To calculate your Kua number, add the last two digits of your birth year and reduce them to a single digit. For men born before 2000, subtract that digit from 10; from 2000 onward, subtract it from 9. For women born before 2000, add 5; from 2000 onward, add 6. Reduce the answer to one digit if needed. A result of 5 becomes 2 for men and 8 for women, because there is no Kua 5. The year is the Chinese solar year, which starts around February 4, so January and early-February birthdays use the year before.
The Kua number comes from the Eight Mansions school of feng shui. It sorts people into an East group or a West group and gives each person four favorable compass directions, which practitioners use to choose where to sleep, sit and face.
The formula, step by step
Step 1. Take the last two digits of your birth year and add them. Reduce to a single digit. For 1987, 8 + 7 = 15, then 1 + 5 = 6.
Step 2. Apply the rule for your year and gender:
| Born 1900 to 1999 | Born 2000 onward | |
|---|---|---|
| Men | 10 minus the digit | 9 minus the digit |
| Women | The digit plus 5 | The digit plus 6 |
Step 3. Reduce to a single digit if the answer is 10 or more. If a man born in the 2000s gets 0, his Kua is 9.
Step 4. If the answer is 5, it becomes 2 for men and 8 for women.
Four worked examples
All four people are made up.
Daniel, born August 9, 1993. 9 + 3 = 12, then 1 + 2 = 3. He's a man born before 2000, so 10 minus 3 = 7. Daniel's Kua number is 7.
Mei, born March 22, 1987. 8 + 7 = 15, then 6. She's a woman born before 2000, so 6 + 5 = 11, then 1 + 1 = 2. Mei's Kua number is 2.
Ana, born June 15, 1990. 9 + 0 = 9. Woman, before 2000: 9 + 5 = 14, then 1 + 4 = 5. There's no Kua 5, so for a woman it becomes 8. Ana's Kua number is 8.
Sam, born January 20, 2001. His birthday falls before the start of the solar year, so he uses 2000, not 2001. 0 + 0 = 0, and a man born in the 2000s subtracts from 9: 9 minus 0 = 9. Sam's Kua number is 9. Had he used 2001 by mistake, he'd have got 9 minus 1 = 8, a West group number instead of an East one. That's why the early-February rule matters.
Born in January or early February?
Feng shui uses the Chinese solar calendar, whose year begins with the solar term Lichun, the "start of spring". It falls on February 3, 4 or 5, depending on the year. If you were born before that date, use the previous year in the formula.
You'll find one common variation here. Some popular sources use the Chinese lunar New Year instead, which moves between late January and mid February. For most people the two give the same answer; if your birthday falls between the two dates in your birth year, it's worth calculating both and noting which convention a practitioner follows.
Why there is no Kua 5
The Kua numbers come from the Lo Shu grid, the 3×3 magic square at the heart of feng shui. Eight of its nine boxes sit on the eight compass directions, and each is tied to one of the eight trigrams of the Chinese classic the I Ching. The ninth box, number 5, is the center, with no direction and no trigram of its own. So a 5 has to be reassigned: by tradition, to 2 (southwest) for men and 8 (northeast) for women.
East and West groups and your four best directions
Kua numbers fall into two groups. The East group is 1, 3, 4 and 9; the West group is 2, 6, 7 and 8. Each group shares the same four favorable directions, but each number ranks them differently.
| Kua | Group | Success | Health | Relationships | Personal growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | East | Southeast | East | South | North |
| 2 | West | Northeast | West | Northwest | Southwest |
| 3 | East | South | North | Southeast | East |
| 4 | East | North | South | East | Southeast |
| 6 | West | West | Northeast | Southwest | Northwest |
| 7 | West | Northwest | Southwest | Northeast | West |
| 8 | West | Southwest | Northwest | West | Northeast |
| 9 | East | East | Southeast | North | South |
The four columns are known by their Chinese names: Sheng Qi for success, Tian Yi for health, Yan Nian for relationships and Fu Wei for personal growth. The other four directions are the person's less favorable ones.
So Daniel, a Kua 7, would be advised to face northwest at his desk, while Mei, a Kua 2, would face northeast. Ana and Mei are both in the West group; Sam, a Kua 9, is in the East group.
Variations you'll meet
- The full-year shortcut. Some books add all four digits of the year instead. For men the formula becomes 11 minus the reduced year; for women, the reduced year plus 4. For 1987, 1 + 9 + 8 + 7 = 25, then 7, and a woman gets 7 + 4 = 11, then 2, matching Mei's result. The two methods agree.
- Solar year or lunar year. As above, most Eight Mansions practitioners use Lichun, but some sources use the lunar New Year.
- Gender. The traditional formula only knows two categories. If you're transgender or nonbinary, there's no single agreed rule. A reasonable approach is to work out both numbers and read both sets of directions.
Using it at home sensibly
The Kua number is a small part of feng shui, and most practitioners use it alongside the layout of the actual room. A few practical points:
- Start with what you can move. A desk chair that faces your success direction is easy. Rebuilding a kitchen is not.
- Couples in different groups are common. One easy compromise is to give each person their own direction where they spend time alone, such as a desk, and to settle the shared bed by comfort.
- Comfort wins. A direction that puts your back to the door or the sun in your eyes isn't worth it.
Western numerology reads homes differently, by the digits of the address rather than the compass. Our guide to house number numerology explains that approach.
If you're interested in other ways numbers are read in Chinese tradition, our guide to lucky numbers in Chinese culture covers the sound-based beliefs about 8, 4 and the rest. For the Western tradition, which our guide to what numerology is introduces, the nearest equivalent personal number is your life path number, which comes from your full birth date rather than the year alone.
Questions readers ask
Is the Kua number the same as my Chinese zodiac sign?
No. Both come from your birth year, but the Chinese zodiac animal follows a 12-year cycle and the Kua number a 9-year one, and the Kua formula also depends on gender. Two people with the same animal sign can have different Kua numbers.
Can a couple have different Kua numbers?
Yes, and often they're in different groups. That isn't read as a problem for the relationship, only as a practical puzzle about who sits where.
Does my Kua number change?
No. It comes from your birth year and stays the same for life. What changes year to year in feng shui are the annual "flying stars", a separate system.
What is my Kua number if I was born in 2000?
Use 2000 only if you were born on or after the start of the solar year that February. Then 0 + 0 = 0: a man's Kua is 9 minus 0 = 9, and a woman's is 0 + 6 = 6. If you were born in January or very early February 2000, use 1999 instead.
