Anyone who studies Feng Shui or Chinese Astrology will come across these two terms, Tai Sui and offending Tai Sui. But what exactly do they mean?
What is Tai Sui?
Tai Sui is short for Tai Sui God, or Tai Sui General. It is a Chinese feng Shui term for the body of personified annual energy that mirrors the ideal trail of Jupiter both celestially and locally in projection. In Chinese folklore, there are sixty Tai Suis, each named after a historical honorable general. Each Tai Sui governs the world of mortals annually in the 60-year sexagenary cycle.
What is offending Tai Sui (Fan Tai Sui)?
Tai Sui governs the annual zodiac house and thus has a different reaction with the rest of the zodiacs. When interaction is incompatible or unfavorable to Tai Sui’s house, that zodiac is considered offending Tai Sui. There are five ways of offending Tai Sui, being against Tai sui, clashing with tai Sui, afflicting by Tai Sui, harmed by Tai Sui and broke by Tai Sui. As a result, there are often four to five zodiacs offending Tai Sui each year.
Origin of Tai Sui, an imaginary object
The origin of Tai sui can trace back to the ancient Chinese Warring States Period. Each state had their own way of time keeping, thus made it rather inconvenient in communication between states. People across states needed a uniform and accountable standard to do their time keeping. Soon, they found out that Jupiter is a great fit for this job, since Jupiter’s orbital period is around 12 years (11.8626 years later they discovered) and moving around 30 degrees along the ecliptic annually. Therefore, people divided 12 sessions along the ecliptic and charted a 12 celestial houses (different from the zodiac nowadays).
However, as time progressed, the little time difference (0.14 year for a cycle of 12 years) had accumulated and started to drastically affect in timekeeping of correct season and year. After 85.7 years, Jupiter was one house ahead of where people thought it should be.
To remedy this difference, an imaginary celestial object called Tai Sui was created (Grand Duke of the Year). Tai Sui is made to be a perfect mirror image of an ideal Jupiter that runs a perfect 12-year cycle in the sky: Jupiter moves westward along ecliptic (counterclockwise) as the observer faces the south, while Tai Sui (the imaginary object) moves eastward along the ecliptic (clockwise) as the observer facing the south.
- Misconception:
There has been a common misconception that Tai sui is Jupiter since it is called Grand Duke Jupiter. No, it is not. Or, as certain wiki page stated, “Tai Sui is a Chinese term for the stars directly opposite the planet Jupiter during its roughly 12-year orbital cycle.” No, Tai sui is not that, either.
Tai sui is an imaginary object, a body of energy, which mirrors the “ideal” trail of Jupiter. The reason I say “ideal” trail of Jupiter is because Jupiter is not running a perfect 12-year cycle in the sky, and if Tai Sui is mirroring the exact trail of Jupiter, Tai sui would be soon off accuracy (just like Jupiter) and useless as the representative of annual zodiac energy. In other words, the Tai sui is not mirroring the actual trail of Jupiter. Rather, Tai sui is created as a perfect entity that fits to the already existing Chinese zodiac system(clockwise), getting rid of all inconvenience when using an actual Jupiter as a time keeping celestial object, while reserving the essential merits.
Though the origin of Tai Sui was associated with Jupiter, it has little to do with Jupiter in its further evolvement. Tai sui is not tied to an actual celestial body. Tai Sui can stand independently as a common reference of annual energy in Feng Shui practices.
What we talk about when we talk about Tai Sui?
As we clarified earlier, Tai Sui is a body of energy that changes annually. In general, when we are talking about Tai Sui, we are referring to the annual energy that fills the annual zodiac house both locally and celestially. Depending on the topic and context, the emphasis of Tai Sui’s effect varies. The ambiguity has caused some confusion in practice.
In general, Tai Sui has an impact is on three aspects:
1. People, different zodiac people offending Tai Sui
In most zodiac fortune forecast, Tai Sui’s effect is emphasized on other zodiacs. For example, in 2023, the year of Rabbit, zodiac Rooster offends Tai Sui, or Fan Tai Sui. In plain English, it means people who were born in the year of Zodiac Rooster will be affected by the annual energy of Tai Sui in the year of Rabbit; or Tai Sui in the year of Rabbit has a strong impact on the people who were born in the year of Zodiac Rooster. In this case, we emphasize the impact of Tai Sui on certain zodiac group of people.
2. Space, the direction or region that Tai Sui stays in that particular year
In an annual Feng Shui instruction, Tai Sui’s effect is often emphasized on the space. For example, in 2023, the year of Rabbit, Tai Sui locates in the east region and the east region should avoid reconstruction. In plain English, it means a house should avoid doing reconstruction in the east region in the year of Rabbit. In this case, we emphasize the impact of Tai Sui on certain direction and region.
3. Time, the specific hours, days, months that have a conflict with Tai Sui’s energy
We may not hear this often in the occidental world. But if you have participated a traditional time picking process for an important event, the time-picking master will suggest avoiding month, days, and hours offending Tai Sui. For example, in 2023, the year of Rabbit, people may want to avoid using the hour of Rooster (1700-1900) to initiate an important event, wedding, grand opening, etc. In this case, we emphasize the impact of Tai Sui on time.
I will delve into details of each aspect below and share with you the most effective remedies and my secret cure.
Zodiacs offending Tai sui – analysis of five types of Fan Tai Sui
There are five types of offending Tai Sui, being against Tai sui, clashing with tai Sui, afflicted by Tai Sui, harming by Tai Sui, and broke by Tai Sui. As a result, there are generally four to five zodiacs offending Tai Sui each year.
People often use these terms interchangeably. Though these five annual energy discords are all related to Tai Sui, they each refer to a specific type of energy conflict and have different outcome and manifestations.
1. Zodiac against Tai sui is the zodiac of the year. For example, 2024 is Year of Dragon, so zodiac Dragon is against Tai Sui in 2024; 2023 is the Year of Rabbit, so zodiac rabbit is against Tai Sui in 2023(See example below).
Being against Tai Sui means the house of yearly zodiac is filled up by a body of strong annul energy, for the reason, it magnifies any benefits or flaws in the natal chart of a person. It is similar to the conjunction aspect in Astrology. People who are against Tai sui will often experience instability, emotional and health issue, setback, and family issue.
2. Zodiac clashing with Tai sui is the opposite zodiac sign of the year, with its house being clashed directly by the annul energy, it often stirs a conflict or reveals certain weakness/flaw in the natal chart of a person, it is similar to the aspect of opposition in astrology. For example, 2024 is Year of Dragon, so zodiac Dog is clashing with Tai Sui in 2024. 2023 is the Year of Rabbit, zodiac Rooster is clashing with Tai Sui in 2023 (See example below).
Clashing with Tai Sui means a zodiac is clashing directly with the zodiac of the year. For that reason, it often weakens or bring damage to certain aspect of life, for example, health, finance, relationship, etc. It is similar to the opposition aspect in Astrology. People who are clashing with Tai sui will often experience opposition, obstacles, accidents, or setback.
3. There are four reference groups of Zodiacs afflicted by Tai sui:
- Rat and rabbit
- Ox, Sheep, and Dog
- Tiger, Snake and Monkey
For the first three reference groups, you can refer to the group with the annual zodiac first, and the rest of the zodiacs in the same group are afflicted by Tai Sui. For example, 2022 is Year of Tiger, so we refer to group 3 and find zodiac Snake and Zodiac Monkey afflicted by Tai Sui in 2022.
There is a special group of zodiacs that are self-afflicted, meaning, dragon is self-afflicted by dragon, Horse is self-afflicted by Horse, etc. Think of it this way, in the year of Dragon, zodiac dragon is not only against Tai Sui, but also afflicted by Tai Sui. In the year of Pig, zodiac Pig is not only against Tai Sui, but also afflicted by Tai Sui.
- Dragon, Horse, Rooster, and Pig
Afflicted with Tai Sui often results in certain retributions or punishments, it often brings about things unusual in life. Afflicted with Tai Sui is similar to the square aspect in Astrology. People who are afflicted with Tai sui will often experience certain retributions or punishment due to their mistakes or attitude. The self-afflicted zodiacs are more likely to suffer consequence of their own decisions.
4. Zodiacs harmed by Tai Sui. There are six pairs of Zodiacs harming each other.
- Rat and Sheep
- Ox and Horse
- Tiger and Snake
- Rabbit and Dragon
- Rooter and Dog
- Pig and Monkey
The picture below is a visual description:
For example, 2022 is Year of Tiger, meaning zodiac Snake is harming Tai Sui; 2023 is Year of Rabbit, meaning zodiac Dragon is harming Tai Sui.
Harming by Tai Sui means the supportive energy of a zodiac is being clashed; as a result, it brings about backstabbers, enemies, negative changes, job changes, failure, illness, relationship entanglement, etc.
5. Zodiacs broke by Tai Sui. There are six pairs of Zodiacs breaking each other. When one becomes the annual zodiac, the counterpart is broken by Tai Sui.
- Rat and Rooster
- Ox and Dragon
- Tiger and Pig
- Rabbit and Horse
- Dog and Sheep
- Monkey and Snake
For example, 2024 is Year of Dragon, meaning zodiac Ox is broke by Tai Sui; 2023 is Year of Rabbit, meaning zodiac Horse is broke by Tai Sui.
Broke by Tai Sui has a relatively slighter negative impact in comparison to other types of offending Tai Sui. However, most of the issues caused by breaking Tai Sui are happening under the table, in the back, hidden, invisible for now, or hard to realize by others, for example, betrayed by a friend, food poisoning, legal entanglement, financial loss.
Below is an overview on what zodiacs are offending Tai Sui in 2022, Year of Tiger.
Got it? One more example for 2023, the year of Rabbit. What zodiacs are offending Tai Sui in 2023, Year of Rabbit:
Remedy and Misconception for offending Tai Sui
- Donation and actively helping others.
Donation and actively assisting others are simple yet very effective practice to deflect the negative impact of Tai Sui, and it is particularly helpful for zodiacs that offend Tai Sui. Both two activities are considered energy going outward and can help one to manifest negative energy in a positive way. Donating money or blood will lower the chance of accidents, while helping others will lower the chances of health issues. If you cooperate with the feng shui arrangement(we will discuss later in the Tai Sui annual location session), it will be even more beneficial.
- Misconceptions and what doesn’t work
Wearing red color clothing can help a zodiac to appease Tai Sui, particularly when one is against Tai Sui. Being against Tai Sui simply magnifies any merits or flaws in the natal chart of that zodiac person. In that sense, being against Tai Sui does not necessarily mean misfortune or setback, but also positive changes or great opportunities as well. It depends on the structure of the natal chart. People who do not understand the Chinese astrology would scratch their heads when they see joyous events happening to some people while some suffer mishaps. So, folklore comes out a convenient explanation that if positive events occur in the year of offending Tai Sui, it will block or replace the mishaps that supposed to happen. Wearing red, as a joyous event symbol, would help an offending-Tai-Sui zodiac to block a negative incident, and, therefore, to ease the adversity of offending Tai Sui. This is a popular belief following folklore rather that the philosophy of feng shui. It has little effect on reducing the negative impact of Tai Sui.
Annual location of Tai Sui – Tai Sui, Sui Po and Feng Shui Remedies
In addition to affecting specific zodiac groups, Tai Sui has a significant impact on local space, which is oftentimes mentioned as Tai Sui position of the year. Tai sui and its opposite direction, Sui Po (Year Breaker) are two areas that you should pay extra attention to when planning your daily activities.
In Feng Shui, the local space is charted into 8 directions, each direction then further divided into 3 mountains (each mountain represents a 15-degree region), and thus total of 24 mountains.
Among these 24 mountains, there are 12 mountains named after the zodiacs (highlighted blue in the pic below). The rest of mountains are named after heavenly branches and eight trigrams.
Centering around this zodiac mountain (known as the earthly branch mountain), we extend 7.5 degree to the adjacent mountains, and we got the complete local direction of 12 zodiac houses.
Once we can identify 12 zodiac houses in the local space, we just need to know what the zodiac of the current year is. Tai Sui’s position is the local zodiac house of the year.
| Zodiac Year | Local Direction |
| Rat | 345° – 15° |
| Ox | 15° – 45° |
| Tiger | 45° – 75° |
| Rabbit | 75° – 105° |
| Dragon | 105° -135° |
| Snake | 135° – 165° |
| Horse | 165° – 195° |
| Sheep | 195° – 225° |
| Monkey | 225° – 255° |
| Rooster | 255° – 285° |
| Dog | 285° – 315° |
| Pig | 315° – 345° |
For example, 2022 is year of Tiger, the house of zodiac tiger locates in the northeast region, so Tai Sui in the Year of Tiger locates in the northeast region;
2023 is Year of Rabbit, the house of zodiac rabbit locates in the east region, so Tai Sui in the Year of Rabbit locates in the east region;
2024 is Year of Dragon, the house of zodiac dragon locates in the southeast region, so Tai Sui in the Year of Dragon locates in the southeast region.
Once we know the location of each year’s Tai Sui, we will be able to identify the Sui Po (Year Breaker) position, which is on the opposite house of Tai Sui.
| Zodiac Year | Tai Sui Position | Sui Po Position |
| Rat | 345° – 15° | 165° – 195° |
| Ox | 15° – 45° | 195° – 225° |
| Tiger | 45° – 75° | 225° – 255° |
| Rabbit | 75° – 105° | 255° – 285° |
| Dragon | 105° -135° | 285° – 315° |
| Snake | 135° – 165° | 315° – 345° |
| Horse | 165° – 195° | 345° – 15° |
| Sheep | 195° – 225° | 15° – 45° |
| Monkey | 225° – 255° | 45° – 75° |
| Rooster | 255° – 285° | 75° – 105° |
| Dog | 285° – 315° | 105° -135° |
| Pig | 315° – 345° | 135° – 165° |
Remedy, Dos and Don’ts in relevant Tai Sui positions.
If you are interested in my feng shui tips for the Year of Rabbit, please click the link below for a complete guide for 2023 Flying Star annual arrangements.
However, if you only want to minimize Tai Sui’s negative impact, you do not need to display any “feng shui tools” or “Tai Sui talisman” in the market to cure the Tai Sui effect. The reason is that a useful talisman needs to be consecrated by an authentic Dao lineage master to make it effective. Otherwise, like most so-called “talismans” in the market are just pieces of paper, a trinket, or at their best, good calligraphic drawings, but they bear no spiritual power of protection and guardian at all. Simply to avoid any reconstruction and remodeling activities in Tai Sui’s direction and its opposite direction is good enough in general. Any activities such as breaking the ground, drilling, or breaking the wall will activate the energy of Tai Sui. In most cases, it triggers the negative side of Tai Sui. Please note that this rule applies not only to the Tai Sui direction but also to the opposite direction, the Sui Po direction.
For example, in the year 2022, the year of Tiger, one should avoid the reconstruction and heavy vibration in both the northeast region (45° – 75°) and the southwest region (225° – 255°)
In the year 2023, the year of Rabbit, one should avoid the reconstruction and heavy vibration in both the east region (75° – 105°) and the west region (255° – 285°).
For those who suffer low fortune in different aspects of life and want to ward off the impact of negative energy, they can consider wearing a customized Tai Sui talisman. This talisman is strictly consecrated and activated, following my Dao lineage Quan Zhen school, which has over one thousand years’ history of creating powerful Daoism magic. It is a great protection tool for one to improve the general fortune in 2024. If you are interested in how to pick the best Tai Sui Amulet/Talisman, I have a deep-dive article on this subject: A Beginner’s Guide to the Best Tai Sui Amulet/Talisman
Nevertheless, what if you must do reconstruction in this area, say, water is leaking, or your tile is broken in the Tai Sui position of your house, what can we do then?
Advanced secret cures, rice, salt, water – the secret source
If you accidentally activate the energy of Tai Sui (drilling, breaking ground or that corner), or you have no choice but must do a reconstruction in the corner, you would often be told nothing you can do about it and negative consequences will follow.
There is an advanced method to minimize the negative effect and I have never seen anyone revealing in public. I have always used it to help my clients when they activate Tai Sui by accident, and it has worked magic in many cases. Though it was within the advanced practice category, the practice itself is not complicated, I put down a step-by-step guideline as below:
First, if possible, start that reconstruction in the last 20 mins of an hour, try to keep yourself or your family away from the site being activated. It is the weak end of an hour in terms of energy.
Secondly, put seven grains of raw rice and mixed with seven dashes of salt in fresh water, dash the salt water in four corners of the house and family member who got involved. It will significantly lower the negative impact of Tai Sui.
Thirdly, after dashing the water on both family people that are present and to the corners of house, leave the site for 24 hours (spend the night in hotel) if possible and return the next day.
This has been proved to be a very effective practice for many of my clients. The more thoroughly you can follow these instructions above, the less negative effect you will experience in the upcoming days.
Time, the hours, days, months that have a conflict with Tai Sui’s energy
In Feng Shui practice, there are often three factors to be considered for a matter, earth, heaven, and mankind; earth being the space, mankind being the person who got involved, these are basically the zodiac and local positions that I mentioned earlier in this article. The third factor, heaven, is the time to initiate an event, to activate certain type of energy. There is unfavorable time that may affect the over development of a matter and cause issues, there is also auspicious time that will push things to direction we desire.
To understand this subject, we need to step back a bit to provide the Chinese almanac system.
The 12 Chinese zodiacs are also called 12 earthly branches, with 10 heavenly stems (you can think of the 10 heavenly stems are five elements with Ying and Yang attributes of each), they make a 60-year sexagenary cycle. This cycle does not only apply to years, but also to months, days, and hours, the entire almanac system.
However, we do not need to go that too far to understand the time conflict with Tai Sui, because Tai Sui is mainly associated with earthly branches, the 12 zodiac cycles. To know which months, days, and hours may conflict with Tai Sui, we simply need to know the zodiac of that time unit.
For example, the 12 Chinese months of each year start with the month of Tiger, then followed by month of Rabbit, month of Dragon, so on and so forth, and all the way to the month of Pig, month of Rat, and the last zodiac month of each year is the month of Ox. Below are the general zodiac month and its corresponding dates. Please note that the dates may vary slightly in certain year.
Once we can identity the zodiac of each month, then we simply avoid the month with the same zodiac of Tai Sui and Sui Po, these are the two months in conflict with Tai Sui.
For example, in the year of 2023, year of Rabbit, Tai sui is the zodiac Rabbit and Sui Po is the opposite zodiac of Tai Sui, which is Rooster. The month of Rabbit is between March 6 to April 4, month of Rooster between September 8 to October 7. So, we can say, during these period of time, one may want to avoid initiating an important project or event because it may bring certain instability (Tai Sui’s characteristic) to this project or event.
Day wise, one can refer to Chinese Almanac for details. Once you identify the earthly branch(zodiac) that are same with Tai Sui, the next sixth day is considered a Sui Po day, and the next 6th day followed by Sui Po being Tai Sui day again, and these Tai Sui and Sui Po days are often advised to be avoided in initiating important events. For example, February 8th, 2023, is the day of Rooster, meaning that is a Sui Po day, and the next 6th day February 14th is the day of Rabbit, the Tai Sui day, February 20th is the day of Rooster again, Sui Po day, and so on and so forth. These days are not great options to start an important project.
Hours associated with Tai Sui are also avoided in time picking. Chinese zodiac hour system is different from occidental hour system. The day starts after 11 pm the day before and ends at 11 pm, not 12 am. The zodiac hours go in a bi-hourly system, starting with 11 pm to 1 am as the hour of Rat, 1 am to 3 am as the hour of OX, and so on.
For example, in the year of Rabbit, People are advised to avoid using the time of Rabbit (5 am to 7 am) and Rooster (5 pm to 7 pm) to initiate an important event, wedding, grand opening, etc.
Time picking is a very complex subject and has so many variants needed to be involved and considered. However, for beginner, the best way is to deal with the conflicted hours is to avoid using Tai Sui or Sui Po time to initiate important events. Other than, Tai Sui and Sui Po time has no impact on daily routine and activities.
