What is Bát Trạch?
Bát Trạch (Eight Mansions) is a traditional feng shui method that classifies houses into eight mansion types based on the eight trigrams, combined with the owner's trigram number to select auspicious and inauspicious directions.
What is Bát Trạch?
Bát Trạch (八宅, the Eight Houses) is a branch of traditional feng shui that classifies dwellings into eight house types based on the eight trigrams of the bagua: Càn, Khôn, Chấn, Tốn, Khảm, Ly, Cấn, Đoài. Each house type has its own characteristics and is considered suited to groups of people whose life trigram numbers correspond to it. This method is commonly used to determine the facing direction of a house, the direction of the main door, the direction of the kitchen, and other important areas in order to optimise the flow of favourable energy.
What is the origin and underlying principle of Bát Trạch?
Bát Trạch originates from ancient Eastern philosophy, resting on the theories of yin and yang, the five elements, and the bagua. The eight houses are divided into two main groups: Đông tứ trạch (the four Eastern houses: Khảm, Ly, Chấn, Tốn) and Tây tứ trạch (the four Western houses: Càn, Khôn, Cấn, Đoài). The core principle is the compatibility between the householder's life trigram number (calculated from birth year and gender) and the direction of the house. Each life trigram number has four favourable directions (Sinh Khí, Thiên Y, Diên Niên, Phục Vị) and four unfavourable directions (Tuyệt Mệnh, Ngũ Quỷ, Lục Sát, Họa Hại).
How is Bát Trạch applied in practice?
In practice, one usually calculates the householder's life trigram number, determines the house type from the facing direction of the main door or the sitting direction, then cross-references the two to choose directions for placing doors, the kitchen, the bed, and the altar. For example, a person belonging to Đông tứ mệnh (the four Eastern life trigrams) should live in a Đông tứ trạch house and favour the North, East, Southeast, and South directions. Conversely, a person of Tây tứ mệnh (the four Western life trigrams) is compatible with a Tây tứ trạch house and the West, Northwest, Southwest, and Northeast directions.
Distinguishing Bát Trạch from easily confused terms
Bát Trạch differs from other feng shui methods such as Huyền Không Phi Tinh (Flying Star, which is based on time and cyclical energy) or Loan Đầu (which is based on geographical landforms). Bát Trạch relies mainly on a person's life trigram and the direction of the house, and does not factor in time. In addition, Bát Trạch is not the same as the "bagua", even though both use the eight trigrams; the bagua is a broader system of symbols, while Bát Trạch is a specific application within residential feng shui.
Note: This is traditional knowledge of a reference nature, and has not been verified by science. Readers should consider carefully before applying it in practice.
How do different schools understand Bát Trạch?
- Đông tứ trạch and Tây tứ trạch: The eight houses are divided into two groups, East and West, each containing four houses. People of Đông tứ mệnh are compatible with Đông tứ trạch, and people of Tây tứ mệnh are compatible with Tây tứ trạch. This compatibility determines the house direction and the interior layout.
- Bát Trạch by life trigram number: Each person has their own life trigram number (from 1 to 9, with 5 assigned to 2 or 8 depending on gender). This number determines the life group and the specific favourable and unfavourable directions. The calculation of the life trigram number is based on the lunar birth year and gender.
- Bát Trạch combined with loan đầu: Some schools combine Bát Trạch with external landforms (loan đầu) for a more comprehensive reading, holding that relying on direction and life trigram alone is not enough.
Related articles
- What is feng shui? Foundational principles and how to apply them
- The Giáp mountain direction among the 24 feng shui mountain directions: meaning and how to interpret it
- Trạch Khôn (a Tây tứ trạch house) in Bát Trạch feng shui: characteristics and directions suited to one's life trigram
- The Tỵ mountain direction among the 24 feng shui mountain directions: meaning and in-depth interpretation
- The Hợi mountain direction among the 24 feng shui mountain directions: meaning and in-depth interpretation
- The Đinh mountain direction among the 24 feng shui mountain directions: meaning and interpretation
- Trạch Đoài (a Tây tứ trạch house) in Bát Trạch feng shui: characteristics and directions suited to one's life trigram
- The Thìn mountain direction among the 24 feng shui mountain directions: meaning and how to interpret it
- Feng shui for a Northeast-facing house: which life trigrams it suits, and what to keep in mind
- The Dậu mountain direction among the 24 feng shui mountain directions: meaning and in-depth interpretation
- Trạch Khảm (a Đông tứ trạch house) in Bát Trạch feng shui: characteristics and directions suited to one's life trigram
- Trạch Càn (a Tây tứ trạch house) in Bát Trạch feng shui: characteristics and directions suited to one's life trigram
What are the eight stars of Bát Trạch?
| Star | Favourable / Unfavourable | Direction (example: life trigram 1, Khảm) | Meaning in traditional belief |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sinh Khí | Favourable | Southeast | The most favourable star in Bát Trạch, governing wealth, advancement, health, and overall good fortune. Priority should be given to placing the main door, living room, or main bedroom in this direction. |
| Thiên Y | Favourable | East | A favourable star for health and benefactors, governing freedom from illness and receiving help from others. Suitable for placing a bedroom, especially for those in weak health. |
| Diên Niên | Favourable | South | A favourable star for family life, governing harmony between husband and wife, good family relationships, and smooth social interaction. Suitable for placing a shared living space. |
| Phục Vị | Favourable | North | A mildly favourable star, leaning toward stability, governing endurance, favourable conditions for study and self-development, and few upheavals. This is the original inherent direction of the trigram itself. |
| Họa Hại | Unfavourable | West | The mildest of the four unfavourable stars, governing gossip, petty arguments, and small annoyances in daily life rather than serious harm. |
| Lục Sát | Unfavourable | Northwest | An unfavourable star for legal matters and relationships, governing a tendency toward lawsuits, disputes, and difficult relationships. The main bedroom and important work rooms should be kept away from this direction. |
| Ngũ Quỷ | Unfavourable | Northeast | A strongly unfavourable star, governing fire, theft, scandal, and loss of property. The kitchen and bedroom should be kept away from this direction. |
| Tuyệt Mệnh | Unfavourable | Southwest | The most unfavourable star in Bát Trạch, governing serious accidents, severe illness, and ruin. This is the direction to avoid most when arranging the main door, kitchen, and bedroom. |
These eight stars are fixed in name and meaning; what changes from person to person is the DIRECTION each star falls into. The direction column here uses life trigram 1 as an example, so look up your own life trigram to get the correct direction table.
The figures in the table match the results of the lookup tools on Nhật Nguyệt.
