TL;DR: The Northwest direction is the Càn palace, belonging to Tây tứ trạch according to Bát Trạch, compatible with people of Tây tứ mệnh and unfavorable for people of Đông tứ mệnh; the specific du niên depends on cung phi. Viewing by ngũ hành (comparing the nạp âm element of the birth year with the Kim element of the direction) gives different conclusions for some ages, and the site's utility follows Bát Trạch. To know your own eight directions, look up your cung phi in the house direction viewing utility by entering your lunar year.
How is the northwest direction understood in feng shui?
There are two common ways of assessing which direction suits a person, and they can reach different conclusions about the same direction. The first is Bát Trạch (the Eight Mansions school): it calculates the cung phi (the gua number) from year of birth and gender, dividing people into Đông tứ mệnh (East Four Fates: Khảm, Chấn, Tốn, Ly) and Tây tứ mệnh (West Four Fates: Khôn, Càn, Đoài, Cấn). Each cung phi has four favourable directions (Sinh Khí, Thiên Y, Diên Niên, Phục Vị) and four unfavourable ones (Họa Hại, Lục Sát, Ngũ Quỷ, Tuyệt Mệnh), known collectively as the eight du niên. The second way compares the nạp âm element of the birth year with the element of the direction, referred to here as the five-element method.
The Nhật Nguyệt property viewing tool uses the Bát Trạch method. The northwest direction belongs to the Càn trigram in the Hậu Thiên Bát Quái (Later Heaven Eight Trigrams) and to Tây tứ trạch (West Four Houses); by the element of the trigram, Càn belongs to Kim (Metal).
Who does the northwest direction suit?
According to Bát Trạch, the northwest direction is the Càn trigram and belongs to Tây tứ trạch. For people in the same Tây tứ mệnh group, it is one of the four favourable directions; for people of Đông tứ mệnh, it is an unfavourable direction. Exactly how favourable or unfavourable, and which du niên it is, depends on each person's cung phi, as in the table below.
Table of the eight cung phi with the northwest direction (birth years 1950 to 2009, according to the tool's calculation core):
| Cung phi | Group | Northwest direction is | Favourable or unfavourable | Male birth years | Female birth years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Khảm (1) | Đông tứ mệnh | Lục Sát | unfavourable | 1954, 1963, 1972, 1981, 1990, 1999, 2008 | 1950, 1959, 1968, 1977, 1986, 1995, 2004 |
| Khôn (2) | Tây tứ mệnh | Diên Niên | favourable | 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 | Ngũ Quỷ | unfavourable | 1952, 1961, 1970, 1979, 1988, 1997, 2006 | 1952, 1961, 1970, 1979, 1988, 1997, 2006 |
| Tốn (4) | Đông tứ mệnh | Họa Hại | unfavourable | 1951, 1960, 1969, 1978, 1987, 1996, 2005 | 1953, 1962, 1971, 1980, 1989, 1998, 2007 |
| Càn (6) | Tây tứ mệnh | Phục Vị | favourable | 1958, 1967, 1976, 1985, 1994, 2003 | 1955, 1964, 1973, 1982, 1991, 2000, 2009 |
| Đoài (7) | Tây tứ mệnh | Sinh Khí | favourable | 1957, 1966, 1975, 1984, 1993, 2002 | 1956, 1965, 1974, 1983, 1992, 2001 |
| Cấn (8) | Tây tứ mệnh | Thiên Y | favourable | 1956, 1965, 1974, 1983, 1992, 2001 | 1954, 1957, 1963, 1966, 1972, 1975, 1981, 1984, 1990, 1993, 1999, 2002, 2008 |
| Ly (9) | Đông tứ mệnh | Tuyệt Mệnh | unfavourable | 1955, 1964, 1973, 1982, 1991, 2000, 2009 | 1958, 1967, 1976, 1985, 1994, 2003 |
How do you calculate your cung phi to know whether the northwest direction suits you?
The calculation core of the tool and the /tien-ich/xem-nha-dat utility work out cung phi as follows: add the last two digits of the birth year and reduce them to a single digit. For men born before 2000, subtract that number from 10; from 2000 onwards, subtract from 9. For women born before 2000, add 5 to that number; from 2000 onwards, add 6. Reduce the result to a single digit again. 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: the year used is the lunar year, so people born in January or February of the solar calendar before Tết take the previous year; and cung phi 5 is assigned to Khôn or Cấn as just described. To look up your own eight directions, go to the /tien-ich/xem-nha-dat utility and enter your lunar year.
Why do the five-element method and Bát Trạch give two different conclusions?
The two methods measure two different things. Bát Trạch relies on cung phi, calculated from year of birth and gender; the five-element method relies on the nạp âm of the birth year's can chi (heavenly stem and earthly branch) and does not distinguish between men and women. So a husband and wife born in the same year can have different cung phi, and the same direction can produce two opposite conclusions.
Some examples of divergence, where the five-element method says favourable but Bát Trạch says unfavourable:
- Male born 1970 (Canh Tuất, Thoa Xuyến Kim, Kim element): cung phi Chấn (3), Đông tứ mệnh; the northwest direction is Ngũ Quỷ (unfavourable), while by the five-element comparison Kim with Kim is the same element.
- Female born 1971 (Tân Hợi, Thoa Xuyến Kim, Kim element): cung phi Tốn (4), Đông tứ mệnh; the northwest direction is Họa Hại (unfavourable), while by the five-element comparison Kim with Kim is the same element.
- Female born 1976 (Bính Thìn, Sa Trung Thổ, Thổ element): cung phi Ly (9), Đông tứ mệnh; the northwest direction is Tuyệt Mệnh (unfavourable), while by the five-element comparison Thổ with Kim is mutually generating.
- Female born 1977 (Đinh Tỵ, Sa Trung Thổ, Thổ element): cung phi Khảm (1), Đông tứ mệnh; the northwest direction is Lục Sát (unfavourable), while by the five-element comparison Thổ with Kim is mutually generating.
And some examples of the opposite divergence, where the five-element method says clashing but Bát Trạch says favourable:
- Female born 1972 (Nhâm Tý, Tang Đố Mộc, Mộc element): cung phi Cấn (8), Tây tứ mệnh; the northwest direction is Thiên Y (favourable), while by the five-element comparison Mộc with Kim is mutually clashing.
- Female born 1973 (Quý Sửu, Tang Đố Mộc, Mộc element): cung phi Càn (6), Tây tứ mệnh; the northwest direction is Phục Vị (favourable), while by the five-element comparison Mộc with Kim is mutually clashing.
- Female born 1978 (Mậu Ngọ, Thiên Thượng Hỏa, Hỏa element): cung phi Khôn (2), Tây tứ mệnh; the northwest direction is Diên Niên (favourable), while by the five-element comparison Hỏa with Kim is mutually clashing.
- Male born 1980 (Canh Thân, Thạch Lựu Mộc, Mộc element): cung phi Khôn (2), Tây tứ mệnh; the northwest direction is Diên Niên (favourable), while by the five-element comparison Mộc with Kim is mutually clashing.
When the two methods disagree, the site's tool follows Bát Trạch. This article does not judge which method is correct.
What kind of trạch is a northwest-facing house, judged by sitting or by facing?
There are two different ways of naming. The book Bát Trạch Minh Kính names the trạch by the sitting side (the back of the house); for example, a house sitting north and facing south is a Khảm trạch. A northwest-facing house sits on the opposite side, that is, it sits southeast, the Tốn trigram, so by this naming it is a Tốn trạch, belonging to Đông tứ trạch. With this direction, the sitting and the facing belong to two different groups: judged by facing (as the tool does), the northwest suits people in the Càn group, while judged as a trạch by sitting, this house suits people in the Tốn group.
The common approach today, and the one the /tien-ich/xem-nha-dat utility uses, is to assess the house's facing (the direction of the main door) against the eight du niên of the cung phi. Anyone who assesses the trạch by sitting will get the opposite group. Specifically, for the four directions east, west, southeast and northwest, these two approaches give two opposite groups; for north, south, northeast and southwest they coincide.
Which fates does the northwest direction suit under the five-element method?
By the five-element method, the northwest direction belongs to the Kim element, so people of Thổ fate (Thổ generates Kim) and Kim fate (same element) are generally considered favourable; people of Hỏa fate (Hỏa clashes with Kim) are generally advised to be cautious. This is the five-element method, not Bát Trạch.
| Fate | Five-element relationship with the northwest direction | Degree of suitability by the five-element method |
|---|---|---|
| Thổ | Thổ generates Kim | Favourable |
| Kim | Same Kim element | Favourable, stable |
| Thủy | Kim generates Thủy | Can be chosen |
| Mộc | Kim clashes with Mộc | May be suppressed |
| Hỏa | Hỏa clashes with Kim | Most to be avoided by this method |
According to Bát Trạch, with the northwest direction: Sinh Khí with Đoài, Thiên Y with Cấn, Diên Niên with Khôn, Phục Vị with Càn; Lục Sát with Khảm, Ngũ Quỷ with Chấn, Họa Hại with Tốn, Tuyệt Mệnh with Ly. To know which case is yours, look up your cung phi in the house direction viewing tool.
Things to keep in mind when living in a northwest-facing house
How should the main door, bedroom and kitchen be placed?
The Bát Trạch books treat the door, the main room and the kitchen as the three main factors of a dwelling (dương trạch tam yếu). People who are not suited to the northwest direction by Bát Trạch are advised to place the main door, bedroom and kitchen according to the four favourable directions of their own cung phi, rather than forcing them to match the house's facing. With a northwest-facing house, avoid placing the main door directly opposite the back door or a large window, creating a draught that runs straight through.
By the five-element method, the main bedroom should not be in the northwest if the householder is of Hỏa fate; by Bát Trạch, you should first check which du niên the northwest is for the householder's cung phi before deciding.
What colours and materials are suitable?
By the five-element method, the northwest direction belongs to the Kim element, so colours of the Thổ element such as earth yellow, brown, cream and beige, and colours of the Kim element such as white, grey and silver, are commonly used. They can be applied to wall paint, curtains, floor rugs or furniture in the northwest area.
What should interior decoration balance?
If the living room is in the northwest, the sofa should be placed with its back against a solid wall. By the five-element method, limit placing too many plants in this area because Mộc clashes with Kim; metal or ceramic objects can be used. By Bát Trạch, priority goes to arranging things according to the four favourable directions of the householder's cung phi.
How should lighting and ventilation be arranged?
Natural light helps keep a space fresh. With a northwest-facing house, the afternoon western sun can be harsh, so suitable curtains are needed. Keep the main door area and walkways clear, without furniture blocking the way.
Where should the altar room be placed?
The altar room can be placed in the Càn trigram (northwest) if convenient, since this is the trigram symbolising heaven in the Hậu Thiên Bát Quái. If the householder is not suited to this direction by Bát Trạch, you can consider placing the altar room in one of the four favourable directions of your cung phi.
