Northern Black Tortoise · 13
Shi Huo Zhu（Encampment Mansion）
Shi Huo Zhu is the traditional deity title for the Encampment Mansion. Thirteenth in the list, it belongs to the Northern Black Tortoise, between Rooftop and Wall. This Chinese Medieval reconstruction shows five stars and four lines; those counts describe this particular version.
Asterism reference
- Position in the atlas
- 13 / 28
- Four Symbols group
- Northern Black Tortoise
- Stars in this diagram
- 5
- Determinative star
- HIP 113963
Reading this star map
Start at the red-ringed star near the bottom, HIP 113963, and follow the line up to HIP 113881. From that junction, branches lead left to HIP 115250, lower right to HIP 112748 and upper right to HIP 112051. The branching center is therefore not the determinative star. If another map has a different count, compare its historical period and asterism membership before assuming an error.
Understanding the deity title
Shi is the mansion name; Huo means Fire and Zhu means Pig in the deity title. The idea of a room or shelter can suggest making space and offering protection, but these are modern associations for reading the name, not ancient laws about people born on a given date. The title does not establish a good day for moving house or working with fire.
What does this calculator result mean?
If a birthday lookup returns this mansion, the entered date is assigned to it by our daily almanac rules. It does not mean everyone born that day shares a personality, or that the Moon was inside this star pattern. Compare calendar, date and assignment system before comparing tools.
Twenty-Eight Mansions sculptures · Fucheng Jade Emperor Temple, Jincheng
Photo: Patrick20242023. Resized and compressed; Shen Shui Yuan is also cropped to isolate the figure.
Original photographs · CC BY-SA 4.0Further reading: personality associations
The historical text describes the roles of celestial asterisms. The life and personality associations below are our modern interpretations, not historical claims about people born on a particular date.
「天子之宮也。一曰玄宮，一曰淸廟，又爲軍糧之府及土功事」《晉書》卷十一・天文志上・二十八舍Shi is linked with buildings, ritual halls, provisions and construction. A modern interpretation is making dependable everyday life out of disorder: arranging light, food and a bed in a new place. Belonging, however, should not depend on being useful all the time; the person making room for others needs a seat too.
Sources and image credits
The National Astronomical Observatory of Japan explains the classifications and calendar concepts. Star lines follow Stellarium Chinese Medieval, with positions from HYG v4.1. Our diagrams are attributed under CC BY-SA 4.0 and represent one reconstruction, not the only historical depiction.