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Schools, directions, and the Bagua

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How to use this glossary

This page is the rescue map for school lineages, directional terminology, and the diagrams that sit underneath every feng shui chart. Use it when a term from the Bagua, the luopan, or the Form School armchair sends you sideways, then click through to the canonical page for the full treatment.

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 four celestial animals on the Form School page.

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 what the Bagua is.

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 Eight Mansions inside Compass School.

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 BTB section on the schools page.

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 four celestial animals on the Form School page.

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 what Compass School is.

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 trigrams and life areas.

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 is not used for spatial mapping of a home. See the two Bagua arrangements.

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 East group vs West group on the Kua page.

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 what Form School is.

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 trigrams and life areas.

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 trigrams and the Bagua.

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 classical diagrams behind the Bagua.

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 trigrams and life areas.

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 trigrams and life areas.

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 Later Heaven arrangement.

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 trigrams and life areas.

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 BTB lineage on the schools page.

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 the luopan inside Compass School.

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 Luo Shu and the Bagua.

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 trigrams and life areas.

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 four celestial animals on the Form School page.

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 the 24 Mountains and orientation.

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 four celestial animals on the Form School page.

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