Discover your Feng Shui directions based on Eight Mansions (八宅)
The Kua Number (卦数, also written as Gua Number) is a number derived from your birth year in Chinese Feng Shui. It determines whether you belong to the East Group (东四命) or West Group (西四命), which reveals your most favorable and unfavorable directions for sleeping, working, and living. This system originates from the Eight Mansions (八宅) school of Feng Shui, one of the oldest and most widely practiced forms.
The calculation involves summing the last two digits of your birth year, reducing to a single digit, then applying a gender-specific formula. For those born before 2000: males add 5, females subtract from 10. For those born in 2000 or after: males add 4, females add 6. The number 5 is special — it's reassigned to 2 for males and 8 for females, as 5 occupies the center of the Lo Shu square and has no trigram association.
People are divided into two groups based on their Kua Number. East Group (Kua 1, 3, 4, 9) has favorable directions: North, South, East, Southeast. West Group (Kua 2, 5, 6, 7, 8) has favorable directions: Northwest, Southwest, Northeast, West. Your group determines the best compass directions for your bed placement, desk orientation, and front door facing.
Point your bed headboard toward your best direction (Sheng Qi / Life Generating) for restful sleep and vitality. Face your best direction when working at a desk for productivity and career growth. Position your front door to face a favorable direction to welcome positive energy. Use your secondary directions for specific goals: love (Yan Nian), health (Tian Yi), and personal growth (Fu Wei).
In Feng Shui, the number 5 occupies the center of the Lo Shu square and doesn't correspond to any trigram. Traditional masters reassign it: males with a calculated Kua of 5 become Kua 2 (Kun/Earth), and females become Kua 8 (Gen/Mountain). This ensures everyone has a valid trigram association and directional profile.