The Lo shu Magic Square Part 4

In previous issues we have looked at the theory behind the lo shu: now we turn to the practical application of this magic square. What can it do for you?

There are a number of important pieces of information which can be worked out from the lo shu, but the most obvious are your Best Locations and Best Directions. Now one of the most confusing things about feng shui for beginners is the difference between location and direction.

Suppose you are standing in the middle of your living room. Your location is ‘middle’. Now turn and face one of the windows. Your direction is now ‘towards the window’.

Now move over and stand in front of the window looking out. Your location is now ‘window’ and your direction is still ‘towards the window’. Stay in the same place, but turn towards the middle of the room. Your location is still the same, but your direction is ‘towards the middle’. Sorry to labour the point, but once you have got the distinction between direction and location, a lot of the minor difficulties of feng shui fall away.

Now go round your room putting four pieces of paper, one at each of the cardinal points, each labelled N, S, E, W. Use a compass if you have one, otherwise try to use a street atlas or road map to work out the four cardinal points.

Now try the simple exercise of placing yourself as follows:
Location West, facing direction East, then
Location Centre, facing South, then
Location South, facing East.

The last one is a bit trickier: while standing in the South you are supposed to face East. This means facing along the southern wall in an easterly direction. It does not mean facing the place where your ‘E’ piece of paper is. Think about it!

Finding The Directions

Enough of the simple stuff. How do you find out your best directions and locations? First you calculate your kua number. We always have a beginners section in the magazine which tells you how to do this (check page 81). Let’s assume that your kua number is seven, for the purpose of this explanation. On page 81 you can see that the eight-sided figure with ‘7’ in its middle shows each of the eight Directions with a Chinese name for the influence coming from that direction. In the case of ‘7’ there are four shaded Directions, which are your not-so lucky Directions, and four white Directions that are your lucky Directions. Of these, the most powerful is the one marked sheng ch’i.

A Bit Of Reorganising

Now, armed with this knowledge, you can if necessary reorganise your environment to your maximum advantage. After all that is what feng shui is really about. It is better to face one of your Best Directions if you are sitting anywhere regularly for long periods of time. Such times are when you sit in one place to work, or when you sit at the same chair to eat, or when you sleep in the same bed. Places where you sit for short periods of time don’t really matter, unless it is something crucial like a proposal or an important business meeting where you need all the help you can get. Remember that when you are sleeping the direction your head points is the key one.

 

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