Your Kua number is the starting point of Feng Shui’s Eight Mansions (Ba Zhai) system. It is a single number, calculated from your date of birth and gender, that reveals which compass directions support your sleep, wealth, career, and relationships, and which ones work against you.
Most online Kua calculators stop at the number. But our Kua Number calculator goes one step further: we correctly handle the Li Chun solar cutoff (the actual start of the Feng Shui year — not January 1st), it’s transparent about how Kua 5 works instead of quietly hiding it, and it gives you specific, usable directions instead of a one-line result.
Enter your date of birth and gender below to get your Kua number and your four lucky directions in seconds.
Kua Number Calculator
Find the directions that support your sleep, wealth, and relationships — based on your personal Feng Shui energy.
🔒 Private and never shared. Instant results.
What Is a Kua Number?
Your Kua number (also called your Ming Gua or Gua number) is a number from 1 to 9 used in Eight Mansions Feng Shui to identify your personal energy directions. It’s calculated from your birth year and gender, and it places you into one of two groups:
- East Group (Kua 1, 3, 4, 9) or
- West Group (Kua 2, 6, 7, 8).
Once you know your Kua number, you know your four auspicious directions and four inauspicious ones. Feng Shui practitioners use this to guide where you sleep, where your desk faces, and which direction your front door should ideally open toward.
Unlike Western astrology, which is based on your birth date within the calendar year, your Kua number is based entirely on your birth year (with one important exception — see the Li Chun section below) and whether you’re male or female, because the formula differs by gender.
How Your Kua Number Is Calculated
The calculation happens in two simple steps:
Step 1 — Get your Kua Factor. Add the last two digits of your birth year together. If the result is a two-digit number, add those digits again until you get a single digit.
Example: born in 1988 → 8 + 8 = 16 → 1 + 6 = 7. Your Kua Factor is 7.
Step 2 — Apply the gender formula.
- Males born before 2000: 10 − Kua Factor
- Males born 2000 or later: 9 − Kua Factor
- Females born before 2000: 5 + Kua Factor
- Females born 2000 or later: 6 + Kua Factor
If your result is a two-digit number, reduce it again to a single digit. If your final result is 5, see the note below — Kua 5 has no fixed direction of its own.
Continuing the example: male, born 1988 → 10 − 7 = 3. Kua number 3, East Group.
Why the Formula Changes After the Year 2000
This is the single most misunderstood part of Kua calculation, and most calculators don’t explain it — they just apply the rule silently.
The shift happens because Feng Shui’s Eight Mansions system is built on a 9-year cycle tied to the Chinese solar calendar, and the start of a new “Period” in Feng Shui (Period 8, which began in 2004) shifted the reference point for how Kua numbers are derived for people born in and after 2000. In practical terms: the formula for men changes from subtracting their Kua Factor from 10 to subtracting it from 9, and for women, from adding 5 to adding 6.
If you were born in 2000 or after and you use the pre-2000 formula by mistake, your Kua number — and every direction recommendation that follows from it — will be wrong. This is the most common calculation error across online Kua tools.
This page has a dedicated calculator for Kua Number after 2000.
The Li Chun Rule — Why Your Birthday Matters More Than You Think
Feng Shui doesn’t follow the regular January 1st calendar. The Feng Shui year begins on Li Chun, the solar start of spring — which falls around February 4th each year, but shifts by a day or two depending on the year.
This means: if you were born between January 15 and February 15, your Feng Shui birth year may not match your calendar birth year. If you were born on January 20, 1995, for example, Li Chun for that cycle hadn’t yet occurred — so your Kua number should technically be calculated using 1994, not 1995.
Almost no free Kua calculator checks this. It’s a small detail with a real consequence: people born in this three-week window who use a typical calculator often get the wrong Kua number entirely. Our calculator checks your birth date against the actual Li Chun date for your birth year and asks you to confirm before/after if you fall inside this window — so your result is accurate even if you were born right at the edge of the cycle.
Understanding Kua Number 5 — The One Without a Direction
If your calculation produces a 5, you’ll notice something unusual: Kua 5 has no fixed compass direction or trigram of its own. In classical Ba Zhai Feng Shui, Kua 5 sits at the centre of the system — the axis around which the other eight numbers rotate.
Because of this, practitioners apply a substitution:
- Kua 5 males use the directions of Kua 2
- Kua 5 females use the directions of Kua 8
Some calculators handle this by quietly swapping your number to a 2 or an 8 without telling you. We don’t do that. If your calculation lands on 5, you’ll see your actual Kua number (5) along with a clear note about which substitute directions apply to you and why — so you understand your own result instead of just being told a different number.
Your Kua Group: East vs. West
Every Kua number belongs to one of two groups, and this single distinction shapes nearly every Feng Shui recommendation that follows:
| Group | Kua Numbers | Auspicious Directions |
|---|---|---|
| East Group | 1, 3, 4, 9 | North, South, East, Southeast |
| West Group | 2, 6, 7, 8 | West, Northwest, Southwest, Northeast |
East Group people draw supportive energy from the eastern compass directions; West Group people draw it from the western ones. If you live with a partner or family member from the opposite group, your ideal directions won’t overlap completely — which is why couples often need a slightly different approach to arranging shared spaces like the bedroom.
Your Four Directions, Explained
Once your Kua number is known, four directions are considered auspicious for you, each governing a different part of life:
- Sheng Chi (Prosperity) — your strongest direction for career growth, income, and recognition. Best used for your work desk and main door.
- Tien Yi (Health) — your direction for physical recovery and vitality. Best used for the direction you sleep facing.
- Yan Nian (Relationships) — your direction for relationship harmony and longevity. Useful for shared spaces and conversations that matter.
- Fu Wei (Personal Growth) — your direction for clarity, stability, and steady personal development. Good for study, meditation, and quiet reflection.
The remaining four directions are considered inauspicious to varying degrees, and are generally avoided for important activities like sleeping or working.
FAQ
Is Kua number based on gender?
Yes. Unlike some numerology systems, Kua number calculation is gender-specific — the formula for males and females is different, even for the same birth year. This is one of the most common points of confusion, since some sources incorrectly claim Kua numbers are gender-neutral. You can find the Kua number calculator for females here and the Kua number calculator for males here.
What if my Kua number comes out to 5?
Kua 5 has no direction of its own. Males calculating a 5 use Kua 2’s directions; females use Kua 8’s directions. Your core number remains 5, but your practical direction guidance follows the substitute.
Does my Kua number ever change?
No. Your Kua number is fixed for life, based on your birth year and gender. It does not change with age, marriage, or life events.
Is Kua number the same as my Chinese zodiac sign?
No. Your Chinese zodiac animal is based on your full birth year in the 12-year cycle. Your Kua number is a completely separate calculation based on a 9-year reduction formula and is used specifically for directional Feng Shui, not personality forecasting.
Why did my Kua number come out different from another calculator?
This usually happens for one of two reasons: either the other calculator didn’t apply the correct post-2000 formula for your birth year, or it didn’t account for the Li Chun solar cutoff if you were born between January 15 and February 15.