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How we label and source claims

Feng shui mixes three different kinds of claim: things modern design research supports, things the classical tradition teaches, and things that come down to taste. This site keeps them separate. Key practical recommendations are labelled where their basis matters, using four labels. This page explains what each label means, how a page is put together, and where the thinking comes from.

The four labels

  • Design-supported The claim lines up with established work in environmental design, environmental psychology, or building science. We use it for moves like clearing clutter, improving daylight, layered lighting, clear circulation, entry-zone order, and ventilation or damp control. The label means the move has a plain, non-mystical rationale. It does not mean a single study proves it for your home.
  • Traditional feng shui The claim is a classical teaching, offered as tradition: the wealth corner, the command position, the element pairings, the annual stars. We label these clearly so you always know when you are reading tradition rather than a design finding. Where a traditional rule also has a non-mystical design rationale, we name it beside the rule (command position, for instance, lines up with prospect-refuge in environmental design). Take them or leave them.
  • Applied observation The claim is a pattern noticed in practice - an architect's project observations, or a consistent practitioner observation - rather than a formal study. We use this label sparingly, and only for observations we can stand behind.
  • Personal preference The claim is a matter of taste. We say so, so you are never asked to treat a preference as a rule.

When the answer is uncertain, we say it is uncertain.

How a page is built

Each guide page starts from the classical material, is checked against what modern design research actually supports, and is then written in plain language. Where a claim leans on design research it gets the Design-supported label; where it rests on the tradition it gets the Traditional label. We rewrite anything that reads as a promise about money, love, health, or success, because the practice supports the conditions a home is read in. It does not deliver outcomes.

References and further reading

A curated public bibliography for the substantive claims on this site. The design-supported entries are primary research or official standards; the traditional entries are recognized classical texts or academic scholarship. This is a starting list, not a complete one.

Architecture and environmental design

The ground the Design-supported label stands on for layout, clutter, light, and the command-position rationale.

  • Appleton, Jay. The Experience of Landscape. John Wiley & Sons, 1975. The foundational text on prospect-refuge theory, the design rationale behind command position.
  • McMains, Stephanie, and Sabine Kastner. “Interactions of Top-Down and Bottom-Up Mechanisms in Human Visual Cortex.” Journal of Neuroscience 31(2), 2011, 587-597. jneurosci.org. Visual clutter competes for limited processing capacity.
  • Kaplan, Rachel, and Stephen Kaplan. The Experience of Nature: A Psychological Perspective. Cambridge University Press, 1989. Attention restoration: nature and greenery support focus and mood.
  • Wilson, Edward O. Biophilia. Harvard University Press, 1984. hup.harvard.edu. The human affinity for living things.

Indoor environment and health

Air, ventilation, and light in homes. This is also why we leave out claims the evidence does not support, such as the idea that houseplants meaningfully clean indoor air at household scale.

  • U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. “Introduction to Indoor Air Quality.” epa.gov.
  • ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 62.1, “Ventilation and Acceptable Indoor Air Quality” (current edition). ashrae.org.
  • Brainard, George C., et al. “Action Spectrum for Melatonin Regulation in Humans.” Journal of Neuroscience 21(16), 2001, 6405-6412. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Evening light timing suppresses melatonin.
  • Brown, Timothy M., et al. “Recommendations for daytime, evening, and nighttime indoor light exposure.” PLOS Biology 20(3), 2022, e3001571. journals.plos.org. Expert consensus: bright days, dim evenings.
  • International WELL Building Institute. WELL Building Standard v2, Light concept (Feature L03, Circadian Lighting Design), 2020. standard.wellcertified.com.
  • Cummings, Bryan E., and Michael S. Waring. “Potted plants do not improve indoor air quality.” Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology 30, 2020, 253-261. nature.com. Why we do not claim houseplants clean the air.
  • Wolverton, B.C., W.L. Douglas, and K. Bounds. “A Study of Interior Landscape Plants for Indoor Air Pollution Abatement.” NASA Technical Memorandum, Stennis Space Center, 1989. ntrs.nasa.gov. The sealed-chamber study behind the original claim.

Classical feng shui

The Form School and Compass School traditions, the bagua, the five elements, and the cures. The source of the Traditional label.

  • Bruun, Ole. An Introduction to Feng Shui. Cambridge University Press, 2008. cambridge.org. An academic overview of the tradition.
  • Zangshu (Book of Burial), attributed to Guo Pu (276-324 CE); English translation by Juwen Zhang, A Translation of the Ancient Chinese The Book of Burial (Zang Shu) by Guo Pu (Edwin Mellen Press, 2004). The classical Form School source. Princeton University Library.

Compass School and Eight Mansions

The Kua number, the East and West groups, and the eight personal directions the calculator uses. The full method is on the methodology page.

  • Ba Zhai Ming Jing (Eight Mansions Bright Mirror), classical Chinese text (Qing-era compilation, c. 1790); annotated English translation by Terence Chan, 2011. worldcat.org. The classical source for the Eight Mansions directions.

Flying Stars and timing

The Xuan Kong system of Periods and annual stars, and date-selection traditions. We keep the twenty-year Period separate from the annual star: we are in Period 9, which runs from 2024 to 2043, while the annual centre star moves each year (3 in 2024, 2 in 2025, 1 in 2026). This is tradition, not a measurement of anything physical.

  • Skinner, Stephen. Flying Star Feng Shui. Tuttle Publishing, 2002. A recognized English-language exposition of the Xuan Kong Flying Star tradition.

Corrections

When we find a factual error, we fix it. For anything material we note the change here with the date, so the record is visible.

June 15, 2026. Corrected the Flying Stars article to distinguish Period 9 (2024-2043) from the annual centre stars: 3 in 2024, 2 in 2025, and 1 in 2026.

Who writes this

My Feng Shui Home is written and maintained by I.D., the architect behind the site. The approach, architecture first and feng shui with structure, is described on the about page.