# What Birth Details Do You Need for a Zi Wei Dou Shu Chart?

> Check your date, calendar and two-hour birth period before using the Zi Wei Dou Shu tool. Understand what the current form does not support.

Canonical page: https://multifate.com/guides/ziwei-birth-details
Language: English. Content reviewed: 2026-09-15.

For the current Multifate Zi Wei entry, prepare a Gregorian birth date, the required two-hour birth period, and the gender selection used by the calculation. Do not invent a birth period just to complete the form.

## Use the inputs the current form actually accepts

The public entry sends a solar-calendar date and a selected shichen, or two-hour period, to the chart calculation. The displayed gender selection is a calculation input, not a judgment about a person’s identity or worth.

The underlying system can represent more fields than every public form exposes. Do not infer a city search, exact-minute correction, lunar toggle or unknown-time mode simply because you have seen one in another calculator on this site. The BaZi tool has a different input flow.

## Check whether your source date is Gregorian or lunar

A family note may use a lunar month and day while a modern document uses a Gregorian date. Copying the same numbers between those calendars changes the intended date. Check the calendar first, and preserve any leap-month information when using a conversion source.

The Hong Kong Observatory publishes Gregorian-lunar conversion tables. They can help check a recorded date, but calendar conversion is not an endorsement of a particular Zi Wei interpretation. If the original information is unclear, keep the uncertainty rather than silently choosing one version.

## A broad memory may not identify a two-hour period

The form requires one birth period. A recollection such as “late at night” may straddle a boundary and is not equivalent to a precise selection. Near midnight, also verify which calendar date the source intended.

For an invented example, suppose one document gives a date while a relative remembers only “around midnight”. Do not choose the first available period and call the resulting chart verified. Establish what the record means, or keep possible charts explicitly labelled as hypothetical exercises.

## Do not assume corrections the form does not expose

The current simple Zi Wei entry does not ask for a separate IANA time zone or geographic coordinates. It does not provide the same correction controls as the dedicated BaZi calculator. A different app’s city or solar-time setting is therefore not automatically matched by copying a clock value here.

When comparing outputs, describe the convention used by each tool. A screenshot alone may conceal different date conversions or time treatment. Do not change the birth input to match a preferred result without a factual reason.

## A checklist before building the chart

Keep the original information separate from any conversion or estimate. Then review the form once before submitting.

1. Confirm that the date entered here is Gregorian.
2. Check the intended date around midnight or a calendar conversion.
3. Choose only a birth period supported by your information.
4. Review the calculation’s required gender field.
5. Note any unsupported correction you would need for a comparison.
6. Inspect the resulting palace labels before reading an interpretation.

## What to do if you do not know the birth period

This Zi Wei entry does not currently offer the BaZi calculator’s three-pillar unknown-time mode. Those are different systems and different outputs. Do not describe a completed Zi Wei chart from an invented hour as an equivalent partial result.

You can read the twelve-palaces guide without submitting personal information. If you later obtain a supported birth period, return to the tool and calculate with that information. An AI description cannot turn a guessed time into a verified one.

## Sources and scope

- [Multifate Zi Wei entry](https://multifate.com/tools/ziwei): The current public form and its output; input controls may change with future releases.
- [Hong Kong Observatory calendar conversion](https://www.hko.gov.hk/en/gts/time/conversion.htm): A date-conversion reference for checking original calendar information.
- [iztro documentation](https://docs.iztro.com/learn/palace): Background on the palace layout, separate from Multifate’s public input controls.

## Continue

- [Zi Wei Dou Shu tool](https://multifate.com/tools/ziwei)
- [How to Read the Twelve Palaces in Zi Wei Dou Shu](https://multifate.com/guides/ziwei-twelve-palaces/index.md)
- [All guides](https://multifate.com/guides/index.md)

These guides describe traditional symbolic frameworks and the current Multifate tools, not verified predictions. The chart tools are free; optional AI questions and multi-system access have separate limits. Check the pricing page for current terms. Interpretations do not replace medical, legal, financial or safety advice.