TL;DR: According to Bát Trạch, the southeast direction is the Tốn palace, belonging to the East group of houses, so it suits people with East group destinies based on cung phi, while those with West group destinies may encounter unfavorable du niên depending on the palace. The five elements method, based on the nạp âm of the birth year and without distinguishing between men and women, gives different conclusions for some ages. To find your cung phi and eight directions, check the house direction tool and enter your lunar birth year.
Who does the Southeast direction suit?
In Bát Trạch (Eight Mansions feng shui), the Southeast direction corresponds to the Tốn palace, which belongs to the East group of houses (Đông tứ trạch). For people in the same East group of destinies (Đông tứ mệnh), this is one of the four good directions; for people in the West group of destinies (Tây tứ mệnh), it is a bad direction, and which bad du niên (direction star) applies depends on each cung phi (life palace). Exactly how good or bad it is can be seen in the table below.
Table of the eight cung phi with the Southeast direction (applies to birth years from 1950 to 2009, calculated according to the site's core):
| Cung phi | Group | Southeast direction is | Good or bad | Men born in | Women born in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Khảm (1) | Đông tứ mệnh | Sinh Khí | good | 1954, 1963, 1972, 1981, 1990, 1999, 2008 | 1950, 1959, 1968, 1977, 1986, 1995, 2004 |
| Khôn (2) | Tây tứ mệnh | Ngũ Quỷ | bad | 1950, 1953, 1959, 1962, 1968, 1971, 1977, 1980, 1986, 1989, 1995, 1998, 2004, 2007 | 1951, 1960, 1969, 1978, 1987, 1996, 2005 |
| Chấn (3) | Đông tứ mệnh | Diên Niên | good | 1952, 1961, 1970, 1979, 1988, 1997, 2006 | 1952, 1961, 1970, 1979, 1988, 1997, 2006 |
| Tốn (4) | Đông tứ mệnh | Phục Vị | good | 1951, 1960, 1969, 1978, 1987, 1996, 2005 | 1953, 1962, 1971, 1980, 1989, 1998, 2007 |
| Càn (6) | Tây tứ mệnh | Họa Hại | bad | 1958, 1967, 1976, 1985, 1994, 2003 | 1955, 1964, 1973, 1982, 1991, 2000, 2009 |
| Đoài (7) | Tây tứ mệnh | Tuyệt Mệnh | bad | 1957, 1966, 1975, 1984, 1993, 2002 | 1956, 1965, 1974, 1983, 1992, 2001 |
| Cấn (8) | Tây tứ mệnh | Lục Sát | bad | 1956, 1965, 1974, 1983, 1992, 2001 | 1954, 1957, 1963, 1966, 1972, 1975, 1981, 1984, 1990, 1993, 1999, 2002, 2008 |
| Ly (9) | Đông tứ mệnh | Thiên Y | good | 1955, 1964, 1973, 1982, 1991, 2000, 2009 | 1958, 1967, 1976, 1985, 1994, 2003 |
Looking at the table, it is clear that the Southeast direction is not always good for people in the East group of destinies in the same way: the Khảm palace gets Sinh Khí, the Chấn palace gets Diên Niên, the Tốn palace gets Phục Vị, and the Ly palace gets Thiên Y. For the West group of destinies, the bad du niên also differ: Khôn is Ngũ Quỷ, Càn is Họa Hại, Đoài is Tuyệt Mệnh, and Cấn is Lục Sát. These eight du niên, according to some feng shui texts, are divided into good stars (Sinh Khí, Thiên Y, Diên Niên, Phục Vị) and bad stars (Họa Hại, Tuyệt Mệnh, Ngũ Quỷ, Lục Sát).
Why do the five elements method and the Bát Trạch method give two different conclusions?
The two methods rely on two different things. Bát Trạch relies on the cung phi, calculated from birth year and gender; the five elements method relies only on the nạp âm (sound element) of the birth year's stem and branch, without distinguishing between men and women. That is why, for the same direction, the two methods can give opposite conclusions.
For example, a woman born in 1972 (Nhâm Tý, Tang Đố Mộc, Wood element) has the cung phi Cấn (8), a West group destiny; the Southeast direction is Lục Sát (bad), but compared by the five elements, Wood meeting Wood is the same element. A man born in 1974 (Giáp Dần, Đại Khê Thủy, Water element) has the cung phi Cấn (8), a West group destiny; the Southeast direction is Lục Sát (bad), while compared by the five elements, Water with Wood is mutually generating. Conversely, a man born in 1970 (Canh Tuất, Thoa Xuyến Kim, Metal element) has the cung phi Chấn (3), an East group destiny; the Southeast direction is Diên Niên (good), but compared by the five elements, Metal with Wood is mutually overcoming. A woman born in 1976 (Bính Thìn, Sa Trung Thổ, Earth element) has the cung phi Ly (9), an East group destiny; the Southeast direction is Thiên Y (good), but compared by the five elements, Earth with Wood is mutually overcoming.
For the same birth year, men and women often have different cung phi, so Bát Trạch can give a husband and wife born in the same year two different conclusions about the same direction; whereas the nạp âm five elements method does not distinguish between men and women. When the two methods disagree, the site's house direction tool follows Bát Trạch; this article does not judge which one is correct.
What does the five elements method say about the Southeast direction?
This method compares the element of the direction with the nạp âm element of the birth year. The Southeast direction is the Tốn palace, Wood element; people whose nạp âm is Wood are the same element, those with Water are mutually generated, while Metal and Earth are considered mutually overcoming. This is a different method from Bát Trạch, and as mentioned above, it can give the opposite conclusion. For example, a woman born in 1976 with Earth element, by the five elements method is overcoming the Wood of the direction, but by Bát Trạch it is the good Thiên Y.
The sitting and facing of a Southeast-facing house, according to which book?
There are two ways of naming a dwelling. The book Bát Trạch Minh Kính names the dwelling according to the sitting side, meaning the back of the house: a house sitting North facing South is a Khảm dwelling. A house facing Southeast sits on the opposite side, which is Northwest, that is, sitting in the Càn palace, so according to this book it is a Càn dwelling, belonging to the West group of houses. With the Southeast direction, the sitting and the facing belong to two different groups: considered by the facing, it suits people in the group of Tốn; considered by the dwelling according to the sitting, it suits people in the group of Càn.
The method common today, and the one used by the site's tool, considers the house direction (the direction of the main door) with the eight du niên of the cung phi. For the four directions East, West, Southeast and Northwest, these two methods give two opposite groups; for North, South, Northeast and Southwest, they coincide. Anyone who considers the dwelling by the sitting will get the opposite group from the tool.
How do you calculate your cung phi to look up the Southeast direction for yourself?
The calculation used by the core and the tool at /tien-ich/xem-nha-dat: add the last two digits of the birth year and reduce to a single digit. For men born before 2000, take 10 minus that number; from 2000 onward, take 9 minus it; for women born before 2000, take that number plus 5; from 2000 onward, add 6; the result is again reduced to a single digit. Cung phi 5 has no trigram of its own: men are assigned to Khôn (2), women to Cấn (8).
Two things to note when looking it up. First, the year used is the lunar year: people born in January or February of the solar calendar before Tết must use the previous year. Second, the tool accepts the year the user enters, so when looking it up you need to enter the correct lunar year. The East group of destinies includes Khảm (1), Chấn (3), Tốn (4), Ly (9); the West group of destinies includes Khôn (2), Càn (6), Đoài (7), Cấn (8).
What should be kept in mind when arranging a Southeast-facing house?
The main door is where qi enters the house, so it should be kept open and clean, avoiding dense trees or obstacles blocking it. If the main door faces directly onto the cooking stove or a toilet, the flow of qi is considered to be disturbed or quickly dispersed. A toilet placed at the center of the house or right at the Southeast corner is often considered unfavorable; if the structure cannot be changed, you can close the toilet lid and the door when not in use, place a small potted plant, or use a light fragrance to keep the space fresh.
According to the five elements method, the Southeast direction belongs to the Wood element, so Water and Wood elements are considered supportive. You can use green and blue colors, black; green-leafed plants, a small fish tank, paintings of rivers and water landscapes; wooden furniture, rattan and bamboo. Also according to this method, metal objects should be limited because Metal overcomes Wood.
The living room should have an open walkway, with lighting combining ceiling lights and accent lights, and curtains opened during the day to receive natural light. The sofa should have its back against a solid wall, facing out toward the open space in front. For plants, prioritize round-leafed, easy-care varieties. Keep the space tidy, because orderliness helps the flow of qi circulate and lightens the spirit.
For people who are not suited to the Southeast direction according to Bát Trạch, that is, those in the West group of destinies, the remedy recommended by the book Bát Trạch is to place the main door, bedroom and kitchen according to their own four good directions. The book Bát Trạch considers the door, the master room and the kitchen to be the three main factors of a dwelling (dương trạch tam yếu, the three essentials of a house), so these are the three places to prioritize checking first.
When you want to improve the flow of fortune, you should adjust one palace at a time and change things gradually so it is easier to follow. Changing too many things at once makes it hard to identify which factor actually creates the effect.
Feng shui is one reference factor when choosing and arranging a home; in reality it also depends on geographical location, the surrounding environment, architectural design and economic conditions. It should not be applied too rigidly.
