Frequently asked questions
Three ways into the studio. Each works a little differently.
The city reading
What is a city reading?
A city reading is the studio's main piece. You give your birth moment, where you live now, what you are after and which countries you would consider; four traditions (Four Pillars with the Eight Mansions compass, Jyotish, your Sun sign and Western planetary lines) read your chart against every city in that range and name the six that suit you, each with a card that says why. The first city is free with its full card. A one-time purchase names the other five and opens the full report: every card, the map lines, the ranking and how steady each city is across your birth-time range, plus the report as a PDF by email. It is one fixed result for the details you gave: for insight, for fun and, in times like these, for a little comfort and support; not a forecast, and not a substitute for medical, mental-health or legal advice.
What does the free preview show?
Your first city with its full card, and the other five as lights on the globe with their distance and direction from it. Names stay sealed until you unlock the reading, which opens them all at once. An empty result shows its explanation and cannot be purchased.
What does a purchase unlock?
Everything, without waiting: up to six city cards, current-city context if supplied, and the full report with map lines, ranking and stability across your birth-time range. You also get the report as a PDF by email, and a picture of all your cities to share. It is one fixed result for the details you submitted, not unlimited recalculation.
Do I pay again when I come back?
No. One purchase unlocks one reading: the birth details and the question you submitted. Sign in with the same email on any device and it is in My readings. Filling in exactly the same details again brings back the same reading at no charge, and switching between English and Chinese does not change it. Any change starts a new reading with its own purchase: the birth date, time, place or gender, how sure you are of the time (its source or the minutes either side), your goal, the countries you chose or left out, or your current city. Every new reading shows its first city free, so you see what you would unlock before you pay.
Why are there fewer than six cities?
Country filters and the grouping of nearby cities or repeated themes can shorten the list. We keep your constraints and show the explanation instead of filling the gaps.
Can I get a refund?
Unlocking opens the full map straight away, so all sales are final and we do not offer refunds. That is why your first city is free, with its full card: you can see how the reading speaks to you before you pay. If a payment is reversed through your bank, the full map closes again.
How do I get back to my readings, and who else can see them?
Your email is the key to your readings. When you cast, we email you a 6-digit code and a link. Type the code on the page where you asked, or open the link in that same browser; each works once and expires after 15 minutes. If they expire, just send a new email, up to five an hour. Signing in keeps this browser signed in for 30 days. On another device, open My readings, enter the same email and type the new code there. Anyone who can open your inbox can open your readings, so log out from My readings on a shared computer.
Does a city reading tell me what will happen?
It is not a prediction. It compares symbolic themes, not measured relocation outcomes. It does not assess visas, costs, safety or jobs, and is not a reason on its own to move.
Take it home
What is in the studio shop?
A 17-page BaZi (Four Pillars) reading of your chart; a calligraphy print of your eight characters; a newborn birth print; and the 2027 Astro Calendar. The readings and prints are made to order from your birth details; the calendar is an instant download. All are separate Etsy orders.
What is on the two prints?
The Calligraphy Print sets your eight characters in brush script, mounted like a scroll, with your lunar date, hour, year sound and the animal of your year. The Newborn Birth Print is a keepsake of a birth: the animal of the year, the four pillars, the Moon that night and the sky of that day, with room for a photo. Both come as print-ready PDFs in six sizes.
What details and delivery time should I expect?
Type the birth date, time (or "unknown") and birthplace in the boxes at checkout. Without a birth time, the reading and prints are made from the three pillars that do not depend on the hour. Your files are ready in your Etsy order within 24 hours. Gifts are welcome.
What is your Etsy refund policy?
Etsy handles these sales. Instant downloads follow Etsy's digital download policy. Readings and prints are made for one person, so we cannot offer returns; if a birth detail was entered wrongly, message us on Etsy and we will redo it.
How is my information protected?
Etsy processes studio orders. Birth details for readings and prints are used solely for chart calculation and order fulfillment, and retained only as needed to fulfill the order. The AI services that help write a reading receive the calculated chart only: no name, no birthplace, no photo. Nothing else is shared with third parties. For site readings, the calculation service holds birth data; browser storage keeps no birth data, emails or tokens.
Instant download
What is in the 2027 Astro Calendar?
One page a month: the Moon's phase and sign every day; new, full and quarter moons; eclipses; every planet's stations and retrograde periods; the Sun, Moon and planets entering each sign; perigees and apogees. Every time exact to the minute, in Eastern Time on the PDF and in your own zone in the .ics file.
When do I receive my download?
The calendar is available immediately after purchase on Etsy. Readings and prints are ready in your Etsy order within 24 hours. These are digital files; nothing is shipped.
Filling in the form
The start page, step by step. If something here doesn't answer your question, write to us at support@zylotechnology.com and we'll help.
What do I need before I start?
A few minutes and these details: your birth date; the time you were born, and where that time comes from; the town or city you were born in; where you live now; and which countries you'd like to compare. Before the form, we check your email: we send a 6-digit code to an address you can open right away, and once it's checked, this browser stays signed in for 30 days. The form has four steps, and you can go back and change anything until you send it.
I only know my birthday in the Chinese lunar calendar. What should I do?
The form needs the everyday (solar) date as it was where you were born, so a lunar birthday has to be converted first. The easiest way is to tell the helper on the start page, for example "lunar calendar, 1960, first month, first day". It converts the date for you, and if that month came twice that year, it asks whether you were born in the leap one. You can also look it up with any lunar-to-solar converter and type in the result.
What if my birth time is unknown?
A city reading needs a birth time you trust to within 30 minutes. Good places to look: a birth certificate or hospital record, family papers, or a parent or relative who remembers. If you only know it roughly, that's fine. Put in your closest guess, say where it came from, and choose how far off it could be, up to 30 minutes either way; we take that whole stretch of time into account. If all you know is a two-hour shichen, or "some time in the morning", that's too wide for a city reading, and we won't fill in a time for you. Come back whenever you've found it. Our BaZi Reading on Etsy can be made without a birth time, from the three pillars that don't depend on the hour.
My birthplace doesn't come up in the search. What now?
Type the name and give it a second: matches appear as you type, and you tap the right one. If nothing comes up, try the full official name, add the province, state or country (for example "Ezhou, Hubei"), write it in English or Chinese, or check the spelling. For a village or a small town, picking the nearest town that does come up is fine; a few kilometres make almost no difference to the chart. Still stuck? Write to support@zylotechnology.com with the place name and we'll look it up.
Why does the form ask how I describe myself?
Two of the Chinese methods in the reading, the ten-year luck cycles and the life gua, are worked out one way for men and another for women. Your answer only decides which of those two lines your chart follows. It isn't scored, and it stays in your browser. If you choose non-binary, intersex, another way or prefer not to say, you pick the line yourself; both give a complete reading.
How do I fill in where I live and which countries to compare?
First choose the country or region you live in now. The list only has places our city library covers; if yours isn't there yet, we can't do a reading for it for now. Then, if you like, add up to three more countries or regions to compare. Every city in them and in your own country goes into the reading, up to 300 in all, so if the page says the scope is too big, drop a country or pick a smaller one. Last comes your current city, which you can skip. If you add it, your reading compares each city with where you are now. Type the full name; a small place is matched to the nearest city in our library within 25 km, and if there isn't one that close, just skip it.
What if the email with my code doesn't arrive?
Give it a minute or two, then look in your spam, junk or promotions folder, and check the email address for typos. If it still isn't there, send a new one; you can do that up to five times an hour. Each code works once and runs out after 15 minutes, so use the one in the newest email. If nothing ever comes, write to support@zylotechnology.com and tell us the address you used.
Can I fill it in for a parent or someone else?
Yes, with their agreement. Enter their birth details and an email you can open. The reading is kept under that email, and anyone who can open the inbox can see it. If you do readings for several family members under your own email, they all wait in your My readings; one email can hold only so many people, and the page tells you if you reach the limit.
What is the helper on the start page, and what if it's offline?
It's a chat box at the bottom right of the start page that fills in the form with you. It's handy if forms aren't your thing, or if you're filling one in for a parent. You can give everything in one go, like "born March 2, 1985, 8:20 in the morning, in Guangzhou", and it asks only for what's missing. Before anything goes into the form, it shows you what it has so you can check. What you type there stays with us and isn't sent to any AI company. The helper runs on a computer of our own, so now and then it's offline for maintenance. The form works just the same without it: this guide covers every step, and you can always write to support@zylotechnology.com.
Still stuck? How do I reach you?
Write to support@zylotechnology.com, or leave a message on the Contact page. Tell us which page you were on and what you saw; a screenshot helps a lot. We read every message and reply by email.
This site provides general information for reflection. We make no representations or warranties about its completeness, reliability or suitability.