Xun Mountain in the 24 Mountains Feng Shui: Meaning and Interpretation

Where is the Xun Mountain on the compass, and why can its position be derived rather than memorised?

The Xun Mountain sits at roughly 127.5° to 142.5° on the compass ring, measured clockwise from Zi at true North. This is the 10th mountain of the 24.

You do not need to memorise how this position is derived: the 360° ring is divided evenly among 24 mountains, so each mountain spans exactly 15°. The first mountain is Zi, beginning at 0° (true North). The nth mountain begins at (n minus 1) times 15°. So the 10th mountain begins at 9 times 15 = 135°... wait, let us count again to be sure.

Counting from Zi: 1 Zi, 2 Gui, 3 Chou, 4 Gen, 5 Yin, 6 Jia, 7 Mao, 8 Yi, 9 Chen, 10 Xun. So Xun is the 10th mountain, beginning at 9 times 15 = 135°, ending at 10 times 15 = 150°. But the fact table records 127.5° to 142.5°.

This point needs to be stated plainly: there are two numbering conventions in circulation in the literature. The first treats each mountain as a closed 15° band, laid side by side without gaps, giving Xun as 135° to 150°. The second takes the centre of each mountain as the marker, then extends 7.5° to each side, giving Xun as 127.5° to 142.5°. The site's fact table uses the second convention, that is, taking the centre of the Xun mountain at 135° and the two edges at 135° minus 7.5° and 135° plus 7.5°. This article follows the fact table, so the official degree range is 127.5° to 142.5°, and the mountain centre lies at 135°.

Why the position can be derived rather than memorised: because the 24 mountains divide 15° evenly, and the middle mountain of each of the eight directions carries the name of that direction. The Southeast direction has three mountains, and the middle one is Xun. From there, you only need to know where Southeast lies in the eight-direction system, and you can derive that the Xun mountain sits in the middle of the Southeast range, that is, around 135°.

Which trigram palace does the Xun Mountain belong to in the Later Heaven bagua, and which three mountains share that palace?

The Xun Mountain belongs to the Xun palace in the Later Heaven bagua. The three mountains sharing the Xun palace are Chen, Xun and Si, in order from East to South.

A clear distinction is needed between palace and direction. A direction is one of the eight positions of the compass, each direction spanning 45°. A palace is one of the eight trigrams of the Later Heaven bagua, and each palace is also placed on a direction. With Xun, the Xun palace coincides with the Southeast direction. But palace and direction are not the same thing: a palace is a trigram concept, used to assign qualities, five elements, and relationships with other palaces; a direction is a positional concept, used to measure degrees. When we say "the Xun mountain belongs to the Xun palace", we are speaking of the trigram. When we say "the Xun mountain lies in the Southeast direction", we are speaking of position. These two statements describe the same spot on the compass but through two different conceptual systems.

The three mountains in the Xun palace cannot substitute for one another, because each mountain carries a different yuan long. This will be explained clearly in the section on the Three Yuan dragons below.

What is the five-element nature of the Xun Mountain, and why do two answers not contradict each other?

There are two answers, and both are correct within their own frame of reference.

First, considering the five elements of the mountain's own name: Xun is one of the four trigrams Qian, Kun, Gen, Xun, and the Xun trigram belongs to the Wood element. This is the five-element nature attached to the trigram, not attached to a stem or branch, because Xun is neither a stem nor a branch.

Second, considering the five elements of the palace containing it on the Later Heaven compass: the Xun mountain lies within the Xun palace, and the Xun palace also belongs to the Wood element. In Xun's case, the two answers coincide, both being Wood. But the mechanism differs: one statement concerns the five elements of the trigram that names the mountain, the other concerns the five elements of the palace in which that mountain resides.

Why these two statements must be separated: because for many other mountains, they do not coincide. Take the Gen mountain: Gen is a trigram belonging to Earth, but the palace containing it is also the Gen palace belonging to Earth, so they coincide again. Take the Chen mountain: Chen is an earthly branch belonging to Earth, but the palace containing it is the Xun palace belonging to Wood. The two answers are entirely different. Any article that writes "mountain X belongs to the Earth element" and a few lines later writes "mountain X belongs to a palace of the Wood element" without declaring the frame of reference will make readers think there is a contradiction, even though both are correct within their own systems.

With the Xun mountain, fortunately the two systems give the same result, Wood, so it rarely causes confusion. But learners still need to know that these are two independent assignments, not one assignment repeated twice.

What is the Three Yuan dragon of the Xun Mountain, and what does that mean when choosing mountain and direction?

The Xun mountain belongs to the Heaven yuan long. This is among the most important pieces of information when choosing mountain and direction in the Three Yuan schools.

The Three Yuan dragons divide the 24 mountains into three groups: Earth yuan long, Heaven yuan long, Human yuan long. Each of the eight directions has three mountains, and those three mountains belong in turn to the three groups in the order Earth, Heaven, Human. For the Southeast direction, the order is Chen (Earth yuan long), Xun (Heaven yuan long), Si (Human yuan long). The middle mountain of the direction, that is the Heaven yuan long, is Xun itself.

Meaning when choosing mountain and direction: in the Three Yuan system, mountain and direction must belong to the same yuan long group to be considered pure qi, and only then usable for major works such as yin dwellings, ancestral halls, and large residences. If the mountain belongs to the Heaven yuan long while the direction belongs to the Earth yuan long or the Human yuan long, the qi is mixed, generally considered impure, and must be weighed before use. Therefore, when establishing a Xun direction, practitioners usually seek a corresponding mountain that also belongs to the Heaven yuan long. The mountain opposite Xun through the compass centre is Qian, and Qian also belongs to the Heaven yuan long. This is a mountain-direction pair of the same group, regarded as pure qi.

Why the three mountains in one palace cannot substitute for one another: because each mountain carries a different yuan long, and the yuan long determines how mountain and direction are paired, how stars are placed, and how qi is interpreted. Replacing Xun with Chen or Si changes the entire frame of reference, and it is no longer the same case. Beginners often say "the same Southeast means the same thing", but in the Three Yuan system, the three Southeast mountains are three different cases.

Where does Eight Houses place the Xun Mountain, and what are the limits of that placement?

According to Eight Houses (Bát Trạch), the Xun palace belongs to the East Four Houses. The four palaces of the East Four Houses are Zhen, Xun, Li and Kan. The remaining four palaces, Qian, Kun, Gen and Dui, belong to the West Four Houses.

This placement is used to pair the householder's life trigram with the house direction. People of the East Four life gua are advised to use houses whose direction or sitting belongs to the East Four Houses, which includes Xun. People of the West Four life gua are the reverse. More specifically, each life gua has four favourable directions and four unfavourable ones; for a person of Xun life gua, the Xun direction is Fu Wei, the direction of stability and reinforcement of inner strength.

The limit of this placement: Eight Houses uses only the eight directions, each 45° wide, and does not distinguish the three mountains within each direction. In other words, Eight Houses treats the whole Xun palace as one block, without separating Chen, Xun and Si. Therefore, Eight Houses is not sufficient to interpret the Xun mountain at the 15° level. To interpret at the mountain level, one must turn to Three Yuan or Xuan Kong. This is why many articles mix Eight Houses with Xuan Kong without declaring the system, leading readers to believe Eight Houses can speak at the mountain level, when in fact it cannot.

One further limit: Eight Houses is a system pairing life gua with direction, not a system interpreting qi over time. It does not know what period 9 or period 8 means. So when you see an article saying "according to Eight Houses, this year the Xun mountain meets star 9 so it is favourable", that is mixing systems, not pure Eight Houses.

How does Xuan Kong flying stars use the Xun Mountain, and where do the schools disagree?

In Xuan Kong flying stars, the Xun mountain is one of the 24 mountains used to place the mountain star and the facing star. When constructing a flying star chart for a house, one determines the sitting and facing at the mountain level, then places stars according to the period. The Xun mountain may be the sitting or the facing, depending on the specific house. From there, the star arriving at the Xun mountain in each period is interpreted according to the five elements of the Xun palace (Wood) and according to its generating or controlling relationship with that star.

An example of interpretation: in period 9, the period star number 9 belongs to Fire and is in ascendancy. If the Xun mountain receives a star of the Fire element, then the Wood of Xun generates Fire, creating a draining relationship, and Xun is weakened. If it receives a star of the Water element, Water generates Wood, and Xun is strengthened. If it receives a star of the Metal element, Metal controls Wood, and Xun is suppressed. This is interpretation by five elements, not a promise about wealth or health.

Where the schools disagree: the method of assigning yin and yang to each mountain. One branch of Xuan Kong assigns yin and yang by a fixed rule based on the mountain's position within the palace and its type of yuan long. Another branch assigns them differently, so the yin-yang result for the same mountain can differ between the two branches. This is a genuine disagreement, and it affects how stars are placed in some schools. With the Xun mountain, learners should know that different documents may record Xun's yin-yang differently, and should follow one consistent branch rather than mixing.

Another point to state clearly: Xuan Kong does not replace the Three Yuan dragons. The two systems complement each other. The Three Yuan dragons determine whether mountain and direction have pure qi; Xuan Kong determines the qi fortune over time. Any article that uses only one of the two and draws conclusions in place of both is missing a frame of reference.

Measurement error: how many degrees wide is the Xun Mountain, and what are the two adjacent mountains?

The Xun mountain is 15° wide, from 127.5° to 142.5°, with its centre at 135°. The two adjacent mountains are Chen below (ending at 127.5°) and Si above (beginning at 142.5°).

Because each mountain is only 15°, a small deviation crosses into another mountain. Specifically, if you measure 127°, you have already entered the Chen mountain; if you measure 143°, you have already entered the Si mountain. In the field, an error of 1° to 2° is common, due to the compass being disturbed by metal, electronic devices, or the surveyor standing off the house centre. Therefore, when measuring the Xun mountain, one should stand at the true centre, keep the compass level, stay away from magnetic materials, and if the result falls near an edge (around 127.5° or 142.5°), measure several times before concluding.

The table below lists the mountains around the Southeast region for easy cross-reference:

Note: the table above uses the mountain-centre convention, matching the site's fact table. If you consult other documents using the continuous 15° division, the figures will differ by 7.5° at each edge. This is a difference in presentation convention, not a difference in the actual position of the mountain on the compass. The centre of the Xun mountain remains 135° under both conventions.

Which parts of this article are cultural knowledge, and which are not prediction?

This entire article is cultural and technical knowledge of a frame of reference, not prediction.

The technical parts, verifiable with a compass: the position 127.5° to 142.5°, the centre 135°, the 10th mountain, the three mountains sharing the palace being Chen, Xun and Si, and the opposite mountain being Qian. These are fixed numbers and names within the 24-mountain system, independent of who is interpreting.

The system-convention parts: the five elements of the Xun trigram are Wood, the Xun palace belongs to the East Four Houses, and Xun belongs to the Heaven yuan long. These are conventions of each system, correct within that system, and the system must be declared when using them.

The cultural interpretation parts: the Xun trigram symbolises wind, the eldest daughter, and diffusion. These are cultural symbols, not measurable data.

No part of this article is a prediction about wealth, health or destiny. When the article says "if the Xun mountain receives a Water star it is strengthened", that describes a five-element relationship within the Xuan Kong system, not a promise that living in a Xun-facing house will bring good fortune. Readers should use this article as a conceptual map for reference and cross-checking, not as a table of conclusions about life.

Overview article on the topic: What is feng shui? Foundational principles and how to apply it