Hi everyone! I hope you all have been well! There’s been a topic that I didn’t manage to touch on in my blog, and it’s a rather important topic if you’re looking to buy a new house. I’ve realized that a lot of my clients are unaware of the different Periods in feng shui, which in Chinese we call san yuan jiu yun (三元九運). It refers to the three major cycles that are 60 years long each, and the nine minor cycles we call a “Feng Shui Period”.
Most people assume that a house’s feng shui will remain the same. It does not. We move into a different “Period” every 20 years, and there is a reason why each Feng Shui Period is a 20-year cycle.
If you landed on this post from Google, you probably searched for the feng shui impact of Period 9. I’ll say here upfront that you should prepare for the transition once Period 9 comes because the quality of the houses we stay in will all change. When it does, naturally, our lives will be affected.
Feng Shui Period 9 will come in 2024 and it’s just around the corner. It’s essential to note what this means and take the necessary steps to adapt to these changes. Many people have been given advice that only applies to Period 8, which will no longer apply once 2024 comes.
(Edit: It is believed that Feng Shui Period 9 starts in 2024, when it already started in December 2020.)
If you’ve seen what feng shui can do and how it’s tied to how things manifest in real life, I think it’s paramount that you plan and get ready for Period 9. There won’t be the 旺山旺向 house structure which is the best Flying Star arrangement of the house based on the Sitting and Facing direction, but there will still be the 雙星會坐 and 雙星會向 that you can tap on. There will be facing directions that are deemed more favourable. Of course, you’ll still need to consider the individual sectors and which stars end up in those sectors because those also play a huge factor. Star 5 is still the most destructive star in Period 9, and steps should be taken to make sure your master bedroom or anywhere you’ll be spending a lot of time does not fall into the sector with Star 5 in it.
If you want to purchase a new house, do make sure you take Period 9 into account. The full effects of a house usually take around three years to start manifesting, so technically speaking, one would only get to fully enjoy a positive Period 8 house structure from 2020 to February of 2024.
Personally, I’m very curious about what will happen in 2024 because I’ve noticed that a lot of houses that are good in Period 8 will start to become bad in Period 9.
Is There A Best Facing Direction In Period 9?
旺山旺向 has always been known to be the best Feng Shui Flying Star structure, but this won’t appear in Period 9. That’s not to say there won’t be a ‘best-facing direction’ in Period 9. There will definitely still be a few particular directions that are considered ‘the best’. We do have technical names for them, such as 夫妇合十， and there are even some extremely complex ones, such as 七星打劫 or 父母三般卦 which you hardly hear about in modern-day feng shui practice.
We will definitely still have auspicious structures like 雙星會坐 and 雙星會向 which both have very different effects on a house. The best structure (旺山旺向) will not be available during Period 9, but there are still generally still certain directions that are regarded as the “best” ones but please bear in mind that your house layout matters too.
Generally speaking, a good house won’t negatively impact someone, but to really tap into the benefits of feng shui, it’s advisable to zoom into the details and match it according to the person’s Kua number and unique individual needs. Some people would require more health to acquire wealth, whereas some others need an emphasis on their health and emotional well-being – feng shui can cater to that if you wish to customize it to that extent.
The reason why each feng shui Period lasts 20 years is due to the movement of Saturn and Jupiter, in that they take 20 years to align with each other, and it is believed that when Saturn and Jupiter conjunct, major changes will occur because we would have entered into a new era. I’m very curious how this transition into Period 9 will impact everyone, especially when I was too young to appreciate what the transition into Period 8 was way back in 2004. The study of astronomy was not just for the practical purpose of time measurement, but also because of the Chinese belief of 天人合一 or unison with the Heavens. The Chinese ancestors have always felt that whatever happened in the stars will manifest on Earth, so there has always been close observation of the movement of the stars.
Houses That Transition From Period 8 To Period 9
I recently conducted an audit for a BaZi (八字) client of mine that takes into account Period 9’s Flying Star arrangements (refer to the image at the top). Under Period 8, this unit is excellent. The quality of this house does dip a little in Period 9, but only because Period 9 doesn’t have the 旺山旺向 arrangement which this unit has for Period 8. As mentioned, no houses will have the 旺山旺向 structure, which promises wealth and well-being in Period 9.
Under 《陽宅三要》，this house belongs to 坎門巽主離灶, which states:
名延年，主夫婦正配，水火既濟之宅，福祿壽齊全，子孝孫賢，忠義賢良，生四子，兒孫滿堂，但年久犯剋妻，心眼疼痛，目多疾病，安震巽灶解之，全吉。
I know I’ve said this a thousand times, but again, there is a link between someone’s astrological chart and the quality of one’s house. The analysis of the couple’s BaZi (八字) and the house they bought point towards the same conclusion. The quality of the husband’s chart increases with time due to his favourable 大運 while the wife starts to decline a little, but all in all, this is still a really good house. The main flaw of this house is that it is meant for a couple where the wife will suffer from poorer health, but it can be remedied with proper care and attention. Feng shui is deemed to be able to help transcend one’s astrological chart, which is why it was given so much emphasis in the past and even till today. This belief has been held since the flourishing era of feng shui, as seen from the saying『人之生命不同，宅之宜忌各异』from the Chinese classic 《八宅明镜》 as mentioned in my previous blog post here.
I’ve noticed that some websites mention that the kitchen shouldn’t be near the main door. I personally find that utterly baseless and it’s one of those false beliefs that are propagated blindly.
It’s important to remember that the quality of a lot of houses will change come 2024, and by theory, we should all feel the impact of it. Houses that are “OK” in Period 8 may become bad in Period 9, and some houses that are considered bad in Period 8 will be “OK” or even good in Period 9. The degree of how much we feel its impact, whether positive or negative, still depends on the quality of our natal Bazi and Zi Wei Dou Shu charts.
Are There Facing Directions Which Are Considered The ‘Worst Directions’
Yes, there definitely would be and this applies for all Periods. Practitioners usually term them “大凶格局”, which refers to an extremely inauspicious Flying Star structure. We do have a technical term for them, which we call 反吟伏吟 in feng shui. Do note that 反吟 and 伏吟 are two separate structures, and there are some cases whereby both can appear at the same time. These houses would be labelled the worst of the worst houses.
The Chinese classics do talk about remedies for structures, but I can’t bring myself to say that they are applicable in this day and age. Such Flying Star structures require an alteration of the landscape to remedy, but we can all agree that it’s not possible in modern-day context. We cannot expect a source of water on a mountain to suddenly appear like that.
The bottom line is this: Everyone, both current and eventual homeowners, will have to consider moving into Period 9. A house or building does not stay stuck in Period 8 just because it was built in Period 8. Some sources and practitioners advocate this, but it’s only a minority. I personally don’t believe that a building can stay stuck within a certain feng shui Period because that’s assuming that the environment has no effect on us, which goes against the fundamentals of Chinese metaphysics.
I’ve come across many clients that were told that a certain direction is a best-facing direction which is technically through in the context of 2004 to 2024, but what these clients and the practitioners failed to take into account is the coming of 2024. Whatever it is, prepare for Period 9 and consider it in your next real estate decision.
Building From Ground Up: Feng Shui For Landed Property
As for my other major project: I’ve been working closely with my client’s architect to get the design of a landed property up. The Sitting and Facing direction of the house is impossible to change, so a lot of attention has been put into making sure the internal layout of the house is designed optimally to tap not just into the positive Flying Stars of Period 8 and Period 9, but that the key rooms (master bedroom, main door and kitchen) are in the right sectors as well.
The previous design was horrendous, and the quality of life of the previous tenants went on a slow downward spiral, resulting in financial struggles and marital woes, eventually leading to separation.
Do note that the ‘auspiciousness levels’ of the nine stars change according to the Period we are in, so a star that is auspicious in Period 8 may not necessarily be so in Period 9. The same logic applies to the inauspicious stars. For example, Star 2 is known to be a negative star in Period 8, but in Period 9, it exhibits some of its positive traits. It’s just that it takes a full 20-year cycle for these effects to come into effect, so the effects are less salient and harder to benchmark the differences.
A few of the key things proposed for this landed property are the shifting of the main door and kitchen and adjusting for a better structure under 《陽宅三要》。 The master bedrooms are also relocated to tap into the auspicious stars under the Flying Stars method. This project has also given me the rare opportunity to practice 楊公水法, which looks at the direction flow of water and where it enters and exits the compound. It is a landscape feng shui method that most people don’t get to apply as most of us live in apartments.
Some of the things that you ought to look out for before you develop a landed property include:
1) How to adjust the Sitting and Facing direction of the house?
2) Placement of the main door, kitchen and master bedroom to ensure a good house structure under 8-Mansions.
3) Ensuring the important rooms are in the sectors where the auspicious stars land in the current and next Period for long-term planning.
4) Opportunities to enhance the house using landscape feng shui methods
This client of mine happens to be my age. He and his family have worked hard to acquire their level of wealth and it’s a real honour and privilege to have their trust in such an important task. I can’t wait to see how this house enhances their well-being in the long run!
As always, if you have any questions on feng shui and whether it’s a good time to audit your current place or start hunting for a new one, don’t hesitate to reach out!
Yours sincerely,
Sean
Update: There’s an important blog you should read. You can find it here: Feng Shui Period 9: Every Feng Shui Master Got It Wrong
