Qi Sha StarThe General Who Leads the Charge
Qi Sha (七殺), sometimes called Seven Killings, is the sixth star of the Southern Dipper, a Metal star transformed into the general (將). It is the most driven of the fourteen major stars. People with Qi Sha in the Life Palace are independent, decisive and hate to lose, and their lives often swing from hardship to success. Qi Sha takes no transformations, and its Life Palace always completes the Sha Po Lang pattern. Add your birth details to see where Qi Sha sits in your chart.
- General star
- Southern Dipper
- Yin Metal
- Sha Po Lang
Updated October 26, 2026
Example chart
Where is Qi Sha in your chart?
This page shows a sample chart: May 12, 1990 · 14:30 · Taipei.
In the example chart, Qi Sha is in the Friends Palace (卯)
- Brightness
- 旺 · Strong
- Birth-year Si Hua
- None (庚 year)
- Shares the palace with
- Wu Qu
- Opposite palace
- Siblings Palace · Tian Fu
- Supporting stars
- Literary Star
Friends Palace
Qi Sha's palace and its three sides
This palaceOppositeTrineWhat is the Qi Sha star?
Qi Sha is Yin Metal (some say Ding Fire and Geng Metal), part of the Tian Fu group and the sixth star of the Southern Dipper. It transforms into the general, or authority in some texts: a commander leading troops into the field. It stands for pioneering, pushing ahead, decisiveness and taking risks, and the classics say it rules severity, success and failure: great achievements when it works, wild swings when it does not.
Qi Sha has a fixed partner: Tian Fu always sits opposite, one charging and one guarding. With Qi Sha in the Life Palace, Tian Fu always sits in the Travel Palace, Tan Lang in the Wealth Palace and Po Jun in the Career Palace, so Qi Sha, Po Jun and Tan Lang always meet in the trines, the pattern tradition calls Sha Po Lang. Tian Xiang always sits in the Spouse Palace, a calm, rule-minded partner beside a restless general.
Zi Wei's Qi Sha star is not Bazi's Seven Killings
Searching for Qi Sha turns up two different things. In Bazi, Seven Killings is one of the ten gods: the element that controls your Day Master with the same polarity, standing for pressure, drive and discipline. In Zi Wei Dou Shu, Qi Sha is a star placed in one palace from the positions of Zi Wei and Tian Fu. The names and the mood are similar, but the calculation and the reading are completely different.
So having Seven Killings in your Bazi chart says nothing about whether Qi Sha sits in your Zi Wei Life Palace, and the reverse is true too. Read our Bazi Seven Killings guide for the ten god, or draw a Zi Wei chart to see where the star falls for you.
Qi Sha in the Life Palace: personality
With Qi Sha in the Life Palace you are likely independent, brave and quick to act, decisive and impatient with dithering, and once a goal is set you go all the way. You have natural leadership, fear neither difficulty nor offending people, and show your worth most clearly when things are chaotic. You are direct, loyal, and protective of your own people.
The blind spots are impatience and isolation. Qi Sha carries everything alone, dislikes being managed and rarely shows weakness, so pressure stays bottled up, and temper can make words too sharp. Fast decisions are a strength until they become reckless. The lesson is to check the map before charging and give others time to catch up.
Strengths
independent, decisive, pioneering, resilient under pressure, loyal
Watch for
impatience, stubbornness, isolation, competitiveness, overreaching
Key words
general, pioneering, charge, decision, hardship first then reward
Six Qi Sha pairings, by branch
Qi Sha shares a palace only with Lian Zhen (Chou and Wei), Wu Qu (Mao and You) and Zi Wei (Si and Hai), sits alone in the other six branches, and is never fallen anywhere. In every layout Tian Fu sits opposite and the trines show Sha Po Lang: a treasury waiting outside, money that comes through Tan Lang's appetite and networking, and a career built through Po Jun's change and invention.
卯酉
Read as Qi Sha in the Life Palace
This palaceOppositeTrineQi Sha appearance in tradition
Classical texts describe Qi Sha people with large, bright eyes, thick brows, an angular face and a solid build; they walk fast, speak plainly and carry an air of quiet authority that strangers find a little distant. Qi Sha women are often described as striking in a bold, handsome way. With Zi Wei the presence is strongest, with Wu Qu the frame is toughest, with Lian Zhen the eyes are sharpest. A traditional sketch, not a description of you.
Qi Sha for women and men
Women with Qi Sha in the Life Palace are independent, capable and decisive, career-minded, and often run their own department. Older texts were wary of the strong female Qi Sha and said it strained marriage; that is an old-fashioned view. Today a Qi Sha woman with a partner who respects her abilities can build a strong team. The thing to watch is carrying everything alone and leaving her partner out.
Men with Qi Sha are bold, decisive and loyal, suited to founding companies, leading teams or competing hard, with lives of big swings and the knack of getting back up. The weak spots are a short temper and a lack of finesse; even romance can feel like chasing a target. For both, marriage is read through the Tian Xiang that always sits in the Spouse Palace.
Best careers for Qi Sha
Qi Sha is the general star, so it does best where it can pioneer, decide and take risks, or lead a team into the field. It gets restless in safe, unchanging roles; give it a clear goal and real authority and it often delivers what no one else could.
- Founding businesses, new ventures, sales and market expansion
- Military, police, firefighting, security and rescue work
- Surgery, professional sport, coaching and competition
- Engineering, machinery, construction and big project management (especially with Lian Zhen or Wu Qu)
- Investment, trading and crisis management, anywhere fast judgement counts
Qi Sha and money: Tan Lang always in the Wealth Palace
With Qi Sha in the Life Palace, Tan Lang always sits in the Wealth Palace. Tan Lang stands for desire, networking and opportunity, so Qi Sha money tends to come through contacts, sales and timing, from many sources and with uneven income. Tan Lang is alone in three layouts, with Zi Wei for Chou or Wei, with Lian Zhen for Mao or You and with Wu Qu for Si or Hai; for Mao or You it is fallen, the clearest case of easy come, easy go.
Qi Sha losses usually come from impulsive investments, standing up for friends, or betting too much at once. Tian Fu always sits opposite as a reminder: put part of what you win into an account you never touch, so the swings never turn into a crisis.
Qi Sha in love: Tian Xiang always in the Spouse Palace
With Qi Sha in the Life Palace, Tian Xiang always sits in the Spouse Palace. Tian Xiang is the seal star, fair and true to its word, so the restless general is often drawn to someone gentle and measured who can tidy up after the charge, a steady mediator. Tian Xiang's companion varies: Zi Wei for a Zi or Wu chart, Lian Zhen for Yin or Shen, Wu Qu for Chen or Xu, and alone in the other three; for Si or Hai it is fallen and the adjustment takes longer.
In love Qi Sha is direct and loyal but not good at soft words, and tends to make big decisions alone. Tradition advises marrying later, meaning once the career is steadier. Consult more and command less, and Tian Xiang's steadiness will stay.
Qi Sha and health
As a Metal star, Qi Sha is traditionally linked with the lungs, airways and large intestine, and because it rules collisions, older texts warn of injuries or surgery. Its people push their bodies for a goal and drive and play sport hard, so warm-ups, rest and road safety matter. None of this replaces a medical check, so see a doctor about anything that worries you.
Qi Sha brightness: never fallen
Qi Sha is brightest (廟) in Chou, Yin, Chen, Wei, Shen and Xu, strong (旺) in Zi, Mao, Wu and You, and neutral (平) in Si and Hai. It is never fallen. So the question with Qi Sha is not brightness but control: Zi Wei sharing the palace, Tian Fu opposite, or helpful stars such as Zuo Fu, You Bi, Lu Cun or Hua Lu give the drive a direction, while many malefic stars and no helpers make it overshoot. In Si and Hai, where Qi Sha is only neutral, Zi Wei shares the palace: the emperor commanding the general.
Qi Sha brightness in the 12 branches
- 子旺Strong
- 丑廟Brightest
- 寅廟Brightest
- 卯旺StrongExample
- 辰廟Brightest
- 巳平Neutral
- 午旺Strong
- 未廟Brightest
- 申廟Brightest
- 酉旺Strong
- 戌廟Brightest
- 亥平Neutral
The seven levels follow the same table as our chart (中州 style). Other books may differ by a level.
Qi Sha in the 12 palaces
Wherever Qi Sha lands, a general leads that part of life, bringing drive, change and the test of hardship before reward. Open a palace for its full guide.
- 命Life PalaceLife Palace: independent, decisive and hates to lose, clearing your own path; watch impatience, isolation and overreaching.
- 兄弟Siblings PalaceSiblings Palace: strong-willed siblings or colleagues and some rivalry in teamwork; a little distance keeps things friendly.
- 夫妻Spouse PalaceSpouse Palace: a capable, forceful partner, like two generals in one home; give each other a stage so home never becomes a battlefield.
- 子女Children PalaceChildren Palace: independent, driven children who push back against tight control; goals and space work better than orders.
- 財帛Wealth PalaceWealth Palace: money earned through drive and nerve, with big swings, suited to commission work or your own business; set stop-losses.
- 疾厄Health PalaceHealth Palace: tradition watches the airways and injuries, and fatigue from overwork; warm up, rest and drive safely.
- 遷移Travel PalaceTravel Palace: many chances to make your name away from home, the further the better; a Tian Fu Life Palace always has Qi Sha here.
- 交友Friends PalaceExample chartFriends Palace: friends with personality and ability who fight beside you and sometimes compete with you; set rules for partnerships.
- 官祿Career PalaceCareer Palace: suits pioneering, sales, the forces and engineering; careers often rise and fall before they settle.
- 田宅Property PalaceProperty Palace: more moves and changes at home than most; compare carefully before buying and avoid impulse.
- 福德Fortune PalaceFortune Palace: an inner drive that never switches off, a busy restless mind; learning to switch off is your best self-care.
- 父母Parents PalaceParents Palace: strict, strong-willed parents or bosses who put you under pressure and build your grit; a Tian Liang Life Palace always has Qi Sha here.
Why Qi Sha never transforms
In the standard table from the Complete Book of Zi Wei Dou Shu, Qi Sha, like Tian Fu and Tian Xiang, never takes Hua Lu, Hua Quan, Hua Ke or Hua Ji, so there is no Qi Sha Hua Ji. One way to see it: Qi Sha is pure drive, a drawn blade. The blade does not change; the hand holding it and the direction of the swing do.
So Qi Sha feels transformations through its companions and trines. With Zi Wei, Hua Ke in Yi years and Hua Quan in Ren years add prestige; with Wu Qu, Hua Lu in Ji years is best and Hua Ji in Ren years brings money pressure; with Lian Zhen, Hua Lu in Jia years brings gains and Hua Ji in Bing years brings disputes and accidents. A lone Qi Sha watches Tan Lang and Po Jun: Tan Lang Hua Lu in Wu years and Po Jun Hua Lu in Gui years both make the charge pay off.
The example chart is a 庚 year: Qi Sha has no birth-year transformation.
Qi Sha in folklore: Huang Feihu
Popular tradition links Qi Sha with Huang Feihu from Investiture of the Gods, the Shang dynasty's martial prince who rebelled against the tyrant king, fought his way through five passes to join the Zhou, and spent his life in battle. Taoism also honours the six stars of the Southern Dipper as star lords, Qi Sha among them, and some people pray to the Qi Sha star lord for protection. Bold, defiant and responsible: the general star. A literary and devotional image, not a forecast.
A decade or year in a Qi Sha palace, and 2026
A ten-year period in the palace holding Qi Sha often brings a major turn: a new field, a new business, a promotion or a fresh start, hard work first and reward later. When the yearly Life Palace lands on Qi Sha, the year suits pushing ahead and launching things; set stop-losses and avoid opening too many fronts.
2026 is a Bing Wu year, and Lian Zhen takes Hua Ji. For a Chou or Wei Qi Sha chart that falls right in the Life Palace, so rein in impulses and disputes. For Zi or Wu it falls in Fortune and moods run short; for Yin or Shen in Spouse, so talk more; for Mao or You in Wealth, so spend carefully; for Chen or Xu opposite, in a shifting environment; for Si or Hai in Career, so weigh job changes carefully.
Advice for Qi Sha people
Draw the route before you charge, set your stop-loss in advance, and bank part of every win where you cannot touch it. Keep one partner who will tell you the truth, and let that Tian Xiang calm be your brake. Qi Sha's great talent is getting back up; the better strategy is not having to start from zero every time.
Qi Sha: common questions
Short answers to what people search for most. The sections above go deeper.
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