In the classical approach of feng shui we can establish two basic work streams, firstly the study of landscape with its many elements and forms and on the other hand, the mathematical aspects that do order them in time and space, where the knowledge of the directions and the terrestral magnetism is fundamental. Obviously, the tool we need to find the space direction of a building is a compass, subject of this article.
The invention of the compass is attributed to the Chinese as well as feng shui. In some texts, the legend is mentioned that the Chinese emperor Huang-ti used the basic properties of the compass to guide his troops in a battle where the invisibility was caused by the fog around the year (2634 BC).
Reading: Feng shui compass directions
The subsequent rediscovery of the compass in the west was indeed a great leap that served the epic journeys of mankind.
Using a compass is not very complex, although we must take into account some considerations to make reliable measurements. For example, if we are going to measure the front of a house, we will need to take several readings in most cases. If we go out to the balcony of the house and write down the notes indicated by the compass without other measurements, it is possible that you will end up with incorrect data, we will talk about that later.
many people who approach feng shui, and in particular the popular systems that use the compass either ba zhai or xuan kong, want to quickly build their geomantic chart. We have made this article to have a basic understanding of the measurement process where we will discuss the common types of compasses, the recommended steps for measurements and the recording of data within a table of bearings.
1.- common types of compass
a) with a magnetic needle
A first type bases its function on a “magnetic needle” generally divided into two colors, the standard in the West is red pointing north and black pointing south (magnetic poles). in addition to the needle there is a rotating ring that rotates 360 degrees and is manually adjusted to obtain a degree reference. the luo pan or traditional Chinese compass is an example of this system. Some Chinese compasses, unlike Western ones, use the white color of the needle to point north and red to point south.
The following photos show the steps to obtain a reading through a common compass of this type. You can find similar models in most sports stores.
example of use:
b) magnetic disk
The second type of compass incorporates instead of a needle a rotating magnetic disk with the degrees listed in this document. in this system, subsequent adjustments of the needle in reference to an outer ring are prevented, which provides some comfort. you just have to direct the compass to a specific position and wait for the moving ring to remain static and then read the degrees. this system can be found in situations where manual adjustment is not practical such as on airplanes, boats, automobiles, etc. /p>
c) the luo pan: traditional compass used in feng shui.
The luo pan or (lo’pan) uses the moving needle and an external plate full of information that is manually adjusted. this compass usually has 2 strings that cut the plate into 4 sections accurately indicating the simultaneous reading of the front, seat and both side positions as the 4 feng shui protective animals. there are different types of lo’pan that differ mainly in the type of rings they incorporate, we can find traditional models designed for the san yuan branch, san he, as well as specially elaborated for the preferences of some teachers in particular.
We can see that besides the central magnetic needle there are also several concentric rings filled with information. On them are written dispositions like the 8 trigrams, the 8 directions, the 24 directions or mountains, astrological data as the 28 constellations, the celestial trunks, the earthly branches, and many other concepts that are applied to the art of feng shui.
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Some of the informational rings on the traditional luo pan are used in the “yin” field of feng shui, which is geared towards burials and grave locating. today most teachers focus their study on the “yang” field also known as the study of the dwelling of the living, such as houses, shops, etc.
In addition to the previous analog compasses, today we have digital compasses that offer a quick reading, but if we go out to remote and inhospitable places with the classic compass, we have the advantage of always having power available!.
2.- What compass should I buy?
In previous lines we have given examples of several compasses in ascending order, from an affordable one with a moving needle, through a medium-sized model with a rotating disc, until finally reaching the luo pan. If you want to buy a compass that gives you some guarantees for reading, these are some details to keep in mind:
If you want to buy a lo’pan it is also advisable to observe issues such as the exact alignment of the threads that cut the plate, checking their parallelism in the sections (north-south or 0-180 degrees as well as east and west or 90-270 degrees), it should also be noted that the plate rotates safely and it is vital that the internal needle is of quality. these final questions are the most important in relation to accuracy. for western compasses, look for a brand of proven quality and clarity in the assessment of degrees.
A small investment in a quality compass is well worth it, as ultimately its accuracy and proper use can make the difference between a correct or incorrect feng shui chart.
3.- the basic theory of the cardinal points.
The common compass is divided into 360 degrees. What if we want to know the degrees occupied by the 4 basic directions? We only have to divide 360 degrees into 4 parts with which we obtain the result that north, south, east and west are in a 90 degree section. North would fall on this scale from 315 to 45 degrees, East from 45 to 135 degrees, South from 135 to 225 degrees, and West from 225 to 315 degrees. taking a more precise scale, as with the 8 basic sections 360 divided by 8, that is 45 degrees to each subdirection. consider the calculated table below.
note that here north does not end at 45 degrees but at 22.5, this is the result of dividing absolute north (360 degrees) into 2 parts by dividing 22.5 degrees on each side. north is on the 8-part scale from 337.5 degrees to 22.5. the other directions are calculated consecutively at 45 degree intervals.
the 24 directions or mountains:
The 24 mountains result from dividing 360 degrees into 24 points. thus we have 24 sections of 15 degrees each. here the 8 basic addresses are further divided into three ranges, thus we have south 1, south 2, south 3, north 1, north 2, north 3, or nw1, nw2, nw3, etc. The 24 mountains are used for advanced readings using the xuan kong feng shui system. the table of 8 directions is used in the simplified east/west system or the ba zhai branch (8 houses).
The following table shows the precalculated ranges of the 24 mountains:
4.- lining and seat of a construction
Now we have an idea of the most common types of compass and how to order the reading information, now we need to locate a reference that serves as an analysis in feng shui. the most common reference point for measurement is the main wall.
in feng shui we believe that the wall of a building is the most relevant area through which qi or energy enters a space. for example, in an apartment or apartment in a city it is common to find the front located in the most important windows of a room, on the balcony that overlooks a main street or in the area with the best views, while the entrance door can be in full directional reference. therefore, the common mistake of unequivocally associating the main entrance door with the wall should be avoided, although this condition is usually found in most classical buildings and rural areas.
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In feng shui, the front or “front” is more technically expressed as the most yang part of the house, bright or activated where qi is channeled into the house. the path of qi to the dwelling is provided by both openness and the absence of obstacles. the seat is considered as the opposite side of the facing. this also marks the types of housing in some feng shui systems.
5.- reading process
once we have located the place of reading (the wall in the example) we have to proceed to locate ourselves correctly to take the degrees of the wall.
Imagine that the front of the house that we are going to study is oriented to the sea (the space of the largest views, big windows, movement, etc.). To make the measurement we will locate our back parallel to the front and our face looking to the sea.
In the photographic composition that we have made, we can perfectly visualize our physical position to take the reading where we adjust our compass or luo pan to read the facing information.
don’t forget to take the necessary precautions to ensure a reliable reading, in the next paragraph are some final instructions for the process.
6.- caution for readings
Something very common when you start to take data with the compass is to take the readings inside a house as correct without realizing that they can become completely wrong. the main reasons are due to magnetic disturbances in the modern world, be it from nearby metallic elements or structural elements such as beams, pipes, cables or even electromagnetic pollution. it is advisable to go outside and take several external landmarks along the façade. sometimes, in addition to reading the façade, the seat or back of the construction must be compared, verifying that both sides (front and seat) maintain adequate relationships. for example, if we have a reading of 90 degrees east on the front, on the seats our reading should be around 270 degrees west.
if we do not take the necessary precautions we can make an inaccurate reading and this would ruin the mathematical formulas used in the analysis and correction of a geomantic chart. avoid measurements with “important” metallic ornaments on your body or very close to cars, lampposts or elements that do fluctuate a compass, do not place it on the ground either, since there are often underground elements that alter magnetism.
7.- help to calculate the letter of the stars
If we have to perform a remote query, we must ensure that the reading process has been carried out thoroughly and correctly, since there is also a high risk of working with erroneous values.
once you have finished reading, the next step is to prepare the geomantic chart. We offer you the free numerology feng shui 3.16 help software to help you perform calculations for the construction and analysis of a xuan kong fei xing chart.
The program shows each of the 24 mountains and their relationship to each magnetic section of the compass, the house trigram, time, mountain and water stars, as well as the visiting stars of the year, month and the star of the times we can see the different special cases by color ads found in the different xuan kong charts.
Finally, you can save and restore the information, which also allows you to create and maintain your own visual styles.
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