Kua Number Calculator & Lucky Directions
Your comes from your birth year and gender, and names your four best directions for work, health, love and personal growth.
Questions about the Kua number
How is the Kua number calculated?
Take your birth year — counted from the Chinese solar new year, Lichun, around 4 February — add its last two digits and reduce to one digit. Women add 5 (born before 2000) or 6 (2000 onwards); men subtract it from 10 (before 2000) or from 9 (2000 onwards); reduce again. A Kua of 5 becomes 2 for men and 8 for women.
Why does a January birthday use the previous year?
The Feng Shui year starts at Lichun, the moment the Sun reaches 315° along the ecliptic — usually 3, 4 or 5 February. Anyone born before that moment belongs to the previous solar year. We compute the exact Lichun date each year instead of assuming 4 February.
What are the East and West groups?
Kua 1, 3, 4 and 9 form the East group, whose good directions are North, South, East and South-east. Kua 2, 5, 6, 7 and 8 form the West group, whose good directions are West, South-west, North-west and North-east.
How do I use my lucky directions?
Lightly and practically: face your best wealth direction at your desk, sleep with your head towards your health direction, and so on, when it is easy to arrange. It is a tradition for reflection — never a reason for costly renovation.
Is the Kua number the same for a man and a woman born the same year?
No — the formula differs by gender, so a brother and sister born in the same solar year usually have different Kua numbers and sometimes different groups.
Method & sources
- LoveToKnow — How to calculate your Kua number — formula before and after 2000, worked examples
- LoveToKnow — Lucky Feng Shui directions — East/West groups and the four lucky directions per Kua
- South China Morning Post — Head right direction — year counted from the solar new year; Kua 5 → 2 for men, 8 for women
- Lichun = Sun at 315° ecliptic longitude — computed for each year with astronomy-engine; checked against the Hong Kong Observatory tables
Also from your date: Lo Shu grid · Chinese zodiac animal.