玄
三玄堂FENG · SHUI

KNOWLEDGE BASE

Feng Shui Knowledge Base

~ Recognise the form, then reason about it ~

Each entry includes definition, classical basis, self-checks, application steps, caveats, sources, and cross-links. English coverage is growing; core sha and position entries are available in English.

24 entries

Featured

Qi in Feng Shui

Qi in feng shui denotes the perceived flow, gathering, and quality of environmental influence—not a single measurable gas. Form School asks whether terrain and layout ‘store’ qi; Compass School times qi with stars and directions.

Three Cycles Nine Periods (三元九运)

San Yuan divides history into nine 20-year ‘periods’ with a ruling star entering the central palace. Period 9 runs 2024–2043 with purple star 9 on centre, shifting which stars are timely for construction and renovation.

Recently updated

Fundamentals6

Qi in Feng Shui

Qi in feng shui denotes the perceived flow, gathering, and quality of environmental influence—not a single measurable gas. Form School asks whether terrain and layout ‘store’ qi; Compass School times qi with stars and directions.

Yin and Yang in Feng Shui

Yin–yang pairs structure feng shui judgments: sitting vs facing, dark vs bright, still vs active zones. Balance—not maximal yang—guides bedroom quiet and lively living areas.

Form School (形势派)

Form School (峦头/形势) reads visible landforms, roads, and building shapes—dragons, sand hills, water mouths, and sha forms. It prioritises what the body can see over computed stars.

Compass School (理气派)

Compass School calculates qi using luopan bearings, time cycles, and star matrices—Eight Mansions, San He water methods, and Xuan Kong flying stars are major branches.

Three Cycles Nine Periods (三元九运)

San Yuan divides history into nine 20-year ‘periods’ with a ruling star entering the central palace. Period 9 runs 2024–2043 with purple star 9 on centre, shifting which stars are timely for construction and renovation.

Personal Kua (命卦)

Ming gua (personal Kua) derives from birth year (gender-specific formulas in classical tables) yielding an East or West group and four favourable directions for sleeping, working, and door facing preferences in Eight Mansions practice.

Compass Schools2

Xuan Kong Flying Stars

Xuan Kong flying stars overlay period, sitting, and facing stars across nine palaces, then add annual/monthly layers. Practitioners judge mountain vs water star combinations per palace for sleep, doors, and stoves.

Eight Mansions Method

Eight Mansions pairs house gua with personal Kua to classify eight directions into lucky or unlucky sets. Door, bed, and stove should favour sheng qi, tian yi, yan nian, or fu wei sectors per school rules.

Sha Formations3

Through-Hall Sha (穿堂煞)

Through-hall sha occurs when the front door and a rear window or balcony align on one straight line, so incoming air rushes out without circulating. Form School texts describe this as ‘leaking qi,’ symbolically linked to difficulty retaining wealth and stable rest.

Wall Blade Sha (壁刀煞)

Wall blade sha names a neighbour’s wall edge, corner, or narrow building flank that points at your door or window like a cutting blade. Distance, angle, and height determine how strongly practitioners read the form.

Door Opening to Toilet

This pattern places the toilet room immediately visible—or directly opposite—the main entrance. Practitioners worry that ‘unclean’ qi meets incoming qi, affecting first impressions and health symbolism.

Auspicious Positions2

Wealth Position (财位)

Wealth position names sectors thought to gather or stabilise resources. Form School often cites the living room’s diagonal corner from the entry; flying-star methods locate the house’s timely prosperous star instead.

Wenchang Study Position

Wenchang positions favour study, exams, and focused work. Eight Mansions, annual stars, and personal Kua each offer different formulas; the label is not a single fixed corner.

Residential Spaces4

Main Door (大门)

The main door is the primary qi mouth in most yang-dwelling methods—where path qi meets house qi. Its direction, clarity, and protection set tone for Form and Compass analyses.

Bedroom Layout

Bedroom feng shui focuses on bed position: solid headboard support, avoiding door rush and overhead beams, and harmonising personal Kua or star palaces used for sleep.

Kitchen Placement

Kitchens carry fire symbolism and practical exhaust needs. Classical texts pair stove with door and bed; flying-star schools judge fire at the stove palace against timely stars.

Bathroom (浴室)

Bathrooms symbolise drainage and ‘unclean’ qi in folk feng shui, so placement away from centre, kitchen, and main door is preferred. Modern focus includes moisture control and fan performance.

Directional Concepts1

Northwest Missing Corner

A floor plan ‘missing’ the northwest sector (Qian trigram) shows an inward notch or absence of usable space in that compass slice. Bagua overlays map this zone to patriarch, mentors, and decision-making symbolism.

Glossary6

Lo Shu (洛书)

The Lo Shu is the 3×3 square of numbers 1–9 with 5 in the centre, rhymed as ‘nine on the head, one on the foot.’ Flying-star practice maps stars and palaces onto this grid.

Luopan (罗盘)

The luopan is the feng shui compass: a needle in the central pool and rings for twenty-four mountains and school-specific formulas. San He and Xuan Kong plates differ—buy the plate your teacher uses.

Flying Stars (飞星)

Flying stars are nine named stars flown across the Lo Shu grid by construction period and sitting/facing. Charts stack period, mountain, and facing layers, then add annual stars for timing.

Eight Mansions (八宅)

Eight Mansions sorts houses and people into East or West life groups, then labels eight directions as four favourable (Sheng Qi, Yan Nian, Tian Yi, Fu Wei) and four unfavourable. The map stays fixed unlike flying-star period changes.

Form School (形势派)

Form School (峦头派) judges feng shui from visible landforms, roads, water, and building outlines. Practitioners talk about dragon veins, protective sand, water mouths, and form sha such as road rush or sky-crack gaps between towers.

Compass School (理气派)

Compass School (理气) uses luopan bearings, cycles, and star grids—Eight Mansions, San He water methods, Xuan Kong flying stars—to score directions. It pairs with Form School rather than replacing it.