1 OR 2 NOTES
ON FACING, SITTING
AND MING TANG
Compass reading at the
Facing side
There is much more to be said about Ming Tang, Facing and Sitting and
we’ll address some of the issues further down. Before we do we reflect on
the compass reading.
Now that you have determined the Facing and Sitting take an exact compass
reading at the Facing side.
For a general house the result of your reading can be then equally applied
to each floor and each individual room.
Now we need to determine the Eight Palaces and draw the Flying Star chart.
The combination of the
twenty year Feng Shui
Period and the compass orientation at the Facing
provide the data to chart the horoscope of the house.
Please realize that the determination of Facing and Sitting, or a true
reading cannot - or hardly ever - be done from a floorplan.
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, and to calculate and interpret yet other features
revealed by the Luo Pan and the Flying Star chart. The descriptions and
explanations given here can never be complete and 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 with the Earth’s magnetic field.
The perimeter of the compass housing contains directional data.
The compass directional data consists of a 360 degrees circumference.
These 360 degree markings are indicated in 1 degree increments.
There are eight directions indicated by the compass. The four cardinal
directions include South, West, North, and East. The four secondary
directions include Southwest, Northwest, Northeast, and Southeast.
Each of these directions delineates 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 complex because of all of the information
generated by the determination of degree.
Any ordinary compass may be used in Feng Shui. However, there are
specially designed geomantic compasses termed Luo Jing or Luo Pan which
are available. These Luo Jing and Luo Pan contain additional outer rings
outside of the normal degree markings. These outer rings contain
information pertinent to the geomancer including the 24 Mountains, Trigram
Directions, and various other information as necessary.
Perhaps by far the best Luo Pan you can wish for can be found
here.
Also as a help in determining your house chart, find a calculator
here.
The 24 Mountain
Ring
You will need the 24 Mountain Ring to arrive to a Flying Star chart.
The 24 Mountains delineate the compass directions into further sections.
Each of the eight directions delineates 45° of arc and also contains 3 of
the Mountains. Each of the Mountains delineates 15° of arc on the
circumference.
When you take a compass reading of your Facing it is not sufficient to say
that your house is facing
North.
North is 45 degrees in whole, but can be further divided
into three smaller sections of 15 degrees each. These smaller segments are
called Mountains. A compass has 8 directions times 3 Mountains is 24
mountains.
The North sector
of 45 degrees can be divided into three smaller sections of 15 degrees
each. It is quite easy to refer to these sectors as N1, N2 and N3, going
clockwise over the Luo Pan.
The 24 Mountain Ring
consists of the Ten Heavenly Stems, the Twelve Earthly Branches and four
of the eight Trigrams.
You must obtain an accurate compass reading to arrive at the exact degree
and thereby the specific
15 degrees
Mountain.
The accuracy of the compass reading is absolutely critical in Feng Shui
applications.
When reading a compass it is suggested that you remove all jewellery,
metallic objects, and electronic devices from your person. Remain as
distant as possible from any metallic objects, electrical devices, and
underground water. Other materials such as wood, glass, brick, and, stone
have also occasionally demonstrated the ability to disrupt the compass.
Stand outside at the Facing of the building with your back to the
building. The direction 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 pointing North and South according to your particular
compass.
The compass will now properly display the directions.
Now you can begin to refine the reading to determine the exact degree of
bearing. You do this by taking readings from a multitude of locations and
distances around the building, including the sides and
at the
Sitting
side.
Note discrepancies and re-evaluate until you arrive at an accurate
reading.
Repeat each reading while continually adjusting the height of the compass
to knee level, 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 the housing to the square of the building for
accuracy.

Inclination
of the compass needle
You will find most compass readings easy.
Take three readings, one at the middle of the Facing wall and two other
readings to either side of the 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 to take another series of readings a
little farther away from the building, again at 3 locations along the
Facing wall.
You may check your findings at the Facing side by taking a compass reading
of 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
none of the readings is satisfactory, you can ask the needle to tell you
why.
Take the compass and walk along the Facing wall as indicated. Keeping your
attention focussed on the needle, you will be able to study its
inclinations.
Carefully record all the different readings and be sure to state on your
report whether the compass was at knee level, navel level, or chest level,
and the locations on the property where the readings were obtained, and
any anomalies noticed.
Occasionally a compass reading may prove difficult, but it will get much
easier once you forget that you are there. In other words, the needle will
tell the story and you need only observe. Listen to the needle, don’t
control it.
Use the best quality compass or Luo Pan possible, which is usually the
best compass you can afford.
Never work from blueprints, survey maps, architectural drawings, or any
other map or drawing regardless of who they are provided by, because maps
mostly show geographic North. In Feng Shui we determine magnetic North.
From this routine you can accurately determine the Facing degrees and
construct an accurate Flying Star chart for the building.
The flying star chart for the house can also be superimposed onto each
individual room. So when the house has three Stars in the South sector,
each South sector of each 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 determine the physical center of each and every
individual floor or room.
Doors and windows determine a lot of the Qi qualities coming in or leaving
your house, but they do not determine house horoscope. House horoscope is
determined by year the house was been built (Time factor) combined with
the specific orientation in degrees of the Facing side of the house
(Space).
Checklist compass reading
-
Be sure to use a good Chinese compass, showing exact degrees in its
most
outer 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, these will bear geographic North rather
than magnetic North 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. Be sure to have a clear, rested and efficient mind.
Let the compass tell you the outcome, don’t go telling the needle what
it should instead tell 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:
-
You have determined the definite Facing side of the built
structure.
-
You found the structure’s construction date, i.e. the correct
Feng
Shui Period.
-
You know the exact Facing degree of the compass.
-
You have arrived to the exact 15 degree mountain as seen from
the 24 mountain ring.
-
You found the physical center of the structure and
superimposed the Ba Gua according to directions.
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