Tenchusatsu Calculator: Your Void Years, Months and Days

• 年

  Years, months, days

  Your two void branches come back as two years in twelve, two months in every year and two days in every twelve.

• 空

  The same as kong wang

  Sanmeigaku (算命学) calls it tenchusatsu, Four Pillars calls it 空亡. The pair is worked out the same way, from the day pillar.

• 休

  A season, not a curse

  Tradition reads it as a time when outside support is thinner: better for preparing, learning and finishing than for starting big things.

The idea is old: the 甲子 cycle pairs ten stems with twelve branches, so every ten-day week leaves two branches without a stem. Chinese almanacs list these as 旬空. Japanese sanmeigaku, systematised in the twentieth century, turned them into the six tenchusatsu types and a timetable of years, months and days. Treat it as a traditional way to pace a life, not a forecast of bad luck.

• 子丑Rat–Ox TenchusatsuNe-Ushi · NorthThe founder: builds from scratch and gains strength from independence.Next void: 2032–2033
• 寅卯Tiger–Rabbit TenchusatsuTora-U · EastThe doer: practical, home-centred and free of social rules.Next void: 2034–2035
• 辰巳Dragon–Snake TenchusatsuTatsu-Mi · ZenithThe trailblazer: thrives on change and turns ideas into something real.Next void: 2036–2037
• 午未Horse–Goat TenchusatsuUma-Hitsuji · SouthThe keeper: backed by elders, rounds things off and hands them on.Void now: 2026–2027
• 申酉Monkey–Rooster TenchusatsuSaru-Tori · WestThe mover: quick, sociable and at home in the wider world.Next void: 2028–2029
• 戌亥Dog–Pig TenchusatsuInu-I · CentreThe idealist: big-picture, intuitive and driven by meaning.Next void: 2030–2031

Dates in China Standard Time. Solar terms fall at a set instant, so in some time zones a month starts a day earlier or later.

• 婚

  Marriage in a void year

  Tradition says a marriage begun in a void year or a luck-pillar void tends to take an unusual shape, such as living apart for work. Many couples marry then and do well; teachers advise a give-and-take attitude rather than delay for its own sake. Compatibility of the two charts weighs far more than the date.

• 移

  Moving house

  A move you need, for work, family or a lease, is fine. Tradition is more careful about moves made to change your luck or buy a dream home on impulse. If you can choose, move after the period, or before it begins.

• 職

  Changing jobs

  Being transferred or taking a role you are asked to do is seen as natural. A self-driven leap for title or money is the case tradition flags. Use the time to build the skills you will need when it ends.

• 始

  Starting something new

  Start-ups and big new projects are the classic “wait” item. A practical middle path: prepare during the void and launch after it, or start small and let it grow.

• 01Years start at the Start of Spring

  A void year runs from the Start of Spring (立春, 3–5 February) to the day before the next one. Some calculators switch on 1 January, which is wrong by a month at each end.

• 02Months start at the solar terms

  Void months start on the exact solar term (節入り) of that year, computed from the sun’s position, not on the 1st of the month.

• 03Born between 23:00 and midnight

  Sanmeigaku changes the day at midnight. Some Four Pillars schools change it at 23:00. If your saved chart uses 23:00 and you were born after it, the result shows both types and lets you switch.

• 04Checked against other calculators

  Fifteen birthdays, including Start of Spring days, a leap day and late-evening births, give the same type, day pillar, void years and natal voids as three established Japanese calculators.