Kong Wang (the Void): look it up, then ask what got voided
Kong Wang, also called Xun Kong, comes from counting: the sixty stem-branch pairs run in groups of ten, and each group uses ten branches, leaving two unmatched. Those two are that group's void. We look it up from the day pillar and check whether the year, month or hour branch falls in it. A voided branch loses strength: an unfavorable one does less harm, a useful one gives less help. It's a footnote, not a verdict.
Cast your chart and see your Kong Wang →Free, no sign-up
At a glance
| Day pillar's group | Void branches | Example day pillars |
|---|---|---|
| Jia Zi group | Xu, Hai | Jia Zi, Bing Yin, Xin Wei, Gui You |
| Jia Xu group | Shen, You | Jia Xu, Ding Chou, Ji Mao, Gui Wei |
| Jia Shen group | Wu, Wei | Jia Shen, Bing Xu, Geng Yin, Gui Si |
| Jia Wu group | Chen, Si | Jia Wu, Yi Wei, Ji Hai, Gui Mao |
| Jia Chen group | Yin, Mao | Jia Chen, Ding Wei, Geng Xu, Gui Chou |
| Jia Yin group | Zi, Chou | Jia Yin, Bing Chen, Geng Shen, Gui Hai |
- How to look it up
- From the day pillar; check year, month and hour branches
- Full vs half void
- Out of season is a full void; in season only half
- Void on an unfavorable
- Less harm; a full void removes more
- Void on a useful one
- Less help; support from neighbours shrinks the loss
Data: how common the void is, and what it usually hits
43.4% of charts (868) have at least one year, month or hour branch in the day pillar's void: year 18.4%, month 16.4%, hour 18.1%, and 8.6% with two or more. Roughly every other chart has one.
Of 1,055 voided branches, 60.5% were half void (in season) and 39.5% full void. Against each chart's favorables: unfavorable 50.4%, favorable 25.7%, Useful God 12.7%, neutral 11.2%. Charts with the Useful God's element on a voided branch: 6.0%.
24.0% of voided branches were also clashed and 22.0% sat in a Six Harmony.
Statistics: 2,000 birth times (birth years 1950–2010 uniformly random, random birth time, half male/half female, Beijing true solar time). Void is taken from the day pillar's ten-day group and checked against the year, month and hour branches only. “In season” means the branch's own element matches the month or is produced by it.
Common view vs. our view
| Common view | Our view | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A void is bad luck | Check whether it hit a favorable or unfavorable | 50.4% of voided branches are unfavorable; only 12.7% are the Useful God |
| A clash makes the void solid | A clash scatters it further | 24.0% of voided branches are also clashed; we read them as emptier |
| Check every kind of void from year and day | Use the day pillar's void | 43.4% of charts already have it; stacking other methods voids nearly everything |
| A void hour branch means hardship | Voiding an unfavorable element helps | 18.1% of charts have a void hour; it depends on that element |
Where does the void come from?
Ten stems against twelve branches always leaves two branches out. Count ten pairs from Jia Zi and the branches only reach Zi through You; Xu and Hai never come up, so they're the Jia Zi group's void. Six groups, two empty branches each: all twelve get their turn.
Use the day pillar. Find which group it belongs to, then check the year, month and hour branches against that group's void. Your chart lists the void under every pillar; the day pillar's column is the one that counts. The 60 Jiazi table has the full list.
Full void or half void?
A voided branch that's in season keeps some strength and counts as half void; out of season, it's a full void. Take the Jia Zi group, voiding Xu and Hai. Born in winter, Hai Water is at its peak and only half empty. Born in spring, Hai Water is resting and empties out properly. Across our 2,000 charts, 60.5% of voided branches were half void and 39.5% full.
Even a full void isn't a delete key. Roughly speaking, a full void takes away most of a branch's effect and a half void a small part; if other characters feed or support it, treat a full void like a half one. The month branch defines the season, so a voided month branch is always half void.
Good if it hits an unfavorable, bad if it hits a useful one?
Broadly yes, so first find out which one it hit. Void on an unfavorable element shrinks the trouble it brings; void on the Useful God shrinks the help. Of 1,055 voided branches in our data, 50.4% were unfavorable elements, 25.7% favorable and only 12.7% the Useful God. Having a void is usually not bad news.
Charts where the Useful God's element itself sits on a voided branch make up just 6.0%. Even then, check whether it has roots or support elsewhere before judging the impact.
Does a clash “fill” the void? What about luck years?
A clash doesn't fill a void; it scatters it further. A common line says a clash makes the void solid again. We read it the other way: a voided branch has little strength left, and a clash only breaks it up more, pushing a half void towards full. In our charts, 24.0% of voided branches were also clashed.
When a luck cycle or year brings the voided branch itself, the void is filled and some effect returns. If your chart voids Xu, Xu years and Xu cycles give it something to stand on. A void branch that isn't in your chart still counts as empty when luck brings it, just more lightly. Every twelve years include two of your void branches, so there's no need to brace each time.
Two real charts
Bing Zi · Gui Si · Geng Xu · Wu Yin (female, 13 May 1996, 04:00, Beijing)
The Geng Xu day pillar belongs to the Jia Chen group, which voids Yin and Mao, and the Yin hour branch falls right in. Yin Wood is Geng's Indirect Wealth; born in a Si month with Fire in command, Wood is busy feeding Fire and out of season, so this is a full void.
We rate the chart weak (support 2.8, pressure 4.2): Earth (Resource) useful, Metal and Water favorable, Wood and Fire unfavorable. The voided Yin Wood is an unfavorable element that would otherwise attack the Wu Earth Resource above it and fuel the month's Fire. With most of its strength gone, the threat to the Useful God shrinks; this void helps. Watch Yin years and Yin cycles, when the void is filled: money and pressure topics pick up, so steady beats bold.
Jia Xu · Geng Wu · Xin Wei · Bing Shen (female, 14 Jun 1994, 17:00, Beijing)
The Xin Wei day pillar sits in the Jia Zi group, voiding Xu and Hai, and the Xu year branch is caught. Xu Earth is Xin's Direct Resource; born in a Wu month, Fire feeds Earth, so it's in season and only half void.
We rate the chart weak (support 3.42, pressure 3.58): Earth (Resource) useful, Metal and Water favorable, Fire and Wood unfavorable. The void lands on the Useful God's element, but a half void costs only a little, and the Wei day branch holds Ji Earth too, so the Useful God has roots elsewhere. Reading: support from elders, qualifications and institutions arrives a bit slowly but does arrive; in 2030 (a Geng Xu year) or a Xu cycle, the void is filled and that help lands more easily.
FAQ
I have Kong Wang in my chart. Is that bad?
No. In our data, 43.4% of charts have it and half of the voided branches are unfavorable elements, so emptying them means less trouble. What matters is which element got voided and whether it has roots elsewhere.
My spouse palace is void. Is my marriage doomed?
Looked up from the day pillar, as we do, the day branch can never be void, because the day pillar sits in its own group. Only a year-pillar lookup produces a “void spouse palace”. Marriage reads come from whether the day branch is favorable, the spouse star and the luck cycles, never from a void alone.
What should I watch in a year that hits my void?
When a year brings the branch your chart voids, the void is filled and the branch's effect returns. If it's favorable, the year brings extra help; if unfavorable, some trouble that had been muted resurfaces. That happens two years in every twelve, so treat it as a note, not an alarm.
My Wealth star is void. Will I never keep money?
A void Wealth star means that character is weaker, not that money is absent. If you're strong and Wealth is favorable, you lose some help, so look for Wealth roots elsewhere and in luck. If you're weak and Wealth is unfavorable, the void actually lightens the load. Money also depends on your work and habits.
Common mistakes
- A void means a bad chart: 43.4% of charts have one, and half the voided branches are unfavorable anyway.
- A void hour branch means a life of toil: voiding an unfavorable element reduces harm; check the element first.
- A clash cancels the void: a clash scatters it further; only luck bringing the same branch fills it.