Ba Zhai - the 8 mansions
I have written many articles related to the Kua Number because it is a subject that fascinates: how our birth date can influence our quality of life by impregnating the energies around us?
As I indicated in my text on the Chinese calendar, people sometimes make the confusion between the Kua Number of men and that of the house. Yes, the house also has its Ming Gua, the House Gua. It is called in English the House Gua and that is generally how I refer to it.
The San Yuan Feng Shui school
Traditional Feng Shui has 2 main schools of thought: the San He school and the San Yuan school.
The San Yuan system or “3 periods” is a mathematical model of Bagua used to calculate the quality of chi over time. It is commonly referred to as the “compass school”. But this is very simplistic since all schools of feng shui end up using the compass…
The San He or “3 harmonies” system focuses on the environment and aims to understand how nature shapes, creates and maintains chi. It is called “school of form”.
The Ba Zhai system of the 8 abodes belongs to the San Yuan model. It is based on the quality of Chi governed by the trigram related to the habitat.
The 8 trigrams
Trigrams are pictograms represented by 3 lines which can be continuous or discontinuous. The continuous lines are charged with yang energy while the broken lines are charged with yin energy.
The lower line of the gua represents the earth.
The middle line of the gua represents humanity.
The upper line of the gua represents the sky.
The 8 trigrams, called Ba Gua, represent the maximum number of combinations of 3 elements of yin or yang nature. Each of these trigrams represents a certain quality of Chi. Indeed, as you know, the energy coming from the North is not the same as the one coming from the West or the South… There are thus 4 cardinal points and 4 semi-cardinal points, which gives 8 sectors.
The principe of the 8 mansions
With the 8 houses school, we focus on defining the quality of the Chi that governs the habitat, that is to say, what is the trigram that characterizes it as a whole, independently of the kua number assigned to the inhabitants. The two analyses are in fact complementary, because in a favorable area of the House Gua, we can turn to a favorable direction according to our own Ming Gua.
Thus, as there are 8 trigrams characterizing the 8 cardinal sectors (and forming the Bagua), there will be 8 types of houses. As with the Kua number, some will belong to the Eastern group and others to the Western group. The advantage of this school is that it helps to determine the most favorable areas of the house for everyone. Feng shui is for the benefit of the “living”, it aims to improve the life of all. This is why the Ba Zhai school aims to define the energy map of the house as a whole so that everyone can benefit from the beautiful energies whatever their Kua.
It is of course recommended, when possible, to occupy as much as possible the rooms of the house that are in favorable areas. It is recommended to place the entrance door, the bedrooms, the living room or the kitchen in these areas. On the same principle, we try to assign rooms such as toilets, storeroom or garage to less favorable areas.
Once the favorable areas are defined, we can refine by trying to position the beds, desks, sofa, stove according to personal directions.
Sitting and Facing
How is the Ming Gua of the house determined? We could imagine that, as for the Kua Number of individuals, we should consider its “date of birth”, i.e. its date of construction. But no! This information is useful to the feng shui expert but not within the framework of the Ba Zhai school of the 8 houses. He will use it to define the natal energy diagram of the flying stars.
To determine the house Gua, what matters is the direction of sitting.
What is the seat? It is the back of the house, i.e. the side opposite the front of the house.
Finding the base and the front, not so simple! Yes, the front is not always where the front door is.
Generally speaking, it is necessary to consider that the front of the house will be the one where the activity is the most important, where the energy will be the most yang. Once we have defined the front of the house, the opposite side of the house will be the seat. Knowing the direction of the base of the house means determining the orientation of its back side.
The 8 types of house
There are 8 types of houses, corresponding to the 8 trigrams of Bagua: Gen, Kan, Xun, Zhen, Kun, Li, Qian and Dui.
Determining the House Gua allows to evaluate the energetic quality of the house.
The houses in the Eastern group are :
- House Gua 1: this is the Kan trigram
- House Gua 3 : this is the Zhen trigram
- House Gua 4 : it is the Xun trigram
- House Gua 9 : it is the trigram Li
The houses of the Western group are :
- House Gua 2 : it is the Kun trigram
- House Gua 6 : it is the Qian trigram
- House Gua 7 : this is the Dui trigram
- House Gua 8 : this is the Gen trigram
The 4 most favorable sectors of the houses of Kua 1 are :
Sheng Chi – Prosperity: South East
Yan Nian – Love and Longevity : South
Tian Yi – Health : East
Fu Wei – harmony and stability: North
The 4 most favorable sectors of the Kua 2 dwellings are :
Sheng Chi – Prosperity: North East
Yan Nian – Love and longevity: North West
Tian Yi – Health: West
Fu Wei – harmony and stability: South West
The 4 most favorable sectors of the Kua 3 residences are :
Sheng Chi – Prosperity: South
Yan Nian – Love and longevity: South East
Tian Yi – Health: North
Fu Wei – harmony and stability: East
The 4 most favorable sectors of the Kua 4 dwellings are :
Sheng Chi – Prosperity: North
Yan Nian – Love and longevity : East
Tian Yi – Health: South
Fu Wei – harmony and stability: South East
The 4 most favorable sectors of the Kua 6 houses are :
Sheng Chi – Prosperity: West
Yan Nian – Love and longevity: Southwest
Tian Yi – Health: Northeast
Fu Wei – harmony and stability: North-West
The 4 most favorable sectors of the Kua 7 dwellings are :
Sheng Chi – Prosperity: North West
Yan Nian – Love and longevity: North East
Tian Yi – Health: South West
Fu Wei – harmony and stability: West
The 4 most favorable sectors of the Kua 8 houses are :
Sheng Chi – Prosperity: South West
Yan Nian – Love and longevity: West
Tian Yi – Health: North West
Fu Wei – harmony and stability: North East
The 4 most favorable sectors of the Kua 9 dwellings are :
Sheng Chi – Prosperity: East
Yan Nian – Love and longevity: North
Tian Yi – Health: South East
Fu Wei – harmony and stability: South
The Shen Qi sector governs the energies related to finances, reputation and fame.
The Yan Nian sector helps to improve relationships and networking. It promotes good communication.
The Tian Yi sector brings energies that promote good health and healing. It is also related to people who can help us and to mentors.
Finally, the Fu Wei sector brings energies of quietness, relaxation and is perfect for activities such as meditation, study or rest.
True to the principle of positivity, I do not mention the other sectors, no need to crystallize the fact that they are not particularly favorable.
To conclude
This article presents a simple vision of the Ba Zhai school for its part related to homes. As I often say, the work of the feng shui expert is to make a mille-feuilles! Thus, defining these favorable and unfavorable zones is only a first approach. To have a complete vision of the energetic potential of a house, the school of form must be studied in parallel, as well as the different stars found in each of the 8 sectors.
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