Let us tackle the North-South issue once and for all
- First published by Heluo in 1999 -

 We measure Earth Magnetic Field
 

Whether for our Xuan Kong Feng Shui studies, our Four Pillars of Destiny studies or Nine Star Ki studies, we measure our planet’s magnetic field.

Feng Shui measures magnetic North by means of a magnetic needle. The source of this magnetic field is at the magnetic South Pole, produced by the planet earth, near the geographic North.

Whether I am on the Northern hemisphere or on the Southern hemisphere, this does not change the source of magnetic energy, and my compass needle will point to the same direction.

All our studies are thus based on Longitude, rather than on Latitude.

Planet earth produces several poles, the most important being near the geographic South pole and North pole.

We need first distinguish between geographic North and the magnetic North pole. We need also distinguish between geographic South and the magnetic South pole.

Magnetic North pole is near the geographic South pole.
Magnetic South pole is near the geographic North pole.

For our Feng Shui studies we need also distinguish between magnetic North and astronomical – or true – North.

Geographic – or true - North is a geographical location on earth, not involved in our determination of energetic fields.

This illustration shows magnetic fields entering and coming out of the magnetic poles of our planet.

In Xuan Kong Feng Shui we distinguish between directions due to the sun and fixed stars, and directions due to magnetism.

Before the magnetic needle came into use, the sun and the pole star were used to determine direction.

Some maintain that there should be a difference in applying our Qi studies like Feng Shui, Four Pillars of Destiny and Nine Star Ki for the Southern hemisphere. Their reasoning being that the sun follows a different path. At noon, the sun appears in the North on the Southern hemisphere, rather than in the South on the Northern hemisphere.

However, the magnetic needle does not measure the sun pattern, it measures earth magnetic force. The magnetic needle is furthermore not used in Feng Shui to measure apparent seasons, or any climactic features.

While planet earth is a rotating vessel, when looked upon it from a bird’s eye view, it also ‘wobbles’.

This ‘wobble’ causes for the earth axis to change position and for the crown of the planet to be directed towards or away from the center of our galaxy, bringing about huge planetary changes and giving earth a different North Star each time.

A Galactic year has a 2 million year cycle that can be further divided into smaller cycles.

25.920 years – called a Great Year - is widely taken as approximately the period for one precession cycle.

Geographic North is not the source of magnetic field, nor is it the foundation for Feng Shui compass realities, because as you can see it is not a source of energy.

The cardinal direction of North is an astronomical direction and linked to true North.

Feng Shui ‘North’ - or compass North - is not the astronomical North, but magnetic North, and the same for the entire globe.

Magnetic declination is a term to indicate in degrees the difference between astronomical and magnetic North and is an ever changing phenomena. Magnetic declination can be taken as roughly 23.45° at the North pole at this time, but you should note that this is an ever changing phenomenon.

Physical features like the sun or topographical structures can be also used to determine directions, but in Feng Shui these do not determine the house chart, which is always determined due to magnetic orientation.

If in Feng Shui we were to measure true North we would not be measuring any source of magnetic energy. We would then have no need for different Flying Star charts.

Also, if we were to measure true North, rather than magnetic North, we would separate the magnetic field of our human bodies from the magnetic effects of magnetic North.

There is similarity in ‘above and below’ or ‘inside and outside’ and we can hardly find anything inside our bodies that cannot be found also out there somewhere in the cosmos.

As an example, did you know that the declination factor of 23.4° of the earth’s axis can be found also in the angle of our heart?

Feng Shui studies the interaction between magnetic fields of built structures – including here the built structure that our human body is – with the ever changing magnetic fields of our planet.

The three compass Needles

The Chinese compass – or Luo Pan – includes three plates (referred to as “Needles”), each differing 7,5 degrees from the other.

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