Divination Methods Guide: How to Choose Among 19 Methods
A reader once wrote that he stood in front of the method list for ten minutes. Casting a chart, shaking out a hexagram, drawing a card — all workable, yet he could not tell which one was his. He clicked one at random, read the result, and felt he had asked the wrong thing.
This page exists to sort out those ten minutes.
Start With What You Want to Ask
The course of a whole life, personality and long-term patterns: chart-based methods fit best — BaZi, Zi Wei Dou Shu, BaZi & Zi Wei Joint Reading, Qi Zheng Si Yu, and Western astrology charts. They take complete birth information; what comes back is a structural description.
Whether one specific thing will work out, and when it will turn around: hexagram-based methods are a better match — Liu Yao, Mei Hua Yi Shu, Da Liu Ren, Qi Men Dun Jia, Xiao Liu Ren. This family asks about one matter at a time and needs no birth information.
Choosing a date, reading the timing: Huangli date selection. It reads the character of the time itself, and a quick look before an important undertaking is common practice.
Where you live: residential feng shui — orientation, flow of movement, layout.
The overall trend of one year: the zodiac annual fortune, which reads the relationship between your zodiac animal and the earthly branch of the year.
Not wanting to hand over any personal information: Tarot, Lenormand, the San Shan Guo Wang oracle lots — they need only a question.
The relationship between two people: BaZi compatibility charts and Zi Wei compatibility charts, which need birth information from both sides.
Then Look at What Information You Can Provide
Nothing at all: Tarot, Lenormand, San Shan Guo Wang oracle lots.
Only a question: Liu Yao, Qi Men Dun Jia, Mei Hua Yi Shu, Da Liu Ren, Xiao Liu Ren, Tai Yi Shen Shu, Huangli date selection, residential feng shui, zodiac annual fortune.
Complete birth information (year, month, day, hour of birth, sometimes the place of birth): BaZi & Zi Wei Joint Reading, BaZi, Zi Wei Dou Shu, Qi Zheng Si Yu, Western astrology charts, BaZi compatibility, Zi Wei compatibility. The more accurate the input, the steadier the conclusion — and when the hour is uncertain, everything resting on fine detail has to be discounted.
The 19 Methods at a Glance
- BaZi & Zi Wei Joint Reading — BaZi sets the main line, Zi Wei cross-checks palaces and luck periods
- BaZi — Four Pillars, Ten Gods, patterns and the useful element
- Zi Wei Dou Shu — twelve palaces, stars and Four Transformations
- Qi Zheng Si Yu — a Chinese-style star chart from the sun, moon and five planets
- Western Astrology Chart — planets, signs, houses and aspects
- BaZi Compatibility Chart — two people's structures and how they complement each other
- Zi Wei Compatibility Chart — a field-by-field comparison of two people
- Liu Yao — one matter per question: will this actually come off
- Qi Men Dun Jia — direction and timing in the nine-grid board
- Mei Hua Yi Shu — anything you notice can become a hexagram
- Da Liu Ren — how a situation unfolds, from Four Lessons and Three Transmissions
- Xiao Liu Ren — six positions counted off on the fingers
- Tai Yi Shen Shu — the least common of the three classical systems
- Tarot — 78 cards and three common spreads
- Lenormand — 36 cards, more blunt than Tarot
- San Shan Guo Wang Oracle Lots — drawing a lot, its poem and how it is read
- Huangli Date Selection — how the do-and-avoid lists are calculated
- Residential Feng Shui — orientation, flow of movement and layout
- Zodiac Annual Fortune — the zodiac year of one's sign and offending Tai Sui
Three Reminders When Choosing
One: decide first whether you are asking about a structure or about one thing. Structural questions (what am I suited to, how do these two years look overall) belong to the chart-based methods; concrete matters (can this partnership be agreed, when will there be an answer) to the hexagram-based ones. Ask the wrong type and the result will feel like it is not answering your question.
Two: the more accurate the input, the steadier the result. Chart-based methods are sensitive to the time of birth, especially near the boundary between two double-hours; hexagram-based methods are sensitive to how clearly the question is put. Better to write the question a little longer than to leave it as one vague word.
Three: ask about one thing at a time. The hexagram-based methods broadly follow this principle. Bundle several matters into one question and the readings interfere with each other.
FAQ
Q: What if different methods give conclusions that do not agree? Look first at what each of them answered. Chart-based methods speak about structure, hexagram-based ones about a concrete matter, so their conclusions sit at different levels — disagreement is normal. If two systems directly conflict, check whether each one's basis holds up and whether both aim at the same question.
Q: Do I have to provide birth information? Not necessarily. The hexagram-based and the card-and-lot methods need only a question. Only the chart-based methods need complete birth details.
Q: How many things can I ask about at once? Hexagram-based methods follow the one-matter-one-reading principle. Chart-based methods can take a direction, but spread too wide in one sitting and the reading turns shallow.
Q: Which method is the most accurate? That is not a question with one shared answer. A more practical way to ask it is: which family suits the matter you want to ask about now, and how much information are you willing to provide.
Where to Start
If you are still hesitating over which method to use, go straight into the flow on this site: describe what you want to ask in plain language and the system will suggest a method. You can also name one method yourself, then see the matching chart or hexagram with its reading, and export it for your own records. In the Zhanbu Mizhi flow, the method suggestion and the basis of the reading come from data, not from a template filled in by hand.
Disclaimer: This article covers traditional culture and folk custom. It is for entertainment and self-reflection only, and does not constitute medical, psychological, investment, legal or marital decision advice. Please do not submit sensitive personal information such as ID numbers or detailed addresses. If you experience persistent insomnia, anxiety or physical discomfort, please consult a doctor or a qualified professional.
Sources
- Calendrical Calculation and Promulgation of the Lunisolar Calendar, GB/T 33661-2017, national standards public system: https://openstd.samr.gov.cn/bzgk/gb/newGbInfo?hcno=E107EA4DE9725EDF819F33C60A44B296 (accessed 2026-09-17)