What Is the Widow Star (Gua Su)?
In a Nutshell
A Symbolic Star read from the year branch: Rat, Ox, and Pig years look for the Dog (Xu); Tiger, Rabbit, and Dragon years look for the Ox (Chou); Snake, Horse, and Goat years look for the Dragon (Chen); Monkey, Rooster, and Dog years look for the Goat (Wei). It is usually named together with the Lone Star.
Quick facts
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| How to find it | Rat, Ox, Pig years → Dog; Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon years → Ox; Snake, Horse, Goat years → Dragon; Monkey, Rooster, Dog years → Goat |
| Reference | The year's Earthly Branch, checked against the other branches of the Four Pillars |
| Pattern | Takes the *last* branch of the previous season |
| Difference | The Lone Star takes the season's start; the Widow Star takes the season's end |
What is the Widow Star?
The Widow Star (Gua Su) is a Symbolic Star in the Four Pillars. It is found by taking the year's Earthly Branch and scanning the other branches in the chart: Rat, Ox, and Pig (Hai, Zi, Chou) years look for Dog (Xu); Tiger, Rabbit, and Dragon (Yin, Mao, Chen) years look for Ox (Chou); Snake, Horse, and Goat (Si, Wu, Wei) years look for Dragon (Chen); Monkey, Rooster, and Dog (Shen, You, Xu) years look for Goat (Wei). For example, someone born in a Rat year (Zi) whose other pillars include Dog (Xu) carries the Widow Star. It is constantly mentioned alongside the Lone Star, but their finding rules differ and must be memorized separately.
Where the Lone Star takes the "start of the next season," the Widow Star takes the "end of the previous season": Hai, Zi, Chou are winter, and the Widow Star sits in Xu — the closing branch of the season before (autumn); Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon are spring, with the Widow Star in Chou (winter's end); Snake, Horse, Goat are summer, with the Widow Star in Chen (spring's end); Monkey, Rooster, Dog are autumn, with the Widow Star in Wei (summer's end). One takes a season's start, the other a season's end — the two stand exactly opposite in the calendar, and that is the key to telling them apart.
It shares its classical chapter with the Lone Star: *San Ming Tong Hui* (Comprehensive Guide to the Three Destinies), juan 3, "On the Lone Star and the Widow Star" (Lùn Gū Chén Guǎ Sù), fixing the rule as "stepping one branch back to Xu is the Widow Star." The quotation has been checked against a public collated edition of the Ming Wan Mingying text. Traditional texts group the two stars together; modern readers are advised to keep the same distance: Symbolic Stars name a Stem-Branch positional relationship, not a judgment of personal character.
MoZhu's Symbolic Stars lookup tool marks the Widow Star automatically; if you are reading for relationships, check the overall chart rather than resting anything on a single star. This page covers the finding rule and its source only; it draws no conclusions from the star.
Classical sources
Sān Mìng Tōng Huì (Comprehensive Guide to the Three Destinies), juan 3 · Lùn Gū Chén Guǎ Sù ("On the Lone Star and the Widow Star")
Paraphrase: "the three branches Hai, Zi, Chou taken in order — stepping one branch forward to Yin is the Lone Star, stepping one branch back to Xu is the Widow Star." The exact original wording is quoted in the Chinese version.
*For entertainment purposes only.*