The Lo Shu square
| Row | Left | Centre | Right |
|---|---|---|---|
| Top | 4 | 9 | 2 |
| Middle | 3 | 5 | 7 |
| Bottom | 8 | 1 | 6 |
Chinese legend says the pattern appeared on the shell of a turtle that came out of the Luo River in the time of Emperor Yu, around 2000 BCE. The legend cannot be dated, but the square itself is well documented in Chinese texts from the Han dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE) onward and is used in feng shui.
Make your Lo Shu grid
Enter your birth date to see your grid, the missing and repeated numbers, and which planes are complete.
How to make your grid
- Write your full date of birth as digits, for example 12-03-1990.
- Ignore any zeros.
- Write each remaining digit in its box on the square. If a digit appears twice, write it twice.
- Note which numbers are missing, which appear once, and which are repeated.
Example: born March 12, 1990
- Digits: 1, 2, 3, 1, 9, 9 (zeros ignored)
- Present: 1, 2, 3, 9
- Repeated: 1 (twice), 9 (twice)
- Missing: 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Many Lo Shu practitioners also add the Life Path number (here 7) and sometimes a "driver" number from the birth day to the grid. AngelSign’s calculator uses only the birth-date digits.
The eight planes
A plane is a full line of three boxes. A complete plane (all three numbers present) is read as a strength; an empty one as an area to develop.
| Plane | Numbers | Traditional reading |
|---|---|---|
| Mental (top row) | 4, 9, 2 | Thinking, memory and analysis |
| Emotional (middle row) | 3, 5, 7 | Feelings, intuition and creativity |
| Practical (bottom row) | 8, 1, 6 | Getting things done in the material world |
| Thought (left column) | 4, 3, 8 | Planning and ideas |
| Will (centre column) | 9, 5, 1 | Determination and persistence |
| Action (right column) | 2, 7, 6 | Putting plans into action |
| Success (diagonal) | 4, 5, 6 | Ambition and achievement |
| Property (diagonal) | 2, 5, 8 | Stability and material security |
Missing and repeated numbers
Missing numbers are read as qualities you have to work on rather than ones that come naturally. Repeated numbers are read as qualities you have in abundance, sometimes too much. Each digit carries its usual meaning; see the number meanings for details.
Number 5 sits in the centre and belongs to four planes, so many readers treat a missing 5 as the most noticeable gap.
Frequently asked questions
Why does every line add up to 15?
That is what makes it a magic square. The Lo Shu is the only 3×3 magic square using 1 to 9 once each, apart from rotations and reflections.
Are zeros counted in the Lo Shu grid?
No. Zero has no box on the square, so it is ignored.
Is Lo Shu numerology the same as Pythagorean numerology?
No. Pythagorean numerology reduces numbers to one digit; the Lo Shu grid looks at the pattern of individual digits in a birth date. Western numerologists use a different grid layout (with 1, 4 and 7 along the bottom row), so planes and "arrows" can differ between books.