The Numerology of Nine Star Fengshui

The Numerology of Nine Star

Fengshui

Trinity University

Illuminating the Eight Halls

The technique of residential fengshui known as Bazhai mingjing
(Illuminating the eight halls), one of the most popular systems in use
since the Qing dynasty, has been called the most obscure and
difficult to understand of the different versions of the compass school.
This is because there has never been a satisfactory explanation of
the cosmological principles employed by this school, including, but
not limited to, a justification for its apparently arbitrary assignment of
good and bad fortune to the compass directions. This essay will first
outline the rudiments of the technique as currently practiced, then
suggest a possible derivation of its most baffling methodologies.

Figure 1

Houtian Trigrams and
Directional Correlates

A unique characteristic of this technique of fengshui is its
apparent sole reliance on the bagua, or eight trigrams of the
Yijing, and particularly on the sequence of those eight trigrams
known as the houtian (post-heaven) configuration. In the
Shuogua zhuan "Trigram Explanation" commentary of the
Yijing, each trigram of the houtian sequence is also correlated
with one of the eight directions, as in fig. 1 (click on the link to
the left to see the illustration). The 3x3 grid illustrated in this
diagram is called the jiugong, or Palace of Nine Halls. A trigram
and one of the eight directions represent each of eight of the
nine halls (in traditional Chinese cartography, south is placed at
the top of the map rather than north). The direction identifies its
location in space and the trigram characterizes the qi of that
location. The ninth hall is the courtyard of the palace.

Other correlations were undoubtedly being made at this time. For
example, the trigrams of the houtian sequence were also given
seasonal associations as well as agricultural connotations (see
below). Later on (conceivably as early as the Han dynasty) the
houtian configuration of trigrams was correlated with a sequence of
numbers known as the luoshu, or "Luo River writing." The luoshu is
first mentioned in the Confucian Analects, and the Daoist
philosopher Zhuangzi first mentioned the "nine numbers" of the luo.
The Xici zhuan or "Great Commentary" of the Yijing, first connected
the luoshu with another configuration of numbers known as the
hetu, or "River chart," which will be discussed in some detail later in
this analysis. At the very latest by the beginning of the Han dynasty

the luoshu was understood as the magic square of three, an
arrangement of the digits 1 through 9 in a three-by-three grid such
that rows, columns, and diagonals all add up to 15 (see fig. 2).

Figure 2

Houtian Trigrams and

Luoshu Numbers

On various divination boards buried in Han era tombs the numbers
and the trigrams can be indirectly related.

As for the numbers, in an

early Han dynasty tomb in Anhui province a zhanpan divination board
(dated to 173 BCE) was discovered on the face of which were
inscribed nine numbers in the luoshu configuration. The disc of the
zhanpan was divided into eight equal segments by four intersecting
diameters, the endpoints of which were numbered in the order 4, 9,
2, 7, 6, 1, 8, 3, reading clockwise. As for the trigrams, a shipan
"cosmograph" was discovered in another Han dynasty tomb in Korea,
the tomb of Wang Xu (d. 69 CE). The square plate of this divining
board was also dissected by four intersecting diameters, each of
which was labeled with one of the eight trigrams of the houtian
sequence. Figure 2 correlates houtian trigrams and luoshu numbers
(click on the link to the left to view the illustration).

The Nine Stars and the Great Roving Year

The correlation of the luoshu numbers and bagua trigrams is the
minimum requirement for conducting bazhai fengshui readings. A
formula called the

da you nian, "Great Roving Year" is the means by

which number and trigram merge. First, the sequence of digits 1
through 9 is repeated 20 times to match three sixty-term, ganzhi
cycles of 180 years called the sanyuan, "Tri-epoch." Since every year
has a ganzhi designation, in the Tri-epoch everyone's year of birth has
a digital correlate from 1 to 9. Each luo number has a unique trigram,
derived from its houtian correlation (see fig. 2), so when the Tri-epoch
digit is equated with the luo number, each person has a trigram that
corresponds to his/her natal year. This is called the minggua, or the
natal trigram, and it identifies the character of cosmic qi present at the
person's birth. Finally, the natal trigram is paired with each of the eight
directional trigrams in the houtian sequence (called zhaigua or hall
trigrams). Each of the eight minggua therefore has a corresponding
eight zhaigua, and these eight groups of eight trigrams complete the
da you nian. This complement of a natal trigram and its set of hall
trigrams represents a metaphysical interaction between the
individual's natal qi and the qi of the environment that surrounds that
individual. This conjunction is essentially thought of as a
transformation of the minggua into the zhaigua and vice-versa (called
biangua or bianyao), and each transformation is capable of generating
good or bad fortune for the individual.

The auspice generated by the

conjunction is known as jiuxing, or the Nine Stars.

The provenance of the concept of Nine Stars is unknown, but the
scant textual evidence suggests at the very least that it was religious
in origin. The

unusual nouns (see table 1 below) supposedly name

the seven stars of Beidou, the Northern Ladle (Big Dipper), plus two
secret "companions" to the penultimate star of the handle. There is a

considerable body of legend attached to the stars of Beidou, which
were recognized as deities by Daoist priests of the 4

century. By the

late Tang dynasty, when fengshui texts such as Hanlong jing were
written, the Nine Stars referred to archetypal terrestrial counterparts of
the celestial namesakes, mountain shapes that seemingly have
nothing to do with the original names. Finally, by the time bazhai
fengshui flourished in the Qing dynasty, the Nine Stars were
apparently arbitrary names for the eight levels of auspice associated
with trigram transformation.

Table 1

Let us now
return to the
Great Roving
Year. When
the natal
trigram is
known, it is
compared with
each of the
eight
directional
trigrams. The
divergence of
lines across
the space of
each pair of
trigrams
determines the
star that will
govern a
particular
direction for
that particular
person. Each
star in turn is
characterized
by a specific
auspice. For
example, if the
natal trigram
and the hall
trigram differ
by only the top
line, the
Ravenous
Wolf star
governs the
transformation,
and the
auspice is
"great fortune."
Table 1
enumerates
the four lucky
stars and the
four unlucky
stars, their
unique

auspices, and
the diverging
lines that mark
the
transformation
from one
trigram to the
next (click on
the link to the
left to view the
table).

Table 2

To provide an example of da
you nian transformation table 2
uses the trigram qian as the
natal trigram, and then lists the
eight trigrams, their directions,
and the accompanying
auspices from table 1 (click on
the link to the left to view table
2). From these two tables it can
be seen that of the eight
directional auspices for each
minggua of the Nine Star
system, four are auspicious and
four are inauspicious.

Figure 3

Eastern and Western Halls

If the remaining natal trigrams are expanded according to the da
you nian transformations as in table 2 above, an interesting
phenomenon emerges. Half of the natal trigrams are fortunate
matches with the same four hall trigrams--specifically, the
directions west, southwest, northeast, and northwest, as in table 2.
And the other half of the natal trigrams are fortunate matches with
the remaining four hall trigrams--specifically the directions south,
east, north, and southeast. These two groups of trigrams are
called the dong si zhai, the "four eastern halls," and the xi si zhai,
the "four western halls," and form the configuration around the
houtian sequence of trigrams as illustrated in figure 3 (click on the
link to the left to see the illustration). The logic of this array, which
is not externally evident, has never been satisfactorily explained.
Later in this analysis it will be shown how this physical
arrangement of the palace is the one scientifically valid basis of
bazhai fengshui.

The foregoing discussion has provided the reader with a brief
outline of the methodology of the bazhai or jiugong method of
residential fengshui. If the birthdate is known, the four lucky halls

and the four unlucky halls can be easily derived, and the individual
will then know which is the most appropriate direction in which to
face the house or orient its rooms. However, the question still
remains, what exactly is it that makes a Ravenous Wolf auspicious
and Virtue baleful? The auspice of these stars seems to contradict
their nature. Logically, should not a "virtuous" star bring good
fortune and a "ravenous" star bad fortune? What accounts for the
apparently arbitrary assignment of good and bad fortune to the da
you nian directions?

The Fortune of Five and the Hetu Key

Figure 4

Five Phase Values of Houtian

Trigrams

Obviously these questions have been asked before,
because of the popular texts that discuss the bazhai
methodology, most rely on wuxing "five phase" correlations
to explain the derivation of auspice. The five phase and
eight trigram cosmological systems were also correlated
early on, even though five- and eight-term series are not
easily overlaid. Figure 4 gives the houtian sequence of
trigrams, the orthodox translation of trigram names, their
directions, and their five phase correlations (click on the
link to the left to view the illustration).

Table 3

The supposition of
orthodox fengshui is
that when the five
phase value of the
natal trigram is
matched with the five
phase value of the
directional trigram,
good fortune is
indicated when the
two exhibit a
relationship of
xiangsheng, or
"mutual production,"
while bad fortune is
indicated when the
two exhibit a
relationship of
xiangke, or "mutual
conquest."
Developed by the la
Warring States
yinyang theorist Zo
Yan, these two

sequences are
illustrated in table 3
(click on the link to
the left to view table
3).

xun

auspice of the remaining six directions of the natal

trigram xun.

ns.

ad fortune, cannot be considered the origin of da you nian

auspice.

ces of

For example, let us imagine that a person with the natal trigram xu
wanted to build a house facing the direction north. From fig. 4 we
see that xun has the phase "wood," whereas the direction north is
occupied by the trigram

kan, which has the phase "water." In the

mutual production order of the five phases, water nourishes woo
so this conjunction of xun and kan would indicate good fortune.
From fig. 1 we see that

the xun and kan trigrams differ by

the top

line, and table 1 confirms that the Ravenous Wolf, which brings
great fortune, governs this transformation. On the other hand,
suppose the same person wanted to build a house facing the
direction southwest. The direction southwest is occupied by the
trigram kun, which has the phase "earth." In the mutual conquest
order of the five phases, wood saps earth, so the conjunction of xun
and kun would indicate bad fortune. From fig. 1 we see that the
and kun trigrams differ by the middle and top lines, and table 1
confirms that this transformation is governed by the star Virtue,
which brings great misfortune. In similar fashion five phase theory
can predict the

However, let us take as another example a person born under the
trigram li who plans to build a house facing in the direction northeast.
From fig. 4 we see that li has the phase "fire," whereas the direction
northeast is occupied by the trigram gen, which has the phase "earth."
In the mutual production order of the five phases, fire builds earth, so
the conjunction of li and gen should indicate good fortune. From fig. 1
we see that the li and gen trigrams differ by the bottom line. But, to our
surprise, table 1 refutes our five phase projection. The Mandarinate, a
baleful star that brings lesser misfortune, governs this transformation.
In fact, of the 64 possible trigram conjunctions, fully 15% of da you ni
auspices cannot be predicted accurately by five phase correlatio
Add to this the fact that five phase theories cannot differentiate
between the different levels of good or bad fortune (great, lesser,
small), and it is clear that these theories, while passable indicators of
good and b

Up to now we have seen how the houtian
trigrams correlate with the luoshu numbers to
provide the characteristics of a person's natal
qi. But the resolution of the mystery of auspice
determination requires the juxtaposition of fiv
factors, not just two. In order to facilitate the
reader's comprehension of the numerology
underlying bazhai fengshui, I have prepared
heuristic device in fig. 5, patterned after the
early Han dynasty cosmograph (click on the
link to the left to view the illustration). This
numerical dial juxtaposes the following four
factors: the xiantian and houtian sequen
trigrams, the luoshu numbers, and the

Figure 5

Xiantian and Houtian Trigrams with Luoshu

Numbers

directions. Around the inner dial are arrayed t
xiantian trigram names with their luoshu
correlates. On the square grid are arranged th
trigrams of the houtian sequence, along with
their luoshu numbers from the xiantian dial. O
the outer square I have placed the cardinal
directions. From just these factors, in other
words, without five phase theories and the
mutual orders, we can conduct fengshui
readings as sophisticated as those outlined
above. What makes this possible, however, i
the fact that there lies embedded within this
number dial one more hidden factor, the hetu
system of numbers mentioned briefly above
More importantly, however, this board will
reveal a most intriguing phenomenon that may
have begun as a well-guarded secret cent
ago but was eventually forgotten. From a
numerological standpoint good fortune always
and without ex

uries

ception reveals itself as 5 or a

multiply of 5.

The dial works in this fashion. First choose the natal trigram on the

inner disc and note its number. Next, match this number with each
trigram in turn on the square grid, each of which will correspond to a
direction the house might face. Then take the sum or difference of the
numbers attached to the juxtaposed trigrams. The result will be eight
numbers, four of which are divisible by five (that is, 0, 5, 10, and 15)
and four that are not. Once each of the eight natal trigrams is paired
with its eight directions and the numbers have been computed, it will
become clear that half of the 64 possible conjunctions are multiples of
five. For example, suppose a person has the natal trigram xun, or
number 2 on the dial. It can be matched with the number 3 of direction
south (which equals 5 when added), or the number 8 of the direction
east (which equals 10 when added), or the number 7 of the direction
north (which equals 5 when subtracted), or the number 2 of the
direction southeast (which equals 0 when subtracted). The remaining
four directions produce sums or differences all not divisible by 5.

Figure 6

Eastern and Western Halls and Hetu Numbers

Now, when each trigram of the
disc is matched in turn with all
trigrams of the grid, we find that
half of the disc trigrams are
fortunate matches (their sums or
differences are multiples of 5) with
the same four trigrams of the grid-
-specifically, the directions east,
southeast, south, and north. The
other half of the disc trigrams are
fortunate matches with the
remaining four trigrams of the g
-specifically, the directions
southwest, west, northwest, and
northeast. These are none other
than the dong si zhai and the xi si
zhai, that is, the Eastern and
Western Halls of the Palace of
Nine Halls. These two groups of
four trigrams form an array around
the plate that is quite revealing.
See figure 6 (click on the link to
the left).

rid-

Figure 7

The Hetu Numbers

When the numbers of these two
groups are compared with the
numbers appearing on the hetu, we
find that the numbers of the eastern
group (the dong si zhai) correspond to
the eastern and southern arms of the
hetu (left and top arms), while the
numbers of the western group (the xi
si zhai) correspond to the

western and

northern arms of the hetu (right and
bottom arms). Refer to the illustration
of the hetu in figure 7 (click on the link
to the left).

If these two pairs of hetu arms are compared, we see that when the
numbers of each pair are added, that is, the eastern and southern (left
and top) arms on the one hand (3+2, 8+7, 3+7, 8+2), and the western

and northern (right and bottom) arms on the other hand (4+1, 9+6, 4+6,
9+ 1), the sums are 5, 10, and 15, all multiples of 5. Subtraction of
numbers within each arm always equals five (7-2, 8-3, 9-4, 6-1). All of
these numbers correspond to trigram pairs whose Nine Star auspice is
great, lesser, or small fortune. However, when the numbers of the
eastern and northern (left and bottom) arms, or the numbers of the
western and southern (right and top) arms, or the numbers of the
northern and southern (bottom and top) arms, or the numbers of the
eastern and western (left and right) arms, are added or subtracted,
never is the sum or difference a multiple of five. All of the numbers on
these pairs of arms correspond to trigram pairs whose Nine Star
auspice is great or lesser misfortune.

The hetu configuration of numbers can also account for the rank of
auspice among the eight directions. As it turns out, relative auspice is a
factor of proximity. Each number of the pair of numbers that we add or
subtract to determine auspice can come from the same arm of the hetu
(closest in proximity) or from different arms. Different arms can be
either adjacent (next closest in proximity) or opposite (farthest in
proximity). The numbers closest in proximity--those pairs sharing the
same arm which equal 5 when subtracted--are the most fortunate, so
their Nine Star auspice is great good fortune. Next, when adjacent
arms of the hetu conform to the Eastern and Western Halls of the
Palace of Nine Halls (that is, the east/south and west/north arms), pairs
of numbers from these arms always correspond to trigram pairs whose
Nine Star auspice is good fortune. When adjacent arms of the hetu do
not conform to the Eastern and Western Halls (that is, the east/north
and west/south arms), pairs of numbers from these arms always
correspond to trigram pairs whose Nine Star auspice is misfortune.
Finally, pairs of numbers from opposite arms of the hetu (that is, the
north/south and east/west arms) always correspond to trigram pairs
whose Nine Star auspice is great misfortune.

This concludes part 1 of the essay. To continue with part 2, which
discusses the environmental basis of nine star auspice, click here.

While the hetu configuration of numbers is a surprisingly apt candidate for the origin of bazhai
fengshui, it still does not explain the provenance of the strange array of halls called the dong si zhai
and xi si zhai. After all, it is the segregation of the Palace of Nine Halls into eastern and western
partitions that is the overall-determining factor of fortune in this type of residential fengshui. Popular
fengshui texts explain this division in trigrammatic terms, using the passage in the Shuo gua
commentary of the Yijing that identifies the eight trigrams with the eight members of the family.
According to the east-west partition, one half contains the four members father, mother, younger son
and younger daughter, while the other half contains the four members elder son, elder daughter,
middle son and middle daughter. The texts agree on the rationale of this division, stating that each
partition would chengjia "complete a family," or "make a family," which may characterize the
partitions, but certainly does not explain their origin or significance.

I suspect there is also an environmental basis for this partitioning
of the world. As we saw earlier in the legend of Gong Liu, when
establishing new settlements the ancient Chinese first used a
gnomon, or sundial, to locate the cardinal directions. Such

observation enabled them to orient their buildings so as to obtain
the most benefit from the rays of the sun. We moderns know that
due to the tilt of the earth’s axis as the earth revolves around the
sun, the sun appears to rise and set further and further south as
winter approaches. Practically speaking, if a house is built facing
due south, its front rooms will be sunny all day during the winter.
On the other hand, during summer when the sun rises and sets
farther to the north, the front rooms will be shaded. This is the
most efficient use of solar energy for heating in the winter and
cooling in the summer. Obviously, in primitive times when houses
were only one-room structures, it was the placement of the door
that required this information. In the Neolithic village of Banpo, for
example, the great house in the center of the settlement faced
east, the direction of the rising sun, while the one-roomed human
dwellings that surrounded the great house, for the most part,
faced south. As houses grew in size, different portions of the
house would be more comfortable during particular seasons. So
in the spring and autumn when the sun was more nearly
overhead, the eastern rooms would be sunny in the morning and
the western rooms would be sunny in the afternoon. So it would
make sense for bedrooms to be placed in the east and workrooms
to be placed in the west. From this picture it might appear that
north would never be an advantageous direction. For a one-room
dwelling, that is probably the case. But for multiple room houses
north is the proper direction for storage. In the winter, the season
of food storage, northern rooms would be cold all day, and
perishable food would keep longer in them. As houses became
multi-roomed, every direction had a function, and it was no longer
strictly necessary that the house face due south.

Things emerge with zhen in

the east.…Xun in the southeast
disseminates them.…Li in the
south gives them growth.…Kun
in the southwest nourishes
them.…They are harvested with
dui in the west.…Qian in the
northwest orders them.…Kan in
the north stores them.…Gen in
the northeast marks their
termination and beginning.

If we return now to the Palace of Nine Halls, we will see how
the eastern and western hall partitions make perfect
environmental sense. At least by the late Warring States period
the Chinese had learned to correlate seasons with directions. A
text from the early Han, Yiwei qianzuodu, in a gloss on that
section of the Shuo gua commentary that first introduced the
houtian sequence of trigrams, interprets the sequence
according to the passing of the agricultural seasons.

Figure 8

A Houtian Map of the Cosmos

Figure 8 grafts this seasonal and agricultural
information onto the houtian sequence of trigrams to
create a map of the cosmos.

As before, the shaded portions of the map correspond to the Four
Eastern Halls of the Palace of Nine Halls. The Four Eastern Halls
begin in the east (spring equinox), when seeds are sprouting, and
move through three successive eastern octants to the south
(summer solstice), from emergence through dissemination to
growth. The Four Western Halls begin in the southwest (early
autumn), and proceed through three successive western octants
to the northwest (early winter), from nourishment through harvest
to order. The Eastern Hall progression then resumes in the north,
the direction of storage, and the Western Hall progression
resumes in the northeast, the direction of termination. As a result
of this arrangement, each partition is fully balanced from a
seasonal perspective. The Eastern hall partition contains a natural
progression of three half-seasons appropriate to the agricultural
phase we might call "growth," while the Western Hall partition
contains a natural progression of three half-seasons appropriate
to the agricultural phase we might call "decline." However, each
partition then skips an octant and breaks the progression in order
to pick up its fourth octant. There is a logical reason for this.

Figure 9

Summer Heat Phase

Figure 10

Winter Cold Phase

In figure 9 we see an
exaggerated
representation of the
northern sun of summer,
and in figure10 we see a
representation of the
southern sun of winter.
Both phases are
correlated with an equal
number of eastern and
western halls. In other
words, the all-important
southern orientation of the
house is divided equally
between eastern and
western partitions.
Regardless of which
partition a person’s birth
determines is auspicious,
there will be two
auspicious rooms that are
sunny in winter and shady
in summer. No partition
gets the lion’s share of
sun.

This environmental view of the eastern and western partitions is
also informative for another reason. We have seen how the
Eastern Hall partition corresponds predominantly to the growth
phase of the agricultural year, while the Western Hall partition
corresponds predominantly to the decline phase of the year.
Seasonal growth and decline, that is, the birth and death of the
year, are logically incompatible, which explains why the directions
of decline are ominous for someone born in the directions of
growth, and vice-versa. Since life and death are the natural

condition of all living things, it is of course entirely appropriate to
orient a house toward the partition of decline, that is, harvest and
completion. Yet such a house would still have four incompatible
rooms corresponding to the directions of planting and growth.

Conclusion

The goal of this analysis was to explain the cosmological
principles underlying orthodox bazhai fengshui theories, including
the derivation of directional auspice and the significance of
partitioning the Palace of Nine Halls into eastern and western
divisions. Traditional commentary informs us that the interaction
of two sequences of esoteric symbols—the houtian bagua and the
luoshu—allows us to fathom the relationship between humans
and their specific environments. The transformation of one symbol
into another conjures up a star spirit which visits good or bad
fortune upon the person who by chance or choice resides in that
space at that time. Those who wish to seek the good or avoid the
bad can employ the pseudo-scientific theories of five phase
orders to predict the fortune of human-earth conjunction.

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