Start with the record
Use the recorded birth date and local clock time. Check whether the source uses the Gregorian or lunar calendar; do not silently convert a date twice. If the time is uncertain, keep it uncertain rather than choosing a convenient hour. A chart calculated from a placeholder hour cannot establish a person's actual palaces or stars.
Choose the actual birthplace
Select the place of birth, not your current location. An IP-based default is only a convenience. Historical time zones and daylight saving can affect the conversion from local time to UTC. Where a local time occurs twice or does not exist, resolve that ambiguity before continuing.
Understand the solar-time option
The optional apparent solar-time correction uses the selected location's longitude and the equation of time. Outside the fixed Beijing-time convention, first resolve the birth date's historical time zone. Latitude helps identify a place but is not the longitude correction. Do not enable a correction merely to obtain a preferred result.
Save the conditions
Record the date, time uncertainty, selected place and calculation settings alongside the chart. These make later comparisons useful. Traditional interpretation is distinct from the calculated chart and should not be presented as a guaranteed prediction.
Open the Zi Wei chart to check the input. Explore the Metaphysics Center for terminology.