What if my date of birth has lots of zeros?

Zeros are simply skipped, since the grid has no box for them. It does mean a date like 02-01-2000 produces a very sparse grid with many missing numbers, which is normal for people born in the 2000s.

Is the Lo Shu Grid the same as the Vedic grid?

They use the same idea with a different layout. The Lo Shu arrangement is Chinese and puts 5 in the centre. The Vedic version arranges the numbers differently and reads them through planetary rulers. The app includes both.

Are missing numbers a bad sign?

No. Almost everyone has several, and people born after 2000 have more of them for arithmetic reasons alone. A missing number points to something you develop through effort rather than something you were handed.

Lo Shu Grid: How to Make Yours and How to Read It

The Lo Shu Grid is one of the oldest tools in this whole field. The story goes that the pattern appeared on the shell of a turtle emerging from the Lo river in China, arranged so that every row, column and diagonal added up to fifteen. That arrangement became the grid.

In practice it is a very readable snapshot. You drop the digits of your date of birth into fixed positions, and within a minute you can see which energies you have plenty of, which you have too much of, and which you do not have at all.

How to calculate your Lo Shu Grid

The positions never move. You are only filling in the numbers you actually have.

1
Draw a three by three square.
2
The positions are fixed: top row is 4, 9, 2. Middle row is 3, 5, 7. Bottom row is 8, 1, 6.
3
Write out every digit of your full date of birth, using the day, month and four digit year.
4
Place each digit in its matching box. If a digit appears three times, write it three times.
5
Zeros are ignored, because there is no box for zero.
6
Any box left empty is a missing number.

Example for 05-03-1990

Digits: 0, 5, 0, 3, 1, 9, 9, 0
Zeros dropped, leaving: 5, 3, 1, 9, 9
Box 5 gets one 5. Box 3 gets one 3. Box 1 gets one 1. Box 9 gets two 9s.
Boxes 2, 4, 6, 7 and 8 stay empty

Missing numbers 2, 4, 6, 7 and 8

Some traditions add your Birth Number and Life Path Number into the grid as extra digits. The app shows the plain date of birth grid, which is the most common version.

The three planes

Read the grid in lines and it starts saying more. The horizontal rows are called the planes. The top row of 4, 9 and 2 is the mental plane, covering thought, memory and planning. The middle row of 3, 5 and 7 is the emotional plane, covering feeling, balance and intuition. The bottom row of 8, 1 and 6 is the practical plane, covering action, doing and physical results.

A complete row is a strong plane. Someone with a full mental plane thinks their way through everything, sometimes to the point of never acting. Someone with a full practical plane gets things done and may not stop to ask whether they should.

An empty row is more noticeable than a full one. A missing practical plane usually shows up as good ideas that never leave the notebook.

The vertical columns

The columns work the same way. The left column of 4, 3 and 8 is the plane of thought turned into order and planning. The middle column of 9, 5 and 1 is the plane of will, covering drive and determination. The right column of 2, 7 and 6 is the plane of action, covering how things actually get finished.

The two diagonals, 4-5-6 and 2-5-8, are read as the planes of determination and compassion. Because 5 sits in the centre of both, people with a 5 in their date of birth tend to have more balance across the whole grid.

Repeated numbers

A number appearing twice usually strengthens the trait. Three or more times often flips it into excess. Two 1s can look like clear communication. Four 1s can look like someone who cannot stop talking about themselves.

This is where the grid is more useful than a single number reading. It shows quantity, not just presence, and quantity is where most of the practical advice lives.

Arrows in the grid

When a full row, column or diagonal is filled, numerologists call it an arrow of strength. When one is completely empty, it is an arrow of weakness, sometimes called a missing arrow.

Arrows of weakness are not a sentence. They point to a skill that did not come free and has to be built deliberately. Most people can name theirs immediately once it is described to them.

Questions about the Lo Shu Grid

What if my date of birth has lots of zeros?
Zeros are simply skipped, since the grid has no box for them. It does mean a date like 02-01-2000 produces a very sparse grid with many missing numbers, which is normal for people born in the 2000s.
Is the Lo Shu Grid the same as the Vedic grid?
They use the same idea with a different layout. The Lo Shu arrangement is Chinese and puts 5 in the centre. The Vedic version arranges the numbers differently and reads them through planetary rulers. The app includes both.
Are missing numbers a bad sign?
No. Almost everyone has several, and people born after 2000 have more of them for arithmetic reasons alone. A missing number points to something you develop through effort rather than something you were handed.

Lo Shu Grid