Mewa (Tibetan མེ་བ, me ba — "birthmark", "mark of birth") is the Tibetan system of nine magic numbers, based on the Lo Shu square (洛書).

Each year a number. Each year of birth corresponds to a number from 1 to 9, defining the element and basic character of the personality.

The 9 Mewa Numbers and Their Correspondences

• 1 White — Water, center
• 2 Black — Water, southwest
• 3 Blue — Water, east
• 4 Green — Wood, southeast
• 5 Yellow — Earth, center
• 6 White — Metal, northwest
• 7 Red — Fire, west
• 8 White — Metal, northeast
• 9 Red — Fire, south

A Special Cycle

Reverse count. The Mewa cycle is reversed: numbers run from 9 to 1, then back to 9. This distinguishes Mewa from the usual progressive cycles.

Calculation for Men and Women

• Men — subtraction of the sum of digits of the year from a constant
• Women — addition

Combining Systems

Mewa + Parkha + elements. Mewa is used together with Parkha (སྤར་ཁ, the 8 trigrams) and elemental analysis, creating a three-dimensional natal model of Tibetan astrology.

The Japanese Analog

Nine Star Ki. The Japanese Nine Star Ki system (#24) uses an analogous set of numbers, but with a different geometry and an emphasis on the "flight of the stars" through time.