It should go without saying that couples who are planning to get married are in it for the long haul.
It would defeat the purpose of getting married if either party cannot see a long term relationships materializing from tying the knot.
While choosing auspicious wedding days play a role in keeping the union of 2 people harmonious, avoiding a bad day to get married can be just as important.
There is a star of loneliness that every person has. It is represented by an earthly branch depending on the zodiac that the person is born with.
This star is called gu chen (孤辰) for men. And gua su (寡宿) for women. They are also called the solitary star and widow’s lodge respectively.
These are personal astrology stars that can sometimes be categorized to as symbolic stars or auxiliary stars in bazi (八字) and zi wei dou shu (紫微斗数).
While the focal point of choosing wedding dates is to select good days, avoiding days that has these lonely stars can help one pick the best date from the shortlist of favorable dates.
For example, if after consulting a date selection expert you find that you have 3 dates to choose from, then going into the finer details by avoiding the stars of loneliness of you and spouse might be able to further narrow down the best dates.
The below table indicates the gu chen and gua su for each person by referencing the Chinese zodiac sign.
Zodiac Year Branch |
Gu Chen (for men) |
Gua Su (for women) |
子 | 寅 | 戌 |
丑 | 寅 | 戌 |
寅 | 巳 | 丑 |
卯 | 巳 | 丑 |
辰 | 巳 | 丑 |
巳 | 申 | 辰 |
午 | 申 | 辰 |
未 | 申 | 辰 |
申 | 亥 | 未 |
酉 | 亥 | 未 |
戌 | 亥 | 未 |
亥 | 寅 | 戌 |
Some practitioners might conduct the same evaluation with the earthly branch on the day pillar instead, since it is the marriage palace in the study of bazi. Some might use both the branches on the day and year pillar.
The gist is to avoid days where your loneliness star is present according to the Hsia calendar.
Take note that just because an auspicious day contains your star of loneliness does not mean that it’s not a good day.
It would still be an auspicious day in the grand scheme of things. But for refinement, the above theory can be used to choose the best of your options.
And these days, a number of important dates can be required when a loving couple is planning to get married.
This can include the engagement date, the date to officially register the marriage at the Registry of Marriages (ROM), wedding day itself, date for Chinese customary rituals, etc.
Whenever possible, it is best to select good dates for each of these activities. But if you can only select one, the priority should go to the date of registration.
However, those who are deeply religious and holding their wedding ceremonies at places of worship might still prioritize this day as a personal choice.