Glossary

Luopan (罗盘)

Competence comes from training, not owning a decorative plate.

Definition

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.

How to Check

Name your earth, human, and heaven plates.
Test the needle away from steel and electronics.

Classical Basis

Rings accreted from Song–Ming onward as schools specialised.

Application

·Yang and yin houses share needles but read different rings.

Common Effects

·Bad sitting data ruins every downstream calculation.
·Phone compasses lack school rings.

Remedy Direction

Repeat readings; note magnetic declination; photo the needle location.

Caveats & Debate

Facing rules and north references vary by school.

Sources

Wikipedia: Luopan
Instrument structure and history.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luopan

Sources are for verification; schools may disagree.