Glossary.

You hit a word mid-page, Sheng Qi, Jue Ming, Anshan, and you do not want to lose your place chasing it down. That is what this page is for. Ninety-five terms, grouped the way the guide itself is grouped, alphabetical inside each group, each one a quick definition and a link to the page where the topic gets its full treatment. Scan for the word, read the two sentences, click through if you want the rest.

Core feng shui terms

The vocabulary that recurs everywhere else in this guide.

Chi. Wade-Giles spelling of Qi. Older Western spelling of Qi that appears in pre-1980s feng shui books. Same concept, different romanisation system. See what feng shui is.

Feng Shui. Feng shui, "wind and water". The Chinese practice of arranging built and natural environments to support the flow of qi for the people who use them. See what feng shui is.

Guo Pu. Guo pu. Jin Dynasty scholar (276 to 324 AD). Traditionally credited as author of the Zang Shu, the earliest classical text to define feng shui in roughly its modern shape. See what feng shui is.

Hanyu Pinyin. The romanisation system. The official mainland Chinese romanisation system, used as the standard throughout this guide. Where a term has an older Wade-Giles spelling (Chi, Tao, I Ching), it is cross-referenced to the Pinyin entry.

I Ching. Wade-Giles spelling of Yi Jing. Older Western spelling of Yi Jing. Same text, different romanisation system. See what feng shui is.

Qi. Qi. The active substance, energy quality, or animating flow that feng shui aims to read and adjust. It is the central concept of the field, described in practical not mystical terms. See what feng shui is.

Sha Qi. Sha qi, "killing qi". Sharp, fast, aggressive qi produced by hard edges, long corridors, opposing rooflines, or T-junctions. Sometimes called poison arrows. See what feng shui is.

Sheng Qi. Sheng qi, "vital qi". The term carries two meanings: the flowing life-supporting qi a well-designed space produces, and the most auspicious of the four favourable Eight Mansions directions. See what feng shui is.

Si Qi. Si qi, "dead qi". Stagnant qi produced by clutter, blocked ventilation, never-opened rooms, and dust. It is the qi of neglect. See what feng shui is.

Tai Chi. Tai ji, "great ultimate". The centre cell of the Bagua holding the whole arrangement together, and the philosophical concept of the supreme polarity from which yin and yang emerge. See the feng shui bagua map.

Taijitu. Tai ji tu. The classical yin and yang symbol. A circle of swirling black and white halves, each containing a dot of the opposite colour. See what feng shui is.

Tao. Wade-Giles spelling of Dao. Older Western spelling of Dao, the philosophical root of the Taoist tradition out of which classical feng shui developed. See what feng shui is.

Three Lucks. San cai. The Heaven, Earth, Human triad of classical Chinese cosmology. Feng shui addresses Earth Luck, the conditions of the place. See what feng shui is.

Wade-Giles. The older romanisation system. The Western romanisation of Chinese dominant before Hanyu Pinyin became standard. It is the source of older spellings like Chi, Tao, I Ching, and Pa Kua.

Yang. Yang. The active, bright, warm, masculine, expanding pole of the yin-yang polarity. It is one half of a paired and mutually defining structure. See what feng shui is.

Yang House. Yang zhai. A dwelling for the living. This is the standard subject of modern feng shui practice. See what feng shui is.

Yang Jun Song. Yang jun song. Tang Dynasty master (834 to 900 AD) regarded as the founding patriarch of Form School and author of the Qing Nang Ao Yu. See the schools of feng shui.

Yi Jing. Yi jing, "Book of Changes". Classical Chinese divination text built on the eight trigrams and 64 hexagrams. It is the philosophical backdrop to every Chinese metaphysics system including feng shui. See the feng shui bagua map.

Yin. Yin. The receptive, dark, cool, feminine, contracting pole of the yin-yang polarity. It is the structural mirror of yang. See what feng shui is.

Yin House. Yin zhai. A burial site. This was the original subject of classical feng shui before focus shifted to dwellings for the living. See what feng shui is.

Zang Shu. Zang shu, "Book of Burial". The classical text attributed to Guo Pu. It is the earliest source for the principle that qi rides on wind and stops at water. See what feng shui is.

Schools, directions, and Bagua

School lineages, directional terms, and the diagrams underneath every feng shui chart.

Azure Dragon. Qing long, "green dragon". The eastern celestial animal of the Form School armchair, representing the higher, gentler, more dynamic left flank of a protected site. Look for it in taller trees, rising ground, or a moving feature like a road or stream on the left as you face out from the building. See the schools of feng shui.

Bagua. Ba gua, "eight trigrams". The eight trigrams arranged around a central ninth point, mapping eight directions to eight life areas, elements, and family members. It is the master diagram used to read a floor plan in almost every school. See the feng shui bagua map.

Ba Zhai. Ba zhai, "eight mansions". A Compass School sub-school that uses the occupant's Kua number to mark four favourable and four unfavourable personal directions. It is the most accessible compass technique for a single-occupant reading. See find your Kua number.

Black Sect Tantric Buddhism (BTB). Hei jiao, "black teaching". A Western feng shui lineage founded by Grandmaster Lin Yun. It uses a door-based Bagua instead of compass orientation and Kua number. See the schools of feng shui.

Black Tortoise. Xuan wu, "dark warrior". The northern celestial animal of the Form School armchair, representing stable, solid backing behind a building or a seated person. A wall, mature trees, or a hill in the back position counts as Tortoise support. See the schools of feng shui.

Compass School. Li qi pai, "patterns of qi school". The directional and calculation lineage, reading a site by compass orientation, 24 Mountains, Kua number, Eight Mansions, and Flying Stars. It is the counterpart to Form School and the source of most numerical feng shui methods. See find your Kua number.

Dui. Dui, the lake trigram. Top broken, bottom two solid. Mapped to west, Metal, youngest daughter, and the life area of children, creativity, and joy. See the feng shui bagua map.

Early Heaven Bagua. Xian tian ba gua, "before heaven trigrams". The cosmological Bagua arrangement attributed to Fu Xi, found on antique luopans and protective Bagua mirrors. It serves a cosmological and protective role, while the Later Heaven arrangement handles spatial mapping of a home. See the feng shui bagua map.

East and West Groups. Dong si ming and xi si ming, "east and west four lives". The two Kua-number groupings in Eight Mansions. East-group numbers (1, 3, 4, 9) share one set of four favourable directions, and West-group numbers (2, 6, 7, 8) share another. See find your Kua number.

Form School. Luan tou pai, "mountain head school". The landscape and form lineage, reading a site by terrain, watercourses, building shape, and surrounding structures using the four celestial animals. It is the oldest layer of feng shui and the foundation every other school builds on. See the schools of feng shui.

Gen. Gen, the mountain trigram. Top solid, bottom two broken. Mapped to northeast, Earth, youngest son, and the life area of knowledge and self-cultivation. See the feng shui bagua map.

Gua. Gua, "divinatory figure". A trigram when three-lined and a hexagram when six-lined, the basic structural unit of the Bagua and the Yi Jing. The word also appears in compound terms like Kua number (gua shu). See the feng shui bagua map.

He Tu. He tu, "River Map". A classical numerological diagram of paired numbers, traditionally received by Fu Xi from a Dragon Horse in the Yellow River. It is the complement to the Luo Shu and one of the two source diagrams behind the Bagua. See the feng shui bagua map.

Kan. Kan, the water trigram. Middle solid, top and bottom broken. Mapped to north, Water, middle son, and the life area of career and life path. See the feng shui bagua map.

Kua Number. Gua shu, "trigram number". A single-digit personal number from 1 to 9, excluding 5, calculated from birth year and sex. It sorts a person into the East or West group and names four favourable personal directions for sleeping, sitting, and facing. See find your Kua number.

Kun. Kun, the earth trigram. Three broken lines. Mapped to southwest, Earth, mother, and the life area of relationships. The most yin trigram. See the feng shui bagua map.

Later Heaven Bagua. Hou tian ba gua, "after heaven trigrams". The applied Bagua arrangement attributed to King Wen and the standard arrangement for spatial feng shui in every school. When a book shows a Bagua over a floor plan, this is the one being used. See the feng shui bagua map.

Li. Li, the fire trigram. Middle broken, top and bottom solid. Mapped to south, Fire, middle daughter, and the life area of fame and reputation. See the feng shui bagua map.

Lin Yun. Lin yun, the founder's name. Grandmaster Thomas Lin Yun Rinpoche (1932 to 2010), founder of BTB and the most influential feng shui figure in twentieth-century North America. His door-based Bagua method is the one most casual readers first met. See the schools of feng shui.

Luopan. Luo pan, "net plate". The feng shui compass, a rotating face printed with concentric rings of directional, elemental, trigrammatic, and time-related data. Compass School readings depend on it, though a regular magnetic compass is enough for most home checks. See find your Kua number.

Luo Shu. Luo shu, "Writing of the River Luo". The nine-cell magic square where every row, column, and diagonal sums to 15, traditionally seen on the back of a turtle in the River Luo. It is the numerical scaffolding for Flying Stars and many other Compass School methods. See the feng shui bagua map.

Qian. Qian, the heaven trigram. Three solid lines. Mapped to northwest, Metal, father, and the life area of helpful people and mentors. The most yang trigram. See the feng shui bagua map.

Red Phoenix. Zhu que, "vermilion bird". The southern celestial animal of the Form School armchair, representing the open foreground and long view in front of a building. A clear yard, a plaza, or a wide street in front gives a site good Phoenix space. See the schools of feng shui.

Twenty-four Mountains. Er shi si shan, "twenty-four mountains". The 24 directional sub-sectors of 15 degrees each that subdivide the eight compass directions on a luopan. They give Compass School readings their finer resolution beyond the basic eight directions. See find your Kua number.

White Tiger. Bai hu, "white tiger". The western celestial animal of the Form School armchair, representing the lower, quieter, more passive right flank of a protected site. A Tiger that towers over the Dragon is the classic warning sign in Form School terrain. See the schools of feng shui.

Cures, rooms, and elements

The Five Elements, their cycles, the Eight Mansions directions, command position, and the folk-traditional cure objects.

Bagua Mirror. Ba gua jing, "eight-trigram mirror". A small octagonal mirror painted with the eight trigrams, traditionally hung outside above a front door so it reflects external sha qi back toward its source. It is an exterior tool, used outside rather than as interior decoration, despite the gift-shop version. See feng shui mirror placement.

Chan Chu. Chan chu, also jin chan, "toad" or "golden toad". The three-legged money frog, a folk-traditional wealth object placed near the front door facing inward, often shown with a coin in its mouth. It marks the wealth intention of the entry rather than doing anything on its own. See feng shui mirror placement.

Command Position. The practice of placing a bed, desk, or sofa with solid backing, a clear view of the room's entrance, and the door not directly in line with the body. It is the single most repeated rule across room-by-room feng shui work. See feng shui bedroom layout.

Controlling Cycle. Ke, "the controlling cycle". The Five Elements cycle in which each element restrains another: Wood parts Earth, Earth dams Water, Water quenches Fire, Fire melts Metal, Metal cuts Wood. It is the lever you reach for when one element is overdone in a room and you want to soften it. See the five elements guide.

Earth. Tu, "earth". One of the Five Elements, sitting in the southwest, northeast, and centre of the bagua. Read it through square shapes, yellow and earth tones, and ceramic or stone materials. See five elements in your home.

Fire. Huo, "fire". One of the Five Elements, linked to the south and to summer. Read it through triangular and pointed shapes, red and bright orange, and candles or lighting. See five elements in your home.

Five Elements. Wu xing, "five phases". The five symbolic phases of qi: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water, linked by productive, controlling, and weakening cycles. They function as a design language for reading and adjusting a room. See five elements in your home.

Fu Dogs. Paired guardian-lion statues placed at an entrance, with the male holding a ball and the female cradling a cub. They are folk-traditional protectors that mark a threshold rather than a classical Compass School tool. See feng shui mirror placement.

Fu Wei. Fu wei, "stability". The mildest of the four favourable Eight Mansions directions, associated with peace, study, and slow steady accumulation. It is often used for desks and reading chairs when the stronger favourable directions are taken by the bed. See find your Kua number.

Huo Hai. Huo hai, "mishap". The mildest of the four unfavourable Eight Mansions directions, associated with low-level setbacks and irritation. It is the least severe of the unfavourable group and is sometimes accepted for minor furniture when no better option exists. See find your Kua number.

Jue Ming. Jue ming, "total loss". The most inauspicious of the four unfavourable Eight Mansions directions. It is traditionally avoided as a sleeping direction and as the direction of primary seating at a desk. See find your Kua number.

Liu Sha. Liu sha, "six killings". One of the four unfavourable Eight Mansions directions, associated with legal trouble, scandal, and emotional volatility. It belongs to the unfavourable group used to decide where the bed and main chair should not point. See find your Kua number.

Lucky Bamboo. Fu gui zhu, "wealth and honour bamboo". Dracaena sanderiana, sold worldwide as a folk Wood-element object, despite not actually being bamboo. Stalk count carries numerological meaning in the folk tradition. See feng shui mirror placement.

Mandarin Ducks. Yuan yang, "mandarin ducks". Aix galericulata, used as a folk-traditional Relationships-sector object always shown as a pair. This is folk vocabulary, not classical Compass School method. See feng shui mirror placement.

Metal. Jin, "metal". One of the Five Elements, linked to the west and northwest and to autumn. Read it through round and dome shapes and white or metallic tones. See five elements in your home.

Productive Cycle. Sheng, "the productive cycle". The Five Elements cycle in which each element feeds the next: Wood feeds Fire, Fire makes Earth, Earth bears Metal, Metal carries Water, Water grows Wood. It is the lever you reach for when an element is missing or weak in a room and you want to strengthen it. See the five elements guide.

Three Secrets Reinforcement. San mi, "three secrets". A BTB ritual that uses body (mudra), speech (mantra), and mind (visualisation) to mark a placement with intention. It is BTB-specific and not classical Compass School practice. See the schools of feng shui.

Tian Yi. Tian yi, "heavenly doctor". The health direction in Eight Mansions, one of the four favourable directions, associated with recovery and stable wellbeing. It is commonly used for the head of the bed when the strongest favourable direction is unavailable. See find your Kua number.

Water. Shui, "water". One of the Five Elements, linked to the north and to winter. Read it through wavy and irregular shapes, black and deep blue, and glass or reflective surfaces. See five elements in your home.

Wood. Mu, "wood". One of the Five Elements, linked to the east and southeast and to spring. Read it through tall rectangular shapes, greens and teals, living plants, and wooden materials. See five elements in your home.

Wu Gui. Wu gui, "five ghosts". One of the four unfavourable Eight Mansions directions, associated with arguments, betrayal, theft, and hidden enemies. It is part of the unfavourable group used to steer the bed and main desk seat away from trouble. See find your Kua number.

Yan Nian. Yan nian, "longevity". The relationship direction in Eight Mansions, one of the four favourable directions, associated with stable partnerships. It is a common choice for the head of the bed in a shared bedroom. See find your Kua number.

Timing and sister disciplines

The time-aware Xuan Kong family, the solar calendar, the cautious annual stars, Form School distance terms, and the two disciplines that travel beside feng shui.

Anshan. An shan, "desk hill". The low foreground hill in front of an ideal Form School site, sitting between the immediate Vermilion Bird table and the distant Chaoshan view. It anchors the middle ground of the classic landscape reading. See the schools of feng shui.

BaZi. Ba zi, "eight characters". The Four Pillars of Destiny birth-chart system, a sister discipline that reads a person rather than a place. It sits beside feng shui as its own field, even though the two share elements and stems and branches. See the sister disciplines.

Chaoshan. Chao shan. The distant facing mountain or feature in the Form School landscape, sitting beyond the closer Anshan. It provides the long view that anchors a site's outlook and gives the eye somewhere to rest. See the schools of feng shui.

Cun. Cun, "classical inch". The classical Chinese inch, used in the Form School principle that terrain one cun lower than its surroundings should be read as a virtual watercourse. It is a unit of attention as much as a unit of measure. See the schools of feng shui.

Da Gua. Da gua, "great hexagram". An advanced Xuan Kong technique that uses the 64 hexagrams of the Yi Jing rather than the eight trigrams alone. It is specialist work and not the starting point for a home reading. See the schools of feng shui.

Day Master. Ri zhu. The Heavenly Stem of the day pillar in a BaZi chart, read as the sketch of a person's core temperament. Treat it as a starting hypothesis, not a verdict about who someone is. See the sister disciplines.

Earthly Branches. Di zhi. The twelve animal-signed branches used to mark hours, days, months, and years in Chinese metaphysics. Twelve of the 24 Mountains on a Compass School luopan are named for them. See the sister disciplines.

Fei Xing. Fei xing, "flying stars". The Xuan Kong technique of moving the nine Luo Shu numbers through the nine palaces on Period, annual, and monthly schedules. It is the timing engine inside most modern Compass School practice. See the schools of feng shui.

Five Yellow. Wu huang. The most cautious of the nine Flying Stars, an Earth-element star traditionally read as a source of instability and accidents when untimely. Metal objects are the classical neutraliser when it lands in a sensitive sector. See feng shui moving date.

Four Pillars of Destiny. The English name for BaZi. The four pillars are the Heavenly-Stem-plus-Earthly-Branch pairs for the year, month, day, and hour of birth. Together they form the eight characters that give BaZi its name. See the sister disciplines.

Heavenly Stems. Tian gan. The ten elemental stems (yang Wood, yin Wood, yang Fire, and so on) that combine with the twelve Earthly Branches to form the 60-pair cycle used across Chinese calendrics. They sit at the top of every BaZi pillar. See the sister disciplines.

Jiang Da Hong. Jiang da hong. A late Ming Dynasty master traditionally regarded as the forefather of the modern Xuan Kong schools. Much of today's Flying Stars lineage traces its method back through his teaching. See the schools of feng shui.

Li Chun. Li chun, "beginning of spring". The solar term around 4 February that marks the start of the Chinese astronomical year. Feng shui Periods, annual stars, and BaZi year pillars all change on this boundary, not on the lunar New Year. See feng shui moving date.

Nine Palaces. Jiu gong. The nine-cell grid underlying the Bagua, the Luo Shu, and Flying Stars. It is also the structural basis of Qi Men Dun Jia, which is why the two systems feel related. See the schools of feng shui.

Period. Yun. A 20-year time block in the San Yuan cycle, used in Xuan Kong to determine a building's natal-chart ruling star. The Period a home was built in shapes how its Flying Stars read for its lifetime. See feng shui moving date.

Period 9. Jiu yun. The current Xuan Kong period, running from 4 February 2024 to early February 2044. Its ruling star is 9 Purple, a Fire star in the south Li-trigram palace. See feng shui moving date.

Qi Men Dun Jia. Qi men dun jia, "QMDJ". A divination and date-selection system built on the nine palaces, used for strategy and timing rather than space. It is a sister discipline that stands beside feng shui as its own field. See the sister disciplines.

San He. San he, "three combinations". One of the four major Compass School sub-schools, focused on the spatial relationships between mountains, water, and the site. It is strong on landform and orientation rather than time. See the schools of feng shui.

San Yuan. San yuan, "three cycles". The Compass School lineage that includes Xuan Kong Flying Stars. It adds time as an explicit dimension and uses the 180-year calendar of three nested cycles. See the schools of feng shui.

Two Black. Er hei. The illness star of Flying Stars, an Earth-element star traditionally read as cautious at every time scale. Metal objects are the classical neutraliser when it visits the bedroom or main door sector. See feng shui moving date.

Xuan Kong. Xuan kong, "mysterious subtlety". The time-aware sub-school of Compass School. It contains Flying Stars and related techniques that move stars through the nine palaces by date. See the schools of feng shui.

Xuan Kong Fei Xing. Xuan kong fei xing. The full classical name of the Flying Stars system, literally the flying stars of subtle space. Most modern practitioners shorten it to Fei Xing or simply Flying Stars. See the schools of feng shui.

Yuan. Yuan, "cycle". A 60-year time block in the San Yuan cycle, made of three 20-year Periods. Three Yuan together form the full 180-year San Yuan cycle. See the schools of feng shui.