The Grid of Nine

What is the Lo Shu grid?

The Lo Shu grid is an old Chinese square of nine numbers, arranged so that every row, every column and both diagonals add up to fifteen. The story goes that it appeared on the back of a turtle rising from the Lo river. In numerology, your date of birth is placed on this square, and it shows which numbers you carry, which you carry more than once, and which are missing.

How your date of birth fills the grid

Each digit of your full date of birth takes its own place on the square: 4, 9 and 2 along the top, 3, 5 and 7 across the middle, 8, 1 and 6 along the bottom. Zeros are left out. A number that appears twice in your date sits in its place twice.

Two more numbers are added to the reading. Your driver number comes from the day you were born, and your life path number comes from your whole date of birth, each reduced to a single digit. The Grid of Nine places all of these for you above.

What each number holds

• 1Your voice, and your sense of standing on your own.
• 2Intuition, and how deeply you feel other people.
• 3Imagination, learning and the wish to understand.
• 4Order, steady work and building things piece by piece.
• 5Your centre: balance, freedom and finding your own ground.
• 6Home, care and the people you look after.
• 7Inner learning, and what life teaches you through loss.
• 8Patience, effort, and how money and results come to you.
• 9Courage, and the strength to act and to give.

Missing numbers and repeated numbers

A missing number is a quiet place in you, and often the place where life keeps asking you to grow. A missing 1 can make it hard to say what you feel. A missing 5 can leave you pulled between people and choices. A missing 8 can make waiting feel unbearable.

A number that appears several times is strong in you. Sometimes it is strong enough to tip into too much: three or more 1s can make it hard to let others in, and many 2s can make you take on everyone’s moods.

The lines across your grid

When all three numbers of a row, column or diagonal are present, they form a line, and each line carries its own strength. 4, 9 and 2 together give a clear, planning mind. 3, 5 and 7 bring emotional depth and the strength to hold it. 8, 1 and 6 give the ability to turn plans into something real.

A few questions