Lu–Quan–Ke–Ji pattern is fully determined by the birth-year stem and each later period's stem, not by interpretation.
All values below come from the AskZiWei San He engine rule table SI_HUA — a single source, cell by cell. The right-hand column names the exact rule-table entry each row was read from. This is a rule table, not a quotation from a classical text: the four transformations per stem are what the engine computes with, and they are checkable against it.
| Stem (天干) | Lu 化禄 | Quan 化权 | Ke 化科 | Ji 化忌 | Value source (per row) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 甲 Jiǎ | 廉贞 Lián Zhēn | 破军 Pò Jūn | 武曲 Wǔ Qǔ | 太阳 Tài Yáng | engine SI_HUA['甲'] |
| 乙 Yǐ | 天机 Tiān Jī | 天梁 Tiān Liáng | 紫微 Zǐ Wēi | 太阴 Tài Yīn | engine SI_HUA['乙'] |
| 丙 Bǐng | 天同 Tiān Tóng | 天机 Tiān Jī | 文昌 Wén Chāng | 廉贞 Lián Zhēn | engine SI_HUA['丙'] |
| 丁 Dīng | 太阴 Tài Yīn | 天同 Tiān Tóng | 天机 Tiān Jī | 巨门 Jù Mén | engine SI_HUA['丁'] |
| 戊 Wù | 贪狼 Tān Láng | 太阴 Tài Yīn | 右弼 Yòu Bì | 天机 Tiān Jī | engine SI_HUA['戊'] |
| 己 Jǐ | 武曲 Wǔ Qǔ | 贪狼 Tān Láng | 天梁 Tiān Liáng | 文曲 Wén Qǔ | engine SI_HUA['己'] |
| 庚 Gēng | 太阳 Tài Yáng | 武曲 Wǔ Qǔ | 太阴 Tài Yīn | 天同 Tiān Tóng | engine SI_HUA['庚'] |
| 辛 Xīn | 巨门 Jù Mén | 太阳 Tài Yáng | 文曲 Wén Qǔ | 文昌 Wén Chāng | engine SI_HUA['辛'] |
| 壬 Rén | 天梁 Tiān Liáng | 紫微 Zǐ Wēi | 左辅 Zuǒ Fǔ | 武曲 Wǔ Qǔ | engine SI_HUA['壬'] |
| 癸 Guǐ | 破军 Pò Jūn | 巨门 Jù Mén | 太阴 Tài Yīn | 贪狼 Tān Láng | engine SI_HUA['癸'] |
Note on completeness: every row has exactly 4 entries, and the 4 entries in a row are always 4 different stars. That invariant is what makes the table checkable — the engine rule table and this table agree cell by cell.
| Transformation | Chinese | Core domain | Reading direction | Value source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lu 禄 | 化禄 | Wealth, resources, flow | Where money and opportunity arrive | AskZiWei engine HUA_META |
| Quan 权 | 化权 | Authority, control, responsibility | Where you take charge and carry pressure | AskZiWei engine HUA_META |
| Ke 科 | 化科 | Reputation, documents, patrons | Where name and help arrive | AskZiWei engine HUA_META |
| Ji 忌 | 化忌 | Obstruction, disputes, obsession | Where friction and repeated lessons concentrate | AskZiWei engine HUA_META |
Only these stars ever carry a transformation across the ten stems, and some carry more than one:
太阳 (Ji 甲 / Lu 庚 / Quan 辛) · 廉贞 (Lu 甲 / Ji 丙) · 武曲 (Ke 甲 / Lu 己 / Quan 庚 / Ji 壬) · 破军 (Quan 甲 / Lu 癸) · 天机 (Lu 乙 / Quan 丙 / Ke 丁 / Ji 戊) · 天梁 (Quan 乙 / Ke 己 / Lu 壬) · 太阴 (Ji 乙 / Lu 丁 / Quan 戊 / Ke 庚 / Ke 癸) · 紫微 (Ke 乙 / Quan 壬) · 天同 (Lu 丙 / Quan 丁 / Ji 庚) · 文昌 (Ke 丙 / Ji 辛) · 巨门 (Ji 丁 / Lu 辛 / Quan 癸) · 右弼 (Ke 戊) · 贪狼 (Lu 戊 / Quan 己 / Ji 癸) · 文曲 (Ji 己 / Ke 辛) · 左辅 (Ke 壬)
(Count check: 3+2+4+2+4+3+5+2+3+2+3+1+3+2+1 = 40, which equals 10 stems × 4 transformations — and the list holds exactly 15 distinct stars.)
What are the Four Transformations in Zi Wei Dou Shu? They are 禄 (Lu), 权 (Quan), 科 (Ke) and 忌 (Ji) — four changes assigned to specific stars by a stem. 禄 marks resources arriving, 权 marks authority and responsibility, 科 marks reputation and help, and 忌 marks the area that keeps pulling your attention. They are how the system says what a star is doing, not just where it is.
Which stars can transform? Fifteen in total. Eleven of the fourteen main stars take a transformation; the three main stars that never do are 天府 (Tian Fu), 天相 (Tian Xiang) and 七杀 (Qi Sha). The other four are supporting stars — 文昌 (Wen Chang), 文曲 (Wen Qu), 左辅 (Zuo Fu) and 右弼 (You Bi). Some stars carry more than one transformation across the ten stems; 太阴 carries five.
Do different schools disagree on the table? On a few stems, yes — the disagreements usually sit on 庚 and 戊. AskZiWei uses the San He (三合, Ni school) table, which is the same one its engine computes with, so a chart's transformations and this reference table can never contradict each other.
How do I use this table on a real chart? Take the stem of the period you care about — the birth-year stem for the natal chart, or the decade and year stems for timing — and read across. Each transformation lands on a star; where that star sits in your 12 palaces tells you which life domain changes. The table gives the star; the palace gives the domain.
Transformation table computed by the AskZiWei San He engine v7.44.30 · Cross-checked against the engine's second copy 2026-10-13.
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