How to Calculate Your Ming Gua Number: East Four Group or West Four Group?

Have you ever had this experience — visiting a friend's home that everyone else finds perfectly comfortable, yet you feel restless, sensing that something is just off; then in a different environment, you suddenly feel energized, as if you're a completely different person?

This vague sense of "comfort" or "discomfort" that's hard to put into words may, within the framework of Ba Zhai Feng Shui, come down to one thing: whether your "Ming Gua" (Life Gua) is compatible with the house's "House Gua."

You're not incompatible with every place — you simply haven't found your "home turf" yet. Today, let's talk about the two systems of East Four Group and West Four Group, and — the formula that links you to your environment, and exactly how to calculate it.

The Underlying Logic of East Four Group and West Four Group

The Ba Zhai Feng Shui system divides people's Ming Gua into eight types based on the Eight Trigrams: Kan, Li, Zhen, Xun, Qian, Kun, Gen, and Dui.

Among these, Kan, Li, Zhen, and Xun belong to the East Four Group; Qian, Kun, Gen, and Dui belong to the West Four Group.

Why divide them this way? The core logic lies in the correspondence between "Five Elements" and "directions":

• The East Four Group corresponds to the four directions of East, South, North, and Southeast — governed by Wood, Fire, and Water, leaning toward "growth and expansion" energy.
• The West Four Group corresponds to the four directions of West, Northwest, Southwest, and Northeast — governed by Metal and Earth, leaning toward "contraction and consolidation" energy.

In plain terms, it's like how some people are naturally suited to living on a sun-facing hillside, while others thrive in a sheltered valley. It's not about which is superior — it's the word "suitable" that's worth its weight in gold.

How to Calculate the Formula: A Step-by-Step Guide

There are several methods for calculating Ming Gua online, but the most common version uses the last two digits of your birth year in a simple formula.

Applicable to: those born between 1900 and 1999.

Formula for men: (100 − last two digits of birth year) ÷ 9, take the remainder.

Formula for women: (last two digits of birth year − 4) ÷ 9, take the remainder.

Once you have the remainder, refer to the table below to find your Ming Gua:

Remainder	Ming Gua	Five Element	East/West Group
1	Kan	Water	East Four Group
2	Kun	Earth	West Four Group
3	Zhen	Wood	East Four Group
4	Xun	Wood	East Four Group
5 (Male)	Kun	Earth	West Four Group
5 (Female)	Gen	Earth	West Four Group
6	Qian	Metal	West Four Group
7	Dui	Metal	West Four Group
8	Gen	Earth	West Four Group
9 (or evenly divisible)	Li	Fire	East Four Group

Special note: If the division comes out even (remainder of 0), count it as 9, which belongs to the Li Gua, East Four Group; if the remainder is 5, men belong to Kun and women belong to Gen — both fall under the West Four Group.

For example:

• A man born in 1975: (100−75) ÷ 9 = 25 ÷ 9, remainder 7 → Dui Gua, West Four Group.
• A woman born in 1985: (85−4) ÷ 9 = 81 ÷ 9 = 9, evenly divisible → Li Gua, East Four Group.

This formula is simple and practical — with just a pen and paper, you can calculate your "energy affiliation."

What Comes Next? East Four Group Lives in East Four Houses

Once you've determined whether you belong to the East Four Group or West Four Group, you can use this to judge what kind of home environment suits you best.

According to Ba Zhai Feng Shui logic: those in the East Four Group should choose an East Four House; those in the West Four Group should choose a West Four House.

What is an "East Four House"?

• Zhen House: Sits East, faces West
• Xun House: Sits Southeast, faces Northwest
• Kan House: Sits North, faces South
• Li House: Sits South, faces North

A "West Four House," on the other hand, includes:

• Qian House: Sits Northwest, faces Southeast
• Dui House: Sits West, faces East
• Gen House: Sits Northeast, faces Southwest
• Kun House: Sits Southwest, faces Northeast

When choosing a home, use a Luo Pan or your phone's compass app to determine the house's "sitting direction" — note that it's the "sitting" direction, not the "facing" direction. For example, if the front door faces South, the house's "sitting" direction is North, making it a Kan House — then check whether it belongs to the same group as your own Ming Gua.

If they match, it indicates "harmony between the house and your destiny," and the foundational energy flows smoothly.

What If You're Living in the Wrong Group? No Need to Panic

So here's the question: what if you're in the East Four Group but currently living in a West Four House? Do you absolutely have to move?

Honestly, in modern cities, whether renting or buying, your choices are limited — achieving perfect "harmony between house and destiny" is the exception, not the rule; "mismatch" is actually the norm. There's no need to panic, and no need to demonize the situation.

According to the principles of Ba Zhai Feng Shui: if the house and destiny don't match, arrange your functional spaces primarily based on the auspicious and inauspicious directions of your own Ming Gua.

For example, say you're in the East Four Group (Li Gua) but living in a West Four House (Dui House). The due-east direction of a Dui House may be considered "highly inauspicious" according to the house's own Gua, but according to your personal Ming Gua, due-east happens to be your auspicious "Sheng Qi (Vitality)" direction. In this case, placing your bedroom or desk in the due-east direction may not achieve the full effect of a perfect house-destiny match, but it serves as a "compromise solution" said to deliver over sixty percent of the benefit.

The logic behind this practice is simple — the person inside the house is alive, while the house itself is static. A living person carries their own energy field, which can partially "correct" the imbalance of a static house. The key is knowing where your "auspicious direction" lies, and then actively positioning yourself toward it.

Don't Treat Your "Ming Gua" as a Second ID Card

After all this talk of formulas and pairings, one final point must be made — your Ming Gua is a gateway to understanding yourself, not a second ID card stuck to your identity.

Calculating whether you're in the East Four Group or West Four Group simply helps you understand which directions and environments resonate more with you, giving you one more reference point when making life decisions. But it doesn't define your ceiling, nor does it lock in your possibilities.

It's much like knowing you naturally suit warm color tones, yet occasionally stepping out in cool colors doesn't necessarily look bad either — what matters is that you understand what you're doing and why.

The greatest value of this system isn't helping you "find the correct answer," but rather helping you feel less ambiguous hesitation and more grounded confidence when choosing a home, a career, or a place to move. Once you've calculated your Ming Gua and identified your home-turf direction, the rest is simple — just go for it.