Chính Thần, Linh Thần and Thành Môn in Huyền Không: How to Place Water and Doors According to the Period

What are the direct spirit and the spirit spirit?

The direct spirit is the Luo Shu palace carrying the correct number of the current period, and the spirit spirit is the palace opposite it through the central palace. In other words, the spirit spirit is the palace carrying the number obtained by subtracting the period number from 10; for example, in period 9 the spirit spirit is at Kan, that is, the north. The phrase "the direction whose period has passed" is only a figure of speech, not a definition, because the spirit spirit is in essence determined by the opposite-palace method and not by time.

According to Shen Zhu Reng in Zhai Yun Xin An, this book quotes the words of Jiang Da Hong in Yang Zhai Zhi Jin: the direction of the direct spirit should have a door opened to receive qi and should avoid seeing water, while the direction of the spirit spirit should see water and should avoid a door opened to receive qi. This is the root rule for understanding why the same body of water, placed in one direction, is good, while placed in the other, becomes harmful.

Period 5 is a special case: the number 5 has no Luo Shu palace of its own, so many books do not set up a table for this period but handle it separately, for example assigning the first ten years to Kun and the last ten years to Gen. The table at the end of the article follows that same handling.

What is water at the direct spirit and water at the spirit spirit properly called?

According to Zhai Yun Xin An, water in the direction of the spirit spirit is called Direct Water, while water in the direction of the direct spirit is called Spirit Water. This naming runs counter to the names of the directions by design: the word Direct in Direct Spirit means qi that is in the correct period, and the word Spirit in Spirit Spirit means qi that has missed its period, but water takes the declining place as its prosperous place, so the names are reversed.

Four concepts that are often confused need to be distinguished: the direction of the direct spirit, the direction of the spirit spirit, Direct Water and Spirit Water. The direction of the direct spirit is the direction of the current period, and the direction of the spirit spirit is the opposite-palace direction. But water placed in the direction of the direct spirit is called Spirit Water, because it falls in a place where qi is prosperous and therefore works against itself. Water placed in the direction of the spirit spirit is called Direct Water, because that position is declining, and water takes the declining place as its prosperous place.

Shen Zhu Reng also notes that in the direction of the direct spirit, if water is seen, it indicates a missed period, loss of period and loss of wealth. In the direction of the spirit spirit, if rivers, seas, ponds or lakes are seen, that body of water is regarded as prosperous water for money and goods. This is a conventional way of speaking within the Xuan Kong school, not an absolute assertion about the finances of any particular household, because it must still be placed within the whole flying star chart, the landform and time.

Water and doors here mean real water and real doors

A common misunderstanding turns these concepts into decorative objects. The water in Spirit Water is rivers, seas, ponds and lakes, that is, water with volume and current, not a fish tank placed in the living room. The door in the direct spirit is a qi-receiving door, that is, a real passage through which people and qi move, not a small window that is always closed. When Shen Zhu Reng writes that a door should be opened to receive qi in the direction of the direct spirit, he is speaking of a door used for qi to enter, not of hanging some additional object.

This is also true of the city gate. The city gate refers to the main passage leading into the centre of the house or the plot of land, that is, a real passage. If the house has no passage in that palace, then that palace cannot serve as a city gate, regardless of the calculations.

What is a city gate and why must there be a city gate?

According to the li qi of feng shui, the city gate is understood as the place through which the qi vein from the external environment is led into the interior of an area, and that area may be a burial site, a dwelling site or a structure. The city gate is like the throat of a living body, because this place determines circulation and life qi. When the main facing of the house is not favourable according to the period, people look for another palace to serve as a secondary door or a qi-leading passage, and that palace is called the city gate.

According to the old texts that are quoted, city gates are divided into main city gates and secondary city gates. The main city gate is the place of highest concordance in li qi and landform, with the strongest effect. The secondary city gate plays a supporting role, with weaker force, but it can still gather life qi. There is a way of discussing a third type, the hidden city gate, that is, a type not expressed by a visible door or passage. Thus, even in the number and names of the types of city gate, the old sources are already not entirely consistent.

How do the Xuan Kong schools determine the city gate differently?

This is where it must be stated clearly that there is no single way of determining the city gate accepted by all schools. There is a way of discussing it according to the two palaces on either side that share the same original dragon as the main door's facing, then filtering further by the He Tu combination. Some other schools accept only the two palaces adjacent to the facing, that is, the two palaces immediately to the left and right of the main facing, and do not extend to the whole chart. There is also a school that examines the city gate according to the relationship between the period star and the original dragon of the palace, independently of the position adjacent to the facing. There is a school that accepts only the main city gate and does not use the secondary city gate.

This difference leads to different practical results: for the same house, two masters from two schools may point out two different city gate palaces, and therefore propose two different positions for opening a secondary door. Readers should know that this is a real disagreement within the tradition, not one side being right and the other wrong.

How should the city gate table of the 24 facings in period 9 be read?

The table at the end of the article lists the city gates for the 24 facings in period 9, calculated according to the city gate method of the Shen school. The method is as follows: take the two palaces immediately on either side of the facing palace; whichever palace forms a He Tu number with the facing palace is the main city gate, and the other palace is the secondary city gate. Then take the period chart number in that palace and enter it into the centre, flying forward or backward according to the yin or yang of the mountain that shares the same original dragon as the facing; if star 9 flies to exactly that palace, the city gate can be used, and if not, it cannot be used. When the number entered into the centre is 5, take the yin or yang of the mountain in the palace currently being examined. The method of setting up the flying star chart uses the same method as the site's other tables, for the main facing only.

An example taken from the table: the facing Wu (sitting Zi) belongs to the Double Star Reaching the Facing configuration. The two palaces immediately beside the facing palace are Xun (southeast) and Kun (southwest); Xun forms a He Tu number with the facing, so it is the main city gate, and Kun is the secondary city gate. Neither can be used in period 9. Conversely, the facing Zi (sitting Wu) is also Double Star Reaching the Facing, the main city gate at Qian (northwest) can be used, and the secondary city gate at Gen (northeast) can also be used. Readers should look up the exact sitting and facing line of their own house, then check against the "can be used" or "cannot be used" column.

How does the city gate rescue a house with the mountain above and water below?

Mountain above and water below is a configuration in which both the facing star and the mountain star fall into an unfavourable position: the mountain star does not reach a place with a mountain or a high mass, and the facing star does not reach a place with water. The result is that the house loses both people and wealth, in the conventional language of the Xuan Kong school. At that point the city gate is used as a way out: instead of receiving qi through the main facing, which is already spoiled, people look for another palace with a usable period star to serve as a door or a qi-leading passage.

However, it must be said at once that the city gate is not an all-purpose remedy. If the palace intended for use as the city gate has no star currently in command, then applying the city gate formula will lead to ruin and downfall, that is, it will be worse than leaving things as they are. In other words, the city gate can only rescue when the conditions regarding the original dragon, the He Tu combination and the period star are all met. Without those conditions, a door should not be opened according to the city gate.

As for landform, the city gate needs a real passage, with a real flow of people or a real flow of qi passing through, not a door drawn on a plan. This is the point that is emphasised: the city gate is where the qi vein truly enters, so if there is no real passage, that palace does not perform the function of a city gate no matter how fine the calculations may be.

Points on which the sources are not consistent

Besides the disagreement over how to determine the city gate already mentioned, there is also disagreement over the number of types of city gate: one way of discussing it speaks of two types, main and secondary, while another way of discussing it speaks of three types, main, secondary and hidden. As for period 5, the books also handle it differently: some books set up a separate table, some books merge it into the central palace and do not assign a symmetrical direction, or assign the first ten years to Kun and the last ten years to Gen. As for the degree of effect of the secondary city gate, one way of discussing it holds that although its force is weaker than the main city gate, it can still gather life qi; on the other hand, another way of discussing it emphasises more strongly that the secondary city gate plays an important role when the main facing is not truly prosperous in qi.

Readers should approach the tables and rules above as a system of conventions with its own internal logic, not as a formula that yields a fixed result for every house. Application also depends on the specific flying star chart, the real landform of the plot and the time of examination, so conclusions about good and bad fortune should only be regarded as reference.

In which direction are the direct spirit and the spirit spirit of each period located?

The direct spirit is the Luo Shu palace carrying the number of the period, and the spirit spirit is the opposite palace. Period 5 has no palace of its own: many books assign the first ten years to Kun and the last ten years to Gen.

Which house facings have a usable city gate in period 9?

The table examines the two palaces immediately on either side of the facing palace: the palace that forms a He Tu number with the facing palace is the main city gate, and the other palace is the secondary city gate. The period chart number in that palace enters the centre, flying forward or backward according to the yin or yang of the mountain that shares the same original dragon as the facing; if star 9 flies to exactly that palace, the city gate can be used. When the number entered into the centre is 5, take the yin or yang of the mountain in the palace currently being examined. It is calculated by the same method of setting up the Xuan Kong flying star chart of the Shen school that the site's other tables use, for the main facing only; some schools accept only the main city gate.