The eight Kua numbers
Eight Mansions gives every person one number, derived from the birth year and the calculation basis. That number decides which four compass directions work for you and which four do not, and it does not change with the year.
The eight
Computed · Four favourable eachKua 1
坎 NorthKua 2
坤 South-westKua 3
震 EastKua 4
巽 South-eastKua 6
乾 North-westKua 7
兌 WestKua 8
艮 North-eastKua 9
離 SouthThe two life groups
Computed · Exact complementsFavourable: East, North, South, South-east
Favourable: North-east, North-west, South-west, West
Both groups hold the same eight designations. Neither has better ground, only different ground.
Why there is no Kua 5
There are nine numbers in the arithmetic and only eight trigram seats on the compass, so one number has nowhere to sit. Five redirects: to 2 on the male calculation basis and to 8 on the female one. Both are west group numbers.
If you have worked out a 5 elsewhere, that is why your number appears to change. A reading keeps the original value on the sheet so you can see what happened rather than wonder.
The year boundary catches people out
The Kua number is derived from the birth year taken at the Li Chun solar boundary in early February, not at 1 January. A birthday in January or the first days of February belongs to the previous year for this purpose.
That single detail is the most common reason a number comes out wrong, and it is why a calculator that asks only for a year without asking anything else can quietly hand you the wrong four directions.
Your number, and what to do with it
Find your day master free →Knowing the number is the easy half. A reading works it out from your birth data, names all eight directions in severity order, and says which of your actual rooms can carry which.
Still working out which system answers your question? The eight directions
Method and sources
Every designation, and the birth years behind each number, are computed from the same function the readings use. The Kua by sector matrix was verified cell by cell against an independent numeric table before it shipped. What each designation tends to mean follows the classical verse listed below.
Read against the classical direction verse and the dwelling essentials:
- 大遊年歌 Da Youniange Song of the Great Wandering Year, the anchor verse, attributed to 八宅明鏡 Bazhai Mingjing
- 陽宅三要 Yangzhai Sanyao The Three Essentials of Dwellings