The Essence of Li Qi — Not Fortune-Telling. Solving Math Problems for Space.
What Li Qi feng shui does — it uses two variables, time and direction, to calculate your home's energy trajectory.
Feng shui has two major schools: Xing Shi school looks at form. Li Qi school computes numbers. Xing Shi practitioners stand on a ridge and watch the dragon vein's path — whether that place is good, the eyes can see. Li Qi practitioners hold a Luo Pan inside the house and turn — whether this direction can be used this year, the eyes can't see. You have to calculate it. The 'Li' in Li Qi means reasoning. The 'Qi' means the energy that moves fortune. Combined: using a mathematical model to deduce energy distribution across space and time. Li Qi is not fortune-telling. Fortune-telling calculates your fate. Li Qi calculates the fortune of the space you occupy. Whether the space's energy is good has nothing to do with whether your fate is good. But if the space's energy is bad, even the best fate gets discounted. That's Li Qi's value — it helps you find where energy is thriving, where it's declining, where it's inauspicious within a space. Then you place people in thriving-energy spots and leave inauspicious spots empty or remedied. Li Qi has three core inputs: sitting direction (which way the house faces), time (which year, which month), trigram position (eight directions plus the center palace, each corresponding to a trigram). Throw three variables into the model and the output is: what energy occupies this direction for these years — auspicious or inauspicious.
Li Qi feng shui in one sentence — 'sitting direction + time = directional fortune.' Xing Shi school manages the outer macro environment (mountain forms, water patterns). Li Qi school manages the inner micro layout (room directions). Three core tools: Luo Pan (measure sitting direction, determine the 24 Mountains), Flying Star Chart (arrange the nine stars, see what energy each palace holds), Three Yuan Nine Periods (time clock, know which period we're in now). Four major schools: Xuan Kong Flying Stars (nine stars fly through nine palaces, most detailed), San He (determine the bureau by water mouth, Four Major Bureau water methods), San Yuan (180-year earth-period cycles, nine periods of 20 years each), Ba Zhai (Ming Gua matched to House Gua, divided into East/West Four Houses). Li Qi is 'computed' — every judgment has numbers and directions behind it.
1. The Difference Between Li Qi and Xing Shi — One Uses Eyes, One Uses the Brain
Xing Shi school and Li Qi school isn't about which is superior — it's about different divisions of labor. Xing Shi school (Luan Tou) looks at 'form.' What shape the mountain is, how the water flows, how buildings are arranged — all visible to the naked eye. Xing Shi answers: is this piece of land itself good? Does this place gather energy? Li Qi school looks at 'numbers.' Which mountain of the 24 Mountains the sitting direction falls on, how the nine stars fly into the nine palaces, which step of the Three Yuan Nine Periods we're in — all calculated. Li Qi answers: this year, is my house's south direction auspicious or inauspicious? Which direction should my bed lean toward? Xing Shi manages 'land advantage' — the hard conditions of the ground beneath you. Li Qi manages 'heavenly timing' — the energy shifts brought by time's passage. An analogy: Xing Shi is like picking a good plot for farming — is the soil fertile, is there enough sun, is water nearby. Li Qi is like checking the farming calendar — what season is it now, what should you plant, which corner of the field gets the best sun this year. Even the best land (good Xing Shi), planted in the wrong season, yields no harvest. Average land (average Xing Shi), planted at the right time, can still yield plenty. Li Qi works the same way — a good house occupied at the wrong time and in the wrong direction still brings misfortune. An ordinary house with the right directional usage still brings smooth sailing. Xing Shi has a fast entry curve. You stand at the door for ten minutes and can judge 70-80%. Li Qi's learning curve is steep — you must memorize the 24 Mountains, know how to arrange flying star charts, understand Three Yuan Nine Periods. But Li Qi's return is high — it can pinpoint 'which 15-degree angle within the room your desk should sit in.' The relationship between the two: remember one principle — 'form first, then calculation.' First assess the macro environment — if Xing Shi passes, then enter the house and calculate directions. A house that fails Xing Shi can't be salvaged by Li Qi no matter how good. A leaky foundation can't be fixed by beautiful interior decoration.
2. Three Core Li Qi Tools — Luo Pan, Flying Star Chart, Three Yuan Nine Periods
A Li Qi feng shui master can't be without three things. Luo Pan — positioning tool. The Luo Pan's most core layer is the Earth Plate Correct Needle — divides 360 degrees into 24 segments, each 15 degrees, each segment called a 'mountain.' You've likely heard the 24 Mountain names: Zi, Wu, Mao, You. Qian, Kun, Gen, Xun. Jia, Geng, Bing, Ren... twenty-four in total. When measuring sitting direction, place the Luo Pan at the house's center, the needle points to true north, then read which mountain the house's facing line falls on. That mountain is your house's 'facing direction.' The opposite of facing is 'sitting.' Measure sitting and facing, and Li Qi calculation has its starting point. Flying Star Chart — star arrangement tool. The Flying Star Chart is Li Qi's most core calculation model. Divide the house's plane into a nine-palace grid (nine palaces: eight directions plus the center palace), then fly the nine stars in along the Luo Shu trajectory (1 Kan, 2 Kun, 3 Zhen, 4 Xun, 5 Center, 6 Qian, 7 Dui, 8 Gen, 9 Li). The nine stars each have a nature: One White Water Star (Tan Lang, auspicious), Two Black Earth Star (Ju Men, inauspicious), Three Green Wood Star (Lu Cun, inauspicious), Four Green Wood Star (Wen Qu, auspicious), Five Yellow Earth Star (Lian Zhen, very inauspicious), Six White Metal Star (Wu Qu, auspicious), Seven Red Metal Star (Po Jun, inauspicious), Eight White Earth Star (Zuo Fu, very auspicious), Nine Purple Fire Star (You Bi, auspicious). A house's flying star chart, once arranged — each of the nine cells has one mountain star and one facing star. The mountain star governs population and health. The facing star governs wealth and career. If a palace's mountain star is inauspicious, the corresponding person's health suffers. If a palace's facing star is inauspicious, the corresponding income path is blocked. Three Yuan Nine Periods — time clock. Three Yuan means Upper Yuan, Middle Yuan, Lower Yuan. Each Yuan is 60 years. Three Yuan total 180 years. Nine Periods divide the 180 years into 9 segments, each 20 years. We are now in Lower Yuan Nine Period (2024-2043), Nine Purple Fire Star in command. When the period changes, the commanding star changes — Eight Period (2004-2023) Eight White Earth Star was most prosperous, Nine Period (2024-2043) Nine Purple Fire Star is most prosperous. The direction where the commanding star sits is the prosperous direction. Directions where out-of-command stars sit are declining or inauspicious. How the three tools relate: the Luo Pan gives the sitting direction (space coordinate), Three Yuan Nine Periods give the time coordinate, the Flying Star Chart overlays space and time to calculate each direction's fortune. This is the full picture of Li Qi computation.
3. Li Qi's Calculation Logic — Not Fortune-Telling. Calculating Energy.
Li Qi's computation sounds mystical. Broken apart, it's quite mechanical. Step one: determine sitting direction. Hold the Luo Pan at the house center. Measure which of the 24 Mountains the house faces. Example: facing south, deviating east within 7.5 degrees, the facing falls on the 'Wu' mountain. Facing is Wu, sitting is Zi (Zi and Wu oppose each other). Sitting Zi facing Wu — this is the house's core coordinate. Step two: determine the period chart. We are in Nine Period (2024-2043), Nine Purple Fire Star commands. By the rule of 'period star enters the center' — Nine Period means placing 9 in the center palace, then flying the nine stars along the Luo Shu trajectory. The resulting nine-grid is the period chart. The period chart tells you each direction's macro climate within this current 20-year period. Step three: arrange the mountain and facing charts. Mountain chart — take the number (star) corresponding to the sitting mountain and place it in the center palace, then fly. Sitting Zi is Kan Gua, One White Water, so 1 enters the center and flies — this is the mountain chart, governing population and health. Facing chart — take the number (star) corresponding to the facing mountain and place it in the center palace, then fly. Facing Wu is Li Gua, Nine Purple Fire, so 9 enters the center and flies — this is the facing chart, governing wealth and career. Step four: overlay the charts. Stack the period chart, mountain chart, and facing chart together. Each palace now has three stars — period star (macro climate), mountain star (health), facing star (wealth). The three stars have generating and conquering relationships with each other. Mountain star generates facing star — health drives wealth, good. Facing star conquers mountain star — earning money harms health, inauspicious. Period star generates both mountain and facing stars — heaven's timing and earth's advantage both help you, very auspicious. Step five: judgment. Each palace's three-star combination can be auspicious or inauspicious. Plus external Luan Tou (what you see outside the window from this palace) — mountains and water outside the window double auspicious stars; Sha outside doubles inauspicious stars. This is Li Qi's complete calculation chain. Every step follows rules. Nothing mysterious. 'Li Qi is not fortune-telling' means — fortune-telling conclusions are based on your birth chart. Li Qi conclusions are based on the house's sitting direction plus time. Change the sitting direction, the flying star chart changes. Time changes (period shifts), the flying star chart changes. Your fate doesn't change. But the energy fortune of the house you live in keeps changing. That's why you move once and your whole state shifts — Li Qi is at work.
4. The Four Major Li Qi Schools — Xuan Kong, San He, San Yuan, Ba Zhai. Each Calculates Differently.
Li Qi is a broad category containing multiple schools. Each school uses a different mathematical model, but the bottom layer is always 'sitting direction + time calculates fortune.' Xuan Kong Flying Stars — currently the most popular Li Qi school. Core tool is the flying star chart described above (period chart + mountain chart + facing chart overlaid). Xuan Kong's essence is 'flying' — the nine stars aren't fixed in position. They fly along the Luo Shu trajectory. This year this palace holds an auspicious star. Next year it flies away and becomes inauspicious. Xuan Kong's strength: precision down to each 15-degree direction, accounts for time changes (period star rotation), three-chart overlay considers mountain-facing generating and conquering relationships. Xuan Kong's difficulty: arranging charts requires memorizing the Luo Shu trajectory (9 at the head, 1 at the feet, 3 left 7 right, 2 and 4 as shoulders, 6 and 8 as feet) and the 24 Mountains Three Yuan Dragons (Earth Yuan Dragon, Heaven Yuan Dragon, Human Yuan Dragon). One wrong step and the whole chart is wrong. San He Feng Shui — water method at its core. San He doesn't look at flying stars. It looks at the water mouth (the direction water flows out). Whichever Earthly Branch Three Harmony group the water mouth falls into — water mouth in Shen-Zi-Chen Water Bureau, Yin-Wu-Xu Fire Bureau, Si-You-Chou Metal Bureau, Hai-Mao-Wei Wood Bureau. Once the bureau is determined, the Twelve Growth Stages' prosperity and decline order determines each direction's fortune. San He's strength: most precise water method, fastest wealth reading. Yin dwellings (ancestral graves) use San He very heavily. San He's difficulty: water mouth judgment tests the eye greatly — where is the incoming and outgoing water's turning point, is it visible water or hidden water (roads also count as water). San Yuan Feng Shui — earth-period cycles at its core. The 180-year Three Yuan macro cycle. Each Yuan period prospers different directions. San Yuan's core concept is 'Zero Spirit and Correct Spirit' — the current period's direction is called Correct Spirit (should have mountains), the opposite palace of the out-of-command direction is called Zero Spirit (should have water). Now is Nine Period (Li Fire commanding), the South should have mountains (Correct Spirit direction), the North should have water (Zero Spirit direction). San Yuan's strength: accurate macro judgment — which direction is prosperous this big cycle. San Yuan's weakness: not detailed enough, only big directions without small details. Ba Zhai Feng Shui (Li Qi portion) — Ming Gua matched to House Gua. First classify people by birth year into 'East Four Life or West Four Life.' Then classify the house by sitting direction into 'East Four House or West Four House.' East Four Life in East Four House = auspicious. West Four Life in East Four House = inauspicious. Ba Zhai's Li Qi logic is simplest — just whether the life and house's Eight Trigrams and Five Elements match. Ba Zhai's strength: extremely beginner-friendly, can calculate whether you're East Four or West Four Life in ten minutes. Ba Zhai's weakness: too coarse — only divides into eight categories (eight trigrams), lacks 24-Mountain precision. Even within the same East Four House, the four directions have internal ranking — Ba Zhai's Great Wandering Stars formula solves this (uses the Seven Star arrangement to determine each direction's fortune level). How to choose among the four schools: want detailed chart arrangement → Xuan Kong. Want to see water method and wealth → San He. Want to judge macro trends → San Yuan. Want to get started in ten minutes → Ba Zhai. Highly skilled feng shui masters know all four schools.
5. The Shortest Path to Li Qi Entry — Master Three Things First
You don't need to learn all four schools to enter Li Qi. Master three things first. That's enough. First thing: the 24 Mountains. Buy a basic Luo Pan (about 200 yuan, one with Heaven-Earth-Human Three Plates is sufficient). Memorize the 24 Mountain sequence — Zi, Gui, Chou, Gen, Yin, Jia, Mao, Yi, Chen, Xun, Si, Bing, Wu, Ding, Wei, Kun, Shen, Geng, You, Xin, Xu, Qian, Hai, Ren — clockwise one circle. Memorize until you can recite it with eyes closed. Also memorize each mountain's Five Element. This is the most fundamental of fundamentals. Without knowing the 24 Mountains cold, everything downstream jams. Second thing: Luo Shu Nine Palaces and Flying Star Trajectory. The Luo Shu Nine Palaces is a '9 at the head, 1 at the feet, 3 left 7 right, 2 and 4 as shoulders, 6 and 8 as feet' third-order magic square. Flying stars means flying in numerical order from 1 to 9 — 1 flies to 2's position, 2 flies to 3's position, 3 flies to 4's position... 9 flies to 1's position. There is only one flying star route: Center Palace → Qian → Dui → Gen → Li → Kan → Kun → Zhen → Xun → back to Center Palace. Draw this route on paper. Hand-draw it once a day — muscle memory in a week. Third thing: Three Yuan Nine Periods timetable. Upper Yuan First Period (1864-1883) One White Water. Upper Yuan Second Period (1884-1903) Two Black Earth. Upper Yuan Third Period (1904-1923) Three Green Wood. Middle Yuan Fourth Period (1924-1943) Four Green Wood. Middle Yuan Fifth Period (1944-1963) Five Yellow Earth. Middle Yuan Sixth Period (1964-1983) Six White Metal. Lower Yuan Seventh Period (1984-2003) Seven Red Metal. Lower Yuan Eighth Period (2004-2023) Eight White Earth. Lower Yuan Ninth Period (2024-2043) Nine Purple Fire. Remember we're in Nine Period now. The Nine Period commanding star is Nine Purple — South, Fire, Li Gua. With these three things — you can arrange a simple Xuan Kong flying star chart. Practice on your own home: measure sitting direction → arrange period chart → arrange mountain chart → arrange facing chart → overlay three charts → assess each palace. First time arranging a full chart might take two hours. By the tenth time, half an hour. By the fiftieth time, fifteen minutes. Li Qi learning comes down to one word — practice. Reading without practicing gets you nowhere. When practicing, don't fear mistakes — cross-check against standard charts after arranging, the correction process is the learning process.
Multi-Dimensional Breakdown
Career & Wealth
Love & Relationship
Personality
Health
Classical Support
Practical Ground-Level Points
- Arrange Your First Xuan Kong Flying Star Chart — Practice on Your Own Home : Prepare: one basic Luo Pan (or phone compass as substitute) plus blank paper and a pen. Steps: ① Stand at the house center, measure which of the 24 Mountains the facing direction falls on. ② Open your phone and check the 'Three Yuan Nine Periods Table' — confirm we are in Nine Period (2024-2043). ③ Draw a nine-grid on paper (3x3), write 9 in the center (Nine Period period star enters center). ④ Fly 9-1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8 into the nine palaces along the Luo Shu trajectory. ⑤ Check the star number corresponding to the sitting mountain (e.g. sitting Zi is Kan One White = 1), place 1 in the center palace and fly → this is the mountain chart. ⑥ Check the star number corresponding to the facing mountain (facing Wu is Li Nine Purple = 9), place 9 in the center palace and fly → this is the facing chart. ⑦ Stack the three charts together, each palace has three stars. ⑧ Find the palaces where Two Black and Five Yellow sit — mark red, avoid these directions this year or place metal remedies there. ⑨ Find the palaces where Eight White, Nine Purple, One White sit — mark green, be active in these directions. First time may be slow. After arranging, cross-check against standard charts online. Once proficient — you can calculate in your head.
- Nine Period (2024-2043) Prosperous Direction Layout — Move Your Core Functional Zones to Prosperous Directions : Nine Period, Nine Purple Fire Star commands. Nine Purple is in Li Palace (due South) — for the next twenty years, the South is the most prosperous of prosperous directions. Nine Period layout priority: ① Place your desk or study table preferably in the South or Southeast (Nine Purple + Four Green, Fire-Wood mutual generation, prosperous for Wen Chang and wealth). ② The South should see mountains (Correct Spirit direction) — if the south-facing window has tall buildings or mountain bodies outside, very auspicious. ③ The North should see water (Zero Spirit direction) — if the north-facing window has water features, rivers, roads (water) outside, prosperous for wealth. ④ Nine Period Fire is prosperous — appropriately add warm tones to the home's main decor palette (cream, light orange, warm wood tones) to support the Fire period. ⑤ Li Palace (South) — avoid placing fish tanks or large areas of black decor. Water conquers Fire, directly suppressing the commanding prosperous star. If your house sits north and faces south (sitting Zi facing Wu) — double prosperity in Nine Period. The sitting-facing direction itself is Nine Purple commanding, plus the period star is also Nine Purple. This kind of house stays prosperous for the full twenty years.
Common Questions
Q: Ba Zhai says this direction is auspicious. Xuan Kong Flying Stars says it's inauspicious — which one do I listen to?
A:
The two schools calculate differently. Clashing is normal. Handling principle: look at the dimension. Ba Zhai is based on 'life-house matching' — whether your Ming Gua and House Gua match. This conclusion is static and governs 'whether your family and this house broadly match.' Xuan Kong Flying Stars is based on 'time + sitting direction' — stars fly annually, fortune changes annually. This conclusion is dynamic and governs 'whether this direction can be used this year.' The two don't contradict — Ba Zhai says this house suits you long-term (broadly OK). Xuan Kong says this direction shouldn't be occupied long this year (short-term avoidance). Practical approach: listen to Xuan Kong first — if Xuan Kong says Five Yellow Sha landed in this palace this year, regardless of how auspicious Ba Zhai says it is, avoid this direction this year. After the year passes, the star flies away, then resume normal use per Ba Zhai's broad direction. Big principle: dynamic overrides static. The time dimension takes priority.
Q: I arranged a flying star chart, but I'm renting — can I adjust a rented home by the flying star chart?
A:
Yes. A rented home is still the space you live in. Energy still affects you. Don't use the landlord's sitting direction to arrange — use your specific unit's sitting direction. The rental limitation is you can't change hard fixtures, but you can adjust soft decor. After getting the flying star chart: ① Leave inauspicious star positions empty or place only light items — don't place furniture you spend long hours on (bed, desk, sofa). ② Place your core functional zones in auspicious star positions — bed, desk, dining table. ③ If you can't move furniture — place metal ornaments (copper coins, metal wind chimes) in inauspicious star positions to drain the inauspicious stars' Earth energy. ④ At minimum, don't 'stay long' in inauspicious star positions. Rental flying star adjustment returns come fast — feel it in two weeks, slower cases one month. Because rental spaces are small and energy shifts quickly.