Three Sha in Bazi and Date Selection

In Feng Shui, there is a concept of "Three Killings" or "Three Sha" (三煞 San-sha). This direction, which is considered unfavorable and dangerous in the current year, is usually avoided to prevent misfortunes and disasters. It is generally not recommended to build, renovate, or dig in the house or on the plot of land in the direction of the Three Sha. 

In the date selection system, Three Sha are calculated in a similar way to Three Sha in Feng Shui, but are applied differently: when we talk about Three Killings in Feng Shui, we refer to the location or direction in relation to our home. When we talk about Three Sha in date selection, it refers to the day of the Three Killings in relation to the year or the month. There are yearly and monthly Sha in this regard. Each of the days of the Three Killings is unfavorable in its own way, and neglecting this can lead to various outcomes, usually not as favorable as expected.

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Do not get scared by the word "killings," as the Chinese term "sha" is often translated. Under this term, the Chinese imply negative energies that can bring unpleasantness, but they do not necessarily mean actual killings. Moreover, there are purposes for which using Three Sha days is quite possible

How to calculate Three Sha days?

Three Sha are calculated based on combinations of three Earthly Branches. What are they? The twelve Earthly Branches, better known to us as the "animals of the Chinese zodiac," can be divided into four combinations of three branches each. The branches that belong to one group "merge" into one element that defines the entire combination. Each combination includes one main branch related to that element. For example, there is a combination of Fire (the main branch is the Horse, representing yang Fire), a combination of Wood (the main branch is the Rabbit, representing yin Wood), a combination of Metal (the main branch is the Rooster, representing yin Metal), and a combination of Water (the main branch is the Rat, representing yang Water).

Combinations of Three Earthly Branches:

Monkey 申 – Rat 子 – Dragon 辰 = Water Combination

Snake 巳 –  Rooster 酉 – Ox 丑 = Metal Combination

Tiger 寅 – Horse 午 – Dog 戌 = Fire Combination

Pig 亥 – Rabbit 卯 – Goat 未 = Wood Combination

The Three Sha always oppose the dominant element of the combination of three for the given year. For example, the Monkey, Rat, and Dragon (Shen-Zi-Chen) form the Water combination, which opposes Fire because, according to the principle of the five elements, Fire and Water are in conflict. Accordingly, the Water combination (Monkey, Rat, and Dragon) is opposed by the Fire group of Earthly Branches/animals. This group includes the animals that occupy the three southern directions in feng shui: Snake, Horse, and Goat (Si-Wu-Wei). In addition, the summer months are also the time of Fire, and these are the months of the same Snake, Horse, and Goat. In choosing dates, unlike in feng shui, we use days. That is, if the animals of the year are Rat, Dragon, or Monkey, then the Three Sha on any of these years will be the days of the Snake, Horse, and Goat.

All Four Combinations of Three Earthly Branches:

According to the principle of the five elements, another pair of conflicting elements are Wood and Metal. Therefore, in any year, the animal sign of which belongs to the Metal combination, there will be a conflict with signs of the Wood season - spring. The years of the Metal combination are the years of the Snake, Rooster, and Ox (Si-You-Chou). Therefore, the days of the Tiger, Rabbit, and Dragon (Yin-Mao-Chen) will be the Three Sha days for the years of the Snake, Rooster, and Ox.

Please note that here we use two types of grouping of Earthly Branches: the combinations of three, presented above, and the "seasonal combinations," presented below.

Seasonal Combinations of Earthly Branches:

Tiger 寅–Rabbit 卯–Dragon 辰 = Wood Season, Spring

Snake 巳–Horse 午–Goat 未 = Fire Season, Summer

Monkey 申–Rooster 酉–Dog 戌 = Metal Season, Autumn

Pig 亥–Rat 子–Ox 丑 = Water Season, Winter

For example, the year 2020 is the year of the Rat, which belongs to the Water combination along with the Monkey and the Dragon. The group opposite the Water combination is the Fire group and summer. This group includes the summer signs of Snake, Horse, and Goat. Therefore, in the year of the Rat, the Three Sha days will be the days of the Snake, Horse, and Goat. Also, in any year of the Monkey or Dragon, the Three Sha days will be the same days of the Snake, Horse, and Goat.

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In 2021, the year of the Ox belongs to the Metal combination along with the Snake and the Rooster. The Metal combination opposes the Wood group, which includes the spring animal signs. The spring group consists of the Tiger, Rabbit, and Dragon. Therefore, in the year of the Ox, the Three Sha days will be the days of the Tiger, Rabbit, and Dragon. Also, in any year of the Snake or Rooster, the Three Sha days will be the same days of the Tiger, Rabbit, and Dragon.

If you're already confused with calculating the Three Sha days, you can simply refer to the table to see which days will be considered Sha days in any given year.

In the art of selecting dates, the Three Sha represent three types of negative energy. And the days of the three animals (for example, the days of the Snake, Horse, and Goat in the Year of the Rat) are not three identical, but three different types of Sha – they are: the Sha of Robbery (劫煞), the Sha of Calamity (災煞), and the Sha of the Year (歲煞).

Either way, to calculate the days of the Three Sha, you need to know the Earthly Branches/Animals of the days, which requires knowledge of the Chinese calendar. If you haven't learned to read it yet, you can use our "Feng Shui Fortune Calendar" app , where all three types of Sha are calculated for any day.