Explorations with Heluo is a series of publications on Time, Space and Destiny
 

This introductory article:
- helps you to Read the Stars and Build the Story using 81 Star
  combinations of the 9 Stars used in a Xuan Kong Flying Star chart.
- briefly discusses the practice of tilting of doors.

In order to promote our ability in Reading the Stars, we can briefly look into the 81 Star combinations used in Xuan Kong Fei Xing Pai. We must be, however, reluctant when applying the indications shared here, because, as always, lists and tables are only just quantifying Qi and are in no way to be taken rigidly. Analyzing the Stars or Reading the stars are not synonymous. 

It would be best to share this information with beginners, only after we secured their firm understanding of the foundations, because even after we emphasized here that we cannot just look at Star combinations without also establishing other persisting features, people tend to say ‘yes, I understand’, and the next thing you will see is that they will actually just look up specific Star combinations in their tables and ‘apply’ Feng Shui squarely.

At the same time, this cannot be a reason for us not sharing the Star portents, but I would point out to you that the information shared in this article will be of course strongly out of context, and it would require yet endured formal training in order to actually learn apply the information in an appropriate way. 

Any Star combination as such does not take Form and Qi into account, so we should take surroundings into consideration and again direction, location, timing, volume, frequency, intensity and so on. 

Star combinations as such may or may not take the Timeliness factor of the Stars into account. You should have a firm understanding of Sheng, Wang, Sheng, Shuai and Si during different Feng Shui periods before you even attempt apply the subject in actual practice. 

It should be clear for example, that 5-7 is an inauspicious combination out of Period 7, because 7 is only auspicious in its own Period. Out of its own Period, 7 is not only untimely but also detrimental (Military Star, generally unfortunate). In its own Period, when Star 7 is Wang (prospering), Star 7 may be able to handle Star 5. Outside its own Period, Star 7 will not be able to handle the evil portents of Star 5 and we would need the then Noble Star (e.g. Star 8 in Period 8) to handle the situation. 

Furthermore, in Period 7, the 5-7 or 7-5 combinations bodes much different events than for any other Period, and all would be at least relying on present or absent Mountain, whether or not Stars are ‘Used’ and so on, so as you proceed, be mindful of this please. 

If we find a 5-7 combination in the Facing Palace during Period 7 and the Water Dragon 7 is being activated by real water or open space, it can be good for wealth during period 7. The situation becomes different when we also find a door in the Facing Palace with a 5-7, and the situation becomes different again if we then have water flowing towards or away from the house. 

If we find a 5-7 combo in the Facing but in another than Period 7, the situation again becomes completely different, and there are yet many other examples that would show you that lists like shared here, should actually be included in formal training only, under the sustained guidance of a well-trained and responsible formal teacher, and there are many other arguments showing us that we would be only making mistakes were we to apply the combinations just squarely without the belonging context and our careful observation and sound judgment. 

At this level of study you should be able to determine Facing and Sitting for most buildings. If the subject is not yet clear to you, please read the article “1 or 2 notes on Facing, Sitting and Ming Tang”, also on this website:

http://www.geocities.com/heluoarticles/art_nfsm.htm

At is level it is easy for you to find the right Xuan Kong Flying Star chart for each building. If you still need assistance, please go to:

http://www.geocities.com/heluoarticles/fscalculator.htm 

You probably possess a western compass and looked at the Feng Shui of your own house. When necessary, having arrived at this level, I advise you to purchase a demagnetized or digital compass for more accurate reading and you may even consider the purchase of an actual Luo Pan from this point onward. If you would like to own a Luo Pan, consisting of significant rings only (most Luo Pans will include rings that are obsolete, or they would include rings that are inaccurate), I would direct you to this Luo Pan that was designed by master Joseph Yu. 

I like to compare individual development in Chinese esoterical studies with the colored belt program in martial arts. Not everyone reaches black belt. Having arrived at a higher level of Xuan Kong Feng Shui, you may be entering a ‘danger zone’ for many reasons. This is an excellent level to drop out and leave Feng Shui studies as a whole. 

What’s more, whether you are a white belt, a yellow belt, green belt or higher: when you observe a black belt you may tend to think that you ‘know’ the same technique, only the black belt seems faster and seems to possess more strength. Frankly, if we come to think of it, it is almost understandable to have this view because on first sight a front kick is just a front kick, nothing much more. However, some green or blue belts may then decide that: ‘hey, I can do that too’ and purchase a black belt to start their own schools. This happens within Feng Shui circles all the time. 

Having come this far, can you understand that some have been doing ‘Feng Shui’ consultations already, without the basic techniques required?

Some of these ‘wannabe consultants’ have been the most successful ones from a marketing point of view, but their success has been built on a lot of noise and will be very short-lived.

The enormous growth of ‘empty teachings’ by some people in recent years can be considered typical for Period 7. This is true for all kinds of esoteric systems, not just Feng Shui. 

Period 7 is reigned by the Dui trigram, Marsh. If you look at this trigram you see a yin line on top of two yang lines as its foundation. It is easy for this Trigram to receive Heaven Qi, while it is fairly closed off to Earth energies. People have been very susceptible to spiritual studies as cosmic vibrations are readily received from the Heavens during this period. 

Since 1994 I have been forecasting that Period 8 will show a rapid downfall for these ‘professionals’ from which there will be no recovery and this will allow the public to take note of the more traditional and genuine systems. 

Please make sure you understand this and wait for the right moment to act. If you are a student of Classical Chinese Feng Shui, and you have the ability to wait and study a little longer, you will be amongst the people who will be emerging and growing stronger over time. If you are already a practicing Feng Shui consultant, you could yet dive into your studies much deeper, taking your studies into the realms of more scientific approaches, such as through cosmology, sun physics, geophysics, astronomy, so as to ensure your practice for the coming twenty year Period. 

If you wait for the right time and meanwhile study, study, study, your audits or teachings will be authentic and sustained over time. 

Having arrived to this level, yet another pitfall occurs. 

Even serious practitioners will one day arrive to a level where they tend to ‘focus’ on the Xuan Kong Flying Star chart. 

Never be tempted to speculate on what a 7-2, 5-9 or whatever other combination means, without also assessing the complete situation. 

Yet, you will encounter many people who will ask you what ‘this or that’ combination means. 

Always remind them how all depends on the surroundings, i.e. is there Mountain and Water present where there should be Mountain and Water present and what is their volume, distance, resemblance and quality. 

Even the mere presence of mountains and water is often nothing more than ‘empty’ observation if you do not take location, direction, timing, climate, season, temperature, moisture, beauty, resemblance, routing, volume, intensity or movement into account, and all of this simultaneously. 

Suppose your client can buy two houses and asks you to assist in the selection process. 

One house has a beautiful mountain in the right direction, the other house has a mountain still in the right direction but looking very ugly, resembling a negative animal and pointing sharply at the house. The basic teaching says, that you cannot live near an ugly mountain, but we need to yet assess what beautiful or ugly means. 

What would you advice your client. 

Now, suppose the ugly mountain is quite healthy, has nice trees and vegetation and is soft inside, with fertile soil, whereas the ‘beautiful’ mountain is dry and rocky and filled with metal and acid soil. Wouldn’t you go for the ‘ugly’ mountain. 

Without your knowledge, wisdom, experience and judgment, a Xuan Kong chart is just a two dimensional configuration of Numbers. 

Another pitfall is in the Five Transformations (Wu Xing). Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water are just pertinently the exact same Qi, but in a different phase of waxing and waning, nothing more. Also Wu Xing is not about elements. The term element points to something static. Feng Shui has been using the five elements only as an analogy, and only since 1926. 

However, most Feng Shui of our time has been applying five elements in a fairly materialistic sense, mostly through physical objects, shape and form of objects and colors. This is absolutely not anywhere near what we would be engaging ourselves in. 

We will come across claims as Wood is tables and plants, Metal is wind chimes and statues et cetera. 

Feng Shui has not much to do with five elements in physical objects, although it may have been your first encounter with the subject and maybe easy to grasp. Comes a time that you have to move on to a yet deeper understanding of Wu Xing. 

If you study the Binary Model of Creation – where the image of the Universe differentiates into a yin and yang line ultimately creating the eight trigrams – you can see that at one stage the Five Transformations occur. The material world only comes into play after the final eight trigrams combine to produce the visible world. 

The visible world of course then produces trees (Wood), Fire, Earth, Metal and Water, but already here the Five Transformations have become tangible and visible. 

A tree is part of the Five Transformations, but the transformation Wood is much more than a tree. 

A small basket fits into a bigger basket, but a big basket does not fit into a smaller basket. 

To really understand Wu Xing, you shall have to go back to the intangible meaning of the Five Transformations as in seasons and even beyond that. 

There is only one – undividable - Qi. 

You will arrive to a point that you have to decide if Qi is a concept or a reality. Do you understand the laws of Qi and can you actually sense Qi, experiencing its waxing and waning through physical awareness. Can you bring yourself to feel and manipulate Qi. 

Can you change a certain Qi (Feng Shui) situation into a more desirable Qi situation. 

Remember the riddle: 

‘Qi heals Qi, objects influence objects. Things within the same group move each other.’ 

Don’t be trapped into ‘enhancing’ or ‘controlling’ certain Feng Shui situations from a too material sense of the Five Transformations. 

Less is more, meaning three needles is better acupuncture than ten needles. I cannot recall having ever placed a crystal or Buddha statue in a client’s house. 

But luckily, the die-hards will soon arrive to a point that it all becomes clear. 

After having studied many different levels of Feng Shui, and after years of effort and confusion, we are finally able to simultaneously ‘see’ all the different aspect of Qi in any single situation, tangible or intangible. 

We do not so much as see Numbers anymore, but we perceive movement of yin and yang Qi, Heaven Qi and Earth Qi, family members, organs and body parts, we start to see past, present and future events, we notice that a front door falls in two trigrams, see actual and alternative He Tu combinations, consider the surroundings and compare it to the inner road: all in one moment and never focusing on house and environment without the client and his well-being in mind. 

Last but not least, how can a person claim to be a Feng Shui practitioner, when not this person went out many times to sense Qi outside, walk through the field or mountains, sit at waters and become part of environmental Qi. Do not learn Feng Shui sitting at a desk, you will become an expert at something perhaps, but it will certainly not be Feng Shui. 

Feng Shui needs you to go out there and feel the environment at different times. Feel the same environment in Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. Notice the difference in earth Qi where you live and a hundred miles from where you live. See the difference in people living in one environment and the people living somewhere else. Notice what type of people is produced by which environment. See where grass is dry, observe the health of trees and animals. 

So, after these pitfalls and not falling for them any longer, let us discuss some of the effects that can be expected from certain Mountain Star -Water Star combinations for Period 7. 

Xuan Kong Fei Xing Pai considers the combinations between Mountain and Water Dragons for each 45 degrees Palace. Other schools may consider combinations between Time Star and Water Dragon, master Eva Wong’s school being one example. 

Without considering all the appropriate features, most of the combination’s portents are to be taken with a grain of salt. 

Before working with these combinations, and throughout your Feng Shui career, I want you to realize that these combinations show portents only. 

Some of the combinations are said to give auspicious results, either in health or wealth. Some others portent harm, accident or sickness. 

Without the proper background - and a technical, theoretical and historical correct training -, people can easily become frightened and alarmed. 

The 9-5-7 combination is a good example, but also 4-8 and 1-2 can give people the creeps. Most combinations have to be seen in light of the historical time frame in which they came into use and may not be applicable in our modern times, or just only under certain circumstances. 

I want you to always remember that, without a thorough understanding, a Xuan Kong chart only shows Numbers in boxes. A combination of 1-2 does not really mean women’s domination, unless the Stars are Shuai or Si or meet up with inappropriate Form and Qi. Even with Stars in their Shuai or Si phase, we would need wrong timing and even with wrong timing, we would need Human Qi to acknowledge and bring out the portent. 

First and foremost consideration is, that Feng Shui provides us with an inner compass. This compass can help us understand and overcome certain limitations of Time and Space that we are under. How can a compass aim to limit us, where it was to instead show us that our journey is authentic and endless.

Although Feng Shui shows us Qi of the exterior and interior, we as humans are always in charge. Our own free will and personal Qi have to take precedence over the environment’s Qi. 

Both auspicious and inauspicious combinations only show potential events.

Combinations have to be Used in a Feng Shui sense in order to become active. 

Also, an evil Mountain Star sufficiently put into water is not strong enough to do any harm. We say that here the Star is disabled, nullified. A good Water Star put on a mountain is not strong enough to bring fortune. 

In order for the auspicious combinations to have effect, Stars have to be timely and the right Form and Qi has to be present. Even an evil combination, with the surroundings to strengthen its malign force, may just lie dormant and would be needing the right timing to gain power i.e. the additional flying in of a particular annual or monthly Star in a given Palace. 

In other words, whether for an auspicious or inauspicious combination, the combination is just a potential, until the portent is triggered, if even by an annual Star. 

We cannot say that a Star combination like 1-2 produces divorce. Any combination can occur in many houses in many cities in many countries, and we cannot say that all these houses then share similar experience.

We say that a so called auspicious 1-4 combination in Period 7 with the right Form and Qi and the right timing will give romance (and success in exams and literary matters), but a 1-4 under influence of messy surroundings, stagnant water, water that is too forceful or just with the wrong timing, will give inappropriate romance or failure in exams.

You will encounter different portents and opinions with different masters.

Although only just a few effects for the 81 Star combinations are given here – and for reason that Stars produce numerous properties -the possibilities are not limited to the ones shown in this article. 

Combinations always come under the Host-Guest theory and in assessing these combinations we should not only consider the combinations of Mountain and Water Dragons, but also the Time Star and the Palace Star. 

For your general assessment of a chart, please consider the Stars according to this priority list: 

- Mountain Star and Water Star.
- Water Star and Time Star.
- Mountain Star and Time Star.
- Water Star and Palace.
- Mountain Star and Palace.
- Stars and Palaces and annual or monthly Stars.
- Water Dragons between adjacent Palaces.

In our method, establishing the relationship between Mountain Dragons and Time Star and Water Dragons and Time Star, comes before assessing the relationship between Stars and Palaces (Di Pan). 

For active sectors we would like a Time Star that is favorable to the Water Dragon, for passive rooms we would like the Time Star to be favorable to the Mountain Dragon. 

But, at one point in your audit you may want to concentrate on matters of health, relationships, projects and fertility, and in that case you would concentrate on the Mountain Stars. Also, you may adapt your reading in any other way, for example in case you are assessing the Feng Shui of a house for one of its occupants. 

There are many other systems to diagnose Star combinations. One is to determine the house trigram and compare it against the annual Star. 

Without claiming that these systems are either good or false, they do not belong to Xuan Kong Feng Shui. 

We have to consider any combination:

- in light of the Palace in which the combination appears, with a
  priority for the Sitting and Facing Palace and the Palace that
  produces the main entrance.
- in light of the element phase of the Palace in which they appear.
- in light of the Time period for which we make the consideration.
- in light of the Host-Guest theory – and primarily observing Mountain
  and Water principles - for the Sitting and Facing Palaces and the
  Palace that produces the main entrance.
- in light of Host-Guest theory – still considering Mountain and Water
  principles, but accepting mere Wu Xing applications here in case we
  cannot apply Mountain and Water - for the other six Palaces.
- depending on our focus on People or Wealth.


Stars are people

Stars need to be personified, because they possess human properties. An example of how any Star traits can produce ‘plus’ J or ‘minus’ L characteristics: 

8 White Star
J  Success, riches, happy, reputation, progression, advancement.
L Injury, disloyalty, rioting and looting, violent revolution.


Whether Star 8 is a noble revolutionary, fighting for the good cause in an agreeable manner, or the revolution turns violent, depends on Form and Qi, Timeliness, the surroundings (surroundings here used in a sense of environment, interior lay-out as also the accompanying Stars) and all other features that we would normally consider. 

While Reading the Stars, we must Build the Story. 

Two Stars can mingle, to the point of merging, for example 9 and 8. The properties of 9 Fire will flow into the basic 8 Earth Qi, not just engendering 8 Earth as seen from the Wu Xing supportive cycle, but bringing out achievement in Star 8. Star 8 will absorb the 9 Fire properties, just as it would accept and assimilate a good friend’s advise. The merge between Star 9 and Star 8 will produce a new behavior, not one you would find in Star 9 or Star 8 alone. 

When the association is friendly, any merge between energies can be beneficial, like in an alliance, if one Star’s agenda differs too much from the other Stars’ mission, we may see the birth of an undesirable new portent. A Star can be tangible or intangible, meaning a sharp mountain comes under Fire, a round mountain comes under Metal. 

We need to therefore ceaselessly build on our capacity of observing tangible and intangible features and translating them into the appropriate Star. Assessing any tangible environmental feature may come under Form School considerations, also called Di Li, while assessing the Flying Star chart comes under the canopy of Li Qi, sometimes referred to as Compass School. There is however, no difference between Form and Compass school where it comes to actual application, neither can do without the other one. 

Small Tai Ji

You can take the Flying Star chart of a built structure, superimpose it over the entire structure according to actual directions and see how Qi is being distributed throughout the structure. 

You can also superimpose the same Flying Star chart over any individual space within the bigger structure. 

- you need determine the physical center for each individual space.
- projecting the small Tai Ji, you need be aware that you are working
  with the same Flying Star chart, only this time perhaps producing
  doors and windows in different sectors than the house.

Water Dragons

If we describe beneficial properties of a Water Star, generally it is assuming a one to one relationship between a certain Water Star and a well supporting environmental feature coming under the Water principle, like a actual body of water or a road. Waters, roads and pathways are a vehicle to Qi, and can have yang Qi flow towards or away from a location into and from any of the eight directions. 

Water Dragons, apart from money and career associations, manage your active life, the quality and skill you employ to manage life out there and the style in which you seek to achieve your goals. Good Water Dragons and those that are not antagonized – e.g. Water Star 7 alongside a Star 8 -, will lead to positive events, bad Water Dragons or those otherwise under ill influence – e.g. Water Star 7 or Water Star 8 but with a Star 3 -, may render the person less sensitive to appropriateness in behavior or action, in other words the means through which money is being generated and the style of approach into society, may play a minor role of importance, even if it involves unethical means. 

Presence or absence of external Water – either real or virtual -, their location, direction, intensity, volume, tell us if and in what way Water Dragons’ intrinsic potential will be awakened and to what extend. Do waters promote trade, do waters instigate positive events and progressive action, or do waters promote ill events, unrest, wars. 

Mountain Dragons

Basically, when we describe beneficial properties of any Mountain Stars, it is assuming a one to one relationship between a certain Mountain Star and a well supporting Mountain. 

Mountain Dragons govern people’s personalities, their quality, their deeper attitudes, what their hidden agenda might be, their broad outlook on matters of life. Mountain Dragons tell us the quality and skill used by the people to manage internal life, family life, social life, and it tells about character and temperament. Is it a noble people, does the country produce an evil people, are they traders, farmers, more likely scholars, are they focused inwardly or seek to explore across boarders and meet with other peoples. 

Presence or absence of external Mountain – either real or virtual -, their location, direction, intensity, volume, their health, tell us if an in what way Mountain Dragons will support people and awaken their more beneficial properties. Did mountains find their source of Qi far away, having transported the Dragons’ Qi over long distances, sometimes across boarders, how does the Dragon come to rest near the site, is the mountain vegetated, fertile, gently but firmly shaped, does it not contain bad substances, such as too much metal, rock or just acid soil. Do mountains promote health, fertility, wisdom, love, compassion in people. 

It is a wide spread misunderstanding – based in myth - that Water Dragons create wealth, and it is a grave misconception to think that Mountain Dragons will create health. At best, we can work with Heaven and Earth Qi, so that opportunities are created, the conditions are set in a mode that may lead to health or wealth. A prerequisite is the right Human Qi, the right action, making the appropriate choices (food intake). 

Feng Shui is about the right time, the right space, the right spirit. Water Dragons may color how events may in principle develop, but they only merely show opportunities. It would take you to actually go out there and grasp the opportunity. It actually takes you to eat healthy before you can say that your are healthy. There are no quick fixes or One Cure Fits all situations on our planet.

Annual Stars

Annual – as well as monthly and daily – Stars do not answer to matters of timeliness. They are always timely. Between the three, the annual Star carries the most weight because it sticks around for an entire year, then the monthly Star will be second most influential, and the daily Star influence will be short-lived. 

It is not accurate, however, to assume that a daily Star won’t be able to cast its influence, as we all know that even one phone call can change life. 

Wherever we use the term annual Star, we can also imply monthly and daily Stars. 

Annual Stars are always timely and so, as per definition, they are always more yang. We need to assess whether the annual Star finds a pathway into to building, either through a door or window. 

A door that is opened is considered a door, a door that is closed is considered a mountain, having become part of the wall. A door that is opened will admit a Star into the house, a door that is actually used by Human Qi is admitting the Star in even more. 

An active room is considered yang in comparison to a passive room. It also means that an annual Star will interact with a Water Dragon in an active room (yang-yang), while an annual Star will seek to mingle with a Mountain Dragon in a passive room (yang-yin). 

Relating annual Star to Palace

Annual Stars will affect the people related to the Palaces more, e.g. an annual Star arriving at the Southwest will affect the mother. They will also affect Gua of people found as a Mountain Dragon in the Palace.

 

Example annual Star 9
Annual Star 9 arriving at the Northwest Palace of the house (A), which relates to the Heaven Trigram (Qian), Star 6 Metal and is associated with Father, elderly men, head and skull. May cause head injury, a son challenging the father, or authority being challenged, fever.

The person sleeping in room C (door of this individual room is oriented North, but it is in the Northwest sector) will be affected by the Star 9 more than the person sleeping in room B, especially when the person in room C is also a Gua 6 or Gua 7. People with Gua 8 will find Mountain Dragon 8 in the Qian Palace of the house. The annual 9 engenders their Gua 8, leading to promotion, success, celebrations. 

Relating annual Star to Time Star

The relationship between annual Star and Time Star can be considered through Wu Xing dynamics, engendering, controlling or strengthening.

Example annual Star 9
Annual Star 9 arriving at the Northwest Palace of the house (A). The Time Star is Host and 1 Water here is controlling the Guest 9. It is referred to as ‘Control out’ and may be a portent for wealth, happy events, fertility, but also dizziness, eye problems, miscarriage.

Relating annual Star to Water Dragon

Water Dragons are viewed mostly from their ability to introduce wealth.

This is not quite accurate. If we consider the Water Dragon as a human being (or Shen, spirit), it is quite laborious and – for example with an annual Star visiting it - always looking to create events. Whether the created event promotes what you already set out to do, or the Star influence acting as a devil obstructing your activities, depends on the properties of the Stars, whether timely, untimely, beneficial or evil and this is determined also according to the Wu Xing relationship at hand. 

Closely assessing Wu Xing relationship will show if the relationship was ‘friends or foes’. An annual Star flying in will further affect events. The annual Star is yang, the Water Dragon is yang. Yang and Yang repel, thus there can be no transformation. It means that there is no husband-wife relationship between two yang Stars, so they will not conceive a new ‘Star’. Any event set into motion already by a Water Dragon may be obstructed or stirred up with a controlling annual Star flying in.



 

Example annual Star 9
The Water Dragon 3 in the Qian Palace already suggests a conflict between the eldest son (3) and the Father (6). When annual 9 flies in, this relationship can be stirred up even more, leading both into fiercer quarrel or even law suit, the son probably leaving the house, because he is controlled by the Father (6, and in his own strong Palace) and further weakened by the Fire of the annual Star. The already present portent for delinquency or jail time (5-3), promoted by 3 Wood controlling 5 Earth, may be here bridged and somewhat tempered by the annual 9, but we need to introduce Metal to transform the current flow of Qi (1-3-9-5). In so doing we manipulated the events of the house to end in Metal type events (1-3-9-5-6), rather than events resulting in 5 Earth related portents such as accidents. In principle the 45 degrees Palace already supplies for Metal Qi.

Relating annual Star to Mountain Dragon

Mountain Dragons are viewed mostly from their ability to influence people, relationships, projects and fertility and this is accurrate up to a point. Mountain Qi produces people, i.e. it primarily gives birth to the quality of people and their behavior, are the people righteous, ethical, evil. 

Where the annual Star is yang, the Mountain Star is yin. Here we find a husband-wife relationship and here two Stars will give birth to a child, i.e. influencing behavior. We can read the interpretation of the combo. The same annual Star having not resulted in marriage with the Water Dragon, will now merge with the Mountain Dragon and form a new family, affecting people, the quality of people.

 

Example annual Star 9

The smooth flow of Qi in the Qian Palace is from 8-7-1, related to success and richess and endorsed by Star 6 of the Palace that will add authority. The people in this house are delicate and a Gua 7 person spending time in the Northwest sector will be controlled by the annual 9, this influence probably introducing further refinement of abilities (gentle fire helps mold metal into utensils and the Prominent Mountain Dragon 7 can handle this Fire), helping the 7 to accomplish and promoting appropriate leadership, people becoming successful authors, bringing their ideas into the world to the benefit of others.

Here are the 81 Star combination portents mirrored against Period 7. 

Period 7: 1984-2004
Period 8: 2004-2024

We are almost into Period 8. There are no lists available at this time – at least not published – to show the Period 8 portents for the 81 Star combinations, but Period 8 considerations will not be too far off from the ones shared here. 

You may need to mind though, that the current Prominent Dragon 7 – superb during Period 7 – will become untimely once we arrived to Period 8 and it may more readily show some of its basic detrimental properties, especially with failing Form and Qi. 

Also, the Period 7 Untimely but Useable Stars 1 and 4 will of course change their properties, as for Period 8 the Stars 3 and 6 will be regarded Untimely but Useable. 

Lastly, the Holy 0 and Holy I considerations will change for Period 8, meaning where we want an external body of water into the East, a secondary body of water into the Southwest for Period 7, and where we want to see Mountain into the West for Period 7, the exterior water during Period 8 should go to the Southwest in order to satisfy the Holy 0 conditions, while Mountain should come to the Northeast to satisfy Holy I. Holy 0 takes care of wealth, Holy I takes care of health and people. 

For Period 8 a secondary body of exterior water can go into the East. 

What is a Period 7 Wang Shan Wang Shui house, a Reversed House or any other type of house during Period 7, must be viewed in a completely new light during Period 8. 

The list shows Mountain Star first, then Water Star, e.g. 1-3, where 1 is the Mountain Star, and 3 is the Water Star.
 

Reading the Stars

Direction and location are two of the more important principles in Reading the Stars, as they give you a basis for assessment. 

Any Star combination, such as the Water combo 1-6 that we know from He Tu, can emerge in several different ways. Let us investigate some of the possibilities. 

Stars 1 and 6 can appear in the same Palace, they can appear in two different Palaces but occupying the same physical space and Star combinations can be formed between Stars in adjacent Palaces. Star combinations can happen between one of the Stars in a Flying Star chart and an incoming annual, month or day Star. 

Mountain Dragons are receptive, yin in energy. Mountain Dragons support people and they influence people’s temperament. Water Dragons love to move about the place, they are active and yang in energy. Water Dragons affect people’s style and attitude of performing into the world.

 

Other – more subtle - relations between Stars can be established, e.g. those connecting Stars through exterior or interior pathways.
An example is the Bull Fight Sha combination between Stars 2 and 3, known for causing lawsuits and arguments.

 

Location and direction (orientation) are two different values.

The main entrance to this house (A) is located in the North sector and the door is oriented North. The window is located in the Northwest Palace but with a North orientation. The door in rooms B and C may be sharing the same compass orientation (North), but these doors are not in the same location. These rooms have different Stars activated into different locations in the Flying Star chart.

Location and direction tell us much about the intensity of Stars influencing the house, certain individual rooms and even certain family members. 

This brings us also to the subject of tilting doors, but that is another chapter to be discussed further down.

Besides establishing location and direction of a Star combination, we need to look at considerations of time and decide whether the occurrence needs our further attention and adjustment. 

We seek to promote Sheng Qi and avoid Sha Qi. 

Concerning our careful diagnosis and choosing our adjustments from this, and as a priority rule before anything, we apply Mountain and Water principles, especially to the Facing Palace, the Sitting Palace and the door Palace. Any adjustments then needs happen into the environment before we repeat what was required to the interior. 

We need to mind the Host-Guest theory that says that a Water Dragon is Host in the Facing Palace, a Mountain Dragon is Host in the Sitting Palace. Between a 4-8 combo – and considering time considerations – the Water 8 is Host, between a 8-4 combination, Mountain 8 is Host. 

For a bedroom, the Mountain Star is Host, and we like a fortunate Mountain Dragon in our bedroom, for an office the Water Dragon is Host, although it yet needs your close assessment of the situation before you decide which Star you would need to support in any room. Most importantly, we appreciate a fortunate Water Star arriving at the door. 

What is Timely is Host, what is Untimely is Guest. Also, what has been around longer is Host, what came in later is Guest. Between Hou Tian Gua (basic Luo Shu, or Di Pan) and Time chart, Hou Tian Gua is Host. 

Between Hou Tian Gua (also Later Heaven setting) and Xian Tian Gua (Former Heaven sequence), Xian Tian is Host. Between an annual Star and any Star within the Flying Star chart, the Flying Star chart is Host. 

We would appreciate if the Mountain and Water Dragons are supported by the Time Star and Star of the Palace (basic Luo Shu Star). 

After we took care of the Mountain and Water principles and next, we may adjust any occurrence applying Wu Xing principles, in so doing promoting flow of Qi. Ensuring Flow of Qi for a house takes precedence over just the so-called ‘controlling’, ‘weakening’, ‘supporting’ or ‘strengthening’ considerations. 

Working from Wu Xing we always prefer to bridge two ‘controlling’ Stars, rather than attacking any of the Stars involved. A good example would be the 2-3 combination that is often referred to as ‘Bull Fight Sha’, because Star 2 is under grave ‘attack’ of Star 3. If Star 2 represents the mother or the wife, and if Star 3 represents a male, then the combination also reads: ‘son molesting the mother’ and comparable. The 3-2 and 2-3 combination is considered to produce arguments and lawsuit. 

Some would then introduce Metal in order to keep Star 3 in check. This would be on the one hand ignorant, but it is also unnecessary, because when Qi has a choice between attacking or supporting, it would choose the path of least resistance and support rather than attack. Furthermore, Star 3 under check of Metal could be easily aggravated, so the situation for the mother could become more complicated. 

Others would introduce Fire, in an attempt to build a bridge between 3 Wood and 2 Earth. Although bridging two antagonistic Stars is already one step ahead on the right path, if we would add Fire to weaken the 3 Wood Star, we would at the same time be strengthening Star 2, which would strengthen the portents for sickness or lead us to Star 2 related events. 

A more appropriate adjustment on the 2-3 combination then becomes to introduce both Metal and Fire. The Fire will bridge Stars 3 and 2, the Metal will be introduced not so much as to just monitor Star 3, but by adding Metal we will not have this flow of Qi end in events associated with Star 2 (3 > 9 > 2), rather we will tempt to lead the house into producing Metal events (3 > 9 > 2 > 6). It is not necessary to then also introduce Water – so as to ‘complete the cycle’ – as we are pretty satisfied already with the Metal outcome. Understanding this dynamic must be one of the more pertinent aspects in your ability of Reading the Stars and you can extend this approach to other Star combinations. 

Some would simply lead the Prominent Water Dragon into the room with a bad combination, the reasoning being that the Prominent Qi – the most prevailing and Vibrant Qi for a twenty year Feng Shui Period– can take care of bad portents. 

For Period 8, Star 8 in presence of evil Stars will be able to sufficiently take care of the evil portents and transform the ill Qi.
 

1-4

Star 1 is Tan Lang, Star 4 is Wen Qu (Literary Star), the combination between Star 1 and 4 produces a third ‘Star’, the Peach Blossom. 

Any combination between two Stars may be regarded as to conceive a child, a new life, a resultant Qi, and this child may be any portent, a favorable or unfavorable event, a beneficial or malign behavioral trait, a noble or evil intent. Bottom line is, that you take two steps back to take in no position and not clinging to any preference, and that you build your ability of Reading the Stars, in other words become proficient in Building the Story. Before you appears a soap opera, with actors that you like, actors that you distrust, with episodes taking an unexpected turn, an ongoing story line or events leaving as swift as they were introduced. 

Critical in this analogy is, that you are not the spectator in this soap opera, you are one of the scriptwriters as you are invited to influence the outcome. 

There are several Peach Blossom combinations, of which 1-4 is regarded most potent. The combination is fairly active and it seems it does not require a lot for it to come into effect, be that the appropriate version or the inappropriate version. 

Married couples are advised against activating this combo, but I have seen one of a married couple going against this advise only to then find herself linked to a new partner within weeks of adjusting the 1-4 Peach Blossom. 

For the duration of Period 7, Stars 1 and 4 are Untimely but Useable. This means that, although Stars 1 and 4 are pretty much distanced away from their own Periods (Yun), they both tap into Vibrant Qi. Starting Period 8, the Untimely but Useable Stars will be 3 and 6, while Star 1 will loose some of its Vibrant properties, at the same time maintaining much of its fortunate portents because it is one of the fortunate White Stars (1,6,8), but Star 4 loosing most of its beneficial properties and may turn sour if in connection with wrong Form and Qi because it is capable of ill intent. 

With good Form and Qi, the combo is reputable for giving birth to success in examination, reputation, mutual love and devotion amongst spouses, intelligence and promotion. Spending time in the sector with the 1-4 combination may bring considerable success in writing, it promotes research activities, scholarship. 

With ill surroundings or bad timing, the combo may invite inappropriate romance, scandal, promiscuity, problems in the respiratory system and breathing (4), failing tests and exams (for example with a Star 9 flying in, draining the 4). Troubles finishing manuscripts, and possibly leading to scandal after publishing. With beautiful surroundings, the combination may produce a good and successful novel, but with the combination compromised in any way, publication may lead to controversy. 

Furthermore, we need to assess whether the combination finds an enclosed space, or if we find the combo in an open door or at the main door even. All this will affect the events. 

You need to be careful before you introduce stimulating measures on this combination in your own or anyone else’s life. Also, some adjustments on certain combos you would just do, but you would not tell your client about it, this is one of them. Be conservative around this one, but we cannot skip discussing this combination in a review on how the Read the Stars.

 

Mountains

A mountain receives, accumulates and emits energies from the eight directions. In Period 8, Star 1 is in the West, so if a house is on the East side of a mountain, the house will receive Star 1.

Tilted doors

Does it make sense to tilt doors. Some masters earn serious money by tilting doors by sometimes one degree or less, claiming the result will bring immense wealth to the client. 

We all know that the Flying Star chart is determined by the Facing Palace of the built structure. The door may or may not be found in the Facing Palace. Some masters still determine the Flying Star chart using the orientation of the door, the door then being considered the Facing side of the house. Some, if not satisfied with the belonging Flying Star chart, may suggest the door be tilted in favor of a more superior chart. Tilting a door, however, will not determine or change the Flying Star chart. 

Based on gravitational force, Qi will travel towards a physical center, having come in from any of the eight directions. Environmental Qi (Stars) will be carried to a physical structure on the back of the directions. 

The inflow of Qi current cannot be influenced by shape of the building. Qi will be coming from the East for building A just as it will come in from the East for building B.

 

The basic understanding must be that both doors shown below, admit the same amount and quality environmental Qi. Pay special attention how a tilted door will not change the inflow of Qi, whether closed or opened, as it will at very best change the amount and intensity of incoming Qi, but this will not be different from any other closed or opened door.


 

Concerning the tilting of doors we shall have to bring our considerations back to:

- Directional influence of Qi
- Flow of Qi

I am sure this subject alone will raise an eyebrow or two and I am convinced that each person will have his or her own assessment concerning this subject. Recently you will have noticed a massive increase on the internet in the use of two terms, 'tilted door' and 'secret'. Because there is a lot at stake in our Feng Shui society, the subject of tilting doors was meanwhile lifted even to the status of controversy, sometimes even masters attacking each other. 

So, I will not be able to give you anything but a few of what I feel are basic considerations.

Imagine a building, it will receive directional Qi. This directional Qi is still influence, not yet effect. It didn’t impact the building yet.

 

This directional Qi will approach and reach the house in a straight line, because if not, how else could we say a house taps into 'x' degrees or how could we find the right Mountain on the 24 Mountain Ring of the Luo Pan.

Then, comes a moment that Qi impacts the building and what happens next is all within the realm of directional Qi Flow.

- Qi approaching a structure as directional influence
- Qi impacts the structure
- Qi starts having effect inside the house, causing interior flow of Qi

Any door, closed or opened, tilted or not, has not even come into play yet, while we are still assessing directional Qi and establishing along what  paths - and by what intensity - it will approach a building.

Directional Qi will simply approach a building from a certain direction and will try find its way to the physical center of a house. I tend to think of this as keeping to a 'straight' line of approach.

Then, only from the moment Qi actually entered the house, we will have flow of Qi. Somewhere in between directional Qi and flow of Qi, we may just find a door.

Then, reflect once more on what a door is in Xuan Kong Feng Shui. Then, also reflect on how Qi behaves. Knowing the answer to these two basic questions, will give you an idea about the practice of tilting doors. Well, again we need to first return to the principles of Mountain and Water, but let's limit this so as to just remember that a door is only functioning as a door when it is open or used. A closed door in Xuan Kong sense is a wall, because "Qi rides with the wind...", which implies that Qi will be blocked when it encounters anything solid, like a mountain or a wall. So, a closed door - tilted or not - is a wall.

 

                    This is a closed door. It functions as a wall because it
                    disallows Qi to be admitted into the house (we must
                    agree, however, that Qi is of course never totally
                    disallowed to enter any physical structure, and always
                    some amount of Qi will enter, but certain other Qi
                    aspects, such as sound, air, temperature and so on,
                    be blocked out by walls).

                    The same door, the same location and orientation of
                    the door and the same door width. The directional Qi
                    will be admitted into the house once we open the
                    door. Directional Qi still moves in a straight line.

The practice of tilting doors is based on the assumption that with the tilt, influx or outflow of (directional) Qi will no longer move in a straight line, but instead the arrow representing direction of environmental Qi (not yet flow of Qi) would also ‘tilt’ to the extend of degrees in which the door was then tilted.

Now concentrating on an opened door, would you say that the opening of a traditionally aligned door is different from the opening of a tilted door, changing the directional path of environmental Qi, changing the way it gets into a structure? Did a tilt change the width of the door?

To reflect on this a little better, I need you to actually stand in front of your house and visualize all this. Then, while you identify with directional Qi you need to approach the house and ask yourself if any tilt in either house or door would impact or influence any of your movements. Would any tilt in house or door impact your quality or intensity.

Then, draw a floor plan, one with a traditional door alignment, one with a tilted door, and try visualize how Qi will impact a building in either case. Draw two arrows, one to represent directional Qi, one to represent flow of Qi into the house.

There are three possibilities:

- Door closed
- Door completely opened
- Door opened to any extent

Again, you approaching a house, your movement would not be altered by the tilt of house or door.

Once you step through the door, and in order to enter fairly comfortable, you would perhaps need to adjust the angle of your body, but this would be influenced by the extent to which you find the door was opened, not so much by the degree of tilt of the door.

Anyway, you would need to turn your body in order to find your most convenient entering the house and we can be sure that environmental Qi would not make such type of acrobatic turns. If you would then say, yes but does Qi then not flow into the door’s opening, we would be talking about wind currents and this is something else.

Adjusting the angle of your body, this would do something to your speed, your intensity, but it would neither change your identity, intentions, or properties. Same difference between how directional Qi approaches a structure and how it enters through the door, but only after it already got in. 

Exercise I
Imagine you are on a bicycle, and this is your house.
You are cycling against the wind, the wind is directional Qi.
Your mouth is open, this is your door.

By opening your mouth straight into the wind, the wind will enter your mouth from a certain given direction and in a certain given intensity.

Now you can choose to either close your mouth or keep it open, but neither will this change the wind, nor its direction, nor its taste, nor its intensity. 

When then you turn away your head (tilt your mouth) you will have only changed the flow of wind entering your mouth, you will have not changed the direction, temperature or anything else about the wind. You did something with the intensity.

Direction and strength of wind remain unchanged, regardless of tilt of face.

Exercise II
You stand in a room, directly underneath a ceiling lamp.
The source of light is your directional Qi.

Standing straight up, you are like an aligned door.
Look at your shadow. It will have a certain length and angle to it.

Stay exactly where you are, but slightly lean forward.
Now you changed yourself into a tilted door, casting a different shadow.
You will have not changed the intensity, direction or amount of light, i.e.  no changes in directional Qi.

Likewise, flow of Qi may alter the intensity of a Star, but it cannot change the Star.

Yes, the Flying Star chart of a built structure is found by combining the construction date with the compass orientation at the Facing Palace. 

However, Facing Palace and door are not synonymous. Changing door, either by tilting or taking it into any other 45 degree Palace, may not  change the Facing side of a building and can therefore not decide on the Flying Star chart.

When a door is not found in a good Palace it simply means that we must advice against using this door. It is because there may be a Water Dragon 2 or a Water Dragon 5, or any other untimely Star or indication for Sha.

Changing the tilt of the door will still leave the Stars in place in the belonging Palace. Tilting a door admitting a 5 inside a building, will not have changed the properties of 5, it will not have changed the fact that the 5 will be admitted into the house, as it may at the most have altered the intensity in which an energy enters the house.

Situation A shows a North Facing house, with a door in the North sector, the door itself with a North orientation. Door taps into Water Dragon 1. 

Situation B shows a door still located in the North sector, but the door is tilted in a Northwest orientation.
 

We need first establish what happens when you change a North Facing door into a tilted Northwest oriented door. Well, if you had a stream of water flowing right into the house from the North and you don’t like your house to flood, you could close the door, or tilt it, but if the doors are opened you would not decrease the amount of water flowing into your house. What is more, you will not suddenly have water from the Northeast flow into your house. 

What a tilted door may do is, it may protect you from a certain cold wind that flies in annoyingly from the North, but when you then tilt the door to the Northwest or West, you protected yourself from Northern winds, but the door will not just suddenly admit Northwestern or Western winds. 

What a tilted door may do also, is that it may allow in more sunlight, but here it is not different than the orientation of any glass window. 

Also, you would want to do this only when the Northwest sector is opportune also on all other accounts, the more where you could also tap into a wealth of clean and healthy water from this direction. 

Anyway, when tilting the door is then not the appropriate technique to introduce the Water Dragon 8 into the house, what can we do. Besides installing the door in the Northwest Palace, we can design a pathway for Qi.

 

There is a 1-4 combination for literacy in the Facing Palace, arriving at the door. This could produce a songwriter, a novelist, a performer of arts. 

If you would be then able to tap into the Water Dragon 8 by creating a pathway from the Northwest to the door (or if you cannot construct an actual pathway, perhaps you could either just park your car in the Northwest or walk up to the house from the Northwest), this could affect career and events in the house. 

The Water Dragon 8 in the Qian Palace would be transported into the house by human Qi and this would connect the properties of Star 8 to the properties of the 1-4 combination found at the door. 

If all other features are agreeable, we would have a successful author, perhaps a little revolutionary and unconventional (8), but celebrated.

As a side note, if a house through its main entrance takes in a certain Star, all interior doors that are oriented into the same direction would take in the same type of Qi. 

A main entrance oriented due North, and taking in Star 2, this would mean all interior rooms that have their doors oriented due North would likewise tap into this Star 2. Advise here would then be to have a Metal adjustment in the main entrance and treat the interior doors admitting Star 2 in a similar matter. 

Some masters, however, will on the one hand advice clients to tilt a main door away from a certain Star, e.g. Water Dragon 2, but how come they then also not advised interior doors be tilted away?

THE END