INTRODUCTION Applying the Secrets of the Feng Shui Compass

       THERE ARE MANY SYSTEMS OF FENG SHUI BUT THE EASIEST TO MASTER IS COMPASS FENG SHUI. THIS IS BECAUSE IT IS VERY PRECISE, REQUIRING ACCURACY IN READING THE COMPASS AND IN DEMARCATING THE SPACE BEING FENG SHUIED. COMPASS FENG SHUI TAKES THE GUESSWORK OUT OF FENG SHUI PRACTICE, AND ALL SERIOUS MASTER PRACTITIONERS OF FENG SHUI USE THE FENG SHUI COMPASS, OR LUO PAN, IN THEIR PROFESSIONAL WORK.

      The Luo Pan is an invaluable tool. At first glance it is an intimidating instrument – it is filled with as many as 3000 Chinese characters, numbers, lines, and symbolic markings. The Luo Pans used by masters of feng shui are usually at least 9 inches (22cm) in diameter with over 20 concentric rings of numbers, characters, colors, and codes. These contain a wealth of secrets – secrets handed down from master to disciple for hundreds of generations. The Luo Pan contains enough feng shui secrets to fill many books. Today, the bright glare of 21st century attention means that these secrets are available to an ever-growing band of “disciples.”

      To those who want to learn how to use the compass to create magnificent good fortune for themselves and their families, the secrets of the Luo Pan are worth learning – especially since on closer examination it is not such a daunting instrument after all.

      The Luo Pan, or Chinese feng shui compass, is exactly the same as any western-style compass – it is not a different tool. Both compasses indicate exactly the same directions. The Luo Pan, however, was the ancient masters’ means of condensing all their feng shui knowledge into one instrument. Today, all the information contained in the Luo Pan can be reduced to simple charts and graphics that can be organized and presented in user-friendly formats. Then all you need is a simple western-style compass to get your bearings and your orientations.

      This book is, in effect, your Luo Pan. All the information in the Luo Pan pertaining to Yang dwellings (that is houses of the living as opposed to grave sites, or houses of the dead) is explained here in detail and illustrated, where necessary, in easy diagrams. Practical examples are used to explain the more complex applications of the compass but as you turn the pages you will be amazed at how simple supposedly advanced feng shui can be. Do not expect to become a master overnight, however. The formulas of feng shui are easy to understand but if you want your practice to have real depth and potency you should use these formulas as much as possible. Repeated practical application is important in perfecting one’s understanding. Superiority in application comes from experience.

      The more you use the formulas the more profound your use of feng shui will become. And then you will begin to appreciate the amazing genius behind this 4000-year-old system of environmental science. You will realize as you start to understand the lines and markings of the Luo Pan that the feng shui masters use it for more than just measuring directions. They use it as an instrument for studying the cosmic flow of chi, or energy, in the environment.

      The Luo Pan recognizes that all directions are relative. Directions do not exist without a reference point. All directions – no matter who uses them – can only be expressed in terms of a starting point. Thus the Chinese view the compass as a measure of flowing chi currents around a piece of property or a home. This is the starting point, and from this they use the compass to divide the space around it, so that the chi of every degree of space can then be analyzed. In the Luo Pan, 360 degrees is first divided into eight segments of 45 degrees each. These correspond to the primary and secondary directions – north, south, east, and west, as well as northwest, northeast, southwest, and southeast. These 45-degree segments have their corresponding attributes, elements, colors, numbers, and meanings. Just knowing the meanings of the eight directions enables any amateur feng shui practitioner to benefit greatly from the correct placement of doors, objects, rooms, and so forth.

      Much contemporary feng shui practice concentrates on using the meanings of these eight basic compass directions to determine the arrangement of space and the placement of enhancers within the home. In this book we go deeper.

      This is because these eight directions can be subdivided again to fine-tune the practice further. The Luo Pan divides each of the eight segments into three sub-segments of directions. This means that instead of having only eight directions, we now have 24 – each covering an angle of 15 degrees. The meanings of the Luo Pan are expressed according to these segments, which are referred to as “the 24 mountains.” Each mountain covers an angle of 15 degrees, and each angle of direction contains a broad range of meanings that define the variables of the most powerful formulas of feng shui.

      The study of the 24 mountains is therefore central to the cosmic chi being analyzed. A further refinement of direction takes place when we go deeper. This is because the Luo Pan – and especially the Three Harmony Luo Pan – also takes account of three different bases upon which the direction north (and hence all other directions) can be determined. The Three Harmony Luo Pan recognizes three measurements of north: true north (that indicated by the sundial), magnetic north, and Polaris north. So there are three measurements of north. Each of these measurements is 7.5 degrees apart – with magnetic north in the center – and each is said to be sitting on a parallel “plate.” The Heaven Plate equates with true north, the Earth Plate with magnetic north, and the Mankind Plate with Polaris north.

      The feng shui master uses all the formulas of the different plates, and hence the different measurements of north to analyze different aspects of feng shui – whether the analysis is of mountains and rivers, or the influence of time on one’s feng shui. It is because of this that the Luo Pan has so many rings – each set of rings signifies the meanings, formulas, and applications of each plate.

      Our task is made easier, however, because most of the formulas for Yang dwellings use the magnetic north of the earth plate, and this is what we will largely focus on in this book. I strongly discourage amateurs from even attempting to practice Yin feng shui. The Luo Pan contains more than enough hugely beneficial information on Yang dwellings to keep one fascinated for a lifetime. It is unnecessary and even foolhardy to dabble with Yin feng shui since this requires practical work in cemeteries and gravesites. Ugh! As I have a natural aversion to cemeteries I have always politely declined any offer to teach me Yin feng shui.

      There are different types of Luo Pan

      Each type of Luo Pan contains the attributes and variables of different formulas. Thus one type of Luo Pan can be used to study the impact of landforms – such as mountains and rivers or buildings and roads in today’s city environment. Another type of Luo Pan is used to assess the quality of spatial and time dimension feng shui, while a third type combines the different plates of the compass that take account of three types of north. The Luo Pan is a very accurate and subtle instrument in that every angle measured in degrees of direction offers various interpretations and applications. Compass feng shui is based almost exclusively on measuring the luck of directions – both facing directions