Feng Shui
Feng shui analyzes a home by the cardinal directions: where to put the bed, which sector governs money, which way your desk should face. Here you'll find four working calculations — the Kua number, the flying stars, the Bagua grid and the travel direction — plus a breakdown of Indian Vastu, which tackles the same questions by different rules.
Where to start
Start with the Kua number: it's calculated from your birth year and gender in a second and immediately gives you four favorable directions. That's enough to reorient your bed and desk — the cheapest change with a noticeable effect.
Next come the flying stars. This is a calculation for the building rather than the person: you need the year of construction and the facing direction measured with a compass. The star chart shows which areas of the apartment work for you and which are best left alone. On top of it, the calculator overlays the stars of the current year and month, which show where you shouldn't start renovations this year.
The Bagua map is a simple way to divide a floor plan into nine areas. Vastu is worth a look if the Indian tradition appeals to you more or if you're building a house from scratch: its rules are stricter, but its logic is also more transparent.
Before a trip, check the travel direction: the calculator finds the direction you're heading in and checks it against the year and month stars, the Day Sha and the Qi Men chart for the hour you set out.
Two schools you shouldn't mix
Feng shui has the compass school and the "front door" school, which in Russia is more often called Western or BTB.
The compass school works from true north: you measure the facing direction with a compass, and the areas fall on the plan according to the cardinal directions. The front-door school doesn't use a compass at all: the grid is laid from the front door, which always ends up at the bottom of the plan.
Both give coherent but different answers. The most common mistake is taking the wealth area from one school and the love area from the other. Choose one and stick with it.
What you need for the calculation
| Calculation | What you need |
|---|---|
| Kua Number | Birth year and gender |
| Flying Stars | Year the building was built and facing direction in degrees |
| Bagua | Floor plan; for the compass school, the direction of north |
| Vastu | Direction the entrance faces |
| Travel Direction | Origin and destination, departure date and time |
The facing direction is measured with a compass from the middle of the outer wall with the most windows and light, standing a couple of meters away from any metal structures: rebar in the walls can throw the needle off by tens of degrees. A phone app is fine for a rough estimate, but for a star chart a difference of 7 degrees already changes the result.
Frequently asked questions
Does feng shui work?
There's no verifiable evidence that it influences events. That said, some of its advice matches ordinary ergonomics: don't sleep with your head toward the door, sit with your back to a wall, keep passageways clear — these work regardless of the tradition.
Do I have to rearrange the furniture?
No. Start with what can be moved without renovation: the bed, the desk, your office chair.
Do I need a compass if I'm renting?
For the Kua number, no. For the flying stars, yes: without the facing direction there's no calculation.
What if partners' Kua directions are opposite?
It's a common situation: spouses are often in different groups. The bed is oriented for whoever sleeps worse, and each workspace is set to its owner's directions.