The branches fix the cells in place; which palace lands where changes from person to person.
A Zi Wei chart is a 4 × 4 grid. The twelve outer cells hold the palaces, while the four middle cells are left open for a summary. The key point is that each cell has a fixed position.
Across the top are Si, Wu, Wei and Shen; across the bottom are Yin, Chou, Zi and Hai; Chen and Mao sit on the left, with You and Xu on the right. The twelve Earthly Branches always occupy these same cells. What changes from one chart to another is not the grid, but which cell becomes the Life Palace.
Your birth month and birth time determine the Life Palace. Even for two people born on the same day, a two-hour difference can move it one cell over and rotate all twelve palaces with it. That is why Zi Wei Dou Shu needs birth time so precisely.
Once the Life Palace is set, the rest fill in order: Life → Siblings → Spouse → Children → Wealth → Health → Travel → Friends → Career → Property → Fortune → Parents. This order never changes, so one Life Palace position determines all twelve palaces.
Enter your birth time to see which cell holds your Life Palace.
This content is for reference and entertainment, based on traditional Chinese metaphysics and astrology.