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Lucky directions via Ming Gua
Ming Gua(命卦) is the core system of the Eight Mansions Mirror (八宅明鏡), attributed to Yang Yunsong of the Tang dynasty and compiled by Ruoguan Daoren in the Qing (collected in the Siku Quanshu). It divides people into eight trigrams (Kan, Kun, Zhen, Xun, Qian, Dui, Gen, Li) by birth year and gender. It distinguishes East Four Life (Kan, Li, Zhen, Xun) from West Four Life (Qian, Kun, Dui, Gen), assigning four auspicious directions (Sheng Qi, Tian Yi, Yan Nian, Fu Wei) and four inauspicious directions (Jue Ming, Wu Gui, Liu Sha, Huo Hai) to each gua. The birth year is adjusted at Li Chun (Beginning of Spring), and the calculation formula differs before and after the year 2000.
Ming Gua is the core concept of Chinese Eight Mansions (八宅) feng shui — the inborn directional energy a person carries, divided into the eight trigrams by birth year and gender. 'A house has its ming, and a person has their ming' is the starting point of Eight Mansions.
The system is traditionally ascribed to the Tang dynasty's Yang Yunsong, and was compiled in the Qing-era Bazhai Mingjing (八宅明鏡, included in the Siku Quanshu) edited by Ruoguan Daoren, and in Zhao Jiufeng's Yangzhai Sanyao (陽宅三要). The latter sets the practical rule of matching the dwelling's three key points — the door (門), the master bedroom (主), and the stove (竈) — to the ming gua.
The gua number — 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, or 9 — is derived from the last two digits of the birth year plus gender, corresponding respectively to Kan, Kun, Zhen, Xun, Qian, Dui, Gen, Li. A remainder of 5 is the center palace with no gua, so males take Kun (2) and females take Gen (8).
For births before 2000: males use the remainder of (100 − last two digits) ÷ 9, females use (last two digits + 5) ÷ 9. For births in 2000 or later: males use (99 − last two digits), females use (last two digits + 6). A remainder of 0 counts as 9.
The ming gua divides the year not by the lunar new year but by the solar term Lichun (立春, around February 4). Born before Lichun, the previous year's ming gua applies.
The eight ming gua split into two groups. East Four Life (東四命) is Kan, Li, Zhen, Xun; West Four Life (西四命) is Qian, Kun, Dui, Gen. Directions in the same group act favorably on each other, while directions of the other group act unfavorably — the basic principle of Eight Mansions.
For example, a Kan-ming person (East Four) has southeast, east, south, and north as lucky directions and west, northeast, southwest, northwest as unlucky; a Qian-ming person (West Four) is the exact opposite. Houses too are classed as East Four or West Four dwellings by their sitting direction, and living in a dwelling of your ming's group is considered auspicious.
Each ming gua assigns eight wandering stars (遊星) to the eight directions by the Da You Nian method. The four lucky ones are Shengqi (生氣) — vitality, growth, wealth; Tianyi (天醫) — health, benefactors; Yannian (延年) — harmony, longevity, marriage; Fuwei (伏位) — stability, holding ground.
The four unlucky ones are Jueming (絕命) — great loss, illness; Wugui (五鬼) — fire, gossip, betrayal; Liusha (六煞) — temptation, affliction, emotional trouble; Huohai (禍害) — petty disasters and drain. Fortune is read together with what is placed in that direction — door, room, desk, or stove.
Traditionally, ming gua was the criterion for choosing a home and assigning rooms — selecting a dwelling or arranging furniture so the main door, master bedroom, and stove fall in lucky directions, and sitting facing one's own Shengqi or Tianyi direction for important matters.
It is also used for compatibility between people — ming gua of the same Four-Life group share directional fortune and are considered harmonious. This service shows your ming gua together with the full eight-direction star layout.
Ming gua is one traditional feng shui system for reading directional energy; even for the same ming gua, the structure of the home and living habits are the bigger variables. Rather than chasing lucky directions alone, please use the meaning of each direction's star as light material for adjusting your living space.
Bazhai Mingjing (Yang Yunsong, Tang; comp. Ruoguan Daoren, Qing) — Ming Gua formulas (pre/post-2000), East/West Four Life grouping, Da You Nian direction assignments (Sheng Qi, Tian Yi, Yan Nian, Fu Wei, Jue Ming, Wu Gui, Liu Sha, Huo Hai); Yangzhai Sanyao (Zhao Jiufeng, Qing)
Zi Wei: 12 palaces, 14 stars
Hexagrams via time and numbers
Lifetime fortune via Four Pillars
Ming Gua is the core concept of Chinese Eight Mansions (八宅) feng shui — the inborn directional energy a person carries, divided into the eight trigrams by birth year and gender. 'A house has its ming, and a person has their ming' is the starting point of Eight Mansions.
The gua number — 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, or 9 — is derived from the last two digits of the birth year plus gender, corresponding respectively to Kan, Kun, Zhen, Xun, Qian, Dui, Gen, Li. A remainder of 5 is the center palace with no gua, so males take Kun (2) and females take Gen (8).
The eight ming gua split into two groups. **East Four Life (東四命)** is Kan, Li, Zhen, Xun; **West Four Life (西四命)** is Qian, Kun, Dui, Gen. Directions in the same group act favorably on each other, while directions of the other group act unfavorably — the basic principle of Eight Mansions.
Ming Gua(命卦), Korean Yihak - Genius Young Master Cheongjae, Ziwei Doushu, Meihua Yishu, Manseokryeok