What is bone-weighing fortune? How to compute your bone weight

Bone-weighing (Xưng Cốt / 称骨) is a classic fortune method attributed to Yuan Tiangang of the Tang dynasty: convert the birth year, month, day and hour into a "bone weight" and sum them to read one's fate.

How it works

Each factor has a fixed weight (in lạng; 1 lạng = 10 chỉ), looked up by the lunar calendar: year (by its stem-branch, 60-year cycle), lunar month (1–12), lunar day (1–30), and hour (the 12 two-hour periods). Add all four for the total bone weight.

Example

Born in year Giáp Tý, 1st lunar month, 1st day, hour of Tý: 1.2 + 0.6 + 0.5 + 1.6 = 3.9 lạng.

What total is good?

Totals run from about 2.1 to over 7 lạng. Tradition holds that a heavier weight means a more fortunate life; lower totals suggest a self-made, harder path, higher totals wealth and status. Each total has its own reading of character, career, love and life phases.

Check yours

Use the bone-weighing tool: enter your solar birth date and time — it converts to lunar, sums the weight, and gives an AI fate reading. Explore more with Tử Vi, numerology or year stars. Folk fortune — for reference and fun.