How to Find Facing and Sitting in Fengshui

7/29/2019 How to Find Facing and Sitting in Fengshui

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- Classical Chinese Feng Shui -

- How to find Facing and Sitting in Feng Shui -

Explorations with Heluo

Explorations with Heluo is a series of articles by Heluo on the subject of Time, Space and Destiny

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Determining Facing and Sitting DirectionsIn Xuan Kong Flying Star Feng Shui (Xuan Kong Fei Xing) and before we can arriveto the Flying Star chart, we need establish the Facing side Facing Palace - of thebuilt structure. This article is an attempt to cover the subject, especially forbeginners or those confused over the subject, but the article covers much more.

Prior to your Xuan Kong Fei Xing Feng Shui survey, you need accurately determinethe Facing side of the built structure. The Facing Palace can be either one of theeight 45 degree sectors of your built structure. It is critical that absolute accuracybe employed in this determination. However, no matter how many rules orguidelines there are to follow, it may go either way: it may happen that youdetermine the Facing in a split second, it may also happen that, no matter how wellyou weigh the many different factors you learnt, it may sometimes seem virtuallyimpossible to assign one of the walls the Facing. This is true for beginners, but restassured, this is true also for whomever is in whichever stage of profoundness.

No any one article on the subject will be ever able to substitute what must by far bethe best way to learn how to determine Facing, formal training and be at the side of

a living teacher (only a teacher can correct you and tell you how off your decisionsare, which is a healthy way of learning the right path). Nevertheless, nothing keepsus from showing at least some of the more persistent ins and outs, if only becausenot all of us are able to attend class, but we still wish to be able to assess our Feng

Shui situation and proceed. To help you proceed is at the aim of this article.

This article then is an attempt to assist you in assessing principles of Facing, Sittingand Ming Tang (Bright Hall) in the correct manner. Deciding the Facing of a buildingcan become and will remain a complex issue, so if it gives you trouble, at least youwill know you are not by yourself. Just know for now that alwaysjust only one sidewill be the correct Facing side. The rest is your practise, your skill, your experienceand one or two clues hopefully rendered by this article.

Ultimately, any built structure will produce one decisive Facing side only. Still, thereare a number of considerations to include in your assessment that may keep you

busy.

This article is an attempt to approach the subject and give you tools in order foryou to become proficient at the task of finding Facing and Sitting. Again, dont getdisillusioned as you can rest assured that even the masters need work very careful

on this account, since finding the Facing will remain a challenge throughout yourpractise.

Remember always that we are assessing Qi and Qi is its own man, so to speak.Rest assured that Qi will not follow any of our brain expectations. See, any and allin Oriental Metaphysics is based in paradox. If you cannot handle or accept paradox,you may have difficulty finding the Facing, because most but not all of this subjectwill make sense. The moment you decided the Facing, someone may tell you itwas wrong for that and that reason, while you firmly believed you had followed

directions and rules in their prescribed way.

Most of us can handle this fine, as our brain and spine feel most comfortable here:

If from A comes B, then from B must come C.

You shall have to get adjusted to this (and by the time this is done, for most of us a

lot of water will have crossed the dyke, as we say in the Netherlands) in order to be

able to handle anything in metaphysics, starting with the Facing issues:

If from A comes B, then from B may just as well come Y.


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Before we can arrive to the correct Flying Star chart for a built structure, a compassreading needs to be taken at the Facing side, at the Facing Palace. You can sufficewith using a normal Western compass for as long as it shows accurate degrees.

But things can become a little tricky sometimes, because we need to first decidehow to define Facing side. Also, what to do if you found the correct Facing, but it is

either in a different location than the architectural front the faade -, or the lay-out of the interior does not seem to match the situation. What about apartmentunits. We will be looking into this also.

We will take you on a journey on Facing, Sitting, Ming Tang and lay-out of activerooms. By the time you read this article a couple of times, we hope things becamea little more transparent. If you are running around your house and feeldisheartened, just drop the matter for a day, go over all details concerning Facingand Sitting once more and try again the next day. All will fall into place.

We look for a clean compass reading, rather than magnetic distortion. Therefore,the compass reading must be always taken outside the built structure. Compass

readings taken from inside a building will be inaccurate due to the influences ofmetallic objects, electrical wiring, metal water pipes, ceiling pressure and variousother factors. Even compass readings taken outside may sometimes be inaccuratedue to certain presences uderneath the soil, e.g. rocks, water, metal, voids.

Even some masters today still take a compass reading from inside the building,

which is pertinently wrong when it is our objective to read a houses orientation tomagnetic North. Some stand in the center of the house, draw an imaginary linefrom the center of the house to the center of the main door to take a compassreading and call the result Facing.

Likewise, taking a compass reading from the location or even the orientation - of

the main entrance, even when done outside, is not proper Xuan Kong Fei Xing FengShui and this may not lead to the correct Flying Star chart.

In order to determine the Facing, you will be working with several considerations allat the same time. Where three factors may then imply a certain Facing, just oneother decisive factor may yet have you decide otherwise and here is why thematter can become complex. However, we are not weighing quantities, we areobserving Qi. Weighing all considerations along with some of your experience, will

eventually lead you into correct assessment.

A detailed and logical analysis is required to determine the Facing and Sitting ofyour building. The Facing direction may or may not be at the architectural front ofyour house. Then also, even if you correctly located the Facing of your house, youmay perhaps not find the door in the same 45 degrees directional Palace.

Facing is determined by several different factors that must be considered andweighed simultaneously. Correct determination of Facing is absolutely critical

because all of your assessments and adjustments pertain to this. DeterminingFacing can be the most easy part of your survey, it can also be the most

challenging part.

For some modern houses it is difficult to determine Facing and Sitting. Always keepin mind that most structures have one Facing side and one Sitting side only. Thisrule may become more flexible when auditing apartments or business complexes,

which will be discussed further down. Usually, and for a normal house, all floors will

have identical Facings. However, some modern houses may be rented out inseparate floors.


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It is possible that each floor then has its own Facing, although you may of coursenot decide this being the case too easily.

One method to determine Facing and Sitting is to first determine which sides arenot the Facing. Here, with four walls, we try to first rule out at least two of them,most of the time these being the side walls. Mostly this is an easy task.

It is said in one of the ancient Feng Shui Classics, that if we cannot find theMountain Dragon, we look for the Water Dragon. Then, once the Water Dragon isfound, we know where the Mountain Dragon is.

This is because in its most basic definition, Facing is the side of the built structurethat receives most Yang Qi.

The Water Dragon is active, mobile and Yang, it is linked to the side of a builtstructure which invites the most Yang energy. It is mostly into the direction of openspace, with doors and windows allowing Qi and human traffic be transported intothe house.

The Mountain Dragon is passive, accumulative and Yin, it is the side of a builtstructure which is most supported, most tranquil.

For a built structure that is well supported at the back and to the sides, the WaterDragon approaches the built structure from the front - where we find thearchitectural facade - and this then becomes the Facing Side. In case of Yang Zhai(buildings) and Xuan Kong Fei Xing Feng Shui, the Mountain Dragon then sits at thearchitectural back exactly 180 degrees opposite Facing - and this then becomes

the Sitting side.

This is to explain that for Xuan Kong Fei Xing, the Facing and Sitting will be always

180 degrees away to one another. All examples shown here have their Facing intothe indicated direction, their Sitting side to be located at 180 degrees away from

this direction.

We define the Facing as the side of a built structure where the building receivesmost Yang Qi. In order to determine the most Yang side, we need first examinesome of the basic terminologies pertinent to Feng Shui.

More often than not, what will eventually lead you to decide on the correct Facingside and where to locate the external Ming Tang, will be a combination of manydifferent considerations not any one single feature. Taking all theseconsiderations together, may help you to build up a firm understanding of Facingand Sitting.

If you approach the doctrine of Facing, just as is true for your approach of anythingin Metaphysics, here is a strong suggestion:

Take two steps back to take in no position and no preference.

Keep this in mind as you go over the following factors in order to obtain Facing side.

More often than not you will find that the Facing was determined, not so much byany one single factor, but by your careful weighing process.


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Built structureIn Feng Shui basic terminologies it does not suffice to talk about houses, orapartments, where rules pertaining to Facing equally apply to all built structures inwhich we need people to thrive. Instead, we use built structure, while this termmay also apply to Yin Zhai (grave sites) Feng Shui, because a grave site is a builtstructure also, following practically the same rules but not quite, but that is

outside the realm of this article - for Mountain and Water. A built structure in aFeng Shui sense has the ability for Qi to be confined, i.e. it has walls and roof.

In terms of Feng Shui for Yang Zhai (buildings for the living), a built structure willbe usually a residential or commercial building. A built structure in the sense usedhere, must be enclosed by walls and a roof before a complete Flying Star chart referred to as Man chart or Ren Pan - can be constructed and applied.

We cannot use a complete Flying Star chart for open land. A complete Flying Star

chart can be only used for a building that is able to confine or lock in - Qi.

Undeveloped Land

Vacant and undeveloped land can be evaluated according to Forms, attributes ofthe Luo Shu, and directional influences. A true Flying Star chart (Ren Pan) cannotbe constructed for land, because a piece of land lacks walls and roof to containMountain and Water Dragons. Qi will always search for a reference point and it

cannot find a fixed reference point here, for reason that a piece of land has nodefinite physical center. Qi here would have no reference point. For a piece of land,

or for countries, regions or cities and failing the Ren Pan - we may apply otherFeng Shui tools, like the Former Heaven Gua (Xian Tian), the Later Heaven Gua(Hou Tian), or Di Pan (Earth chart), the Time Period chart or the Hexagram ringover the Luo Pan. However, in your assessment of the Facing side, open land maybe a significant Yang factor for you to consider.

Architectural FrontThis is the side of a built structure that was architecturally designated to act as thefront, usually but not always- containing the main entrance. However, this

architectural facade is not necessarily what we mean by Facing side in Feng Shui.The architectural front may or may not contain the main door or the Facing Palace.Still, if we approach a house, we would first expect the Facing Palace to be at thearchitectural front, so you need first either determine or rule out the Facing Palaceto be located here.

Main Road

Roads are a main factor in our determination of Facing. Roads can transport Qi. Itcan be difficult to determine the main road if there are several roads. If there aretwo or more roads, determine which of them is the busiest as in people and traffic,the broadest, the best furnished, has more trees, is closest to the Facing Palace orclosest to your main entrance (so as to determine which of these roads will be mostinfluential) or has water or more sun. Also, from the interior perspective of thebuilding, assess which road runs past the most active or quiet parts of the building.

For (commercial) buildings that are located on a corner of two streets, you may

need select the broader road, the busiest of two roads or the road where mostcustomers enter the shop. Or simply determine the more Yin side of the building,which will most probably be where the storage is, where employees enter, wheremerchandise is delivered and decide that this road cannot be the main road. Withall factors equal, you may have to choose the road by something as odd as where

the mailbox is.


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LandscapingIn assessing the Facing side of a built structure, we would anticipate open space, inother words we would enjoy an area where Qi can freely approach our building,while also this area is then able to retain Qi, so that it does not dissapate. Anysignificant - well-groomed - landscaping may just as well act as your Facing side ifyou established that the architectural front is not (good) enough to be allocated

your Facing side or Ming Tang area. The here indicated landscaping would includegrass fields, trees, bushes, flower beds, furnished gardens, sports fields, parks,playgrounds, even a parking lot etc. Still considering other factors, this landscapingmust be well groomed, big enough, bright and spacious enough to be considered asthe Facing side, your exterior Ming Tang. It should have active human traffic.

MountainMountain in Classical Chinese Feng Shui pertains to either real or virtual Mountain.Mountains can be real mountains, hills, any elevations, or climbing grounds. The

key word is support. Mountain is a term that furthermore belongs to Feng Shuinomenclature and may indicate immobility, moreover the ability to accumulateenergy, in other words, Mountain when compared to Water is more Yin. Mountain

may include surrounding walls and solid fences, adjacent or neighbouring buildings,a solid row of trees, quieter (comparably more Yin) side of structure. To determineMountain (Sitting side) and in case of equal quantities, real overrides virtual; wallsoverride trees; elevated overrides trees; trees override calm or quieter. The

Mountain side as a definition must be away from the exterior Ming Tang.

WaterWater in Classical Chinese Feng Shui pertains to either real or virtual Water. Real

Water includes oceans, rivers, streams, lakes, marshes, pools and ponds. Alsovirtual Water, including open and active (more Yang Qi allowing) space, roads,landscaping, flat, lower or sloping land. Real Water (H2O) must be close enough toor be visible from the building in order to be of Feng Shui effect. To determineWater (Facing side) and in the event of equal quantities, real overrides virtual;oceans, lakes, and rivers override roads; while oceans, lakes, and rivers alsooverride landscaping; considerable landscaping may override quiet or small roads;low or sloping land overrides landscaping; moving water overrides calm or stillwater; large and deep water overrides small and shallow water; clean water

overrides dirty water; abundance of sun light (Yang) mayoverride otherwise openand active space. Use your discriminative powers and judgement at all times.

DoorsThe main entrance is fundamental to the Qi flow of any building. However, as they

are not synonymous, Facing and main door may not necessarily be at the sameside of the building, or the main entrance may be even located in the same wall,but not in the same 45 degrees Palace as the Facing. The door may be at the

Facing side but not in the same 45 degree compass sector.

The back door, side door, or even the garage door may be the door used mostfrequently, with the door at the architectural front of the house being used the least.In determining Facing side the main entrance (architectural front door) still plays animportant role. Do not arbitrarily determine the Facing side to be at the back door,side door, or garage door of your house, just because this door is used most,

without detailed analysis. Close observations done at the site may have you decidethe people should use a different door. All depends on the Flying Star chart.

Many factors are involved in the process and conclusion of determination.

In most but not all - cases, and when used, the main door overrides any other

door. A door leading to a bigger balcony usually overrides a door leading to asmaller balcony. A door on the ground floor overrides a door on a higher floor.


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A frequently used door overrides a door less frequently used. Also, according toFeng Shui principles, the term "door" may incorporate any open pathway allowingQi to travel from one area to another, either interior or exterior. Already a tiny hardly descernable sandpath in your garden can be considered a pathway for Qi.

It is essential for you to understand that an open door is a door and is considered

to be Water according to Feng Shui principles, and a closed door has become awall and is considered to be Mountain according to Feng Shui principles.

WindowsWindows are also important in determining the Facing side of a building. With allother factors equal, the side with most square area of windows overrides the sidewith lesser square area of windows. Windows that can be opened override windows

that cannot be opened. On the other hand, once you determined the Facing toclearly be at one side of the building, but the other side has more square meters of

windows, than in itself this may not be enough to change the Facing to be at theside with the most square meters windows. You need use your sense for proportion.

Different situations

In assessing the situation, use or draw a scaled floor plan of the building, property,and environment showing all:

- interior and exterior walls;- all doors, if they open inward or outward, accentuating the ones used;- all windows, accentuating windows that can be opened;- all other openings;- interior hallways and pathways;- rooms, including their function, main furniture, appliances;- the immediate landscape and environment, including buildings, objects,

waters, trees;

- roads, direction, intersection and sloping of roads, traffic direction;- any other of your assessments of (in)tangible environmental Qi.

For as long as youkeep in mind thatthe actual Flying

Star chart canalways still tell you

otherwise, in itself awell defined house interms of ChineseFeng Shui would besituated according to

the Armchair Settingand include:

- a clearly defined Facing side including main entrance, windows, road, river,landscaping, open space, all acting as the exterior Ming Tang.

- a clearly defined Sitting side at your architectural back includingelevated ground, hill, buildings, walls, trees, that is closed and calm.

- both architectural sides are locked in by other buildings or assistant mountains.- Some sort of smaller mountain beyond the Ming Tang.- Interior design matching the exterior situation, i.e. active rooms to the

architectural front, the more passive rooms to the architectural back.

Before we show you some typical situations, lets move on with some moreconsiderations pertaining to Facing.


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Main Entrance Inside a Residential BuildingFor residential and apartment style buildings, Facing of the unit most likely is notwhere the main entrance to the unit is when this main entrance is inside thebuilding and opening into a public and enclosed hallway or corridor.

The Facing side may then usually be located where most of the windows and the

balcony are located because this is where most of the Yang Qi is activated, invitedinto the home. Also, when you share a building with other people, with you living

on one of the floors, it may very well be that different floors have different Facings.

Main Entrance Inside a Commercial BuildingFor big commercial buildings, shopping malls or big office buildings - the Facingside for individual shops or offices may not necessarily be where the main entrance

to the individual shop or office is when the main entrance is inside the building.

The Facing side for offices is usually where most of the outside windows are locatedbecause this is where most of the Qi is activated and invited into the business.

Sometimes, e.g. in case of busy traffic of customers, the Ming Tang will be where(larger amounts of) customers enter the premise. In these cases you need to rely

on the floor plan, the traffic of people, your assessment of the situation, what theowner tells you about the premises use and function.

Front in AlleyWhen the architectural front or main entrance is in an alleyway, the Facing side willmost likely be elsewhere. Look for the Facing side, Ming Tang, at the architecturalback.

Front has Qi ObstructionsSometimes you have it all, a road and a river in front of your house, the mainentrance at the architectural front, a lot of windows at the front. Still your Facingside may be elsewhere if your main entrance and the front windows are completely

hidden behind trees or other rude obstructions of Qi and hardly or no sunlight at allcan enter your space. Either take down the obstruction or look for your Facing sidein your back garden, arranging all of the houses interior likewise.

Conclusion

All the above need be incorporated in your weighing process. You need feel the Qi.

Nine out of each ten times, the first house you will be determining the Facing for

will be your own house. But what if comes out that exactly your house is socomplex that it would be a task even for a trained eye. Then, certainly dont focus

on your house and take your practise elsewhere. If you did not have a clue aboutthe existence of Feng Shui up to now anyway, where is the loss if you first assessother buildings situations, just to get the hang of it and then get back to assess

your own house a little later.

Even if it takes you a week or a month before you can definitely point out theFacing Palace of your house, you will be busy as it is commiting other Feng Shuiadjustments to your house, such as making sure you are not sleeping or sitting inline with the doors and so on. On this subject, take your time, take it easy.

Go over this article several times more. Walk around your house and also feel fromwithin the house. A house is a living entity and if you are ready it will reveal to youwhere its Facing is. Never trust on others, not even masters and once you decidedon the Facing, try check yourself on later date and see if you still agree.

Make sure at least, you do not focus or rely on quantity. We should not be rigidly

counting the number of windows and conclude from this that this is the Facing.


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Examples of FacingAll examples have the main road to the same direction at the architectural front,indicated by the bottom wall. The arrow indicates the Facing Palace and this may ormay not point at the original facade. Take your compass reading where the arrow is.

Situation A

FACING PALACE AND MAIN DOOR BOTH ATARCHITECTURAL FRONT. DOOR IN SAME LOCATION ASTHE FACING PALACE AT ARCHITECTURAL FRONT.

Both the open and lively part of the house and the maindoor are at the architectural front of the house, coveringthe same 45 degrees Palace.

Situation BFACING PALACE AND MAIN DOOR STILL BOTH ATARCHITECTURAL FRONT. DOOR NOW IN DIFFERENTLOCATION (AWAY FROM FACING PALACE).

Arrow still showing Facing direction, despite door indifferent 45 degrees sector. Take compass reading at theFacing Palace and if needed along Facing wall.

Situation CFACING PALACE STILL AT ARCHITECTURAL FRONT, BUTDOOR NOW AT ARCHITECTURAL SIDE OF BUILDING.

In spite of main door not being located at thearchitectural front (in this example door could be ateither side of the structure: architectural back or ateither side), Facing is still at architectural front, provided

architectural front has road, windows, landscaping andall features to justify Facing Palace into direction of road.

Situation DFACING PALACE AND DOOR AT ARCHITECTURAL SIDEOF HOUSE. ROAD STILL AT ARCHITECTURAL FRONT.

Although architectural front is implied by the road, hereboth the Facing of the structure and the main door are

away from the architectural front, provided there is nowsome persistently strong indication of Water in front ofmain door and/or support from the - now - sitting side.Arrow shows Facing Palace and where to take compass.

Situation EFACING PALACE AT ARCHITECTURAL BACK. ROAD STILLAT ARCHITECTURAL FRONT OF BUILDING.

One of the most difficult situations you may come across.Can become quite confusing. Yet, you may sometimes

decide to declare Facing Palace at architectural back ifthe environmental features are demanding enough. Main

door can be at one of the sides, even still at road side. Inthis case, you prefer all active rooms to the back and usethe back door most frequently.


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Compass Reading at the Facing SideThere is much more to be said about Ming Tang, Facing and Sitting and welladdress some of the issues further down. Before we do we will somewhat reflect onthe compass reading first.

Now that you have determined the Facing and Sitting, take an exact compass

reading at the Facing side, outside the house. You will be measuring Magnetic North.For a general house the result of your compass measurements can be then equally

applied to each floor and each individual room.At this point you may want to also read my articles: How to build your Flying Starchart and Finding the center of a built structure.

We now also need determine the Eight 45 degrees Palaces, draw these on the floorplan according to actual directions and then take in the belonging Flying Star chart.

The Feng Shui Time Periodof construction and the compass orientation at theFacing together provide the data to chart the Flying Star chart of the house.

Please realize that the determination of Facing and Sitting, or a true reading of thecompass bearing cannot - or can hardly ever - be done from a floor plan.

All this, including a compass reading, requires a person to be actually present at

the site to determine the Facing and Sitting, and often the Period of a building, andto calculate and interpret yet other features revealed by the Luo Pan and the FlyingStar chart. The descriptions and explanations given here can never be conclusiveand should not in any way be taken as covering all possibilities and exceptions.However, this should give you your preliminary diagnosis.

The first aspect of reading a compass is to understand the compass. A compass

basically consists of three parts:

- the magnetic needle- the pivot bearing- the housing

The magnetic material rests on a pivot bearing. The pivot bearing is anchored into a

base for stability. The magnetic material pivots on the bearing and aligns itself withthe Earths magnetic field.

View line, i.e. you aim thisarrow directly at the horizon.

Rotable compass housing

The red part of the magneticneedle points to Magnetic North.Rotate compass housing until thered part of the magnetic needle

falls exactly between the lines withthe North arrow. The view line now

returns your actual reading.

North Arrow

Red part of magneticneedle indicatingMagnetic North.


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The perimeter of the compass housing contains directional data. The compassdirectional data consists of a 360 degrees circumference. These 360 degreemarkings are indicated in 1 degree increments.

There are eight directions indicated by the compass. The four cardinal directionsinclude South, West, North, and East. The four secondary directions include

Southwest, Northwest, Northeast, and Southeast. Each of these directionsdelineates 45 degrees of arc on the circumference.

The explanation is simple because the compass is in reality a very simple tool.However, reading of the compass in Feng Shui applications becomes more complexbecause of all of the information generated by the determination of degree.

Any ordinary compass may be used in Feng Shui. However, there are speciallydesigned geomantic compasses termed Luo Jing or Luo Pan which are available.

These Luo Jing and Luo Pan contain additional outer rings outside of the normaldegree markings. These outer rings contain information pertinent to the geomancer

including the 24 Mountains, Trigram Directions, and various other information asnecessary. However, a normal Western compass will suffice well into your advancedlevel Xuan Kong Fei Xing studies, as long as your compass shows 360 degrees.

Perhaps one of the best Luo Pan you can wish for, supporting you well into yourXuan Kong Fei Xing and Xuan Kong Da Gua studies, can be found here. Also as a

help in determining your Flying Star chart, find a chart calculator on my website.

For Feng Shui purposes, we need yet divide each individual 45 degrees compasssector into three smaller sections of 15 degrees each. Each 15 degrees sector isthen called a Mountain and there are 24 of these Mountains, referred to as the 24Mountain Ring that you will find on any Chinese compass.

The 24 Mountains delineate the compass directions into further sections. Each ofthe eight directions delineates 45 of arc and also contains 3 of the Mountains. Each

of the Mountains delineates 15 of arc on the circumference. More on this in myarticle: How to build your Flying Star chart.

The accuracy of the compass reading is absolutely critical in Feng Shui applications.

When reading a compass it is suggested that you remove all jewelry, metallicobjects, and electronic devices from your person. Remain as distant as possible

from any metallic objects, electrical devices, and underground water. Othermaterials such as wood, glass, brick, and stone have also occasionallydemonstrated the ability to disrupt the compass. Of course, rather than compassdistortion we wish to arrive to compass reading.

Stand outside at the Facing of the building with your back towards the building. Thedirection you are facing is the Facing Direction of the building.

Hold the compass stretched away from your body at about navel height so that it is

visible and easy to read. Align the compass so that the needle is correctly pointingNorth and South according to your particular compass. The compass will nowproperly display the directions.

Now you can begin to refine the reading to determine the exact degree of bearing.If you aligned the red part of the magnetic needle to fall exactly within the lines

bearing the North Arrow, your reading will be where the view line coincides with thedegree indicated. You obtain Magnetic North by taking as many readings you need


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and from a multitude of locations and distances in front of the Facing wall as well asaround the building, including the sides and Sitting locations. Note discrepanciesand re-evaluate until you arrive at an accurate reading.

Repeat each reading while continually adjusting the height of the compass to kneelevel, navel level, and chest level and observe any anomalies. It will also become

necessary to hold the compass up to chest level and adjust the square of thehousing to the square of the building for accuracy.

Inclination of the compass needleYou will find most compass readings easy.

Take three readings, one at the center of theFacing wall and two other readings to either side ofthe Facing wall.

Mostly the needle shows definite bearing. However,you will engage situations where the needle shows

all sorts of inclinations, in which cases you want totake another series of readings a little fartheraway from the building, again at 3 locations alongthe Facing wall.

Try not impose your will onto the compass needle,but rather have the needle tell you how it sits.

You may wish to check your findings by taking yet another set of compass readingsat the Sitting side. The house indicates good Feng Shui when the needle is stable.

Qi may be not stable if we need to take numerous readings.

When neither of the readings was satisfactory,you can ask the needle to tell you why.

Here, exact degrees do not matter as you will be interested only in needlebehavior. Take the compass and walk along the Facing wall as indicated. While youkeep your attention focused on the needle, you will be able to study its inclinations.

Carefully record all the different readings and be sure to state on your reportwhether the compass was at knee level, navel level, or chest level, and mark thelocations on the property where the readings were obtained, and any anomalies

found. If walking along the line and along the Facing wall shows any variance, theremay be some presence below ground level or some apparatus inside the house.

Occasionally a compass reading may prove difficult, but it will get much easier onceyou forget that you are there. In other words, the needle will tell the story and you

need only observe. Listen to the needle, dont try to control it.

Use the best quality compass or Luo Pan possible, which is usually the bestcompass you can afford.

Never work from blueprints, survey maps, architectural drawings, or any other mapor drawing regardless of who they are provided by, because maps mostly show

geographic North. In Xuan Kong Fei Xing Feng Shui we determine magnetic North.

X X X

X X X

X X X

X X X


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From this routine you can accurately determine the Facing degrees and constructan accurate Flying Star chart for the building.

The Flying Star chart for the house can also be superimposed onto each individualroom. So when the house has three Stars in the South sector, each South sector ofeach room has the same Stars. However, standing at the center of the house or

any given room, the door will be in a different section and we need to determinethe geometric center of each and every individual floor or room. See my article:

Finding the center of a built structure.

Doors and windows determine a lot of the Qi qualities coming in or leaving yourhouse, but they do not determine house horoscope. House horoscope is determinedby year the house was been built (Time factor) combined with the specificorientation in degrees of the Facing side of the house (Space).


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Checklist compass reading- Be sure to use a good compass, showing exact degrees in its outher most ring. A

larger needle renders a more stable reading.- If you do not own a Luo Pan, be sure to use an accurate (digital) western

compass.- Never work from constructional drawings provided by official organisations or

architects, as these will most likely bear Geographic North rather than MagneticNorth which you will be needing as your Feng Shui reading.

- Never take a reading from inside a built structure.- Stand outside the house at the Facing with your back towards the house, nose

towards the horizon.- Take several readings along the entire Facing wall, not just in one spot and find

verification to your findings at the Sitting side.- Be sure before you take a reading that you are fit, i.e. not tired and forget what

you already think you know: you are now a consultant, not the occupant of your

house. Be sure to have a clear, rested and efficient mind. Let the compass tellyou the outcome, dont go telling the needle what it should instead be telling you.

- Be sure you have no metal objects on your body and that you are away of any

metal in the house or environment.

The result so far must be that:

A. You have determined the definite Facing side of the built structure.B. You found the structures construction date, i.e. the correct Feng Shui Period.

C. You know the exact Facing degree of the compass.D. You have arrived to the exact 15 degree Mountain as seen from the 24

mountain ring.E. You found the physical center of the structure and superimposed the eight

directions.


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Finding the Flying Star chartNow, draw the Flying Star chart of the house. A house Facing South is a Northhouse, a house Facing North is a South house and so on.

As an example, let us take a Period 7 house that is Facing the third 15 degreesMountain of South.

This is how we then communicate the style of this house: Period 7: N3-S3.

As you can see, we first mention Period of construction, then the Sitting side hereN3 and then the Facing side here S3.

Here is a method for beginners. It will have you take in the Stars inside the interiorwalls, a method that may require adaptation later on in your studies, see next page.

- Take in the Period Star in the center of your floor plan. All other Numbers fly inthe following sequence seen from the central Number: Center - Northwest West- Northeast - South - North - Southwest East - Southeast. Or, Number 7 in the

Center and then Number 8 in the Northwest, 8 in the West and so on.You have now found the Time chart, or Heaven chart Tian Pan.

- Find the Star that is in the 45 degrees Facing Palace and take it to the right handside of the Period Star in the center. From hereon this Facing Star is called Water

Dragon, governing the Water Dragon chart.- Find the Star that is in the 45 degrees Sitting Palace and take it to the left hand

side of the Period Star in the center. From hereon this Sitting Star is calledMountain Dragon, governing the Mountain Dragon chart.

- Then, you need to fly both the Mountain Dragon and Water Dragon over the LuoShu in the same fixed Flying Pattern, but we must halt here, because there is aspecial calculation to find whether the Mountain and Water Dragon at the centerrun in ascending or descending order. We need to look into this technique

separately.

Once you are able to bring down your compass reading to the discussed code, you

can look up your house chart to the back of the article How to build your FlyingStar chart. Simply know the Period of construction, the Facing and Sitting andtranslate into: Period 7: N3-S3 to give you the right chart.

A complete Flying Star chart combines the Heaven chart, the Mountain Dragon

chart and the Water Dragon chart and it is known as Man chart or Ren Pan.

Please realize that any Stars shown at the center or Heavens Heart are notreally residing at the center. They are put there for convenience sake, not to showthat Water or Mountain Dragons actually occupy the center, because this would notbe possible. We can therefore not manipulate these central Stars by taking all kindsof adjustments to the physical center of a built structure.


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From Qi influence to Qi effect

Besides taking the Stars to the interioryou could take the Stars and projectthem outside the building into the eight

directions.

The reason being that we study theeffect of environmental Qi.

Qi of 9 Stars is carried on the back of theeight directions.

Qi as directional influence will approach a

built structure outside-in and willrender effect only after it had beenallowed to entered the building.

Where exactly energies then reside, depends on a lot of factors, like interior

pathways, varying volumes of individual rooms, all of this pertaining to what we callQi Distribution and pretty much outside the scope of this article.

Follow a Star from influence to effect on its journey outside-in by considering thistime line, read from right to left.

Note the different stages, where Qi will be environmental, at what point it impacts abuilding and where it becomes effectful.

Adjustments (note that we dislike and decline terms such as cure, treatment)should be done beyond the point of impact, nearer to influence. Adjustments should

be therefore first taken to the exterior, rather than working on effect. Interiorplacements should be done nearer to point of impact.

91 455 9

46 864 1

82 319 5

28 6

37 7

Environmental Qi

equals Influence

Interior Qi

equals Effect

Impact of Qi

on building


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Ming Tang ( - Bright Hall)Mng Tng is often translated as Bright Hall, which should be explained because the wordBright here would seem to exclusively point to light or Yang, and thus the sun.

The character for Ming, however, contains the ideogram for sun --, but it also includes

the ideogram for moon or shade --, together.

Mng should be then considered to point to the idea of Yin and Yang merging.

This can be by combining tangible (Yang) and intangible (Yin) qualities of Qi, or bycombining square (Yin and Earth) shapes with domed (Yang and Heaven) shapes. Mngpertains to the merging of the male and female principle.

Most Feng Shui practitioners consider Ming Tang to be a bright open spot where Qi isalive, active, retained and enlivened, providing a built structure with prosperous Qi,either for the dead to find peace or for people to thrive.

Besides this, Ming Tang is related to the Chinese emperor and city lay-out and so it mayalso pertain to an architectural structure based on observations done through astronomy.

Ming Tang for a built structure is comparably Yang in nature. Ming Tang is a collectingand production spot for Sheng Qi (Sheng Qi points to healthy energy, while Sha Qi pointsto malign energy). Ming Tang usually refers to the side of a built structure collecting themost Yang Qi, typically situated at the Facing side of a building, but a smaller Ming Tangcan be built for any room.

A Ming Tang would be defined around prosperous tangible and intangible Qi to be foundinto what is considered to function as the front side the Qi collecting side of a built

structure, be it for Yin Zhai, graves and grave yards, or Yang Zhai, built stuctures inwhich people need to thrive.

We need to distiguish here between architectural front faade - and what would beconsidered a built structures front Facing side - considering Feng Shui principles.Architectural front and Qi front are not always the same.

A buildings Ming Tang can be located into any direction.

More on Ming Tang a little further down.


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A house is like a shipMany people find difficulty determining the correct Facing side of a house.Even where there appears to be no problem in determining the Facing side,sometimes people may still feel unsettled when they need to assess the interiorplacement of active and passive rooms. This problem occurs when the Facing sideis to one location of the house, the active rooms to the opposite side of the house.

Try not to look at a built structure as a static phenomenon, but look at ahouse as a living, moving, vehicle to Qi.

Look at this ship. It is oriented towards its front side, you wouldntexpect it to be sailing backward. The bow is taken as the Facing.

Furthermore, you would expect the bridge to be oriented into the samedirection into which the ships bow is heading. It is no different for ahouse. Learn to look upon a house as a ship.

We would prefer a situation where our house will have its architectural front bow oriented towards the exterior Ming Tang, with its interior placements of activerooms (bridge, interior Ming Tang) to be located to the architectural front of the

house.

Ship House

Hull HullBow Architectural frontStern Architectural backDirection Exterior Ming TangBridge Interior Ming Tang

Of course, where a ships bridge will be never oriented to face the stern, this could

be different for houses, where some houses will have their interior Ming Tang awayfrom the architectural front. Houses with their exterior Ming Tang to the

architectural back, could be then compared by ships heading backward.

The Facing side of a house is defined as the side the building taps into Yang Qi most,

as it indicates where the compass reading should be taken to determine the exacttype of Yang Qi the house is tapping into.

With Yang Qi, we refer to environmental Qi, at this time not Yang Qi in the sense ofwhere we find human activity. We also do not refer to the location of the door asthe door may very well not be into the same Palace as the Facing.

The Facing side has the Ming Tang and is the deciding factor, not the architecturalfront of a building, nor where the lay-out of the interior shows most activity.

It means each individual case needs looked into. Many factors decide the Facing

and because of so many different architectural oddities, what may appear to be thearchitectural front may very well be the Sitting. This is most apparent in apartmentbuildings, where any one individual unit may have its own Facing, taken to be atthe windows or balcony, while the building as a whole could have its architecturalfront away from this.

The situation may be again different for a single apartment unit with nothing more

than a small outside window, as compared to a unit with full sliding doors and abalcony. The former will most likely have the Facing at the door, the latter will havethe Facing at the balcony.

Before we can continue our comparison between a house and a ship, we need toconsider some orientations and placements.


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Dealing with Ming TangDealing with Facing and Sitting, exterior and interior Ming Tang, the placement ofactive and passive rooms, possibilities may seem sheer endless.

We need a good environment and within the possibilities and limitations renderedby the environment we need a well thought out house design. The total design

should be preferably in accordance with exterior Mountain and Water present.

Humans perform best when they can work in active Yang locations, and theywill be healthier and more rested when they can sleep in passive Yin quarters.Some houses force us to be active within the more Yin areas of a house and bepassive in the more Yang areas.

Dealing with Ming Tang issues is dealing with Facing and determining Facing side ofany built structure must be the most daring in Feng Shui.

We tend to cling to our image of Mountain and Water and we trust that any builtstructure will have its own fair share of distinguishable Mountain and Water, making

it easy on us. Then we find we always encounter situations that are just a tiny bitdifferent and we may feel paralyzed.

Ancient Feng Shui classics show how we need to first assess where the Water

Dragon is. Once we found the Water Dragon, we will find the Mountain Dragon 180degrees away to its opposite direction.

Suppose we took this to its extreme and need to assess the Facing side of astructure, but there is no mountain at all, like a green house in utterly flat land.The structure is completely surrounded by open space. Let us go as far as to say,this glass house does not even have an entrance, nor has it any distinguishablefront or pathways leading to it. Where then is the Ming Tang, how does it Face.

The ancients were quite particular about the solution. When you are not able to findthe Mountain Dragon, find the Water Dragon. Once you found the Water Dragon,

you will locate the Mountain Dragon 180 degrees to its opposite direction. This ruleapplies for the greenhouse in our example.

The Facing side is defined to be atthe side where a built structure

receives most Yang energy. In thisacademic case there are no featuresother than direction to decide on theFacing. East and South here wouldbe eligible, because atmosphere willbe most Yang at sunrise and noon.

Anyway, this is not to say that East and South will be your deciding factor

whenever you get stuck in the process of determining the Facing side, it is just toshow that you can at all times locate the Facing Palace.

Now we will examine different situations. None of the examples shown, however,can override the Flying Star chart. In other words, we can encounter the most

superb Armchair Setting and still find that it is unfortunate relative to the Flying

Star chart. Always observe from Time, Space and Activity simultaneously and useyour judgement accordingly. Examples show a one story house.


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Case Studies I-V

Situation IMost desired situation seen from the perspective of Feng Shui. Human design is infull accordance with environmental Qi. The active rooms are in the Yang side, thepassive rooms are in the Yin side. People tap into the right environmental Qi.

Adjustment:Much depends on the Flying Star chart of the house, but in essence this situation iswhat we look for in any house. We can locate the bedrooms to the architectural

back of the house, as well as the storage rooms. Flying Star chart allowing, the

more active rooms, like the living, family room or our home office should be locatedto the architectural front in this example. It is a matter of the ships hull, bow,bridge and course all heading into the same direction.

Situation IIThe exterior Ming Tang is still in the architectural front, but the active rooms arenow oriented to the back of the house. The passive rooms may be then wrongly tothe architectural front. This comfort providing situation is often the case in modern

architecture, i.e. providing the privacy and comfort of a back yard view.

As an example: this villa has a definite well defined - Ming Tang to thearchitectural front. The floor plan shows a spacious entrance where Qi can be fully

admitted into the house. Eventhough the living room is situated into the back, itcannot justify Facing side to be to the architectural back. In our ship analogy thiswould be a matter of the ship still heading towards the horizon, meanwhile howeverthe bridge facing the stern.

Adjustment:

Since the basic situation shows a house that still asks us to orient our activitiestowards the architectural front - and relative to the belonging Flying Star chart - wecould consider to change this situation into the design shown under situation I.

Archi tectural front

Facing side (exterior Ming Tang)

Act ive Rooms (inter ior Ming Tang)

Architectural front


Act ive Rooms (interior Ming Tang)


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Situation IIIBoth exterior and interior Ming Tang are away from the architectural front. TheFacing side is to the back of the house, with the active quarters to the back as well.

Most likely this situation is forced upon the house by the environment, where theremay still be many factors for the Facing side to be at the architectural front, but

closer examination of environmental features showed us the Facing side must be tothe architectural back. This may be the case when there is elevated land or hugeblocking buildings at the architectural front, while there is large open space morecommonly then also with a lot of human traffic - or water at the architectural back.

Also most common for apartment units specifically so when front door opens inenclosed corridor -, in which case this situation was forced upon us by architecturaldesign. Very common in big cities, especially in Brazil, Poland, Russia and so forth.

Here is a compound with apartments, all factually oriented with the ships bowtoward architectural front, with bedrooms and kitchen to the architectural front also.

The living rooms are at the architectural back, facing the central courtyard. Thissitutation may justify for the Facing of the apartments to be at the architecturalback. This ship, in other words, is heading backward, bridge and movement awayfrom the bow.

Adjustment:Again, the passive rooms will be to the architectural front, but here at least theexterior and interior Ming Tang are connected.

In case this situation applies to a groundlevel house, try to arrange thelandscaping at the architectural back and- the Flying Star chart allowing - use theback door.

Passive rooms like bedrooms to the

architectural front as shown here, are notonly less inviting, people will hardly beable to rest here, for reason that Qi istoo active to permit tranquility. Study theFlying Star chart to see what can be donehere.

Architectural front


Act ive Rooms (interior Ming Tang)


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Situation IVThis could be a situation where there is a road to the architectural front, but allother features are pointing well to the exterior Ming Tang the Facing side beingat the architectural back. To the back there could be lively landscaping, water,sloping grounds and other Yang factors.

Adjustment:

Here we should do effort to change the interior, so as to have the interior MingTang coincide with the exterior Ming Tang. Take active rooms to the architecturalback.

Were we to add floors, these diagrams could become a lot more complicated. Also,the situation for condominiums, apartment buildings and apartment units canbecome rather complex.

Situation VAlthough it may sound odd to most people, in all above shown examples, the maindoor played a role of much less importance than one would expect.

The main door remains quite important in assessing the type of Qi that will beadmitted into the house, but you could encounter the following situation easily, e.g.in case of a large apartment building. Due to interior hallways, all factors could beoriented towards a certain direction, the main door however oriented away from allthis.

A condominium resembling the Chinese

character Gng () meaning work.Clearly the Ming Tang for the building is to itsarchitectural front, however individualapartments arranged so that each one of themallows its own view.

It is this view that most probable has a balconyand sliding doors and needs to be thus taken asan apartment units typical Facing side.

Clearly then, the main door will be away fromthis Facing (units exterior Ming Tang) and still

quite important to assess the type of Qi enteringthrough the Palace with the door.

Architectural front


Active Rooms (interior Ming Tang)

Architectural front


Active Rooms (interior Ming Tang)Main door


23/35

Also, consider the condominiums Flying Star chart to determine in which sectionthe unit is.

Condominium, to an extent resembling the

Chinese character Shn () meaningmountain.

Entrance

Facing side


24/35

Multi storied buildingFor multi storied buildings like condominiums and apartment buildings, we needalso visualize how Earth Qi - ascending spiral - and Heaven Qi - descending spiral -coincide and become one and the same Qi. The event of Earth Qi and Heaven Qimingling, occursjust above the ground, at least for the part we are referring to inour Feng Shui use, because Heaven and Earth Qi mingle anywhere of course.

However, as much as Heaven and Earth Qi mingle below the earth surface, andhowever they may still mingle considerably above the earth surface, the Qi wewould like to tap into in order for people to live happily, healthy and successfullywould happen just above the surface of the earth.

The pressure immediately under the earth surface starts increasing to a point thatwe need to see that an underground environment is not fit for people. The same istrue for multi-storied built structures, as the higher we go, the less appropriate forhuman beings the Qi will be to live in or function.

Higher above the ground because of increasedEarth Qi we will find a much more Yin

atmosphere, while deeper into the soil because of increased Heaven Qi, anyenvironment would have become too Yang inorder for people to function in a desirable way.

Actual H2O placements are therefore not ourfirst concern for high rise buildings. In fact, thehigher we go in a multi story building, the moreWater we will already encounter, i.e. VirtualWater. If not already we should be quitereluctant with any interior H2O, we need beextra careful using H2O for any floor beyondground floor. Remove H2O when in doubt.

Look at this example. For the lower floors we may still refer to the building next toit as Mountain. All floors beyond this point will have virtual Water all around andlack support. We should take extra care of the Mountain chart for these houses.

Even in case it concerns a company building we should attend to health and well-being of the people spending extensive periods of time in such buildings and makesure they have sufficient interior Mountain and a good flow of Qi. Otherwise, this isa sick environment. It may instigate desintegration, divorce, mental disorder.

Too much emphasize will be on money in this type of settings, people will berestless and unsettled. In case of high rise living apartments, we will see Yinmovement (dispersion) said differently, diminishment of the Yang principle -therefore family desintegration, divorce, mental disorders, hysteria and otherfactors that the Chinese would categorize under ghosts. Ghosts, here, is just anindication for an unsettled mind, fragmentaric thinking and mechanical actions.

In flat areas you will find many divorces and other family problems. The best wayto live is on ground level. The higher up you go, the less you will find that yourFeng Shui adjustments will be effective. In fact, you may just find that in thesecases, normally perfectly effective Feng Shui adjustments would not work at all andthat you should be especially careful in placing water H20 features. It is like goodFeng Shui measures dont work, but the moment you do something wrong in aFeng Shui sense, something other than human may start governing the house. Itis like these houses lead a life of their own and you can only attempt to make bad

Feng Shui energies a little less negative, but you will be hardly able to work forgood Feng Shui results. Back to our ship and its journey.


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A house is a moving vesselNow, let us return to our comparison between a ship and a house.

See, a lot of the obstructions we may encounter in assessing the correct Facing sideof a built structure may come from a certain type of mental block. Perhaps wetend to look at a house as a static phenomena, and - being present at the site -

would be inclined to compare what we observe to what we learned so far.

It is only natural. We will feel most comfortable being able to research a houserelying on straightforward Feng Shui: we located the Ming Tang and not only is theFacing obvious, also the interior design is in complete accordance with all this. Wecan start our audit.

The situation will get just a bit more confusing when the interior design doesntseem to fit this image and we find that the active rooms are away from the Facing.

Look upon a house as a living, moving, phenomena and you may have removedmost of this mental block. Consider a ship, it will have its bow and bridge oriented

into the same direction, always. Then, of course, we would like a similar situationfor all houses we audit.

Whenever you audit a built structure and want to determine Facing, Ming Tang andactive rooms lay-out, simply ask the question:

when this house were a ship, into which direction would it be heading.

and

as a captain on a bridge, into what direction would I be facing, sailing this ship.

Reflect on the following list. Optimal would be a ship with its bow and bridgeoriented into the same direction, comparable to a house with its Ming Tang and

active rooms located into the appointed directions. The situation will change whenwe consider the last column, where a house would energetically be oriented intoone direction, but heading backward.

Ship House Optimal AlternativeOrientation Orientation

Hull HullBow Architectural front North NorthStern Architectural back South SouthDirection Exterior Ming Tang North SouthBridge Interior Ming Tang North South

A ship headed in the direction of its stern is just as odd as active rooms for a NorthFacing house being located in the South.

It means, the most perfect situation would be a ships bridge being oriented in thesame direction as its bow. In other words, some houses have their bridge orientedaway from the bow. Establish whether interior Ming Tang coincides with exteriorMing Tang.

Here is a situation we would prefer for any house, where the Qi mouth exterior Ming Tang - is represented by the mouth of the bottle. Theships bow is oriented towards the mouth of Qi, as is anything else goingon on the ship.

The situation would be entirely different when we would rotate the ships hull toface away 180 degrees from the mouth of Qi.
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=www.chibardun.net/~jfox3/icon1.gif&imgrefurl=http://www.chibardun.net/~jfox3/model.html&h=169&w=300&prev=/images%3Fq%3Danimation%2Bship%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN


26/35

Active and passive hoursThen, we may be facing yet another problem in determining correct Facing side.

This problem may arise from the very definition how to determine the Facing side.

The Facing side is the side where the building receives most Yang Qi.

Well, there may be debate on what then exactly must be regarded Yin or Yang andhere we must gain a working knowledge of what exactly Yin and Yang pertain to.

How many times will it happen that we added up all Yin and Yang factors for Facingand Sitting and be left with a match. In other words, there are Yang factors thatwould strongly indicate one of the walls to be the Facing side, on the other handother persisting Yang factors confusing us, because these would clearly indicate forthe Facing to yet appear at the other wall.

Actually, this is quite easy to solve, even for beginners, for as long as you are ableto refrain from any brain, because the problem comes from the adding up Yang

factors and in order to tackle this we must just take two steps back to take in noposition and have no preference.

Here is where metaphysical thinking comes in, your ability also to handle paradox.We cannot run through any list of Yin and Yang factors just squarely, withoutheading into judgement problems. Nothing in itself is Yang, nothing is solely Yin, allis a merge of Yin and Yang in ever changing proportion. Meaning, nothing is as is.There is no solely Yang without Yin and vice versa.

We will here discuss some Yin and Yang and then lead you to the base observation,the common denominator, in establishing Facing side. It is all a matter of seeingproportion and understanding the difference between bigger bucket and smallerbucket and youll be fine from hereon. It is simply a matter of understanding whyexactly we take our compass reading during day time, as we also appreciate thatwe are establishing Facing side for a structure, but a structure that must then fithumans and promote people to thrive when they are active, which would be ofcourse during waking hours.

We must not seek the Facing side to be ultimately Yang, so that the Sittingside can be then ultimately Yin. All is changing and relative only to its comparison.

Yin and Yang are not opposites, they are complementary. One cannot go withoutthe other, like the biceps and triceps cannot go without one another.

In fact, and initially, our brain may be too fast to understand that Yin and Yang are

not even two, they are One, indivisible. To be even thinking in terms of Yin andYang may become highly conceptual, we only just do so in order to be able tocommunicate the laws of our universe between ourselves, in order to study, butonly becoming proficient at dualism so as to yet arrive back to and embracemonism.

What I mean is, when you throw a drop of water on hot oil, the drop of water willbe thrown out, without any hesitation, no 'thought' or 'moment' between touchdown and response. Action (Yang) and response (Yin) here are One.

On the same token, the 'difference' between Yin and Yang is not factual, it isnotional. We can argue that the biceps is another muscle than the triceps, we can

also say they stem from (are) one and the same cell.There lies a world of dynamic change between what we decided was Yin and Yang.


27/35

Having obtained the Facing side, did not cancel out that Yin factors may be still atwork at the Facing side. If busy human traffic was at the base of our determiningthe Facing side, then there will be times when the traffic settles down, e.g. duringnight time. It is like pushing hands, when the triceps pulls, the biceps will relax, butthey work in close orchestration at all times, they are 'one and the same' muscle,

so to speak.

Once we secured that you are a woman, the only thing we did is to determine thatyou will be likely and perhaps typically carrying your feminine pole more to theoutside, still very much keeping your Yang pole, perhaps more to the inside. Butwhy should we even bother to segmentize between your outside and inside.

Notwithstanding your altering between more Yang (active) and more Yin (passive)magnitudes all the time, we will say you are a woman throughout all of your life,which was not to say that once we determined all this, the ever changing Yin andYang had come to a halt, because just as a house, you are an ever changingphenomenon in the Infinite Universe, a transient being.

Even if we decided that the Facing side was to be determined at the side where thebuilt structure received most Yang energy and even if the sun in the South hadbeen our greatest determining factor: the house is static as compared to theenvironment which would be answering to change, if only because the sun on itsdaily path will be casting its dynamic influence on the built structure by presence,absence, altitude, magnitude.Nothing is static, Yin and Yang are cyclical, changing their face always, relative toproportion and so we need a common denominator before we can determine aphenomenon to be relatively more Yin or Yang. For example, if we take zerodegrees Celcius as our denominator, minus 3 will be colder than plus 3. Yet, this isrelative, as minus 3 is again warmer than minus 10 C. We can do this for as long aswe mirror to zero degrees, our comparison.Besides a denominator - zero degrees -, we also need know function. The minuszero degrees becomes cold when we need sun during our holiday, it is still toowarm if we were looking to deep-freeze food. Function is pivotal and this thenbecomes critical in our determining of the Facing side and for obvious reason.In Feng Shui, the house becomes the denominator, because we need a factor morestable than Yin and Yang in order to even be able to make comparisons. Thethriving of people then becomes the function. This helps us obtain a sense forproportion, magnitude. It tells us when to do the assessment, when and where toperform our compass reading.

In our Feng Shui practise, we need assess whether a built stucture is fit for humansto thrive. Humans thrive best when they can be active. Activity is needed in orderto survive, manifest and achieve. We therefore look for an environment thatsupports activity. We will be active during day time. Therefore, we also did ourassessment of Facing and Sitting, performed our compass reading, during dayhours, because we wanted the day time to be our mirror. Now things become easyand all will fall into place.So, we would select a site that hosts all the appropriate Yin and Yang factors duringday time, which was not to say that relatively Yin and Yang dynamics during anyone day will have come to a halt and which was also not to say that relatively

magnitudes of Yin and Yang were not changing. If the Facing side was most Yang,the Sitting side was relatively more Yin. Then, at night time the Facing sidebecomes more Yin, but of course the Sitting side relatively becomes even more Yin,


28/35

because all will stay within proportion, mutually in orcehstration relative to thedenominator.

So you need use your close observation, not just of plain Yin and Yang factors, buthow Yin and Yang engage into change.

In a perfect situation the house orientation answers to the Ming Tang requirements.

The architectural front side of the house is oriented to face the exterior Ming Tang,also in the architectural front. We could have the situation of architectural front ofthe house and Ming Tang coinciding, this situation strengthened by interior design,where the active quarters are located towards the Ming Tang also.

This is a case of interior Ming Tang being connected to exterior Ming Tang. Now it isonly a matter of allowing each individual room its own Ming Tang also andconnecting interior Ming Tang of rooms to promote smooth flow of Qi inside thehouse.

We have seen many examples where the architectural front of the building and theexterior Ming Tang coincide, but with the interior design, the active quarters,situated to the architectural back side of the house. Here we say, the interior MingTang is dispositioned.

In case you determined the Facing side of a house to be located at the architecturalback, you need to also try locate all active rooms towards the architectural back.

Tangible Qi in a Ming Tang could be nice landscaping, waters, nice and healthy nonobstructing objects, peoples activities.

Non tangible Qi, not just coming from open space, but beneficial or inauspiciousTime based factors being admitted to a dwelling through this opening.

We must therefore distinguish between Ming Tang to the Facing side of a builtstructure and the Flying Star situation contained in the Ming Tang. Ming Tang is alocation relative to a built structure.

Whichever Flying Stars we may find into the direction of the Ming Tang, these donot specifically belong to the Ming Tang itself, but Stars are part of the intangible Qibeing permitted into the built structure through the Ming Tang. Some peopleconfused the Ming Tang to be where the Prominent Water Dragon is.

Anything within reasonable distance as compared to the built structure could beregarded as being part of the Ming Tang, because it is considered part of the built

structure, but here more like a built structures aura.

Especially regarding tangible Qi, these need to be powerful and influential (emittingbeneficial Qi) enough to be regarded as included in the Ming Tang. A very distantobject may no longer influence the building, because it cannot emit its energy backinto the structure.

In ancient times only one Ming Tang was defined. A grave would have one singleMing Tang. A city would have one single Ming Tang and the same would account forindividual houses.

With changes in architecture, we may now have more complex structures, like a

house with the main Ming Tang to its Facing side, but with a door to one of its sidewalls. The door should be regarded as a Ming Tang in itself, however smaller it may


29/35

be compared to the main Ming Tang, but it remains to be seen whether the door isto be found in the Facing Palace.

Smaller here may not as a definition mean less influential, as the door remains oneof the main influential factors in assessing the Feng Shui for any house.

In ancient China, Ming Tang was often a central courtyard built externally, butwithin the confines of a buildings structure. It was essentially an open courtyardenclosed by the square of a building. A good house permits the connection of theexterior Ming Tang to the interior Ming Tang.

A central courtyard should have its design well thoughtover, where any placement should be in accordance withthe current Period Star. Temples may sometimes havecentral incense burners, trees, metallic objects or water,depending on the current Period Star.

Water is represented by Star 1.

During Period 7 this central pond will not only deplete thebasic Metal energy of Star 7, it may also lead to sexscandals, the combo 1-7 not only being one of the PeachBlossoms, but both trigrams 1 and 7 being linked to waterand therefore Kidneys and sex. You can guess what type ofsex. During Period 8, this feature becomes highlyunfavorable also, as Star 8 and Star 1 are hardly allies,once more probably leading to sickness and dispute.

The main entryway needs to be opened to admit beneficial Qi to enter the house.Whatever Water Star resides at the door, each time the door is used it will glueitself to the people, who will then further transport it throughout the building.

Because once inside the house, we aim for good flow of Qi, it goes without sayingthat the door must be wide enough in relation to the size of the building. Specialcare needs to be taken as to its design and alignment.

Into the direction of the Facing wall of the structure needs to be sufficient openspace, well designed too, to allow for a good Ming Tang.

Ming Tang and door will now cooperate to define amount of Qi that will be admittedinto the house, so we need a spacious entry hall.

Again, the main hall leading us to the rest of the house should be in harmony with

the size of the building, as it makes little sense to have a tiny hall, as Qi will beobstructed and not able to flow throughout the house. Instead of being able toenter the house, a tiny hall may force Qi back outside the house again.

Beneath the hall at the entrance of the house, we need to permit Qi to travel to thecenter of the house, where it meets with another Ming Tang, e.g. a self constructedspot where we attract, retain and accumulate Qi. Here we can install plants, lights,water, moving objects, round objects, in whatever shape or form we find would bein accordance with the Flying Star chart of the house.

Special focus should be on the Sitting wall, that may not permit Qi to leave thehouse before it had a chance to nurture the house and the people.The Sitting wall should be solid, at least having the solid, stable, furniture in orderto design a place where Qi can be retained and emitted back into the house andrepresenting the Turtle.


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Using this principle, we may apply Feng Shui even before we attended to the FlyingStar chart of a built structure, adjusting a place based on observation and commonsense. But, Ming Tang is more than a spot in front of a dwelling. It is also the nameof a structural design for the emperor to live in.


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The emperor

Here is the Chinese character Wng (), meaning King. Itshows the spheres of Heaven, Man and Earth (San Cai)connected by a single vertical line, as the emperor was

considered the Son of Heaven, and therefore worthy of beingobeyed.

Obeying the emperor was synonymous to obeying Heaven, as itwas understood that the emperor combined the virtues of theThree Unities in himself and possessed supernatural powers.

The character Wng may be taken as to resemble the Trigram Heaven (Qian)connected by a vertical line.

It was understood, and in fact could be very well one of the most important basicsof ancient Chinese cosmology, that Heaven is Round, Earth is Square.

The typical Chinese town, village or house would therefore be projected on a squareor rectangular, or any combinations of round or domed and square or rectangularshapes and forms. A house could have a square floor plan, with a domed roof.

More than not, a town would be designed around astronomical and mathematicalobservations, using the numbers 2 for polarity, the number 4 for the cardinaldirections, 5 to point to the Five Transformations, the 8 directions, the Nine Stars,the Twelve zodiacal signs or Earthly Branches.

As an example, a town could be having eight roads to match directions, beingdivided into eight areas, all this designed around a central locality holding thegovernmental buildings.

Heaven is round because the celestial heaven is roundlyshaped. The Chinese would consider the skies domed.Heaven can be divided into twelve zodiacal segments,pertaining to Time (Heaven).

The Heavens can be furthermore divided into 28 LunarMansions, which bode the Four Celestial Animals andwhich are positioned around the perimeter of the Luo Panaccording to their directions.

The 28 Lunar Mansions are grouped into 4 separatedivisions each holding 7 Mansions - and centered to thecardinal directions.

The Luo Pan shows this idea, where its Earth base is square and the dial representsHeaven, the needle in the middle symbolizing Polaris, our current North Star.

Taken a step farther and pointing at the earth orbit around the sun, Earth is squarebecause we can locate the points of the Equinoxes and Solstices and connect themto represent a square.

The idea is that the Bright Hall was built on a square or rectangle, representingearth.


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The imperial palace, perfectly aligned to the cardinal directions and Facing Southwould be intelligibly designed.

In Summer the emperor would move to a Palace in the South of China and reside inits Southern quarters. This Palace would be referred to as the Summer Palace.

In Winter the emperor would move to a Palace in the North of China and reside inits Northern quarters.

The emperor would live in the East during Spring and in the West during Autumnand reside in their respective quarters.

Green is the color of Spring. The emperor would wear green cloths in Spring, theEastern quarters of the palace designed around green colors and objects. Evenofficial announcements would be declared from the windows matching seasonaldirection.

Whatever direction the emperor would occupy or have his quarters in, he wouldalways face to sit South when involved in official duties.

The Palace would be a perfect architectural and mathematical representation ofastronomical and astrological realities, e.g. symbolizing the Big Dipper (Bei Dou),Polaris, the Twelve Earthly Branches (symbolized by number and directions of doorand window openings), symbols of the numbers 4, 5, 8, 9 and so forth.

This way, the imperial Palace was a sophisticated diagram depicting a Solar andLunar year, as each side of the Palaces would represent one season and theCelestial Animals, each consisting of 7 of the 28 Lunar Mansions.


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Imperial carpenters would go out of their way to select the finest woods, but notjust to build the Palace from it, but cut trees, mark the wood, so that any part of atree that used to point Southward, was used also for the Southern part of thePalace.

As the emperor would revolve around the center of the Palace, he himself would be

regarded the stable center of the country, his people revolving around him. Asyellow and gold belong to the center, only the emperor was permitted to wearthese colors.

If you look at the above floor plan, immediately boardering the center, you see fourwalls, each one of them into one of the cardinal directions and thus producing ninequarters including the center. This is to symbolize the Luo Shu.


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How to Find Facing and Sitting in Fengshui

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